The fairways at Emirates Golf Club were graced by some big names on Wednesday - and that was discounting the actual golfers taking part in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic this week.
Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy was joined for the pro-am by pop star Niall Horan - he of One Direction fame, plus American social media star Paige Spiranac, who made her her professional golfing debut at the 2015 Omega Dubai Ladies Masters.
Horan is a decent golfer, playing off a single figure handicap which has no doubt been aided by some tips from close friend McIlroy, who finished third in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship just a few days ago. Horan previously caddied for McIlroy at the Par-3 Contest at the Augusta National in 2015.
The singer posed for pictures with fans and was in good spirits under the Dubai sunshine.
Spiranac meanwhile will be the official starter for the Omega Dubai Desert Classic tournament which starts on Thursday - the first woman to take on the role.
The 24-year-old has 1.2 million followers on Instagram and she spoke to The National about cyber-bullying and helping to grow interest in golf. The full story can be read here.
Daily tickets for the four days of competition are priced at Dh175. A season pass, which provides access all week, is available for Dh500. Those aged 16 and under will be allowed free entry to the course if an adult who is holding a valid ticket for the day accompanies them.
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Read more:
Omega Dubai Desert Classic: All you need to know ahead of the 2018 tournament
American golfer Paige Spiranac: 'I was more naive when I first spoke out against cyber-bullying'
Omega Dubai Desert Classic 2018: Groups and tee times (UAE) - Round 1
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U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
- Saturday 15 January: UAE beat Canada by 49 runs
- Thursday 20 January: v England
- Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad:
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles
Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly,
Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya
Shetty, Kai Smith
Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
