DUBAI // Ze Mario, the former Al Wasl boss, has been named Kalba's coach after the Pro League backmarkers dismissed the Tunisian Lotfi Benzarti following a 2-0 loss to Al Shabab on Thursday.
Benzarti is the second coach to be shown the door at Kalba this season. The 2011/12 Division One champions fired the Croatian Dragan Talajic in October after just three league matches. His successor lasted only eight games, seven of which ended in defeats.
Kalba's lone win of the season came in the seventh week, against Al Dhafra.
They now have hired as many coaches (three) as points this league campaign. The club will be hoping Mario, who guided Wasl to the league and President's Cup double in 2006/07, can change that trend and help bring stability to the club.
Kalba also have seen a change in the boardroom. Saeed Khalfan Al Thabahi tendered his resignation as chairman, and new board of directors was appointed, with Hassan Salem as the new chief. However, three members of the new council resigned within two weeks.
According to media reports, the team manager Hussein Saeed also was dismissed after an argument last month with Nabil Daoudi, the Moroccan striker.
Mario, 63, has worked with several clubs in the region, including Al Ain, Qatar's Al Arabi and Al Sadd, and Riyadh, Al Ettifaq and Al Shabab of Saudi Arabia.
The Brazilian, however, has been out of club management since 2009 and he will not have much time to get back into the groove; Kalba play Dibba Al Fujairah on Monday.
It was the second sacking of the season for Benzarti. He ended last season at Emirates, and he was shown the door by the Ras Al Khaimah club after he failed to get them back to the Pro League through the play-offs.
Emirates had brought in 10 new players to support the coach, including a number of experienced Emirati players and foreign pros like the Argentine striker German Herrera from the Brazilian club Botafogo and the Paraguay international Nestor Ortigoza.
Abdulwahab Abdulqadir, meanwhile, has hinted the Algerian Karim Kerkar could be back in the Ajman squad in the January transfer window, replacing the Moroccan Abdessamad Ouahaki.
Kerkar started the season with Ajman, appearing in their opening Etisalat Cup and Pro League matches, but was replaced by Ouahaki just before the close of the transfer window following an ankle injury.
"Founeke Sy, Boris Kabi and Karrar Jassim will certainly continue with the team," said Abdulqadir, the Ajman coach.
"There is no disagreement over that, but Kerkar could return to the team in January after recovering from his injury. There is no intention to make any other changes."
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The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
Scoreline
Ireland 16 (Tries: Stockdale Cons: Sexton Pens: Sexton 3)
New Zealand 9 (Pens: Barrett 2 Drop Goal: Barrett)
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
