Twitter has shared its round up of the biggest trends, searches and hashtags, and the most-followed accounts in the UAE.
Unsurprisingly, the engagement on the platform by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, has been among the most popular in the Emirates this year.
Sheikh Mohammed’s most popular tweet is also one of his most poignant: a sharing of prayers and condolences with the people of Lebanon following the Beirut explosion on August 4.
Sheikh Mohammed also shared his knowledge and experiences on the social media platform this year, with one of his most liked tweets stating: “#Life_has_taught_me that life goes on ... as one stage ends, another begins ... and things pass you by only for another opportunity to present itself ... just as night and day interchange ... life is renewed ... and man always returns to the path God sets ... he does not despair, he does not cease. Rather, he lives with a continued determination of creating a life.”
With more than 10 million followers on Twitter, Sheikh Mohammed's followers enjoy being kept up to date on the latest government initiatives, with this tweet about the inauguration of Al Wasl Plaza, at the heart of the Expo 2020 Dubai site, among his most retweeted.
The launch of a Mystery Shopper app to rate government services proved to be another favourite, garnering more than 1,300 retweets to date.
When it comes to charitable campaigns, the 10 Million Meals initiative exceeding its target figure was some welcome news in 2020.
The completion of the UAE's Hope Probe's transfer to its launch site at the space station on Tanegashima Island in Japan proved to be another highlight. The Hope Probe will be the first to provide a complete picture of the Martian atmosphere and its layers when it reaches the red planet's orbit in 2021.
His tweet about the launch of the Hope Probe, which featured a video showing footage of the UAE's incredible journey into space, has been viewed more than 362,000 times to date.
The UAE's explorations into space have become a huge source of fascination for Sheikh Mohammed's followers, who enjoyed his tweet about the signing of an agreement with Nasa to train Emirati astronauts, Hazza Al Mansouri and Sultan Al Neyadi, for potential missions to the International Space Station (ISS).
2020 also saw huge growth for the Twitter accounts of UAE government entities, as residents looked to stay up-to-date from reliable sources.
When it came to the UAE's most tweeted hashtags #Coronavirus, #فيروس_كورونا *(Coronavirus) and #انت_مسؤول (You Are Responsible) were predictably among the most popular.
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Read more:
Coronavirus fight dominates UAE's Google searches in 2020
Covid-19, Chadwick Boseman, #BlackLivesMatter ruled the 2020 Twitter conversation
Seven ways coronavirus has changed our lives forever
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ramez%20Galal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ramez%20Galal%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStreaming%20on%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMBC%20Shahid%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.5%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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.
Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Getting there
The flights
Flydubai operates up to seven flights a week to Helsinki. Return fares to Helsinki from Dubai start from Dh1,545 in Economy and Dh7,560 in Business Class.
The stay
Golden Crown Igloos in Levi offer stays from Dh1,215 per person per night for a superior igloo; www.leviniglut.net
Panorama Hotel in Levi is conveniently located at the top of Levi fell, a short walk from the gondola. Stays start from Dh292 per night based on two people sharing; www. golevi.fi/en/accommodation/hotel-levi-panorama
Arctic Treehouse Hotel in Rovaniemi offers stays from Dh1,379 per night based on two people sharing; www.arctictreehousehotel.com
INDIA SQUAD
Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammad Siraj and Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper)
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Disturbing%20facts%20and%20figures
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E51%25%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20of%20parents%20in%20the%20UAE%20feel%20like%20they%20are%20failing%20within%20the%20first%20year%20of%20parenthood%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E57%25%20vs%2043%25%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20is%20the%20number%20of%20mothers%20versus%20the%20number%20of%20fathers%20who%20feel%20they%E2%80%99re%20failing%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E28%25%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20of%20parents%20believe%20social%20media%20adds%20to%20the%20pressure%20they%20feel%20to%20be%20perfect%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E55%25%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20of%20parents%20cannot%20relate%20to%20parenting%20images%20on%20social%20media%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E67%25%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20of%20parents%20wish%20there%20were%20more%20honest%20representations%20of%20parenting%20on%20social%20media%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E53%25%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20of%20parents%20admit%20they%20put%20on%20a%20brave%20face%20rather%20than%20being%20honest%20due%20to%20fear%20of%20judgment%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cspan%20style%3D%22font-size%3A%2014px%3B%22%3ESource%3A%20YouGov%3C%2Fspan%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
the pledge
I pledge to uphold the duty of tolerance
I pledge to take a first stand against hate and injustice
I pledge to respect and accept people whose abilities, beliefs and culture are different from my own
I pledge to wish for others what I wish for myself
I pledge to live in harmony with my community
I pledge to always be open to dialogue and forgiveness
I pledge to do my part to create peace for all
I pledge to exercise benevolence and choose kindness in all my dealings with my community
I pledge to always stand up for these values: Zayed's values for tolerance and human fraternity
The specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed PDK
Power: 630bhp
Torque: 820Nm
Price: Dh683,200
On sale: now
