For a month that is regarded as one of the quietest of the year, this Ramadan has seen a series of far ranging Government announcements that will affect the lives - and pockets - of almost everyone living in the UAE.
For the average resident, the most immediate impact will be on their monthly housing costs, with the municipality fee charged by Abu Dhabi more than doubling for villas and rising by two per cent for other homes, according to the website of Abu Dhabi Distribution Company, the power and water body that will collect them.
It will add thousands of dirhams a year to household costs for some families, but will be felt by anyone who rents. Yet it may also add to the downward pressure on rents being felt by landlords, potentially offsetting the increase.
Drinkers will also face a squeeze with a new 30 per cent tax on alcohol in Abu Dhabi from June 15, along with a Dh230 fee for an alcohol licence – previously free.
That rate of taxation is still significantly lower as a percentage than other “sin taxes” like the 50 per cent imposed on sugary drinks last year and the 100 per cent on tobacco.
It will be off-set to an extent by a lowering of the taxes for hotels and hotel restaurants in both Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
While new fees and taxes might grab the headlines, they are relatively minor compared with the fundamental changes proposed in the way both Abu Dhabi and Dubai do business.
Most significant is a Dh50 billion stimulus package for Abu Dhabi announced by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, last week.
The 10-point proposal comes with instructions that the Executive Council of Abu Dhabi has 90 days show how it will be implemented.
Among the headlines are a new licence that will allow people to work from home without renting office space, and an expansion of the free zone network that means companies based there will now be able to bid for Government contracts.
The business-friendly tone of the plan continues with an investigation into the regulations faced by both private and public developers, with a view to streamlining them, and to cut down the often lengthy time it currently takes Government bodies to pay up for work by contractors.
Collaborations between the private and public sectors are to be made a priority, along with support for new tourism projects and developing local industries.
Sheikh Mohammed has made it clear that he wants the measures to create 10,000 new jobs for Emiratis within three years.
In a separate announcement, he also revealed plans for a new sweeping social support programme for Emiratis, with financial support where needed and an expansion of home loans with repayments tied to income.
The suburbs of Abu Dhabi, including Khalifa City, Mohammed bin Zayed City and Madinat Zayed were also given Dh3 bn to improve services for both citizens and residents.
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Read more:
Abu Dhabi's Dh50bn stimulus will boost economic growth, property market
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed announces new social support programme
ADDC website reveals new rates for municipality fees in Abu Dhabi - more than doubling in some cases
Abu Dhabi to cut tourism and municipality fees at hotels and restaurants
Dubai hoteliers boosted by reduction in municipality fees
Abu Dhabi to introduce 30 per cent alcohol sales tax
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Building a sustainable and diversified economy also requires create revenue streams for Government services that do not depend on oil and gas income.
Despite the new charges for housing and alcohol, not everything is becoming more expensive. First Dubai and then Abu Dhabi announced that the taxes on hotel stays, including restaurants, would be reduced.
In Dubai, the current 10 per cent municipality fee will be cut to seven per cent, with the aim of boosting tourism, although the date for the new lower charges has yet to be announced.
For hotels in Abu Dhabi, the six per cent tourism fee will be lowered to 3.5 per cent for hotels and outlets, the municipality fee from four to two per cent and the room per night charge cut from Dh15 to Dh10.
Again, the intention is to stimulate tourism, and again, no date has been given for the lower charges.
Dubai has also said it will scrap 19 fees relating to aviation, freeze private school fees for the next academic year and put a hold on fines for the late registration of properties for 60 days.
The aim is boost economic growth and attract investors.
Rising education costs have also been a concern for many families, as companies also cut the allowance they give for children at private schools.
Abu Dhabi this week launched a new model of affordable private schools in collaboration with the public sector and with significantly lower annual fees.
The new schools will be the first time the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge has moved into the private sector, with annual fees at the new schools ranging from Dh20,000 to Dh30,000.
To understand what the changes mean, a longer view is needed. An expanding economy, stimulated by reforms, creates more, and better paid jobs, with a higher disposable income. And that means, in the end, everyone is better off.
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%3Cp%3E1984%20-%20Apple%20unveiled%20the%20Macintosh%20on%20January%2024%3Cbr%3E1985%20-%20Steve%20Jobs%20departed%20from%20Apple%20and%20established%20NeXT%3Cbr%3E1986%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20the%20Macintosh%20Plus%2C%20featuring%20enhanced%20memory%3Cbr%3E1987%20-%20Apple%20launched%20the%20Macintosh%20II%2C%20equipped%20with%20colour%20capabilities%3Cbr%3E1989%20-%20The%20widely%20acclaimed%20Macintosh%20SE%2F30%20made%20its%20debut%3Cbr%3E1994%20-%20Apple%20presented%20the%20Power%20Macintosh%3Cbr%3E1996%20-%20The%20Macintosh%20System%20Software%20OS%20underwent%20a%20rebranding%20as%20Mac%20OS%3Cbr%3E2001%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20Mac%20OS%20X%2C%20marrying%20Unix%20stability%20with%20a%20user-friendly%20interface%3Cbr%3E2006%20-%20Apple%20adopted%20Intel%20processors%20in%20MacBook%20Pro%20laptops%3Cbr%3E2008%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20the%20MacBook%20Air%2C%20a%20lightweight%20laptop%3Cbr%3E2012%20-%20Apple%20launched%20the%20MacBook%20Pro%20with%20a%20retina%20display%3Cbr%3E2016%20-%20The%20Mac%20operating%20system%20underwent%20rebranding%20as%20macOS%3Cbr%3E2020%20-%20Apple%20introduced%20the%20M1%20chip%20for%20Macs%2C%20combining%20high%20performance%20and%20energy%20efficiency%3Cbr%3E2022%20-%20The%20M2%20chip%20was%20announced%3Cbr%3E2023%20-The%20M3%20line-up%20of%20chip%20was%20announced%20to%20improve%20performance%20and%20add%20new%20capabilities%20for%20Mac.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
ZAYED SUSTAINABILITY PRIZE
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 2 (Van Dijk 18', 24')
Brighton 1 (Dunk 79')
Red card: Alisson (Liverpool)
'The Sky is Everywhere'
Director:Josephine Decker
Stars:Grace Kaufman, Pico Alexander, Jacques Colimon
Rating:2/5
How do Sim card scams work?
Sim swap frauds are a form of identity theft.
They involve criminals conning mobile phone operators into issuing them with replacement Sim cards by claiming to be the victim, often pretending their phone has been lost or stolen in order to secure a new Sim.
They use the victim's personal details - obtained through criminal methods - to convince such companies of their identity.
The criminal can then access any online service that requires security codes to be sent to a user's mobile phone, such as banking services.
THE BIG MATCH
Arsenal v Manchester City,
Sunday, Emirates Stadium, 6.30pm
What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver, which can lead to fibrosis (scarring), cirrhosis or liver cancer.
There are 5 main hepatitis viruses, referred to as types A, B, C, D and E.
Hepatitis C is mostly transmitted through exposure to infective blood. This can occur through blood transfusions, contaminated injections during medical procedures, and through injecting drugs. Sexual transmission is also possible, but is much less common.
People infected with hepatitis C experience few or no symptoms, meaning they can live with the virus for years without being diagnosed. This delay in treatment can increase the risk of significant liver damage.
There are an estimated 170 million carriers of Hepatitis C around the world.
The virus causes approximately 399,000 fatalities each year worldwide, according to WHO.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
RACE CARD
6.30pm: Baniyas Group 2 (PA) Dh 97,500 (Dirt) 1,400m.
7.05pm Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,200m
7.40pm Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,400m
8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,400m
8.50pm Rated Conditions (TB) Dh 120,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm Handicap (TB) Dh 95,000 (D) 1,200m
10pm Handicap (TB) Dh 85,000 (D) 2,000m
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Result
Arsenal 4
Monreal (51'), Ramsey (82'), Lacazette 85', 89')
West Ham United 1
Arnautovic (64')
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
PRO BASH
Thursday’s fixtures
6pm: Hyderabad Nawabs v Pakhtoon Warriors
10pm: Lahore Sikandars v Pakhtoon Blasters
Teams
Chennai Knights, Lahore Sikandars, Pakhtoon Blasters, Abu Dhabi Stars, Abu Dhabi Dragons, Pakhtoon Warriors and Hyderabad Nawabs.
Squad rules
All teams consist of 15-player squads that include those contracted in the diamond (3), platinum (2) and gold (2) categories, plus eight free to sign team members.
Tournament rules
The matches are of 25 over-a-side with an 8-over power play in which only two fielders allowed outside the 30-yard circle. Teams play in a single round robin league followed by the semi-finals and final. The league toppers will feature in the semi-final eliminator.
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Bombshell
Director: Jay Roach
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie
Four out of five stars