DXB’s traffic in the first 10 months of the year rose 1.5 per cent to 74.5 million Reem Mohammed/The National
DXB’s traffic in the first 10 months of the year rose 1.5 per cent to 74.5 million Reem Mohammed/The National

Dubai International records second-busiest month ever in July



Dubai International received 8.2 million passengers in July, its second-busiest month ever, thanks to an uptick in travellers from Eastern Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the operator Dubai Airports said.

DXB, as the airport is known, served 1.8 per cent more passengers in July compared with the same period a year earlier.

Year-to-date passenger traffic increased 1.6 per cent to 51.9 million during the first seven months of the year from the same period a year earlier.

Traffic from Eastern Europe was the fastest-growing in July, surging 24.4 per cent, followed by the CIS which registered a 18.34 per cent rise with Africa reporting a 9.7 per cent increase in travellers.

Dubai, the commercial and tourism hub of the Arabian Gulf that recorded a 6.2 per cent increase in the number of tourists to 15.8 million in 2017, aims to reach the 20 million visitors mark by 2020. The UAE, the second-biggest GCC economy, is implementing a number of measures to boost tourism, including plans to grant visit visas to transit passengers.

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India, Saudi Arabia and the UK maintained their top three spots in terms of Dubai's source markets for tourists. Indian visitors climbed to 1.03 million, while visitors from Saudi Arabia reached 583, 975 and the UK 581,557.

London, with 358,201 passengers, topped the list of the most popular destinations served from DXB by traffic volume in July, followed by Kuwait (221,696), Mumbai (209,205) and Riyadh (200,411).

Cargo volumes increased 4.8 per cent in the month to 223,488 tonnes from the same period a year earlier. Year-to-date cargo volumes fell 1.6 per cent to 1.49 million tonnes compared with the year earlier period.

Manchester City 4
Otamendi (52) Sterling (59) Stones (67) Brahim Diaz (81)

Real Madrid 1
Oscar (90)

In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

The rules on fostering in the UAE

A foster couple or family must:

  • be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
  • not be younger than 25 years old
  • not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
  • be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
  • have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
  • undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
  • A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction

Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.

Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.

Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.

Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.

Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.

What are the guidelines?

Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.

Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.

Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.

Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.

Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.

Source: American Paediatric Association
How does ToTok work?

The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store

To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.

The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.

Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.

 

NO OTHER LAND

Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal

Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

Rating: 3.5/5

What are NFTs?

Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.

You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”

However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.

This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”

This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.