Bottlenose dolphins have been spotted off the Dubai shoreline for what is believed to be the first time since 2013.
Sailors were treated to a surprise when they were accompanied by a large pod of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins near Burj Al Arab late on Sunday afternoon.
Tom Lynch, 55, was on board his friend’s sailing boat when about 20 dolphins surfaced nearby.
"We were preparing to come back into port as it was close to sunset when all these beautiful dolphins surfaced very close to us," said Mr Lynch, who was on the Dreams boat, skippered by Marie Byrne.
“I got my phone out and started to shoot some video, they were fantastic.
“It was very quiet, just a couple of boats a kilometre or so away.
“Maybe that was why they were in so close. It was very unusual and the first time I have seen dolphins in Dubai.
“Some were swimming very fast and having great fun alongside us. It was an amazing thing to see.”
No noise, no boats and no construction work has allowed these beautiful creatures to visit the shores and enjoy the quietness
The pod was seen off the south-western tip of The World Islands.
The dolphins have a shark-like dorsal fin and are dark grey, with a slender body.
Mr Lynch reported the sighting to the UAE Dolphin Project, which monitors marine wildlife along the country's coasts.
The project recorded 229 occasional sightings of dolphins close to the Dubai shore between 2012 and 2013.
Since then, all other reports have been made further out to sea.
The project’s conservationists said a lack of human activity and noise would have encouraged marine life to approach the shore.
“Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins are familiar to the UAE waters but the interesting point of this sighting is that they have been reported so close to shore,” said project founder Ada Natoli.
“No noise, no boats and no construction work has allowed these beautiful creatures to visit the shores and enjoy the quietness.”
Dolphins are more commonly seen in waters off Fujairah.
This month, a pod of about 2,000 Risso’s dolphins were spotted about 35 kilometres off the Fujairah coast.
The find included a rare albino dolphin. Only two other sightings have been recorded since 2014, both in Japan.
Dr Natoli said that, based on occasional records, at least three species of dolphins were reported to frequent Dubai coastal waters – the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin and the rare finless porpoise.
The pod of bottlenose dolphins was also spotted on Saturday morning by Loic Cordelle, who took several photographs.
“I usually spot dolphins offshore while sailing but this is the first time I’ve seen dolphins so close to the shore,” said Mr Cordelle, 50, a French-Canadian project director at a transportation company.
“There were so many big fish in the water and then we spotted the dolphins.”
The International Union for Conservation of Nature considers the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin to be nearly threatened due to over-fishing, noise, chemical pollution and coastal development.
The species is usually found in the tropical Indo-Pacific waters and can grow to a length of 2.6 metres.
Dr Natoli encouraged the public to report further sightings to sighting@uaedolphinproject.org.
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Swiss fly direct from the UAE to Zurich from Dh2,855 return, including taxes.
The chalet
Chalet N is currently open in winter only, between now and April 21. During the ski season, starting on December 11, a week’s rental costs from €210,000 (Dh898,431) per week for the whole property, which has 22 beds in total, across six suites, three double rooms and a children’s suite. The price includes all scheduled meals, a week’s ski pass, Wi-Fi, parking, transfers between Munich, Innsbruck or Zurich airports and one 50-minute massage per person. Private ski lessons cost from €360 (Dh1,541) per day. Halal food is available on request.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
THE SPECS
Engine: 4.0L twin-turbo V8
Gearbox: eight-speed automatic
Power: 571hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,000-4,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 11.4L/100km
Price, base: from Dh571,000
On sale: this week
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
Honeymoonish
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Full Party in the Park line-up
2pm – Andreah
3pm – Supernovas
4.30pm – The Boxtones
5.30pm – Lighthouse Family
7pm – Step On DJs
8pm – Richard Ashcroft
9.30pm – Chris Wright
10pm – Fatboy Slim
11pm – Hollaphonic
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The years Ramadan fell in May
Scoreline
Saudi Arabia 1-0 Japan
Saudi Arabia Al Muwallad 63’
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.
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
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So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 2
Suarez (10'), Messi (52')
Real Madrid 2
Ronaldo (14'), Bale (72')
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Profile
Name: Carzaty
Founders: Marwan Chaar and Hassan Jaffar
Launched: 2017
Employees: 22
Based: Dubai and Muscat
Sector: Automobile retail
Funding to date: $5.5 million
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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MATCH INFO
England 241-3 (20 ovs)
Malan 130 no, Morgan 91
New Zealand 165 all out (16.5ovs)
Southee 39, Parkinson 4-47
England win by 76 runs
Series level at 2-2
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
