Drones may have taken centre stage during a sensational light show on Thursday to celebrate the UAE’s Golden Jubilee but their potential to transform delivery networks is also turning heads.
UAE-based delivery service Barq EV set a Guinness World Record when the firm’s logistics drone completed the longest non-stop return flight for a drone at 18.065 kilometres.
The achievement is a sign of things to come, as Dubai sets ambitious targets to expand a drone-based delivery network to relieve pressure on congested roads.
The programme seeks to improve people’s lives by reducing emissions generated by shipping and transportation
Abdallah Abu Sheikh
The Dubai Programme to Enable Drone Transportation initiative was launched by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, in November.
It aims to enable drone use across several sectors, including health, security, shipping and food.
Barq Ev set another Guinness World Record for the longest flight of a drone for a delivery service at 13.584km, placing the company at the forefront of potential new developments in Dubai.
“We are at the very nascent stage of the company and we have already broken two Guinness World Records, it is an extremely proud moment for all of us,” said Ahmad Al Mazrouei, a founder of the company.
“This achievement is a testimony to our readiness to launch the drone delivery service in the country.”
Enterprising plans set to take flight
Barq EV will be launched early next year, backed by three entrepreneurs in the advanced technology sector.
Abdallah Abu Sheikh is a serial entrepreneur who has developed and launched technology projects in the region, including Rizek – a service marketplace in the UAE and Egypt – while Al Mazrouei is a technology investor in the UAE, who worked in the Abu Dhabi Investment Council and as director of Al Mazoon Investments.
The third backer is Mazen Al Jubeir, an early investor in technology projects including Careem and Mrsool.
A global trend in developing innovative services in the transportation and logistics sector has ranked the industry fourth among the most-funded industries in the Mena region.
It recorded a growth of 122 per cent this year, with several leading companies based in UAE and Egypt set to expand the technology further across the region.
The future delivery system is designed to safely get packages to customers in 30 minutes or less using autonomous aerial vehicles to improve rapid parcel delivery, increase safety and efficiency of existing transport systems.
Dubai’s drone programme aims to reduce carbon emissions generated by traditional shipping and transport routes, while generating new jobs in an expanding drone delivery network.
Laws and regulations governing air space in which delivery drones can operate will ensure safety across a commercial network for packages and potential passengers in the “Dubai Sky Dome” project.
“The programme seeks to improve people’s lives by reducing emissions generated by shipping and transportation and facilitating the movement of goods and materials,” said Mr Abu Sheikh.
“This way, it will contribute to positioning Dubai as one of the smartest cities in the world.”
Student Of The Year 2
Director: Punit Malhotra
Stars: Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, Ananya Pandey, Aditya Seal
1.5 stars
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Off-roading in the UAE: How to checklist
World ranking (at month’s end)
Jan - 257
Feb - 198
Mar - 159
Apr - 161
May - 159
Jun – 162
Currently: 88
Year-end rank since turning pro
2016 - 279
2015 - 185
2014 - 143
2013 - 63
2012 - 384
2011 - 883
What is a calorie?
A food calorie, or kilocalorie, is a measure of nutritional energy generated from what is consumed.
One calorie, is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1°C.
A kilocalorie represents a 1,000 true calories of energy.
Energy density figures are often quoted as calories per serving, with one gram of fat in food containing nine calories, and a gram of protein or carbohydrate providing about four.
Alcohol contains about seven calories a gram.
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
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The specs
Price: From Dh180,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged and supercharged in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 320hp @ 5,700rpm
Torque: 400Nm @ 2,200rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 9.7L / 100km
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Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
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UNSC Elections 2022-23
Seats open:
- Two for Africa Group
- One for Asia-Pacific Group (traditionally Arab state or Tunisia)
- One for Latin America and Caribbean Group
- One for Eastern Europe Group
Countries so far running:
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
Innotech Profile
Date started: 2013
Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari
Based: Muscat, Oman
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
Size: 15 full-time employees
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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.
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
Naga
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