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Sheikh Hamdan announces launch of Dubai universal blueprint for Artificial IntelligenceSheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council, has unveiled the Dubai Universal Blueprint for Artificial Intelligence,
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Dubai Airport resumes operations after heavy rain causes chaosDubai International Airport has reopened after experiencing severe disruptions due to heavy rainfall that battered the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and surrounding areas.
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Saudi Arabia initiates plan to recruit 1,000 nurses from Sri LankaMedical and paramedical staff to address rising healthcare demands in the kingdom.
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Turkey opens its doors: visa-free entry for tourists from six countriesIn a bid to invigorate tourism and forge stronger international connections, Turkey has made a significant announcement, offering visa-free entry to citizens from six countries, including the
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The Story Behind Cora’s Bridal Smart Tips
You’ve heard it before: Every story has a beginning. And the great ones typically have a lesson as well. The lesson behind this story is to never give up.
Gulf
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Green Parks in Abu Dhabi mitigate urban heat island effect by up to 2.2°C: studyA recent study conducted by Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) in Abu Dhabi, in collaboration with the US tech giant IBM, has unveiled the pivotal role of green
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Saudi Arabia to allow alcohol sales to non-Muslim diplomats, unveiling new regulatory frameworkSaudi Arabia is set to permit the sale of alcohol to non-Muslim diplomats, marking a significant shift from its long-standing prohibition. The decision, outlined in a new regulatory framework,
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Possible single visa for GCC residents to enable intra-member state travel soonThe Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), comprising six countries, is contemplating the implementation of a single visa system, allowing residents to travel freely among member states, according
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Israel's Foreign Minister inaugurates Embassy in BahrainIsrael's Foreign Minister, Eli Cohen, officially opened the country's permanent embassy in Bahrain. The inauguration took place during Cohen's visit to Bahrain, where he met
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Bahrain enhances prisoners' rights amid mass hunger strikeBahrain has announced an expansion of certain human rights provisions for individuals within its prison system in response to a mass hunger strike involving hundreds of prisoners in the
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Kuwait plans land transfer valued at $8.1 billion to pension fund - finance ministryKuwait's Ministry of Finance announced on Monday its intention to facilitate the transfer of land valued at over 2.5 billion dinars ($8.12 billion) to the nation's pension fund
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Bahrain's real estate sector continues Its upward trajectoryAccording to a recent report by Savills, Bahrain's real estate sector experienced steady growth in the second quarter of 2023, with positive developments seen in residential sales, rents, and
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Protesters target Polanski film at cinemas in BrusselsFeminist activists defaced cinemas in Brussels with angry condemnations of director Roman Polanski's latest film overnight on Tuesday and Wednesday.
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London Latino heartlands struggle for survivalWhenever London's South Americans go looking for a job, a helping hand, the flavours of home or a party with their compatriots, they head to the Latino indoor market
Business
British Prime Minister Theresa May said Sunday she was preparing to make a "bold offer" to MPs in one final attempt to get them to back her Brexit deal.
Former England footballer David Beckham was on Thursday disqualified from driving for six months after using his phone while behind the wheel.
British Prime Minister Theresa May on Sunday urged main opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn to work with her to break the Brexit deadlock, telling him:
Britons are increasingly choosing package holidays outside of the European Union this summer as Brexit uncertainty shakes the pound, tour operator Thomas Cook said
Social media giant Facebook on Thursday banned various far-right British groups including the English Defence League from its network for promoting hate and violence.
The ‘fighting against so called “persecution” of the Russian language in Latvia’, ‘the violation of human rights’ in Odessa, etc… Who do you think might have been behind this thrust of
A London-based international court has ordered Djibouti to pay $385 million in compensation to UAE global ports operator DP World over a breach of contract, the
Santander's UK banking division has been fined £32.8 million for failing to process accounts and investments of deceased customers, regulators said Wednesday.
An openly gay Scottish artist who celebrated queer lives in a short film shot on an iPhone won Britain's prestigious Turner Prize Tuesday.
Mali's fabled city of Timbuktu on Thursday celebrated the recovery of its historic mausoleums, destroyed during an Islamist takeover of northern Mali in 2012 and rebuilt thanks to UN cultural agency UNESCO.
The dusty desert city formally received the keys to the precious shrines to Muslim saints dating back to medieval times at a ceremony consecrating their return that was held in the legendary Djingareyber mosque.
Al-Qaeda-linked insurgents wrecked 14 of the city's iconic earthen shrines built during Timbuktu's 15th and 16th century golden age as an economic, intellectual and spiritual centre.
To mark their reconstruction, five heads of cattle were ritually sacrificed just after dawn, ahead of a reading of the entire Muslim holy book the Koran and the handing of the keys to the families in charge of their care.
"This day celebrates the remarkable and courageous work accomplished to recover your dignity," UNESCO's Lazare Eloundou told the officials, diplomats and religious and traditional dignitaries attending the ceremony.
UNESCO has listed the city as a world heritage site in danger due to "its important role of commercial, spiritual and cultural centre on the southern trans-Saharan trading route, and its traditional characteristic construction techniques."
Islamist fighters destroyed the centuries-old shrines after seizing the city in April 2012, swiftly implementing a version of Islamic law which forced women to wear veils and set whipping and stoning as punishment for transgressions.
- 'Idolatrous' -
They considered the shrines, as well as priceless ancient manuscripts, to be idolatrous.
But in January 2013 they fled the city, driven out by a French-led international force which is still stationed in Mali but has failed to take control of remote northern reaches of the vast desert nation.
On billboards across the Florida Everglades, a burly Native American man pries open an alligator's mouth, pressing his face dangerously close to the reptile's 80 glinting teeth. "Adventures Await," the ads promise, as motorists whiz by.
The man's name is Rocky Jim, Jr., a 44-year-old Miccosukee Indian who has been wrestling alligators for 31 years, entertaining countless tourists from a sand pit and pond beneath a chickee hut along the Tamiami Trail, a two-lane road linking Miami to the port city of Tampa.
But on the final Sunday of 2015, the last remaining Miccosukee Indian in the century-old tradition of wrestling alligators decided it was time to step down, leaving no successors in sight among the tribe of around 600 people.
The end came just minutes into the 1 o'clock show, when Jim coaxed the alligator's mouth open by gently tapping its snout, then placed his hand inside.
The move is perilous only if something touches the alligator's palate -- a drop of sweat, a grain of sand -- causing the jaw to reflexively snap shut.
While pulling out his hand, he rotated it slightly and accidentally grazed a tooth.
The feeling was like "a door slamming on your hand. With sharp teeth," Jim said in an interview later.
But in the moment, as he looked down at his palm and forearm encased in the alligator's jaw, he had only one thought: "Don't shake."
"If it shakes, my hand is going to go with it," he told AFP, describing the thrashing motion alligators use to slice up fresh meat, much the same way as sharks.
"Its natural instinct is to do that," said Jim, who had been bitten several times before.
Italians call it a brindisi, the celebratory clinking of glasses to mark a special occasion.
And if the occasion is really special, there is a good chance it will involve fizz from Ferrari, the country's market leader in the production of top-end sparkling wine.
A 113-year-old family-run business based at Trento in the foothills of the Alps, this Ferrari has nothing to do with Formula One.
It has long been synonymous with Italian sporting success however, most famously when legendary striker Paolo Rossi glugged from one of its magnums after the national soccer team had triumphed in the 1982 World Cup final.
On home soil, Ferrari is also a wedding toast favourite and a perennial choice of Italian leaders seeking to impress visiting dignitaries, most recently at the World Expo in Milan, where Prime Minister Matteo Renzi teased French President Francois Hollande that he would not find anything better in Champagne.
"The great heritage of the brand is how it is entwined with Italians' lives and emotions," says the firm's youthful CEO Matteo Lunelli.
Along with a clutch of cousins, Lunelli is now looking to leverage Ferrari's domestic reputation into international growth, helped by growing critical acclaim and marketing breakthroughs like being served at the after party at this year's Emmy awards.
At the recent Champagne & Sparkling Wine World Championships in London, the Italian producer entered nine wines and secured nine gold medals, walking away with the overall best producer award ahead of venerable champagne houses Charles Heidsieck and Louis Roederer.
"It is unheard of," said bubbles authority Tom Stevenson, the competition organiser. "It has certainly never happened in any competition I have judged at around the world."
- Prosecco 'opens a door' -
Lunelli believes the export-led boom in sales of cheaper-to-produce Prosecco, which has recently surpassed champagne to become the world's most popular sparkling wine, can help Ferrari expand steadily in its target niche at the luxury end of the market.
"Of course it is a challenge to explain to customers the diversity of Italian sparkling wines, which come from very different areas and are made in very different ways," he said.
"But I'm convinced, the success of Prosecco opens a door for us," he said.
Experts are not quite so sure at a time when the trend in wine marketing is towards recognisable brands -- something Prosecco, with its easy-drinking style and easy-to-remember name, has benefited from.
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UAE
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Reaching new heights: Dubai's skyrocketing residential towerThe Dubai Marina district is soon to host what is touted as the world's tallest residential tower, courtesy of Dubai developer Select Group. Rising to...
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Dubai residents to enjoy six-day free parking during Eid Al Fitr festivitiesDubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has unveiled a generous offer for motorists during the upcoming Eid Al Fitr holidays. Parking across Dubai...
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Umrah in Ramadan from the UAE? 3 vital points to consider before departure!Understanding Mandatory Vaccinations, Umrah Permits, and Visa Requirements
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Sheikh Mohammed establishes 'Parkin' PJSC for Dubai's parking operationsIn a recent move, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has sanctioned Law No. (30)...
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UAE's COP28 President defends climate science comments amid criticismSultan al-Jaber, the head of the United Nations climate conference in Dubai, has reaffirmed his respect for climate science amidst backlash following...
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Exciting prospects: extended weekends await UAE residents in 2024In 2024, UAE residents might enjoy a six-day-long weekend, as the government plans four extended breaks according to the official calendar.
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Dubai's budget for 2024-2026 reaches Dh246.6 billion, supported by Sheikh Mohammed's visionHis Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has given his approval to Dubai's...
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In a world first, Sharjah replaces fire-prone facade of residential towerSharjah, UAE: The Sharjah City Municipality has taken a groundbreaking step by replacing flammable cladding with non-combustible materials on a residential...
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Dubai to inaugurate world's first floating mosqueIn a move to bolster religious tourism in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Dubai is set to unveil the world's first floating mosque at the Dubai Water...
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Dubai Airport surpasses pre-pandemic levels with 41.6 million passengersDubai International Airport has achieved a remarkable milestone by surpassing pre-pandemic passenger levels, recording 41.6 million travelers during...
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UAE passport ranks 12th globally with visa-free access to 179 countriesThe United Arab Emirates (UAE) passport has secured its position as the strongest in the region, climbing three places in the global rankings. According...
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One million Israelis have traveled to the UAE since the Abraham AccordsSince the signing of the Abraham Accords in 2020, one million Israelis have visited the United Arab Emirates, marking a significant milestone in the...