Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, has issued a law that makes Drydocks World, a DP World company, an affiliate of the Dubai Ports Authority.
“The law stipulates that, as of its effective date, all responsibilities and duties of Drydocks World-Dubai … will be transferred to the Dubai Ports Authority,” the emirate's media office said on Thursday.
“This transfer will include all employees of Drydocks World-Dubai, without affecting their acquired rights, as well as all assets and funds.
“Subsequently, the Dubai Ports Authority will assume all duties and liabilities of Drydocks World-Dubai.”
The law specifies the responsibilities of the Dubai Ports Authority, which include creating strategic plans and policies to oversee ports and terminals in the emirate, regulating their operations and developing and managing port infrastructure.
Under the law, the regulator will also have the task of identifying and regulating businesses, activities and professions authorised to operate in ports and terminals, among other duties.
The law also defines the organisational structure of the Dubai Ports Authority, including the roles and responsibilities of the chairman, the executive team and the mechanism for appointing the chief executive.
“The law seeks to advance the Dubai Ports Authority’s position as a leading global model in port operation, management and terminal handling,” the Dubai Media Office said.
“It aims to offer efficient operational services while regulating and developing the port sector in Dubai in accordance with strategic plans and policies.
“Additionally, the law strives to strengthen Dubai’s status as an international hub for maritime trade, facilitating the import, export and re-export of goods through the emirate’s ports.”
The law will come into effect on the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.
The maritime sector is a key pillar of Dubai's economy, which relies heavily on tourism and global trade.
Dubai Chambers recorded 20 per cent growth in its membership last year, while exports and re-exports by member companies rose to Dh272.7 billion ($74.25 billion).
The emirate's economy, which made a strong rebound from the coronavirus-driven slowdown in 2021, maintained its growth momentum last year on the back of Expo 2020 Dubai and government measures to minimise the impact of Covid-19 on businesses.
Dubai’s economy expanded by 4.6 per cent on an annual basis in the first nine months of last year to about Dh307.5 billion, driven by efforts to solidify its position as a business, financial and tourism centre, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, said in December.
DP World, which operates Dubai's Jebel Ali port, reported a 2.4 per cent increase in gross container volumes for the fourth quarter of last year, positioning the company for “improved” full-year financial results, it said last month.
The company handled 19.5 million twenty-foot equivalent units across its global portfolio of terminals in the three-month period to the end of December.
DP World's fourth-quarter gross volume growth was mainly driven by Asia Pacific and India, though overall growth rates for the period moderated as expected due to “challenging” global economic conditions, it said.
Turkish Ladies
Various artists, Sony Music Turkey
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Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
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2019 ASIA CUP POTS
Pot 1
UAE, Iran, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia
Pot 2
China, Syria, Uzbekistan, Iraq, Qatar, Thailand
Pot 3
Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Palestine, Oman, India, Vietnam
Pot 4
North Korea, Philippines, Bahrain, Jordan, Yemen, Turkmenistan
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Day 5, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day When Dilruwan Perera dismissed Yasir Shah to end Pakistan’s limp resistance, the Sri Lankans charged around the field with the fevered delirium of a side not used to winning. Trouble was, they had not. The delivery was deemed a no ball. Sri Lanka had a nervy wait, but it was merely a stay of execution for the beleaguered hosts.
Stat of the day – 5 Pakistan have lost all 10 wickets on the fifth day of a Test five times since the start of 2016. It is an alarming departure for a side who had apparently erased regular collapses from their resume. “The only thing I can say, it’s not a mitigating excuse at all, but that’s a young batting line up, obviously trying to find their way,” said Mickey Arthur, Pakistan’s coach.
The verdict Test matches in the UAE are known for speeding up on the last two days, but this was extreme. The first two innings of this Test took 11 sessions to complete. The remaining two were done in less than four. The nature of Pakistan’s capitulation at the end showed just how difficult the transition is going to be in the post Misbah-ul-Haq era.
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Director: Jafar Panahi
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LAST-16 EUROPA LEAGUE FIXTURES
Wednesday (Kick-offs UAE)
FC Copenhagen (0) v Istanbul Basaksehir (1) 8.55pm
Shakhtar Donetsk (2) v Wolfsburg (1) 8.55pm
Inter Milan v Getafe (one leg only) 11pm
Manchester United (5) v LASK (0) 11pm
Thursday
Bayer Leverkusen (3) v Rangers (1) 8.55pm
Sevilla v Roma (one leg only) 8.55pm
FC Basel (3) v Eintracht Frankfurt (0) 11pm
Wolves (1) Olympiakos (1) 11pm
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SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.
A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors.
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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