ABU DHABI // Authorities are moving forward on a plan to set up a sex offenders registry as the UAE continues its first steps of establishing comprehensive child protection laws. "Legislation protects the privacy of every individual in society, whether he is a former criminal or otherwise," said Major Faisal al Shammari of the Permanent Higher Committee for Child Protection. "Sex crimes of this sort, particularly those that target children, require a special sort of treatment that curtails the privacy of the criminal record of these individuals."
Major al Shammari's comments came after the committee's second meeting last week, in which five subcommittees were set up. Their tasks were reviewing legislation on child abuse, setting up a child protection centre, creating awareness programmes, examining technical issues and overseeing the UAE's participation in a global task force to prevent the online exploitation of children. The sex offender registry will keep a detailed profile of convicted criminals, including their name, age, place of residence and biometric data such as fingerprints, eye imprints and facial profile. It also will include profiles of the type of victim the sex offender prefers.
Sex offenders on the registry would face restrictions on their place of residence and workplace. Such a system may have prevented the death of Moosa Mukhtiar Ahmed, the four-year-old who was sexually assaulted and murdered at a Dubai mosque last November, Major al Shammari said. The man convicted in the killing had committed prior sexual offences. "As a person with a family and children, you want to know whether one of your neighbours has a criminal record against children," he said. "As law enforcement, we don't have the authority to take action against an individual like that without legislation."
For instance, he said, authorities cannot ban a sex offender from certain neighbourhoods without the necessary laws. The registry is also likely to have different categories of offenders depending on the seriousness of the crime. The categories would depend on the level of danger the offenders pose to children, their psychological profile and their prior criminal record, he said. The next step will involve public consultation on the draft laws.
Nashwa al Qubaisi, an Emirati advocate and legal consultant, said stronger laws were important, but that child specialists were more urgently needed to work with police and in the courts. "We do not need a legal expert who asks questions only to reach a decision of how to punish abusers," she said. "We need child specialists who know how to deal with children in courts and understand the subtleties of the situation. We need those specialists to work side-by-side with us, lawyers, and judges."
Dr Lori Schwab, a consultant and psychotherapist at Al Ain Hospital, who is working on creating a child protection group at the hospital, said more co-operation in creating the legislation was needed from groups in the UAE studying child abuse. Even though there was extensive work now being done, "I find it very unfortunate that we're all not getting together with all our gained knowledge sitting at one table to get this thing moving a little bit faster," Dr Schwab said.
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Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
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'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
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Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
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Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
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Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
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Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
The specs: 2018 Renault Megane
Price, base / as tested Dh52,900 / Dh59,200
Engine 1.6L in-line four-cylinder
Transmission Continuously variable transmission
Power 115hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 156Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.6L / 100km
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
South Africa squad
Faf du Plessis (captain), Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Theunis de Bruyn, AB de Villiers, Dean Elgar, Heinrich Klaasen (wicketkeeper), Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Morne Morkel, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada.
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Company%20Profile
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The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh1,100,000 (est)
Engine 5.2-litre V10
Gearbox seven-speed dual clutch
Power 630bhp @ 8,000rpm
Torque 600Nm @ 6,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined 15.7L / 100km (est)
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
The%20specs
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Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
Company%20profile
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
