After a long and tumultuous year for many, it’s time to see 2021 off in grand fashion. And luckily, the UAE knows how to kick off a spectacular New Year’s Eve celebration. This year will be no different, with a number of record-breaking attempts announced. Here’s a look at all the UAE venues that will put on a firework display this year.
In Dubai
Burj Khalifa
The big daddy of firework displays, so to speak, will put on a suitably ostentatious show called the Eve of Wonders at the stroke of midnight on Friday. Visitors can expect impressive pyrotechnics and spectacular light shows, as well as a new laser feature that’s making its debut at The Dubai Fountain in sync with Burj Khalifa's programme. Visitors who want to head to Downtown Dubai on the big night, can log on to the U by Emaar app and complete the pre-registration process, after which they will receive individual QR codes that can be used to access all Downtown Dubai locations on New Year's Eve. Several restaurants in The Dubai Mall have launched packages for those looking for a front row seat to the spectacle – although they do come at a hefty price tag – as can be seen here.
Expo 2020 Dubai
The “world’s greatest show” is set to ring in 2022 in a grand manner. There will be two firework displays taking place – one at midnight and another at 3am on Saturday.
Visitors can also expect 13 hours of non-stop festivities, beginning at 3pm. There will be entertainment from world-famous DJs, a midnight “ball drop” at Al Wasl Plaza and celebrations across some of the 192 country pavilions to celebrate the occasion.
Atlantis, The Palm
The luxury hotel has promised “one of Dubai’s largest and most stunning firework and pyrotechnic displays” at midnight on New Year's Eve. Although the duration hasn’t been mentioned, it has announced that the fireworks will light up the skies above the The Royal Beach, turning it into a riot of colour.
Global Village
Family-favourite Global Village will be counting down to 2022 with eight separate firework displays, synchronised to the timings of eight different destinations around the globe. Fireworks will start at the park during the day as Australia enters the new year at 5pm UAE time. Guests will then herald the New Year in Philippines at 8pm, Thailand at 9pm, Bangladesh at 10pm, India at 10.30pm and Pakistan at 11pm. At midnight, a five-minute firework display will welcome the New Year. An hour later at 1am, the eighth and final firework display will coincide with New Year in Russia.
Dubai Festival City Mall
There’s plenty of reason to ring in 2022 at Dubai Festival City Mall, which is hosting a New Year's Eve spectacular. The popular Imagine laser, light and fountain show will take place every hour, starting from 6.05pm until 1am, and joined by fireworks at 9pm and midnight. There will also be live performances from musicians, all set against the backdrop of Festival Bay waterfront views.
Bluewaters Island
The waterfront island will be ushering in the New Year with fireworks at the stroke of midnight. In the run up to the display, there will be live music and paparazzi-themed roaming performers entertaining visitors across the island's open avenues.
The entertainment venue will also be showcasing the Middle East’s longest running drone light show, which illustrates the UAE’s journey with 500 drones, taking place at 8pm and 10.30pm. Visitors can take in the festivities from Ain Dubai – which has launched New Year's Eve packages from Dh1,500 – and from many of the restaurants, which have launched set menus for the occasion. Public transport is recommended as parking on the day will be limited to Bluewaters residents, attraction ticket holders, Caesars Palace Dubai hotel guests and restaurant guests with confirmed reservations.
There will be complimentary back-to-back shuttle buses running from 2pm to 2am at Jebel Ali Metro, or visitors can also take a scenic walk via the pedestrian bridge connecting Bluewaters to JBR.
Al Seef
The heritage district of Al Seef will be having midnight firework display. With the Dubai Creek in the background and many waterfront restaurants, there's plenty of reason to head there on New Year's Eve.
La Mer
The picturesque waterfront property will host a firework display at midnight. Visitors will be able to enjoy it from many of the venue's dining establishments.
Burj Al Arab
The world-famous hotel has confirmed there will be a firework display that will run for eight minutes, taking place at midnight on December 31.
In Abu Dhabi
Sheikh Zayed Festival
All eyes will be on the capital this year, as Abu Dhabi will attempt to break three Guinness World Records as part of Sheikh Zayed Festival's New Year's Eve celebrations. There will be a 40-minute firework display that will attempt to set records for volume, duration and form. The festival organising committee has also lined up a series of entertainment events and performances for the night. A giant drone show that will light up the skies of Al Wathba will also take place. "This will be the first show of its kind and magnitude in the world," said state news agency Wam.
Yas Island
Yas Island will welcome 2022 with two fireworks celebrations at Yas Bay. Set to take place on Thursday at 9pm and then again on Friday at midnight, UAE residents can expect a spectacular display. Apart from pyrotechnics, there will be a live performance by popular Bollywood singer Atif Aslam, who will be performing for the first time on Yas Island at Etihad Arena. Guests between 12 and 16 years of age will require a valid negative PCR test with a 96-hour validity, and guests who are 16 years old and above, must be fully vaccinated with a green status on Al Hosn app, as well as a negative PCR test with a 96-hour validity.
Abu Dhabi Corniche
It's a favourite for NYE celebrations and this year is no different. Abu Dhabi residents will be able to see the skies above the Corniche light up at midnight on December 31.
Al Maryah Island
Al Maryah Island will host a family-friendly New Year's Eve celebration featuring concerts by a trio of Arab pop stars as well as a fireworks display. The event, running from 6pm to 2am, will take place in the South and North Plazas of the site, with the fireworks best viewed from the promenade. Lebanese pop star Elissa will be joined by Emirati crooner Hussain Al Jassmi and Emirati-Yemeni singer Balqees. The trio will perform separately at the 1,200 capacity South Plaza as part of a sold-out concert. Doors open at 7pm, with performances to begin an hour later. The family activities will take place in North Plaza, where doors will open from 6.30pm. In addition to food and beverage stalls, there will be a giant version of popular board games and areas to play basketball and test your archery skills. Entry is free, with the exception of the concert which is ticketed.
Saadiyat Beach Club
The Saadiyat Island venue will have dazzling fireworks at the stroke of midnight.
Hazza bin Zayed Stadium
Residents of Al Ain can head over to the attraction, which is popular with locals and tourists, as there will be a grand display to usher in 2022.
Madinat Zayed
There will also be a grand fireworks show in the Al Dhafra region in Abu Dhabi at midnight.
In Sharjah
Al Majaz Waterfront
The leisure destination is a favourite for families come New Year’s Eve, and this year will be no different. Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) has announced that there will be a 10-minute long fireworks show lighting up the sky in Al Majaz Waterfront. The family-friendly venue has a number of dining spots for those who want front row seats for the display.
Khorfakkan Beach
Over at the east coast, Sharjah residents will be able to take in a 10-minute-long firework display at Khorfakkan Beach. Here too, there is a variety of restaurants and cafes offering viewing spots.
In Ras Al Khaimah
The emirate's organising committee for the night is gearing up for a Guinness World Record-breaking fireworks display, which will feature pyrodrones, lights, colours and shapes. The 12-minute pyrotechnic spectacle, which will cover a 4.7-kilometre area along the waterfront between Al Marjan Island and Al Hamra Village, will aim to break two world records. The first attempt will be for the Most Remote Operated Multirotors / Drones Launching Fireworks Simultaneously and the second attempt is for the Highest Altitude Multirotor / Drone Firework Display.
Gates will open at 4pm for the firework display.
Family-friendly activities and events around the display are being planned, plus children’s play areas and food and drinks outlets.
To mark the beginning of 2021, Ras Al Khaimah dazzled guests with a 10-minute firework show that won the Guinness World Records titles for most unmanned aerial vehicles for launching fireworks simultaneously, and the longest fireworks waterfall.
This list is being updated*
Muslim Council of Elders condemns terrorism on religious sites
The Muslim Council of Elders has strongly condemned the criminal attacks on religious sites in Britain.
It firmly rejected “acts of terrorism, which constitute a flagrant violation of the sanctity of houses of worship”.
“Attacking places of worship is a form of terrorism and extremism that threatens peace and stability within societies,” it said.
The council also warned against the rise of hate speech, racism, extremism and Islamophobia. It urged the international community to join efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
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.
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UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
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Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
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Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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Most smart home devices are controlled via the owner's smartphone. Therefore, if you are using public wi-fi on your phone, always use a VPN (virtual private network) that offers strong security features and anonymises your internet connection.
Keep your smart home devices’ software up-to-date. Device makers often send regular updates - follow them without fail as they could provide protection from a new security risk.
Use two-factor authentication so that in addition to a password, your identity is authenticated by a second sign-in step like a code sent to your mobile number.
Set up a separate guest network for acquaintances and visitors to ensure the privacy of your IoT devices’ network.
Change the default privacy and security settings of your IoT devices to take extra steps to secure yourself and your home.
Always give your router a unique name, replacing the one generated by the manufacturer, to ensure a hacker cannot ascertain its make or model number.
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SPECS
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More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
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The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
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