Aden police and local militias began a major campaign to crack down on illegal gun ownership in a bid to prevent terrorist infiltration.
Brig Shallal Ali Shaya, the director of Aden Security forces, accompanied with Col Jamal Dayan, the head of the traffic police, launched the campaign in the Al Mansoura and Al Sheikh Othman districts of the southern port city.
"The security campaign aims to put an end for the phenomenon of bearing arms as part of serious steps towards strengthening the security in Aden, Capt Abdulrahman Al Nakeeb, the spokesman of Aden police, told The National. "To achieve this, our forces are going to deal strictly with anybody who bears any kind of illegal arms."
It is now illegal to carry guns in Aden, Al Nakeeb added. “It is time to put an end for such a bad phenomenon because it helped the terror cells to move with ease inside the city”.
Even before the war, it was not uncommon for men to openly carry assault rifles or handguns in the street.
The move comes days after members of the Security Belt Forces, a militia armed and trained by the Saudi-led Arab Coalition, began shutting down gun shops in the city.
In conjunction with the crackdown on gun ownership, Aden traffic police have begun stopping all unregistered vehicles and those without licence plates in the city.
The owners are then sent to the office of the traffic police in Aden to fill out the registration forms for their vehicle.
"The campaign just started and we gave the owners of the unregistered cars or the cars without license plates a week to go to our office to register their cars," Col Jamal Dayan told The National.
“At the beginning of this coming September, we will detain any unregistered car or any car without license plates,” Col Dayan added.
He said that the number of unregistered cars and those without license plates has increased dramatically in the city over the last five years as a result of the chaos caused by the war.
“It is time to stop this havoc,” the colonel said.
Residents of the city welcomed the move that many saw as needed to boost security. While there have been attacks by terror groups in recent months, the city has largely been insulated from the worst of the violence elsewhere in the country.
“We have suffered enough from the unlawfully armed groups that came to our city during the war with the Houthis, they move freely with their arms,” said Amal Ahmad, a student in Aden. “I started to hate going to school because of the clashes that broke out between some elements in places near to our school.”
The operations come just over a week after Security Belt Forces, who are allied to the Southern Transitional Council, clashed with fighters allied to the government of Yemen. The STC demanded an equal say in future peace talks as well as the removal of northerners and Islamist Muslim Brotherhood members from the government.
The STC blamed Islamist infiltrators of allowing a recent attack in Aden that killed dozens at a military parade, including a senior STC military official.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
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U19 WORLD CUP, WEST INDIES
UAE group fixtures (all in St Kitts)
Saturday 15 January: v Canada
Thursday 20 January: v England
Saturday 22 January: v Bangladesh
UAE squad
Alishan Sharafu (captain), Shival Bawa, Jash Giyanani, Sailles Jaishankar, Nilansh Keswani, Aayan Khan, Punya Mehra, Ali Naseer, Ronak Panoly, Dhruv Parashar, Vinayak Raghavan, Soorya Sathish, Aryansh Sharma, Adithya Shetty, Kai Smith
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
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- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
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- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
Find the right policy for you
Don’t wait until the week you fly to sign up for insurance – get it when you book your trip. Insurance covers you for cancellation and anything else that can go wrong before you leave.
Some insurers, such as World Nomads, allow you to book once you are travelling – but, as Mr Mohammed found out, pre-existing medical conditions are not covered.
Check your credit card before booking insurance to see if you have any travel insurance as a benefit – most UAE banks, such as Emirates NBD, First Abu Dhabi Bank and Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, have cards that throw in insurance as part of their package. But read the fine print – they may only cover emergencies while you’re travelling, not cancellation before a trip.
Pre-existing medical conditions such as a heart condition, diabetes, epilepsy and even asthma may not be included as standard. Again, check the terms, exclusions and limitations of any insurance carefully.
If you want trip cancellation or curtailment, baggage loss or delay covered, you may need a higher-grade plan, says Ambareen Musa of Souqalmal.com. Decide how much coverage you need for emergency medical expenses or personal liability. Premium insurance packages give up to $1 million (Dh3.7m) in each category, Ms Musa adds.
Don’t wait for days to call your insurer if you need to make a claim. You may be required to notify them within 72 hours. Gather together all receipts, emails and reports to prove that you paid for something, that you didn’t use it and that you did not get reimbursed.
Finally, consider optional extras you may need, says Sarah Pickford of Travel Counsellors, such as a winter sports holiday. Also ensure all individuals can travel independently on that cover, she adds. And remember: “Cheap isn’t necessarily best.”
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
The years Ramadan fell in May
The bio
Favourite food: Japanese
Favourite car: Lamborghini
Favourite hobby: Football
Favourite quote: If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough
Favourite country: UAE
Ultra processed foods
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- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
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The specs: 2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross
Price, base / as tested: Dh101,140 / Dh113,800
Engine: Turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder
Power: 148hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 250Nm @ 2,000rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed CVT
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Ad Astra
Director: James Gray
Stars: Brad Pitt, Tommy Lee Jones
Five out of five stars
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.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
