DUBAI // Some Bahraini residents are retreating to Dubai following the declaration of a state of emergency and the widening of crackdowns against protests.
"A lot of my classmates have left for Dubai or England, mainly starting on Tuesday," said Eleanor Yates, a 17-year-old student who arrived on Thursday to stay with her sister.
She plans to stay here for at least 10 days, she said.
Her parents, who live in Saar, Bahrain, may join them if the violence escalates.
Several commercial flights from Bahrain arrive in Dubai daily, though it is unclear how many passengers have travelled to escape the trouble there. Britain yesterday urged its nationals in Bahrain to leave, while the US this week advised Americans to "consider departing".
Noora Marwan, a 27-year-old Bahraini who works for the ministry of culture there, said other family members had left as well, including her sister who lived near Pearl Roundabout.
"Right now there is general panic," she said.
Shoaib Sandeela, a 35-year-old Pakistani investment banker, said his company was moving all of its two dozen employees in Bahrain to Saudi Arabia or Dubai for a few weeks.
Passengers arriving from Bahrain told of hearing gunshots near their homes as protesters closed off streets and bridges and battled between with police.
"When I heard gunfire near my house I decided to get my wife and kids out of there," said Chris George, 39, a British finance director who travelled to Dubai with his wife and two children.
"I will assess the situation in a week and see if we could return then."
Some travellers who lived away from Manama's trouble spots said they had still caught glimpses of helicopters overhead and tanks on the street.
Jeff Pafford, a 44-year-old American, said he had seen members of the opposition carrying weapons. "We live so far out of town that we didn't feel that something out of the ordinary was happening, had it not been for the TV," he said. "On the way to the airport though we saw the checkpoints and protesters with axes."
Haytham Alzghoul, a 31-year-old Jordanian engineer who had just returned from a business trip to Bahrain, said he had been in the Shiite neighbourhood of Sitra shortly before violence reportedly broke out there.
His work team had spent just three hours at their project site in Sitra when they heard that Saudi forces were coming and decided to leave. On Tuesday, 200 people there were reportedly shot and wounded, a medic told Reuters.
"I told people, 'If anyone asks my name tell them it's Hussein or Ali'," Mr Alzghoul said half-jokingly, referring to Shiite names.
He said he spent the rest of the trip working from his hotel.
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Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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The Indoor Cricket World Cup
When: September 16-23
Where: Insportz, Dubai
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
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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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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On sale: Available to order now
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Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
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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
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1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 3:20:24
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at 1s
3. Pello Bilbao (ESP) Bahrain-Victorious, at 5s
General Classification
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates, in 25:38:16
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BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)