DUBAI // When Mansoor al Mansoori is driving around or walking the streets, he is always on the lookout for anything amiss.
Mr al Mansoori spots hazards everywhere. And he sees it as his job to get them fixed as part of his personal crusade to improve safety on Dubai's roads.
The government officer phones and e-mails up to three complaints and suggestions a day to helplines and websites about anything from pot holes and broken traffic lights to accidents and dangerously parked cars.
In the past two years, he has fired off 1,175 complaints to the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).
The RTA was so impressed with Mr al Mansoori's efforts they have given him two awards for his contribution to the community.
Now Mr al Mansoori wants other residents to follow his example and help make the roads and the city safer.
"I would like this message to go to people: you must think that safety on the road is like safety in your house," Mr al Mansoori said. "How do you keep safety in your house? You must think of the roads in the same way. This responsibility is yours."
He said commuters should call helplines when they spot hazards.
"Think that your brother, your sister, your father, your mother, your neighbour, your friends will use this road, so don't leave any mistake alone," he said. "When you give your suggestion, you will save a lot of people."
Mr al Mansoori, 42, said he calls whenever he finds a potential problem on drives to and from work. "When I see a mistake or any problem, then I call. Sometime I find three mistakes in one day, four mistakes or five, sometimes I don't see anything."
He also contacts the police if he sees accidents and the municipality if, as in one case, roads were blocked by felled trees.
Some of his victories include repaired pot holes, reflector lights installed on the busy Al Khail Road near Jebel Ali, better signage on Umm Suqueim Road and new signboards indicating speeds bumps in al Barsha.
He has also suggested more parking for the disabled in downtown Karama and near central Jumeirah Park.
His persistence differentiates him from others who call in - he keeps calling until the issue is resolved.
"People look and say it's not my job," Mr al Mansoori said. "If I see any mistake, I don't leave it until it stops."
Some people, he said, might view his behaviour as excessive.
"I know people are thinking 'This is not your job, why do you do this?' They don't tell me to my face," he said. "But it's a wrong culture to say this. I know people who say this. They only want to eat and sleep in this life."
The RTA seem delighted with Mr al Mansoori's constant complaints.
At a ceremony last month, Mattar al Tayer, the chairman and executive director of the RTA, awarded Mr al Mansoori two prizes under the Madinati and Fikrati programmes. Mr al Mansoori proudly displays the two glass plaques in a wooden cabinet at his home in al Barsha.
The RTA launched the Madinati (My Dubai) programme in 2007 and Fikrati (My Idea) three years ago to encourage residents to participate in projects and provide ideas to improve the culture of traffic safety.
Mr al Tayer praised Mr al Mansoori's participation and said it helped the RTA's "relationship with all members of the community, improved work systems, raised the performance level and enhanced customer confidence".
Some 28,583 complaints and comments were logged under Madinati and 10,958 suggestions under Fikrati last year.
Complaints identified inaccurate traffic signs, oil spilled on roads and pavements that needed repair.
Mr al Mansoori now gets friends calling him for information and advice on whom to call to report a problem.
His efforts have won the support of people such as Lola Lopez, the founder of the Dubai aid group Volunteer.
"People need to take ownership about what they see pro-actively," Ms Lopez said. "If they have a platform on which to do this, it opens a door."
@Email:rtalwar@thenational.ae
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AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
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Rating: 3/5
Army of the Dead
Director: Zack Snyder
Stars: Dave Bautista, Ella Purnell, Omari Hardwick, Ana de la Reguera
Three stars
World Test Championship table
1 India 71 per cent
2 New Zealand 70 per cent
3 Australia 69.2 per cent
4 England 64.1 per cent
5 Pakistan 43.3 per cent
6 West Indies 33.3 per cent
7 South Africa 30 per cent
8 Sri Lanka 16.7 per cent
9 Bangladesh 0
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
How tumultuous protests grew
- A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
- Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved
- Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
- At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
- Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars
- Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
- An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital
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The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
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NO OTHER LAND
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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
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Traits of Chinese zodiac animals
Tiger:independent, successful, volatile
Rat:witty, creative, charming
Ox:diligent, perseverent, conservative
Rabbit:gracious, considerate, sensitive
Dragon:prosperous, brave, rash
Snake:calm, thoughtful, stubborn
Horse:faithful, energetic, carefree
Sheep:easy-going, peacemaker, curious
Monkey:family-orientated, clever, playful
Rooster:honest, confident, pompous
Dog:loyal, kind, perfectionist
Boar:loving, tolerant, indulgent
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Sustainable Development Goals
1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere
2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialisation and foster innovation
10. Reduce inequality within and among countries
11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its effects
14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development
Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
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