The UAE has opened three major new roads that cut travel times, improve traffic flow and enhance safety at a cost of Dh1.9 billion.
They include a road linking Mleiha in Sharjah with Al Shuwaib in Abu Dhabi and another connecting Hatta in Dubai with Masfout in Ajman and on to Ras Al Khaimah.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, announced the initiatives on Monday and toured the projects with Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs.
Planes from Al Forsan, the UAE Airforce’s aerobatic display team, soared overhead as they inspected the developments in Sheikh Mohammed's striking Mercedes G-wagen.
"Our mega projects aim to connect our cities and shorten distances across the country," said Sheikh Mohammed.
“[They also] aim to strengthen the country’s status as a global model for sustainable development and provide its people with a quality of life that rivals the world’s best."
Video posted to Sheikh Mohammed's social media showed the epic extent of the cross-emirate road networks that aim to cut journey times, improve safety and streamline the flow of vehicles on the road. Crews of workers can be seen adding lanes, and laying down new tarmac.
The first of the three is an extension of the E84 Sheikh Khalifa Road. It now runs from the intersection of the E84 with the E101 Sharjah to Kalba Road to the Mleiha area of Sharjah and ends at Abu Dhabi's Al Shuwaib. The 52-kilometre route has three lanes in each direction and is designed to handle speeds of up to 140km per hour.
The second is the E64 Al Watan Road, which connects Dubai's Hatta area to Masfout in Ajman before progressing to Wadi Al Qor in Ras Al Khaimah. It also connects to the first route in Mleiha. The 42km road will cut the distance between Al Madam roundabout in Sharjah and Hatta, while reducing travel time by half an hour.
And the third part of the project is the development of the Dubai to Hatta road. The 18km stretch around Sharjah's Al Madam now has three lanes in each direction rather than two. Several pedestrian bridges have also been built.
The projects were supervised by the Ministry of Presidential Affairs in co-operation with the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure and the Etihad Water and Electricity company.
Sheikh Mansour said infrastructure projects were key to "opening new horizons for economic growth and development" and were a high priority for the UAE leadership.
"The country aims to create infrastructure that is among the world’s best and our strategic projects are designed to further enhance the UAE’s high global ranking in economic, social and quality of life indicators," said Sheikh Mansour.
Abu Dhabi infrastructure projects
Meanwhile, Abu Dhabi's Department of Municipal Affairs (DMT) said it completed more than 150 infrastructure projects in 2020. despite the challenges brought by Covid-19.
In a report listing the DMT's achievements and published by the Abu Dhabi Media Office on Monday, it said the projects were undertaken across the emirate in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Dhafra.
They included tunnels, streets, bridges and designated car parks, and also included the construction, development and rehabilitation of parks, development of pedestrian paths and bicycle paths. The work also included landscaping and adding greenery to public areas.
The authority also issued 8,900 construction permits in 2020 – an increase of 13 per cent on the previous year, while the volume of property transactions increased to Dh74bn, compared with Dh58bn in 2019.
Popular mode of transport
The report said the number of passengers who used taxis reached 56 million through about 31 million trips made by 6,390 taxis. There were also 42 million rides on buses, while the DMT in 2020 provided Wifi in 520 of the buses.
The numbers of ferry users reached 106,069, an increase of 17 per cent on 2019. In addition, 367 berths were developed in the emirate at a cost of Dh100m.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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.
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The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
500 People from Gaza enter France
115 Special programme for artists
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UAE squad v Australia
Rohan Mustafa (C), Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Fahad Nawaz, Amjed Gul, Shaiman Anwar, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Muhammad Naveed, Amir Hayat, Ghulam Shabir (WK), Qadeer Ahmed, Tahir Latif, Zahoor Khan
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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
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:
Ajax 2-3 Tottenham
Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate
Final: June 1, Madrid
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
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Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
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BMW M5 specs
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Results
Stage 7:
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29
2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time
3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious
4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
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
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
