Thousands of Christians marked Good Friday across the UAE by attending church services at the start of the two-week spring holiday.
In the capital, Roman Catholics were out in numbers at St Joseph’s Cathedral to attend services and offer prayers on Good Friday, the day Christians commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
The cathedral grounds and halls were packed with families as masses were held in a wide range of languages – English, French, German, Arabic, Italian, Urdu, Spanish, Sinhala, Konkani, Malayalam, Tamil and Tagalog.
Filipina Marilou Garcia, who attends church every Friday, was there with her family to offer prayers at the Tagalog mass at noon.
“I prayed to God to guide me to the right path and give us all health and power to withstand the challenges in the workplace,” she said.
“This day is very important for me and all my family because we want to offer our thanks to God for giving us a healthy life and prosperity, and we pray that such prosperity and peace may prevail among all.”
In three different services at the church on Thursday, between 12,000 and 14,000 people were present, with similar numbers on Friday, too.
Indian Joby Puthur, who has lived in the UAE for 12 years, arrived at the church at 8.30am. “This is a three-day celebration. We pray for wellbeing for us and all,” he said.
Another worshipper was Mark Lelis, from the Philippines, who said: “Today we commemorate Jesus and pray for forgiveness for sins committed. The celebrations we have back home I miss here. We celebrate for almost a week with a series of programmes and activities.”
Meanwhile in Dubai, hundreds gathered at the overflowing St Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Jebel Ali for eight services that took place throughout the day.
Masses were held in English, Arabic, Malayalam and Tamil and the congregation prayed for peace and love.
Clodilo Laput, from the Philippines, took a few hours off work at the nearby Jebel Ali Free Zone to attend a service.
“It’s a special day for Christians. It’s a time of reflection and recollection on one’s life and choices. I’ve been fasting, praying and repenting through the holy week,” the 54-year-old said.
Nigerian Anthonia Olayiwola, 34, took her two sons. “It’s important to instil values of faith in them. This is the day of the lord and, even though we are living in a diverse community in Dubai, I’d still like to commemorate such important occasions and I’m happy that there are places like St Francis for us to go to,” she said.
“I prayed for peace in this world. We need it more than ever.”
Services at the church will continue over the weekend, culminating on Easter Sunday, for Catholics and other denominations. The Greek Orthodox Church marks Easter Sunday on May 1.
father Gandolf, of St Joseph’s in Abu Dhabi, thanked the UAE’s leadership for gifting land for the church 50 years ago.
“Among all Christian communities this is a very important day because it’s the day when Jesus, whom we consider the son of God, died on the cross and through His test He has saved the world,” he said.
“I would like to give a message to our people to understand how much Jesus suffered for you, to give you life and you can always go to him and you find consolation, forgiveness and mercy. It’s a day of mercy of God.”
The priest said that 850,000 Catholics from more than 100 countries pray in eight parishes in the UAE, with most of them hailing from the Philippines and India.
Yesterday also marked the start of two weeks of school holidays across the UAE and airports were expecting increased traffic.
Dubai International said it was expecting more than 600,000 passengers at the weekend.
Majid Al Jawker, deputy head of operations, told The National's Arabic sister paper, Al Ittihad: "We expect big growth in the numbers of travellers during the weekend and we are keen to help ease their travel, to answer their questions and to inform them of the airport services."
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The specs
Engine: 2-litre 4-cylinder and 3.6-litre 6-cylinder
Power: 220 and 280 horsepower
Torque: 350 and 360Nm
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Price: from Dh136,521 VAT and Dh166,464 VAT
On sale: now
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20SAMSUNG%20GALAXY%20Z%20FLIP5
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Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
Expert input
If you had all the money in the world, what’s the one sneaker you would buy or create?
“There are a few shoes that have ‘grail’ status for me. But the one I have always wanted is the Nike x Patta x Parra Air Max 1 - Cherrywood. To get a pair in my size brand new is would cost me between Dh8,000 and Dh 10,000.” Jack Brett
“If I had all the money, I would approach Nike and ask them to do my own Air Force 1, that’s one of my dreams.” Yaseen Benchouche
“There’s nothing out there yet that I’d pay an insane amount for, but I’d love to create my own shoe with Tinker Hatfield and Jordan.” Joshua Cox
“I think I’d buy a defunct footwear brand; I’d like the challenge of reinterpreting a brand’s history and changing options.” Kris Balerite
“I’d stir up a creative collaboration with designers Martin Margiela of the mixed patchwork sneakers, and Yohji Yamamoto.” Hussain Moloobhoy
“If I had all the money in the world, I’d live somewhere where I’d never have to wear shoes again.” Raj Malhotra
Bio:
Favourite Quote: Prophet Mohammad's quotes There is reward for kindness to every living thing and A good man treats women with honour
Favourite Hobby: Serving poor people
Favourite Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite food: Fish and vegetables
Favourite place to visit: London
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Sri Lanka Test squad:
Dimuth Karunaratne (stand-in captain), Niroshan Dickwella (vice captain), Lahiru Thirimanne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Mendis, Kusal Janith Perera, Milinda Siriwardana, Dhananjaya de Silva, Oshada Fernando, Angelo Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Kasun Rajitha, Vishwa Fernando, Chamika Karunaratne, Mohamed Shiraz, Lakshan Sandakan and Lasith Embuldeniya.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Alaan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Parthi%20Duraisamy%20and%20Karun%20Kurien%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%247%20million%20raised%20in%20total%20%E2%80%94%20%242.5%20million%20in%20a%20seed%20round%20and%20%244.5%20million%20in%20a%20pre-series%20A%20round%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
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New Zealand 21 British & Irish Lions 24
New Zealand
Penalties: Barrett (7)
British & Irish Lions
Tries: Faletau, Murray
Penalties: Farrell (4)
Conversions: Farrell
Ferrari
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