Dubai-SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet service is now commercially and personally available in the United Arab Emirates, after being given a license from the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) to operate there for 10 years.

Starlink is intended to provide affordable, high-speed, low-latency broadband using satellites in a low-Earth orbit network that increases network robustness for both stationary and mobile use.

Starlink plans and prices in the UAE:

• Residential Lite at Dh230/mo ($63) would be best for low-bandwidth usage
• Residential Standard at Dh300/mo ($81) will offer unlimited high-speed data usage for a fixed home internet setup
• Roaming at Dh190/mo ($51) would allow for travel internet (100 GB cap)
• Roaming unlimited at Dh370/mo ($100) will allow for no cap on portable internet for R. Vs, deserts or boats
• Starlink Standard Hardware Kit-a one time usage fee-is Dh1,465 ($398) includes the antenna and WiFi6 router.
• A Waitlist Deposit in the higher bandwidth areas is Dh285.71 ($78) and will go toward the final purchase cost of the kit in a capacity-constrained area.

Usage availability in the UAE-waitlist:

Starlink service is available all throughout the United Arab Emirates but local capacity would determine activation and the options available to consumers.

• Operational capacity has already been reached in areas such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi and so on where most densely populated urban sectors currently have long wait times for new applicants.
• Desert regions, the maritime industries, the aviation sector, rural areas with insufficient wired or terrestrial broadband options-are the only spots without restriction and full operation at the moment-offering truly unlimited access without any limits on the usage amount.
• Any purchased hardware that doesn’t go through the approved channels from international online vendors may not work or may refuse service in the UAE.

Order and activate Starlink in the UAE: To begin order, just verify your address in the official Starlink UAE portal to establish which sectors currently have existing open capacity, next select which tier is best suited to your needs for this service, pay one of the requested costs for immediate deployment or a deposit if you wish to waitlist for service availability.

Ship and complete installation of the kit, setting it up and connecting to the network using the Starlink app.

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) in Kuwait has announced that government offices will return to their regular morning and evening working hours from Tuesday, 1 September 2026, following the end of the summer working-hours schedule.

The commission said the resumption of normal working hours would be carried out in line with regulations governing official working hours in government institutions.

The decision follows Circular No. 11 of 2026, which set out working hours for government agencies during the summer season.

The circular was issued in implementation of the Civil Service Council’s decision adopted at its eighth meeting of 2026, held on 14 May.

Under Clause 7 of the decision, the summer working-hours system was in effect from 1 June to 31 August.

With the summer schedule ending, government agencies will revert to the established morning and evening working-hours system starting September 1.

Thomas Erikson’s Surrounded by Idiots is a fascinating book about human behaviour, communication and personality differences. Its provocative title catches our attention, but its central message is more meaningful: people are not necessarily difficult or foolish; they may simply think, communicate and react differently from us.

Erikson presents a simple model of four behavioural types, represented by four colours: Red, Yellow, Green and Blue. Red personalities tend to be decisive, ambitious and direct. Yellow personalities are enthusiastic, social and optimistic. Green personalities value harmony, patience and stability, while Blue personalities are analytical, careful and detail-oriented.

The value of this classification is not in putting people into rigid boxes, but in helping us understand why communication sometimes fails. A manager may consider an employee slow when the employee is simply being careful. A quiet person may be labelled uninterested when they are actually thoughtful. Similarly, an outspoken person may appear arrogant when they are simply direct by nature.

This idea is particularly relevant in our schools, workplaces and families. As an educationist, I believe many conflicts arise because we expect others to communicate and behave as we do. A teacher may misunderstand a student’s silence, a parent may misinterpret a child’s behaviour, and colleagues may have unnecessary conflicts because they fail to understand each other’s personalities.

The book encourages us to develop empathy rather than judgment. Understanding personality differences can make us better teachers, parents, colleagues and leaders. Instead of asking, “Why is this person so difficult?” we should sometimes ask, “Why does this person see the world differently from me?”

Perhaps the greatest lesson of Surrounded by Idiots is that the problem may not always be the people around us. Sometimes, it is our inability to understand them.

Before calling someone an idiot, should we first ask ourselves whether we have genuinely tried to understand the person standing in front of us?

MUHAMMAD AHMAD MUZAKKI,

Wah Cantt.

The Chief Minister of Sindh, Syed Murad Ali Shah, has said any decision on the province’s status or territorial integrity rests solely with the Sindh Assembly, rejecting calls for its division.

Addressing the provincial assembly on Monday, Murad Ali Shah said the House had repeatedly opposed the division of Sindh through resolutions passed in 1948, 2000, 2014, 2019 and 2026.

‘The decision regarding Sindh’s division will not be made by businessmen in Lahore, courts, public gatherings, television seminars, or any other forum. It is the elected representatives in the Sindh Assembly who will debate and decide the matter,” he said.

Murad Ali Shah noted that his government had allowed a broader debate on the issue by bringing an adjournment motion, which under parliamentary rules takes precedence over ordinary business and allows the House to suspend routine proceedings to discuss an issue of public importance.

“The outcome of this debate is already clear-Sindh will never be divided,” he said.

He said the motion required the support of at least 34 members and that the opposition was free to bring one if it wanted to debate the division of the province.

However, he remarked that the opposition lacked the courage to table a resolution supporting the division of Sindh.

CM Sindh said the Assembly should hear arguments from both sides and take the debate to its conclusion.

He invoked constitutional principles to argue that state authority is exercised through elected representatives, saying the provincial legislature was the institution empowered to represent the will of the people of Sindh.

“The elected representatives of Sindh will decide Sindh’s future,” he said.

He also highlighted Sindh’s historical role in the creation of Pakistan, noting that the Pakistan Resolution had been endorsed by the province’s representative institution.

The Chief Minister said the Pakistan Peoples Party would continue to defend the unity and integrity of Sindh. “As long as PPP members are present in this House, Sindh will remain a united province,” he declared.

He added that calls for the division of Sindh would be answered by the provincial assembly and that, if necessary, the House could pass another resolution rejecting any such proposal.

He recalled that a resolution against the division of Sindh had already been adopted in February this year, while members holding opposing views had also been given the opportunity to express their stance on the Assembly floor.

Concluding his remarks, the Chief Minister said the debate could continue for as long as required to ensure a thorough discussion, but reiterated that the final outcome would remain unchanged.

“Sindh will remain one province, united and indivisible,” he asserted.

Iran’s currency has hit historic lows against the US dollar, with the free-market rate surpassing 2 million rials per dollar and later trading around 2.1 million.

According to The Business Standard report, Iranian rial has fallen to a historic low, with the US dollar trading above 2 million Iranian rials on the free market, as the country grapples with the combined impact of long-running sanctions, war-related disruption and accelerating inflation.

The report notes that the rial’s collapse has sharply cut household purchasing power, with food, medicines and other necessities rising dramatically since the conflict began.

Insulin prices jumped 642%, cooking oil 177%, chicken 74% and tomatoes 71%; even subsidised baby formula rose 95%.

Families report weekly grocery costs up 20-30%, while minimum wages (around 166-220 million rials, or roughly $82-$108) lag far behind. Iran International (31 August 2026) reported the dollar trading around a historic 2.1 million rials on Monday. Iranians pushed back against a senior official questioning cheap gasoline subsidies, contrasting them with low wages and soaring costs: an average monthly income of 200-250 million rials equals just $95-$119 at that rate. One commenter wrote, “You can’t have income in rials and expenses in dollars.”

Food inflation exceeded 128% year-on-year in some measures, while pensioners and workers described cutting meat, fruit and other basics.

Officials attributed part of the crisis to budget deficits and money printing.

According an Iran International report, this sharp depreciation of the Iranian rial (IRR) versus the US dollar reflects years of sanctions, recent conflict disruption, high inflation and reduced purchasing power for ordinary Iranians. Basic goods once affordable for millions of rials now require far more, squeezing households and businesses alike.

IRR to PKR

As of 31 August 2026, mid-market rates show roughly 1 Iranian rial equalling about 0.000203 Pakistani rupees, or equivalently around 4,930 Iranian rials per 1 Pakistani rupee.

This means large quantities of rials are needed to equal even modest amounts of PKR; for example, 1 million IRR converts to roughly 203 PKR, while 100,000 IRR is only about 20 PKR. The extreme weakness of the rial relative to the Pakistani rupee mirrors its collapse against the dollar. With the free-market USD/IRR rate near 2.1 million and USD/PKR around 277-278, cross rates confirm the rial’s low value.

The IRR has lost nearly 97% of its value against the PKR over the past year in some tracked data, driven by the same pressures of sanctions, inflation and economic disruption affecting its dollar rate.