UAE cultural tips and etiquette to follow during Ramadan 2023
Working hours for private sector employees will be reduced by two hours during Ramadan, the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation has announced.
The ministry said on Monday that companies would be able to introduce "flexible or remote working patterns" throughout the holy month.
Contracted hours vary in the private sector, with many members of staff typically working for nine hours each day.
“In accordance with the requirements and nature of their work, companies may apply flexible or remote work patterns within the limits of the daily working hours during the days of Ramadan,” the ministry said.
The UAE confirmed working hours for federal government employees during Ramadan on Friday.
The Federal Authority for Government Human Resources said in a circular that the working day would run from 9am to 2.30pm from Monday to Thursday, and from 9am until noon on Fridays.
Ministries and federal departments will be allowed to implement flexible working or remote work schedules, the state news agency Wam reported.
This year, Ramadan will begin in the UAE on March 23. The official date was determined by the country's moon-sighting committee the night of March 22.
What is Ramadan?
Ramadan is the holiest month in the Islamic calendar. It is believed to be the month when the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed.
Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset, abstaining from both food and drink during this period.
Ramadan is also a time when Muslims strengthen their faith through prayer and increased recitation of the Quran.
The last 10 days of the holy month are the most special, coinciding with Laylat Al Qadr, commemorating the night the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed.
The rewards for acts of worship carried out on this night are said to be more than the rewards of 1,000 months of worship.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
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- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Winner: Secret Advisor, Tadhg O’Shea, Charlie Appleby.
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8.50pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
9.25pm: Al Shindagha Sprint Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Gladiator King, Mickael Barzalona, Satish Seemar.
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Tottenham Hotspur 1
Kane (50')
Newcastle United 0
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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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SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
The years Ramadan fell in May
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- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
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Company profile
Date started: December 24, 2018
Founders: Omer Gurel, chief executive and co-founder and Edebali Sener, co-founder and chief technology officer
Based: Dubai Media City
Number of employees: 42 (34 in Dubai and a tech team of eight in Ankara, Turkey)
Sector: ConsumerTech and FinTech
Cashflow: Almost $1 million a year
Funding: Series A funding of $2.5m with Series B plans for May 2020
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- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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