More marriages expected as new laws come into force across the UAE

A change in the UAE's law to allow couples to marry and divorce in non-Sharia civil ceremonies is expected to lead to a rush of marriages in the coming months.

Dubai Courts said on Wednesday it was ready to welcome couples looking to tie the knot, on the same day a federal law came into effect. Ras Al Khaimah's court service confirmed the same.

The decision was made in December and took effect on February 1. Men and women will marry in short civil ceremonies run by the UAE's court services.

The new law is effectively a nationwide extension of Abu Dhabi's civil marriage system, under which 5,000 expatriate couples tied the knot in the capital’s Civil Family Court court last year.

“Anything that eases the process for non-Muslim expats to get married here is to be welcomed,” said Liz Nunez, co-founder of Easy Wedding.

“This is positive news as it will allow a lot more people who live here to get married in the courts here.”

In 2019, Ms Nunez, from Paraguay, wanted to get married in a civil ceremony in Dubai but was unable to do so because she was a non-Muslim.

This led to her and her now-husband, Florian Ughetto from France, tying the knot in a ceremony in Georgia.

The couple run the wedding planning company together.

“We built the company that we wished was there to help us at time,” said Mr Ughetto.

“The challenge for us [when planning a wedding] is usually more a case of sorting the couple’s legal situation than arranging the flowers.”

The new family law that came into effect in the UAE on Wednesday allows non-Muslims to marry and divorce through a simple civil procedure and in a non-Sharia process.

The newly introduced laws also cover a raft of family matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance and child custody.

It is expected that there will be a huge rush to book dates at civil courts as expatriate couples take advantage of the new law and get married in the UAE instead of flying out to their home countries for a civil marriage.

The Abu Dhabi court's standard service, which costs Dh300, is fully booked until the end of April for civil marriages.

Another wedding planner said the move would greatly reduce the number of Dubai residents travelling elsewhere to get married.

“Previously most non-Muslims would have chosen locations in the likes of Europe to get married because they couldn’t have a civil ceremony here,” said Owais Khan, an Indian events planner who has consulted on several weddings in the UAE.

“Now they can just get married here because things have been made a lot easier for them.

“These new laws ensure there is equality for all men and women living in the UAE.

“Residents will now say to themselves ‘why don’t we just get married here instead of going somewhere else’.”

How our nine-month-old has made the Canadian winter a little bit warmer for us

Canadians rallying around a targeted Syrian restaurant is telling about attitudes to migrants

Don Cherry and the real issue with being one of 'you people'

The Settlers

Director: Louis Theroux

Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz

Rating: 5/5

Company Profile

Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million

What is blockchain?

Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.

The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.

Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.

However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.

Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.

The view from The National

The fate of Libya should be in Libyan hands

Libyan migrants must not be left to die at sea

ISIS cannot be allowed to regroup in Libya

Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes

BRAZIL SQUAD

Alisson (Liverpool), Daniel Fuzato (Roma), Ederson (Man City); Alex Sandro (Juventus), Danilo (Juventus), Eder Militao (Real Madrid), Emerson (Real Betis), Felipe (Atletico Madrid), Marquinhos (PSG), Renan Lodi (Atletico Madrid), Thiago Silva (PSG); Arthur (Barcelona), Casemiro (Real Madrid), Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa), Fabinho (Liverpool), Lucas Paqueta (AC Milan), Philippe Coutinho (Bayern Munich); David Neres (Ajax), Gabriel Jesus (Man City), Richarlison (Everton), Roberto Firmino (Liverpool), Rodrygo (Real Madrid), Willian (Chelsea).

The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

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

Rating: 2.5/5

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.	United States
2.	China
3.	UAE
4.	Japan
5	Norway
6.	Canada
7.	Singapore
8.	Australia
9.	Saudi Arabia
10.	South Korea

UAE%20athletes%20heading%20to%20Paris%202024

%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEquestrian%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EAbdullah%20Humaid%20Al%20Muhairi%2C%20Abdullah%20Al%20Marri%2C%20Omar%20Al%20Marzooqi%2C%20Salem%20Al%20Suwaidi%2C%20and%20Ali%20Al%20Karbi%20(four%20to%20be%20selected).%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EJudo%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EMen%3A%20Narmandakh%20Bayanmunkh%20(66kg)%2C%20Nugzari%20Tatalashvili%20(81kg)%2C%20Aram%20Grigorian%20(90kg)%2C%20Dzhafar%20Kostoev%20(100kg)%2C%20Magomedomar%20Magomedomarov%20(%2B100kg)%3B%20women's%20Khorloodoi%20Bishrelt%20(52kg).%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECycling%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ESafia%20Al%20Sayegh%20(women's%20road%20race).%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESwimming%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EMen%3A%20Yousef%20Rashid%20Al%20Matroushi%20(100m%20freestyle)%3B%20women%3A%20Maha%20Abdullah%20Al%20Shehi%20(200m%20freestyle).%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EAthletics%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EMaryam%20Mohammed%20Al%20Farsi%20(women's%20100%20metres).%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

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

Wenger's Arsenal reign in numbers

1,228 - games at the helm, ahead of Sunday's Premier League fixture against West Ham United.
704 - wins to date as Arsenal manager.
3 - Premier League title wins, the last during an unbeaten Invincibles campaign of 2003/04.
1,549 - goals scored in Premier League matches by Wenger's teams.
10 - major trophies won.
473 - Premier League victories.
7 - FA Cup triumphs, with three of those having come the last four seasons.
151 - Premier League losses.
21 - full seasons in charge.
49 - games unbeaten in the Premier League from May 2003 to October 2004.

Profile of Udrive

Date started: March 2016

Founder: Hasib Khan

Based: Dubai

Employees: 40

Amount raised (to date): $3.25m – $750,000 seed funding in 2017 and a Seed round of $2.5m last year. Raised $1.3m from Eureeca investors in January 2021 as part of a Series A round with a $5m target.