The UAE has introduced new fines to improve road safety during bad weather.
From now on, motorists who gather near valleys, dams or flooded areas during rainfall will be fined Dh1,000 ($272), the Ministry of Interior announced on Thursday.
Motorists will also have six black points added to their licences.
Drivers who enter valleys while they are overflowing with rainwater – regardless of their level of danger – will incur a fine of Dh2,000 and 23 black points. Their vehicle will be impounded for 60 days.
Anyone who obstructs authorities from carrying out their work, including those regulating traffic, or anyone obstructing ambulance and rescue workers during emergencies and disasters, will be fined Dh1,000 and accrue four black points on their driving licence. Their vehicle will be impounded for 60 days.
The new penalties aim to support emergency teams responding during unstable weather or heavy rainfall.
Risk to lives
Despite several warnings from UAE authorities advising people to keep away from flooded areas during heavy rain, some motorists still risk their lives trying to drive along flooded paths, without taking into account the risk of being swept away by the water.
In January, videos shared online by the National Centre of Meteorology showed motorists driving their vehicles through flooded roads, despite warnings from the Ministry of Interior.
“The traffic law penalties encourage road users to be cautious and not to endanger their lives or others. Motorists should follow instructions by the relevant authorities during emergencies and not block their ways,” Brig Al Harthi added.
Last year, Abu Dhabi Police issued a safety plea to the public after a motorist was involved in a crash in Al Ain while taking pictures of floods in the area.
A Nissan Patrol overturned in a wadi filled with water following heavy rain in August last year. The car appeared to have veered off a nearby road.
The force said the driver suffered moderate injuries in the incident.
Large parts of the Northern Emirates were hit by a 2022 summer deluge in 2022 that caused widespread flooding.
Seven people died and more than 800 were rescued following the extreme weather which damaged homes, vehicles and possessions.
ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY
Starting at 10am:
Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang
Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)
Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)
Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera
Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
Children who witnessed blood bath want to help others
Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.
As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.
Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.
“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”
Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.
“Now she wants to be a maxillofacial doctor,” Khulood said. “She said to me ‘it is because a maxillofacial doctor returned your face, mama’. Now she wants to help people see themselves in the mirror again.”
Khulood’s son, Saeed, was nine in 2014 and slept through the attack. While he did not witness the trauma, this made it more difficult for him to understand what had happened. He has ambitions to become an engineer.
Country-size land deals
US interest in purchasing territory is not as outlandish as it sounds. Here's a look at some big land transactions between nations:
Louisiana Purchase
If Donald Trump is one who aims to broker "a deal of the century", then this was the "deal of the 19th Century". In 1803, the US nearly doubled in size when it bought 2,140,000 square kilometres from France for $15 million.
Florida Purchase Treaty
The US courted Spain for Florida for years. Spain eventually realised its burden in holding on to the territory and in 1819 effectively ceded it to America in a wider border treaty.
Alaska purchase
America's spending spree continued in 1867 when it acquired 1,518,800 km2 of Alaskan land from Russia for $7.2m. Critics panned the government for buying "useless land".
The Philippines
At the end of the Spanish-American War, a provision in the 1898 Treaty of Paris saw Spain surrender the Philippines for a payment of $20 million.
US Virgin Islands
It's not like a US president has never reached a deal with Denmark before. In 1917 the US purchased the Danish West Indies for $25m and renamed them the US Virgin Islands.
Gwadar
The most recent sovereign land purchase was in 1958 when Pakistan bought the southwestern port of Gwadar from Oman for 5.5bn Pakistan rupees.
WORLD CUP SEMI-FINALS
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The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah
