• Fog covers Reem Island in Abu Dhabi. Stephen Nelmes / The National
    Fog covers Reem Island in Abu Dhabi. Stephen Nelmes / The National
  • Fog rolls in over Abu Dhabi's city centre. Tim Knowles / The National
    Fog rolls in over Abu Dhabi's city centre. Tim Knowles / The National
  • Visibility was greatly reduced in the early morning. Tom Herbert / The National
    Visibility was greatly reduced in the early morning. Tom Herbert / The National
  • The sun pierces through the mist. Tim Knowles / The National
    The sun pierces through the mist. Tim Knowles / The National
  • The fog clears to reveal blue skies. Tim Knowles / The National
    The fog clears to reveal blue skies. Tim Knowles / The National
  • Residents experienced a chilly start to the morning as some areas sank below 10°C in the early hours and were still around 14°C by 8am on Thursday. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
    Residents experienced a chilly start to the morning as some areas sank below 10°C in the early hours and were still around 14°C by 8am on Thursday. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
  • Fog drifts across Qasr Al Hosn. The National Centre of Meteorology issued an alert as the murky weather descended over most of the coastline, stretching deep inland. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
    Fog drifts across Qasr Al Hosn. The National Centre of Meteorology issued an alert as the murky weather descended over most of the coastline, stretching deep inland. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
  • Speed limits were reduced on several motorways in the UAE capital on Thursday as a result of the fog. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
    Speed limits were reduced on several motorways in the UAE capital on Thursday as a result of the fog. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
  • Fog also affected Reem Island. Drivers were told not to exceed 80kph on a number of major roads as visibility was reduced to less than 1,000 metres. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
    Fog also affected Reem Island. Drivers were told not to exceed 80kph on a number of major roads as visibility was reduced to less than 1,000 metres. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
  • The fog was expected to lift by the late morning. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
    The fog was expected to lift by the late morning. Khushnum Bhandari / The National

UAE weather: Dense fog hits Abu Dhabi with single-digit temperatures predicted for weekend


Gillian Duncan
  • English
  • Arabic

Police reduced speed limits on several motorways in Abu Dhabi after dense fog engulfed the emirate early on Thursday.

The National Centre of Meteorology issued an alert as the murky weather descended over most of the coastline, stretching deep inland.

Drivers were told not to exceed 80kph on a number of major roads, as visibility was reduced to less than 1,000 metres.

Residents across the UAE also experienced a chilly start to the morning. Some areas sank below 10°C in the early hours and were still around 14°C by 8am.

The fog is expected to lift by 10.30am.

It will be partly cloudy in Abu Dhabi, but sunnier in Dubai.

Winds will be light to moderate and conditions will be slight to moderate in the Arabian Gulf, becoming rough overnight. It will be calm in the Sea of Oman.

Residents can expect a "significant drop" in temperatures by the weekend, according to NCM forecasters.

The significantly colder weather is set to hit western and coastal areas by Friday.

Tamkeen's offering
  • Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
  • Option 2: 50% across three years
  • Option 3: 30% across five years 

Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.

Based: Riyadh

Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany

Founded: September, 2020

Number of employees: 70

Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions

Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds  

Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices

'Gold'

Director:Anthony Hayes

Stars:Zaf Efron, Anthony Hayes

Rating:3/5

THE LOWDOWN

Romeo Akbar Walter

Rating: 2/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Robby Grewal
Cast: John Abraham, Mouni Roy, Jackie Shroff and Sikandar Kher 

How to apply for a drone permit
  • Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
  • Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
  • Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
  • Submit their request
What are the regulations?
  • Fly it within visual line of sight
  • Never over populated areas
  • Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
  • Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
  • Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
  • Should have a live feed of the drone flight
  • Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
What are NFTs?

Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.

You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”

However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.

This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”

This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.

What is safeguarding?

“Safeguarding, not just in sport, but in all walks of life, is making sure that policies are put in place that make sure your child is safe; when they attend a football club, a tennis club, that there are welfare officers at clubs who are qualified to a standard to make sure your child is safe in that environment,” Derek Bell explains.

Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi

From: Dara

To: Team@

Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT

Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East

Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.

Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.

I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.

This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.

It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.

Uber on,

Dara

Updated: January 27, 2022, 6:23 AM