A search is under way for three missing pet cats believed to have been taken mistakenly by pest controllers in Abu Dhabi.
Blacky, 10, Monty, 4, and Winnie, 3, were three strays taken in and homed by Jacqueline and David Appleby, who live in Khalifa City.
All three disappeared in October after a neighbour complained that the cats had left dusty paw prints on a recently washed car.
After two months of phone calls, emails and visits to rescue centres and pest controllers sub-contracted by Abu Dhabi Municipality, Mr and Mrs Appleby are close to giving up the search.
We have searched every night, even been to places we did not know existed in our search for the cats
David Appleby
“We have searched every night, even been to places we did not know existed in our search for the cats,” Mrs Appleby said.
"We have now started a private Facebook group, which is gaining traction, with the sole purpose of finding our boys.
“The neighbour had just moved into the property, but we only discovered the trap on October 26, out of view and adjacent to our compound wall.”
All three cats were microchipped, neutered and vaccinated.
Tadweer, the government department responsible for pest control, uses several contractors to deal with stray cats, who are usually taken in and taken to Falcon Hospital.
There they are checked for disease and, if healthy, are neutered and returned to the community where they were found.
Animal welfare volunteers said the missing pets in Khalifa City were not the only animals to be lost.
Dr Susan Aylott, an animal welfare volunteer in Abu Dhabi with the Animalia veterinary clinic, said pest controllers do not check cats' microchips before relocating them.
“We are hearing about a lot of pet cats and community cats going missing,” she said.
“We know Tadweer’s normal procedures are to take in cats and take them to Falcon Hospital.
“However, we are also aware of cats being trapped and relocated somewhere else once a complaint is made by the public.
“There are many cases we are looking into of pets going missing, even those who are microchipped, ear clipped and vaccinated.
“Authorities are responding to complaints, regardless of these animals being pets.
“These cats are paid for and well cared for, but are being treated as pests. It is not right and not in accordance with animal welfare laws.”
According to the Ministry of Climate Change and the Environment, cats are considered an alien invasive species in the UAE leading to negative environmental effects.
These include threatening sustainability of local species, threatening migratory birds and invertebrates transmitting disease and damaging aesthetics of the city due to waste.
“Tadweer ensures providing the highest levels of public safety and health for the community in Abu Dhabi, in line with international criteria and standards,” said Mohammed Al Naqbi, acting director of the pest control department at Tadweer.
“Therefore, the centre ensures following the trap-neuter-return approach as part of its services, where it monitors stray animals, including cats and dogs, and takes them to the Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital upon request to receive proper care, before returning them to their initial location.
“At Tadweer, we aim to provide the best quality of life and keep our communities clean and disease-free.
“This comes as part of the centre’s continuous efforts to build an efficient integrated waste management and pest control system in Abu Dhabi."
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Opening Rugby Championship fixtures: Games can be watched on OSN Sports
Saturday: Australia v New Zealand, Sydney, 1pm (UAE)
Sunday: South Africa v Argentina, Port Elizabeth, 11pm (UAE)
Leading all-time NBA scorers
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38,387
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Kobe Bryant 33,643
Michael Jordan 32,292
LeBron James 31,425
Wilt Chamberlain 31,419
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
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
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
MATCH INFO
Liverpool v Manchester City, Sunday, 8.30pm UAE
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
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BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
THE SCORES
Ireland 125 all out
(20 overs; Stirling 72, Mustafa 4-18)
UAE 125 for 5
(17 overs, Mustafa 39, D’Silva 29, Usman 29)
UAE won by five wickets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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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.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
