DUBAI // Police are sending out extra patrols on Friday afternoons to catch people who misbehave after binge drinking at brunches.
The force was stationing more undercover and uniformed officers around hotels with licensed bars and other public places to handle alcohol-related misdemeanours on Fridays and Saturdays, said Col Khalil Ibrahim al Mansouri, the deputy director of the crime unit in the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
"The police presence is intensified in all public places because so many people get out of their homes to enjoy the weekend," he said. "We witness more trouble during this time than during the weekdays and more arrests are made by both undercover police and police patrols, which are both increased on Friday and Saturday."
Every Friday, thousands of residents and holidaymakers flock to hotel restaurants to enjoy the free-flowing drink and vast amounts of food that come as part of a typical brunch package. Problems occasionally arise when the brunches finish - usually about 4pm - and groups of intoxicated patrons spill out onto the streets.
In addition to drink-related acts of violence, police patrols are on the lookout for acts of public indecency or other behaviour that could cause offence.
The announcement follows the arrests last week of two expatriates caught having intercourse on Jumeirah beach after a day of drinking.
The woman allegedly involved in the incident, Michelle Palmer, a sales manager from the UK who has been resident in the UAE for more than three years, now faces up to six years in prison, if convicted.
The other accused is Vincent Acors, who had been in the country for a few days before being arrested. "People have the right to consume alcohol in Dubai, usually in licensed hotels," said Col Mansouri. "If people do not cause any problems, then the police will not interfere and are not in a position to arrest anyone just because they are walking out of a hotel.
"Frankly speaking, police normally do not interfere unless they receive a complaint, otherwise if people do not cause trouble, then we do not get involved."
Acts of public indecency, however, were "unacceptable", said Col Mansouri, and anyone caught committing them should be prepared to "handle the consequences".
"Sexual contact is private and belongs behind closed doors and not in public," he said. "If the police catch people taking part in less serious sexual contact, then they usually will let the individuals off with a caution. However, if it is serious then they will be taken in to face legal proceedings."
One of Dubai's most popular brunches is held at the Double Decker in Al Murooj Rotana hotel. The venue is typically packed on Fridays with mainly British expatriates and holidaymakers enjoying unlimited alcohol with their English breakfast buffet.
Julio Rodrigues, supervisor at the Double Decker, said although the brunches generally ran smoothly, fights sometimes broke out and occasionally the police had to be called. "It's unlimited drink and so people tend to get a bit loud and sometimes there's fighting, but we have a lot of bouncers who take care of these things," he said. "It doesn't happen every week - it depends if there are troublemakers inside.
"Sometimes the police get involved. We would call them if there was a big fight with blood all over the place, or if property was being destroyed. It's quite rare that things get that out of hand, and the police always seem to respond quickly and arrest everyone involved in the incident."
Regular brunch customers said they had occasionally witnessed minor disturbances.
Nicole Sutherland, 31, a South African sales executive, said brunches started off sensibly but often gave way to drunken antics as the afternoon wore on.
"It is always the acts of a few individuals who ruin it for the majority of us," she said. "You are always going to get people misbehaving if they have been drinking for over 12 hours. I don't think they should ban it, but they should have warnings about the dangers of all-day drinking and stop serving customers who appear drunk."
Ian Nickolas, 28, a Dutch hairdresser, said: "I have only been in Dubai for a month and I have been surprised by how liberal it is when it comes to drinking and going out, and that's been fantastic. I have been to the brunch at the Boston Bar twice and it was really good and value for money. There was a minor scuffle once when two people were asked to leave by the bouncers for smashing their glasses, but aside from that it has been an enjoyable experience."
Lorraine Pacey, who arrived in Dubai a few months ago, said she had attended several brunches and had yet to witness any rowdiness.
"I've done the one near the Madinat Jumeirah and one day there was a large group of ladies that looked like a hen party as they were all wearing feather boas. They were quite loud, champagne was flowing and they looked like they were having a great time by the end of it, but there was no major trouble."
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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Started: 2021
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
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Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
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Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren
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Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum
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Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
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Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
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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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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.
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Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
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- Don’t do it more than once in three days
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Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
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Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
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Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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