SHARJAH // A ban on barbecues is now in effect at one of Sharjah's most popular beaches.
Anyone caught cooking food on Al Mamzar beach will be fined Dh500 by Sharjah Municipality inspectors and told to pack up their grills and move on.
However, the move came as an unwelcome surprise to some residents looking to enjoy the cool weather only to be fined.
"It was my first time I learned that barbecuing is banned and also got the fine," said Baseem, who was visiting the beauty spot on Sunday.
"Authorities could be kind enough to give us at least one warning before issuing the fine."
Yousef Abdullah, director of the solid waste section at the municipality, said the ban was in place because cooking food outdoors violated environmental safety as people often would not clear away their rubbish once they were done.
The ban extends to Buhairah Corniche, with barbecuing now only allowed in the National Park near Sharjah airport and Sharjah Corniche beach on the road to Ajman.
Mr Abdullah said the municipality had put up posters on all beaches and parks that list banned activities such as barbecuing, camping and fishing, and warning of fines.
Another resident who identified himself as Khalid, complained that Al Mamzar beach was the best place to cook outdoors," he said.
"The municipality should dedicate more friendly places to help families," he said.
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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
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Gender equality in the workplace still 200 years away
It will take centuries to achieve gender parity in workplaces around the globe, according to a December report from the World Economic Forum.
The WEF study said there had been some improvements in wage equality in 2018 compared to 2017, when the global gender gap widened for the first time in a decade.
But it warned that these were offset by declining representation of women in politics, coupled with greater inequality in their access to health and education.
At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.
The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.
After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.
Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.
And the number of women in leadership roles has risen to 34 per cent globally, WEF said.
At the same time, the report showed there are now proportionately fewer women than men participating in the workforce, suggesting that automation is having a disproportionate impact on jobs traditionally performed by women.
And women are significantly under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, WEF said.
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