Coptic pope holds mass in Abu Dhabi

ABU DHABI // Thousands turned out to welcome the Coptic pope at a mass in Abu Dhabi.

Staff at the St Anthony Coptic Orthodox Church in Al Mushrif had to place TV screens in adjacent halls to accommodate the number of visitors yesterday.

Among those who attended was Ihab Imam Hamouda, Egyptian ambassador to the UAE.

This is the first time that Pope Tawadros II has visited the UAE. It is also the first time he has conducted mass in an Arab country outside Egypt since he became leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria in November 2012.

Members of the community expressed their excitement about the visit.

“It is really unbelievable. Such a pleasant surprise for us and a blessing,” said Miray Zaki, 30, a Government employee, who said that the visit had been announced only a week ago.

Ms Zaki, who was born in Abu Dhabi and lives in the capital, arrived at the church with her parents at 5.30am to secure a seat for the mass, which started at 7am.

“Some people were queueing since 3am,” she said. “Many people came from Al Ain, Dubai, Sharjah and Fujairah.”

“I am really very happy, we have been waiting for him,” said Maryam Taufik, 27, an English-language teacher and a mother of two.

“This is the first time to see him face to face. Before it was always on the TV,” said Maryam Ghabrial, 36, an employee at an engineering company, who was born in the UAE. She was attending with her parents, cousin and friends.

“I am very happy,” said Milad Girgis, 30, a draftsman, who has been living in the capital for six years.

“I cannot explain how I feel – we are so excited. Everybody is so excited. Everyone wants to shake his hand,” said an Abu Dhabi resident of 36 years. “It was a surprise for us.”

Pope Tawadros arrived on Friday and gave a lecture at the Al Raha Beach Theatre.

He praised the President, Sheikh Khalifa, and said his visit reflected the strong and warm relations between the two sides.

He is scheduled to meet a number of high-ranking UAE officials.

On Sunday, Pope Tawadros is scheduled to meet Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai. The pope’s visit ends on Wednesday.

vtodorova@thenational.ae

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Tips for used car buyers

Choose cars with GCC specifications
Get a service history for cars less than five years old
Don’t go cheap on the inspection
Check for oil leaks
Do a Google search on the standard problems for your car model
Do your due diligence. Get a transfer of ownership done at an official RTA centre
Check the vehicle’s condition. You don’t want to buy a car that’s a good deal but ends up costing you Dh10,000 in repairs every month
Validate warranty and service contracts with the relevant agency and and make sure they are valid when ownership is transferred
If you are planning to sell the car soon, buy one with a good resale value. The two most popular cars in the UAE are black or white in colour and other colours are harder to sell

Tarek Kabrit, chief executive of Seez, and Imad Hammad, chief executive and co-founder of CarSwitch.com

First-round leaderbaord

-5 C Conners (Can)

-3 B Koepka (US), K Bradley (US), V Hovland (Nor), A Wise (US), S Horsfield (Eng), C Davis (Aus);

-2 C Morikawa (US), M Laird (Sco), C Tringale (US)

Selected others: -1 P Casey (Eng), R Fowler (US), T Hatton (Eng)

Level B DeChambeau (US), J Rose (Eng)

1 L Westwood (Eng), J Spieth (US)

3 R McIlroy (NI)

4 D Johnson (US)

'Cheb%20Khaled'

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Stars: Shadi Alfons, Marwan Abdullah, Doaa Mostafa Ragab

Two stars out of five

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This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.

Wicked: For Good

Director: Jon M Chu

Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater

Rating: 4/5

Tips from the expert

Dobromir Radichkov, chief data officer at dubizzle and Bayut, offers a few tips for UAE residents looking to earn some cash from pre-loved items.

Sellers should focus on providing high-quality used goods at attractive prices to buyers.
It’s important to use clear and appealing photos, with catchy titles and detailed descriptions to capture the attention of prospective buyers.
Try to advertise a realistic price to attract buyers looking for good deals, especially in the current environment where consumers are significantly more price-sensitive.
Be creative and look around your home for valuable items that you no longer need but might be useful to others.

Why it pays to compare

A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.

Route 1: bank transfer

The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.

Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount

Total received: €4,670.30

Route 2: online platform

The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.

Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction

Total received: €4,756

The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.

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The biog

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Hidden killer

Sepsis arises when the body tries to fight an infection but damages its own tissue and organs in the process.

The World Health Organisation estimates it affects about 30 million people each year and that about six million die.

Of those about three million are newborns and 1.2 are young children.

Patients with septic shock must often have limbs amputated if clots in their limbs prevent blood flow, causing the limbs to die.

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