A Dubai court has granted a retrial to an Emirati man who was convicted of causing his friend’s death in a Shisha fire. AFP
A Dubai court has granted a retrial to an Emirati man who was convicted of causing his friend’s death in a Shisha fire. AFP
A Dubai court has granted a retrial to an Emirati man who was convicted of causing his friend’s death in a Shisha fire. AFP
A Dubai court has granted a retrial to an Emirati man who was convicted of causing his friend’s death in a Shisha fire. AFP

Gang who forced girl into prostitution jailed for 10 years each


Salam Al Amir
  • English
  • Arabic

Dubai Criminal Court on Wednesday jailed a gang of six Bangladeshis for 10 years each for forcing a girl, 16, into prostitution.

They trafficked her into the country and tried to make her work in a brothel. When she refused, she was raped, the court heard.

The Bangladeshi teenager’s ordeal came to an end only when Dubai Police raided the brothel.

Judges heard how a female defendant, 36, offered the orphaned girl a maid’s job in the UAE.

Two other defendants, both male, forged the teenager’s passport to make her look older.

When she arrived in the country, she was taken to an apartment in Dubai’s Karama district.

At the flat, she was told she had to work as a prostitute. She refused and was beaten and raped.

For the next two weeks, the girl was locked up in a different apartment where two defendants took turns to rape her.

“They forced me to have sex with five to sex men per day until the flat was raided by police,” she told the court.

Dubai Police were tipped off about the girl and assigned two officers to work undercover. They put the apartment under surveillance, raided the brothel and detained the gang.

The defendants, all from Bangladesh, aged between 22 and 48, were convicted of human trafficking, rape, running a brothel and facilitating prostitution.

They have two weeks to appeal.

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Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching

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The full list of 2020 Brit Award nominees (winners in bold):

British group

Coldplay

Foals

Bring me the Horizon

D-Block Europe

Bastille

British Female

Mabel

Freya Ridings

FKA Twigs

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British male

Harry Styles

Lewis Capaldi

Dave

Michael Kiwanuka

Stormzy​

Best new artist

Aitch

Lewis Capaldi

Dave

Mabel

Sam Fender

Best song

Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber - I Don’t Care

Mabel - Don’t Call Me Up

Calvin Harrison and Rag’n’Bone Man - Giant

Dave - Location

Mark Ronson feat. Miley Cyrus - Nothing Breaks Like A Heart

AJ Tracey - Ladbroke Grove

Lewis Capaldi - Someone you Loved

Tom Walker - Just You and I

Sam Smith and Normani - Dancing with a Stranger

Stormzy - Vossi Bop

International female

Ariana Grande

Billie Eilish

Camila Cabello

Lana Del Rey

Lizzo

International male

Bruce Springsteen

Burna Boy

Tyler, The Creator

Dermot Kennedy

Post Malone

Best album

Stormzy - Heavy is the Head

Michael Kiwanuka - Kiwanuka

Lewis Capaldi - Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent

Dave - Psychodrama

Harry Styles - Fine Line

Rising star

Celeste

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How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
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  2. Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
  3. Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
  4. Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
  5. Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
  6. The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
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*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year

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Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica

Best Agent: Jorge Mendes

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 Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)  

 Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker

 Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo

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 Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart

Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)

Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)

Best Women's Player:  Lucy Bronze

Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi

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 Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs

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The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

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Price, base Dh379,000
Engine 2.9-litre, twin-turbo V6
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Director: Shazia Iqbal

Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri 

Rating: 1/5

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yallacompare profile

Date of launch: 2014

Founder: Jon Richards, founder and chief executive; Samer Chebab, co-founder and chief operating officer, and Jonathan Rawlings, co-founder and chief financial officer

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Sector: Financial services

Size: 120 employees

Investors: 2014: $500,000 in a seed round led by Mulverhill Associates; 2015: $3m in Series A funding led by STC Ventures (managed by Iris Capital), Wamda and Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority; 2019: $8m in Series B funding with the same investors as Series A along with Precinct Partners, Saned and Argo Ventures (the VC arm of multinational insurer Argo Group)

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Engine: 1.5-litre turbo

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Starting price: Dh79,000

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The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
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  • Price: Not announced yet
The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

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  • 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
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  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
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  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Series information

Pakistan v Dubai

First Test, Dubai International Stadium

Sun Oct 6 to Thu Oct 11

Second Test, Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Tue Oct 16 to Sat Oct 20          

 Play starts at 10am each day

 

Teams

 Pakistan

1 Mohammed Hafeez, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Asad Shafiq, 5 Haris Sohail, 6 Babar Azam, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed, 8 Bilal Asif, 9 Yasir Shah, 10, Mohammed Abbas, 11 Wahab Riaz or Mir Hamza

 Australia

1 Usman Khawaja, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Shaun Marsh, 4 Mitchell Marsh, 5 Travis Head, 6 Marnus Labuschagne, 7 Tim Paine, 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Peter Siddle, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Jon Holland

What the law says

Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.

“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.

“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”

If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.

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