Tag: United Arab Emirates

  • PM Khan calls back Sheikh Rasheed to deal with security situation in the country

    PM Khan calls back Sheikh Rasheed to deal with security situation in the country

    Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed returned to Pakistan Saturday morning after he was called back by Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan to deal with the ongoing security situation in the country.

    The minister had gone to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to watch the Pakistan-India T20 World Cup match to be held on Sunday. Rasheed had said that PM Khan had approved his request for a two-day holiday to watch the game live in the UAE.

    However, the premier urged the interior minister to return to the country to tackle the law and order situation in Pakistan. The minister arrived in Islamabad via the Airblue flight PA-213 from Sharjah today.

  • VIDEO: Emirates ‘flight attendant’ on top of Burj Khalifa to celebrate UK travel rules change

    VIDEO: Emirates ‘flight attendant’ on top of Burj Khalifa to celebrate UK travel rules change

    Emirates shared a 32-second clip of a woman in their airline cabin crew uniform standing on top of the Burj Khalifa to celebrate the removal of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from the UK’s Red List.

    In the video, the woman can be seen holding boards that read: “Moving the UAE to the UK Amber List has made us feel on top of the world.” The camera then pans out to reveal that the crew member is at the tip of the tallest building in the world, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, which stands at 830 meters.

    The brave ‘flight attendant’ was played by skydiver and stuntwoman Nicole Smith-Ludvik. She expressed her gratitude on Instagram, “This is, without a doubt, one of the most amazing and exciting stunts I’ve ever done. A big shoutout to Emirates Airlines for your creative marketing idea! It was a pleasure being a part of the team.”

    The shoot was carried out with the help of a helicopter and drones.

    Nicole was required to stand on the top for hours and the stunt required a vast amount of planning and safety measures to go ahead, as per sources.

    Last week, the British government announced that the UAE and Bahrain will be removed from the UK’s travel Red List. The airline will soon resume its services in the United Kingdom.

    Unvaccinated passengers arriving from Amber List countries need to isolate for 10 days upon their arrival but can be released after five days with a negative test result. However, those who have been fully vaccinated do not have to self-isolate but must provide a negative Covid-19 test within two days of arrival.

  • Meet Nora Al-Matrooshi, first Arab woman astronaut in training

    Meet Nora Al-Matrooshi, first Arab woman astronaut in training

    The UAE’s Nora al-Matrooshi is the first Arab woman to start training to be an astronaut, one of two Emiratis picked from thousands of applicants as the Gulf nation looks to the stars.

    According to details, the 28-year-old mechanical engineer from Sharjah has dreamt about space since she was a little girl, learning about planets and stars at school.

    She hoped since childhood to go into space one day. Her sailor ancestors explored the oceans that encouraged her to explore space one day.

    “My mum’s side of the family are sailors. I’d say they explored the ocean. The term ‘astronaut’ means ‘star sailor’ in Greek,” said the softly-spoken Matrooshi.

    Matrooshi and her 33-year-old fellow countryman, Mohammad al-Mulla will later this year go to the United States for the training at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.

    They now join Sultan al-Neyadi and Hazza al-Mansoori in the Emirati fellowship of astronauts.

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    The two Emiratis are currently training in-house in the emirate of Dubai, from learning to speak Russian to flying lessons.

    The UAE is a newcomer to the world of space exploration but is rapidly making its mark.

    In September 2019, the oil-rich country sent the first Emirati into space as part of a three-member crew that blasted off on a Soyuz rocket from Kazakhstan for an eight-day mission.

    Then in February, its “Hope” probe successfully entered Mars’ orbit on a journey to reveal the secrets of Martian weather, making history as the Arab world’s first interplanetary mission.

    More recently in September 2020, Abu Dhabi said it planned to launch an unmanned rover to the moon by 2024 which would be the first trip to Earth’s satellite by an Arab country.

    “If I can do it, then you can do it. If no one has done it before you, then just go ahead and be the first,” said Matrooshi.

    “If you’re really passionate about what you’re doing, then you should just work hard for it and look for opportunities.”

  • ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 to be held in UAE, Oman

    ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 to be held in UAE, Oman

    ICC has officially announced that Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 is to be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman.

    The cricket governing body announced the news on their social media accounts.

    Earlier, it was reported that the T20 WC 2021 is set to begin from October 17 in the UAE, with the final for the 16-team tournament scheduled for November 14. The tournament will start days after the Indian Premier League (IPL) final, which is likely to be held on October 15.

    As per details, the venue for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 has been shifted to the UAE and Oman, with the tournament set to run from October 17 to November 14.

    The tournament was originally set to be staged in India, but had to be shifted given the deadly second wave of Covid-19 there.

    The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will remain the hosts of the event, which will now be held across four venues – Dubai International Stadium, the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi, the Sharjah Stadium, and the Oman Cricket Academy Ground.

    The first round of the tournament, comprising eight qualifying teams, will now be split between Oman and the UAE. Four of these teams will then progress to the Super 12s round where they will join the eight automatic qualifiers.

    “The BCCI is looking forward to hosting the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 tournament in UAE and Oman,” said Saurav Ganguli in the official statement.

    The upcoming edition will be the first Men’s T20 World Cup played since 2016, when the West Indies beat England in the final in India.

    The eight teams competing in the preliminary stage are Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Ireland, Netherlands, Scotland, Namibia, Oman and Papua New Guinea, before the play-off stage and the Final on November 14.

  • Man fined for hurting woman’s feelings

    Man fined for hurting woman’s feelings

    The court in the United Arab Emirates has ordered a young man to pay a woman Dh20,000 (Rs 840560) in compensation for hurting her feelings via text messages.

    According to details, the young woman registered a lawsuit demanding the defendant pay her Dh100,000 as compensation for text messages he sent, in which he alleged her of having a relationship with many men and of sending him her pictures with an objective to seduce him.

    The complainant indicated that she got a message from the man’s phone alleging her of befriending men, pointing out that a criminal judgment had been issued against him which required a fine.

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    She accused the man of insulting her after the judgment and asked the court for compensation for all damages she suffered.

    The defendant demanded that the case be rejected, claiming the complainant was trying to get him charged because she wanted to negotiate the amount of Dh39,000 she owed him and that a verdict was issued relevant to this matter requesting the woman to return the amount to him.

    The court ruled that in the light of the evidence, the defendant had been convicted in the criminal case for insulting the plaintiff. It stated that the incident caused moral damage, hurting the petitioner’s feelings and her reputation and ordered the young man to pay her an amount of Dh20,000 in addition to legal fees and charges.

  • World’s only man-made, heart-shaped lake is a new romantic destination in Dubai

    World’s only man-made, heart-shaped lake is a new romantic destination in Dubai

    The world’s only man-made and heart-shaped ‘Love Lake’ in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has become a new tourist spot for lovebirds to spend some quality time away from the city’s chaos. The lake has been built in the middle of the Dubai desert and spreads over an area of ​​550,000 square metres.

    Considered a symbol of love at Al-Qudra Oasis, the two gigantic interconnected heart-shaped lakes has grabbed the attention of everyone around the world.

    The lake has been built away from the urban area and has many species of plants, more than 16,000 trees and hundreds of thousands of colourful flowers.

    The lake’s surroundings are also exceptional with the word “Love” attracting tourists from around the globe.

    A heart-shaped gate welcomes the tourists and there is also a place “Hadirah” for picnics and barbecue.

    Entry to the lake is free and it remains open 24 hours. It is also equipped with basic facilities such as clean water and washrooms.

  • UAE eatery launches world’s most expensive biryani with 23-karat gold

    UAE eatery launches world’s most expensive biryani with 23-karat gold

    An Indian origin restaurant in Dubai has launched the world’s most expensive biryani worth Rs 43,300.

    The world’s most expensive biryani, ‘The Royal Gold Biryani’ is a gold-garnished biryani with a 23-karat edible gold topping and is prepared by the restaurant Bombay Borough UAE.

    ‘The Royal Gold Biryani’ is made from three different types of rice including biryani rice, qeema rice, and white, saffron-infused rice. Its weight is about three kilograms.

    Adding to its unique flavor, it also has small potatoes, boiled eggs, mint leaves, roasted cashews, pomegranate seeds, and fried onions in it. 

    This is followed by a variety of grilled meats, such as skewered kebabs made from Kashmiri rams, spare ribs of lambs from old Delhi, Rajput chicken kebab, Mughlai koftay and malai [creamy] chicken roast.

    ‘The Royal Gold Biryani’ is served with a variety of sauces, curries and raita, as well as nihari, Jodhpuri curry, specialty almond sauce mixed with a raita made from pomegranate seeds and edible golden leaves.

    According to Bombay Borough, ‘The Royal Gold Biryani’ is priced at INR19,707, which is equivalent to about AED1,000 or PKR43,300. Not only that but it’s also served in a large gold plate and is available at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).

    Although open to pre-bookings, the cooks at the Bombay Borough UAE say ordering on the spot “will take up to 45 minutes for us to prepare, but we will make sure you have the meal of a lifetime”.

  • 3,184 people accept Islam in UAE during 2020

    3,184 people accept Islam in UAE during 2020

    The Mohammad bin Rashid Centre for Islamic Culture has recently revealed that 3,184 people converted to Islam this year. All the requests for conversion to Islam were received online during  the current COVID-19 pandemic.

    According to the details. Hind Mohammed Lootah, the Director of the center, said the institution would keep on delivering the right message about Islam and spread its lofty principles among people of different faiths and communities living in Dubai.

    The center is in contact with new converts to Islam and provides them with numerous services such as religious, social, cultural and educational.  The center receives online requests for conversion on its website www.iacad.gov.ae, or through the free-toll number 800600.

  • Meet this Pakistani caregiver of visually impaired, paralysed Indian friend

    Meet this Pakistani caregiver of visually impaired, paralysed Indian friend

    United Arab Emirates (UAE) based Pakistani Muhammad Asad has been playing the role of a caregiver to an Indian, namely Tomichan Puthuparambil Thomas, who is visually impaired and partially paralysed.

    According to Khaleej Times, Thomas has been in the UAE for the past eight years and the two have been roommates for almost four years now.

    After facing heavy losses in his small scale business and getting entangled in a civil case, Thomas, who is from Kerala, suffered two strokes that left him not only partially paralysed but visually impaired too.

    “I came to Dubai eight years ago, after working for thirty years in Saudi Arabia where I had some small businesses,” Thomas told the media outlet.

    “Initially, I took up a job in a company but since they were not paying salary on time, I started some business which also didn’t do well and since I was unable to pay the rent for my shop, I got entangled in some legal case and even went to jail for six months.”

    “This was the most stressful time for me and I suffered two strokes and was completely bed-ridden. I could not even go to the toilet on my own. And this is when Asad came to my rescue as my guardian angel,” he added.

    In the beginning, Thomas would not share his pain or problems with Asad but the latter started helping him with his bathroom trips besides offering him food.

    Asad addresses Thomas as “uncle”.

    “While others in the room would be busy chatting on phone or cracking jokes, I would notice uncle sitting silently on his bunk bed and crying at times. I tried asking him his issues but he wouldn’t open up so I started helping him with his daily chores,” Asad said.

    “Also, uncle somehow reminds me of my father, who passed away a few years back, and my heart ached to see him suffer. It is basic humanity to help people around you and my parents always taught me to help anyone and everyone.”

    Asad works as a crane operator and has night shifts. But he takes care of all the arrangements to make sure that Thomas is comfortable even in his absence.

  • New UAE law allows unmarried couple to live together

    New UAE law allows unmarried couple to live together

    The Government of United Arab Emirates (UAE) has announced an amendment to its personal and family laws in an attempt to improve living standards for the country’s multicultural residents.

    Under the new laws, men and women who are not married or related can now freely live together.

    Drinking alcohol will also no longer be an offence. Residents will no longer need an alcohol license to consume alcohol in a private or unauthorized space. However, individuals must still be over the age of 21 to purchase or consume alcohol.

    Additional changes to the law apply to couples undergoing a divorce, where the laws of the country where the marriage took place will be now used if the wedding wasn’t in the UAE.

    Punishments will be harder on men who harass women, including street harassment and stalking, with severe consequences for someone who commits an act of rape.

    Several other law changes related to the court system, inheritance, judicial procedure and mental health have been outlined, with more details expected to follow.