Gandhi family has no genetic lock on leadership
Is the Gandhi dynasty finally coming to an end? Your comment article The Gandhi brand loses its lustre in India's new politics (January 23) presents Rahul Gandhi as a young man who has few political gifts, being offered to the voters by cynical party bosses.
Leadership qualities, not to mention moral clarity and nobility of spirit, are not genetic and not automatically passed from one generation to the next. Mr Gandhi may be a fine person, but the voters in India are about ready to move beyond automatic support for anyone with that last name.
VJ Mehta, Dubai
Ask consumers about mortgages
Referring to UAE banks stick with Central Bank's old loan limits (January 23), I agree that the Government is responsible, through the Central Bank or other authority, for the policies and parameters guiding the mortgage and real estate markets.
But the Central Bank should find a way to consult consumers' representatives, as the banks are going to see and recommend only policies and parameters that are in their own interests.
It is impossible to make everyone happy, but at least broad consultation and consideration could result in compromise positions that reasonable people can accept.
Elan Fabbri, Dubai
It is surely a great relief to many people that the new mortgage rules are not yet in effect (Banks stick with old loan limits, January 23).
But many people, including my brother, have had a bad few weeks as they tried to refinance their homes during this uncertainty.
Regulatory agencies have a duty to be clear and to refrain from surprises which can upset markets and discourage transactions. I hope there will be no more such misunderstandings in future.
Mohammed Rasheed, Abu Dhabi
More packaging than we need
Your editorial Pitch in at every level of recycling (January 23) made sense.
It's not just supermarkets at fault. I recently went to buy a burger from a well-known chain, and was shocked at the amount of packaging.
The burger was wrapped in paper, then put inside a cardboard box that for some reason was then inserted into another cardboard box. Then the whole thing was put into a plastic bag.
In many other countries, the paper wrapping suffices, and it should be that way here, too.
Tim Mawson, Abu Dhabi
History will blame us all for Syria
We have become callous to the great suffering of Syria. History will be unkind to us for this.
Forget, Russia and China, we all need to act now in Syria. And we are already far too late.
G Kafantaris, US
Radical elements are true winners in Syria's stalemate (January 22) makes some good points.
The great fear is that Syria will descend into such an abyss that the minimal conditions for resisting extremism (simple welfare, peace, a chance for education and jobs) won't even exist.
Even before the Arab Spring, Syria was a poor country. The economic toll of the war must be astronomical. The more this war goes on, the further Syrians will be from a functioning civil society.
Name withheld by request
Taliban no judge of mental health
It is hilarious for the Taliban, with their own limited touch with reality, to say that someone else has mental problems (Prince Harry has 'a mental problem' for comparing killing with video games, Taliban says (January 23).
Frank Burkhardt, USA
Why recycle if it all becomes trash?
Unlike our neighbours in Al Bateen, we recycle, keeping our green bin in the garage to prevent others filling it with unsorted rubbish.
However, I don't know if it really matters since I have watched both green and black bins being emptied into the same rubbish lorry (Abu Dhabi residents not sure which bin is for recycling, January 20).
The same thing has been witnessed by several of our friends.
If you are going to educate the residents about recycling and sorting rubbish, perhaps you need to start with educating the collectors.
J Wilson, Abu Dhabi
Bloodshed was unpardonable
Victims executed in cold blood (January 22) brings out the brutal inhumanity of Mali's militants.
This was in no way an act of religion or faith. How can these militants roar in the name of Islam?
Jafar Nizami, Abu Dhabi
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
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OPINIONS ON PALESTINE & ISRAEL
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
How to increase your savings
- Have a plan for your savings.
- Decide on your emergency fund target and once that's achieved, assign your savings to another financial goal such as saving for a house or investing for retirement.
- Decide on a financial goal that is important to you and put your savings to work for you.
- It's important to have a purpose for your savings as it helps to keep you motivated to continue while also reducing the temptation to spend your savings.
- Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
'Of Love & War'
Lynsey Addario, Penguin Press
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
Zidane's managerial achievements
La Liga: 2016/17
Spanish Super Cup: 2017
Uefa Champions League: 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18
Uefa Super Cup: 2016, 2017
Fifa Club World Cup: 2016, 2017
Western Region Asia Cup Qualifier
Results
UAE beat Saudi Arabia by 12 runs
Kuwait beat Iran by eight wickets
Oman beat Maldives by 10 wickets
Bahrain beat Qatar by six wickets
Semi-finals
UAE v Qatar
Bahrain v Kuwait
Top financial tips for graduates
Araminta Robertson, of the Financially Mint blog, shares her financial advice for university leavers:
1. Build digital or technical skills: After graduation, people can find it extremely hard to find jobs. From programming to digital marketing, your early twenties are for building skills. Future employers will want people with tech skills.
2. Side hustle: At 16, I lived in a village and started teaching online, as well as doing work as a virtual assistant and marketer. There are six skills you can use online: translation; teaching; programming; digital marketing; design and writing. If you master two, you’ll always be able to make money.
3. Networking: Knowing how to make connections is extremely useful. Use LinkedIn to find people who have the job you want, connect and ask to meet for coffee. Ask how they did it and if they know anyone who can help you. I secured quite a few clients this way.
4. Pay yourself first: The minute you receive any income, put about 15 per cent aside into a savings account you won’t touch, to go towards your emergency fund or to start investing. I do 20 per cent. It helped me start saving immediately.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
if you go
The flights
Emirates offer flights to Buenos Aires from Dubai, via Rio De Janeiro from around Dh6,300. emirates.com
Seeing the games
Tangol sell experiences across South America and generally have good access to tickets for most of the big teams in Buenos Aires: Boca Juniors, River Plate, and Independiente. Prices from Dh550 and include pick up and drop off from your hotel in the city. tangol.com
Staying there
Tangol will pick up tourists from any hotel in Buenos Aires, but after the intensity of the game, the Faena makes for tranquil, upmarket accommodation. Doubles from Dh1,110. faena.com
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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