On November 6, 2016, King Charles III and Queen Camilla visited the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque as part of a short sightseeing tour of the UAE.
The current British monarch was then the Prince of Wales, while Queen Camilla was the Duchess of Cornwall. The royal visit to the UAE was part of a three-nation tour in the region, and the eighth time Charles visited since 1989.
A trip to the mosque was one of the first stops. The royal couple had previously seen the landmark in 2007 while it was still under construction, but hadn’t yet witnessed it in its completed form.
Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, who served as Minister of State for Tolerance at the time, hosted the couple on a tour of the mosque. The visit was aimed to be a celebration of the UAE’s work to promote religious tolerance. During the tour, King Charles spoke with Bishop Paul Hinder of St Joseph’s Cathedral, one of two Roman Catholic churches in Abu Dhabi.
“For me, the visit is for recognition,” Bishop Paul told The National in 2016. “The prince was able to speak to us and see the mutual tolerance, which is a reality in this country. It doesn’t happen all over the world that we can meet in such a place in such a formation. Living and seeing this reality has an impact.”
The couple toured the main hall, where they learnt more about the structure’s architecture, design and carpet. They also visited a photography exhibition. A reception was then organised where the future king and queen met guests from different faiths and nationalities.
With more than 200 nationalities living in the UAE, a large majority of whom are Commonwealth citizens from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, the royals were keen to sample a brief snapshot of diversity in the capital.
After their visit to the mosque, the couple visited the Bu Tinah archipelago, a sanctuary for endangered species such as the dugong and hawksbill turtle, and a UN-recognised heritage site located about 150km from Abu Dhabi. They also attended a celebration at Jahili Fort in Al Ain and a Youth Circle event in Masdar City.
He has since visited as king, attending Cop28 UAE last year.
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Company profile
Name: Steppi
Founders: Joe Franklin and Milos Savic
Launched: February 2020
Size: 10,000 users by the end of July and a goal of 200,000 users by the end of the year
Employees: Five
Based: Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Dubai
Financing stage: Two seed rounds – the first sourced from angel investors and the founders' personal savings
Second round raised Dh720,000 from silent investors in June this year
Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champioons League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)
The five pillars of Islam
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
