Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid has wished the emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad, a speedy recovery after it was revealed he had checked into a US hospital.
The Vice President and Ruler of Dubai tweeted a video showing Sheikh Sabah speaking at the launch of Kuwait TV in Dubai 50 years ago and spoke of the solidarity the emir showed back then.
"50 years ago today, a man made a historic stand with us by inaugurating the first TV channel in Dubai," Sheikh Mohammed said.
"A man we love and who loves us, the emir of humanitarianism, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad," he said, referring to the Humanitarian Award presented to the Kuwaiti emir by the former United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon in 2014.
"Evidence of his achievements, humanitarianism and wisdom will remain for a long, long time. What tires you, tires us Abu Nasser," he said.
Sheikh Mohammed followed his tribute with a prayer for Sheikh Sabah's good health and quick recovery.
Sheikh Sabah, 90, checked into a US hospital on Sunday to undergo a series of medical exams.
The Kuwaiti emir travelled to the US last week to speak with President Donald Trump but was forced to postpone the meeting. He was due to visit the White House on Thursday.
Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, also tweeted his good wishes to Sheikh Sabah.
"May you be dressed in a robe of good heath and wellness," he said, calling on God to watch over the emir.
Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, shared archive photos of Sheikh Sabah on Twitter saying: "From one channel launched by the emir of humanitarianism 50 years ago to more than 80 channels in Dubai today. With love, co-operation and support, we succeed together as nations and institutions. Thank you to our emir, our father and our wise Sabah Al Ahmad."
He also wished the emir a speedy recovery saying "God bless you and heal you, and return you safely to us soon."
King Salman of Saudi Arabia inquired after the health of Sheikh Sabah in a phone call on Monday.
He was reassured of the Kuwaiti emir's health and prayed for his good health, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Rumours about Sheikh Sabah’s health surfaced last month. The country’s news agency, KUNA, reported he had suffered a medical setback but confirmed his recovery after a public appearance on August 26.
Sheikh Sabah has ruled Kuwait since January 2006 and is known in the Middle East as a mediator of regional disputes. He has pushed for diplomacy to resolve issues such as the ongoing boycott of Qatar by the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt, and hosted global donor conferences for war-torn nations like Iraq and Syria.
In February, the UAE paid tribute to Kuwait ahead of the country's liberation and national days with a giant sand portrait of the emir.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid revealed the portrait, etched across 15,800 square metres of the emirate’s desert, near Al Qudra Lakes, on Twitter.
"Our love for Kuwait and the Kuwaiti people is engraved into our ground, engraved in our hearts and engraved in our history," Sheikh Mohammed said at the time.
Wishing the Kuwaiti people and its leadership a happy National Day, he called Sheikh Sabah the "prince of humanity in glory and peace".
The artistic tribute, named Prince of Humanity, took more than 2,400 hours to create.
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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T20 WORLD CUP QUALIFIER
Results
UAE beat Nigeria by five wickets
Hong Kong beat Canada by 32 runs
Friday fixtures
10am, Tolerance Oval, Abu Dhabi – Ireland v Jersey
7.30pm, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi – Canada v Oman
Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
UAE players with central contracts
Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Rameez Shahzad, Shaiman Anwar, Adnan Mufti, Mohammed Usman, Ghulam Shabbir, Ahmed Raza, Qadeer Ahmed, Amir Hayat, Mohammed Naveed and Imran Haider.
All Black 39-12 British & Irish Lions
How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Key facilities
- 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
- 400m Olympic running track
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- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
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How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
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THE SPECS
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GAC GS8 Specs
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Specs
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More from Aya Iskandarani
RESULT
Esperance de Tunis 1 Guadalajara 1
(Esperance won 6-5 on penalties)
Esperance: Belaili 38’
Guadalajara: Sandoval 5’
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
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
The specs: McLaren 600LT
Price, base: Dh914,000
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo V8
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Power: 600hp @ 7,500rpm
Torque: 620Nm @ 5,500rpm
Fuel economy 12.2.L / 100km
No_One Ever Really Dies
N*E*R*D
(I Am Other/Columbia)
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
Profile of Bitex UAE
Date of launch: November 2018
Founder: Monark Modi
Based: Business Bay, Dubai
Sector: Financial services
Size: Eight employees
Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings
