FUJAIRAH // When Ishwarbhai Ratilal was stranded at sea he knew what to do: relax and make a curry.
Floating at sea with 1,600kg of fish, it seemed there was nothing else to do but set the chillis sizzling and wait for help.
Video: Old men and the sea
Last Updated: June 22, 2011 UAE
Omani Fisherman Suleiman Abdullah recalls a life time fishing the waters of the Gulf. With eyesight damaged by the sun, he speaks in a disappearing dialect and recalls the experiences of generations before him who have risked their lives at sea. Video by Pawel Dwulit
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It was the first time fishing in the UAE for Mr Ratilal's crewmates Ishwarbhai Ranjibahaj, 38, and Niteshkumar Ramanlal, 26.
The crew had set out at 2.00 that morning and at first all had gone as planned. They reached the deep sea at sunrise and took three hours to lay 40 wire nets before a midday siesta.
In the evening, as they prepared to return, they discovered their engine was broken. They were 60km out to sea in the twilight.
"We dropped anchor," said Mohamed Ahmed, 55, a fisherman from Dibba in Fujairah who captains the 15-metre boat.
"I was thinking, what will we do? The engine was broken, my phone was broken and my radar button wasn't working.
"You know, I have this button so all the people around know to help me. It tells the police where I am and it wasn't working. But I had no fear. We dropped anchor and decided to wait until the morning.
"Chillis and garlic - then everything's OK."
Capt Ahmed related the tale from his home, grateful to be back on land where he divides his time between 21 children, two wives and two houses across the street from each other.
In his case, family is not just about love but also survival.
Capt Ahmed's family alerted the coastguard to his absence when he failed to return from his two-day trip last Sunday afternoon, and it was two of his sons and his younger brother who found him on Monday after a two-hour search.
The fishermen had solved their engine problem and started the return trip when they saw Capt Ahmed's sons - Khalid, 30, and Ahmed, 35 - and his younger brother Ali, 53.
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The boats approached each other with his sons shouting blessings and calling their "Baba".
"What are you doing here? Why did you come?" asked their father. "You didn't need to come for me."
His sons reminded him of the circumstances. "You were at sea for three days, Dad," they said. "We were a little worried."
Capt Ahmed brushed it off: "It was nothing. I was completely safe. God is great, it was just a small problem."
He is typically cool under pressure, said one of his 16 daughters, a 21-year-old English literature student who did not want to be named.
"My father, as usual, had no fear. When my father has problems with the engine he starts fishing," she said, adding it was not the first time he had been "lost at sea".
Her brothers and uncle went to his rescue five years ago when Capt Ahmed was missing for 24 hours.
His 8-metre boat ran out of petrol and it was too big to row back to shore.
But Capt Ahmed does not like the word "lost". Instead, he bemoans his five sons' lack of interest in the sea.
"The sea raises men," he said. "Yesterday I could have died but I knew what to do. When I die, I have told my sons they should go to the sea to learn."
In a way, Capt Ahmed's adventures are a way of drawing them back to their heritage.
They may not know the sea but they know their father and where he likes to fish.
azacharias@thenational.ae
Sreesanth's India bowling career
Tests 27, Wickets 87, Average 37.59, Best 5-40
ODIs 53, Wickets 75, Average 33.44, Best 6-55
T20Is 10, Wickets 7, Average 41.14, Best 2-12
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, Group B
Barcelona v Inter Milan
Camp Nou, Barcelona
Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
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A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
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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.
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Brief scores
Toss India, chose to bat
India 281-7 in 50 ov (Pandya 83, Dhoni 79; Coulter-Nile 3-44)
Australia 137-9 in 21 ov (Maxwell 39, Warner 25; Chahal 3-30)
India won by 26 runs on Duckworth-Lewis Method
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Henrik Stenson's finishes at Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship:
2006 - 2
2007 - 8
2008 - 2
2009 - MC
2010 - 21
2011 - 42
2012 - MC
2013 - 23
2014 - MC
2015 - MC
2016 - 3
2017 - 8
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THREE
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May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
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December 2024
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July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
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November 2025
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