Speed reductions in place in Abu Dhabi as dense fog blankets UAE

A safety warning has been issued to motorists in the UAE as parts of Abu Dhabi and Dubai were blanketed by dense fog on Tuesday morning.

The speed limits on several roads in Abu Dhabi have been reinstated after being reduced to 80kph temporarily due to worsening visibility.

In a series of social media alerts, the Abu Dhabi Police urged drivers to follow changing speed limits displayed on electronic information boards.

The National Centre of Meteorology issued its most severe red and yellow alert for fog across many parts of the country, cautioning that visibility had dropped below 1,000m.

The fog is expected to clear by 9.30am.

A red alert warns people to be extremely vigilant because “hazardous weather events of exceptional severity are forecast”, while an yellow alert means people should take care during outdoor activities.

Fines for breaking 80kph speed limit during fog?

Motorists who break the 80kph speed limit face fines.

Abu Dhabi Police stress that during bad weather motorists should follow the speed limit posted on electronic road signs.

This supersedes any fixed speed limit signs.

Drivers should abide by the revised speed limit until electronic signboards indicate it has been lifted.

Police also typically post on social media to confirm that temporary speed limits have been removed.

Financial penalties depend on how much a driver goes over the temporary limit.

Police impose fines of Dh300 ($81.6) for drivers who exceed speed limits by up to 10kph.

This fine is doubled for those breaking the speed limit by no more than 20kph.

Financial penalties steadily increase in line with the severity of the breach of traffic regulations.

Drivers caught exceeding the speed limit by more than 80kph will be hit with a Dh3,000 fine and have their vehicle seized for 60 days.

The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

What is a robo-adviser?

Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.

These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.

Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.

Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.

Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.

- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law

Cinco in numbers

Dh3.7 million

The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown

46

The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.

1,000

The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]

50

How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday

3,000

The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.

1.1 million

The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.

Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

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UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

Unresolved crisis

Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly president was ousted, Moscow annexed Crimea and then backed a separatist insurgency in the east.

Fighting between the Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces has killed more than 14,000 people. In 2015, France and Germany helped broker a peace deal, known as the Minsk agreements, that ended large-scale hostilities but failed to bring a political settlement of the conflict.

The Kremlin has repeatedly accused Kiev of sabotaging the deal, and Ukrainian officials in recent weeks said that implementing it in full would hurt Ukraine.

THREE

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