• Adrain Hirschmueller of the environment organization Nature And Biodiversity Conservation Union, or NABU, shows the counting of beetles on a flower through a magnifying glass during a meeting with The Associated Press ahead of the start of the Citizen-Science-Projekts " insect summer" in central Berlin, Germany, Thursday, May 23, 2024. Set from May 31 to June 9 and Aug. 2 to Aug. 11, the environmental group has invited people to spend an hour counting the insects they see in a 10-meter radius (33-foot) radius and report what they see to NABU. (AP Photo / Markus Schreiber)
    Adrain Hirschmueller of the environment organization Nature And Biodiversity Conservation Union, or NABU, shows the counting of beetles on a flower through a magnifying glass during a meeting with The Associated Press ahead of the start of the Citizen-Science-Projekts " insect summer" in central Berlin, Germany, Thursday, May 23, 2024. Set from May 31 to June 9 and Aug. 2 to Aug. 11, the environmental group has invited people to spend an hour counting the insects they see in a 10-meter radius (33-foot) radius and report what they see to NABU. (AP Photo / Markus Schreiber)
  • Palestinians flee areas of Rafah amid renewed Israeli strikes. EPA
    Palestinians flee areas of Rafah amid renewed Israeli strikes. EPA
  • French police at the doorway of the Ministry of Agriculture after an activist of the environmental group 'Riposte Alimentaire' (Food Retaliation) threw a bucket of orange paint to protest for food sustainability in Paris. AFP
    French police at the doorway of the Ministry of Agriculture after an activist of the environmental group 'Riposte Alimentaire' (Food Retaliation) threw a bucket of orange paint to protest for food sustainability in Paris. AFP
  • Policemen carry away a woman from a protest encampment for Palestine, set up by students protesting the war in Gaza on the campus of the Vienna Univesity of Technology. AFP
    Policemen carry away a woman from a protest encampment for Palestine, set up by students protesting the war in Gaza on the campus of the Vienna Univesity of Technology. AFP
  • An Iraqi Yazidi man stands in front of a building destroyed during the 2014 attack by ISIS fighters in the village of Solagh in the Sinjar region of northern Iraq. AFP
    An Iraqi Yazidi man stands in front of a building destroyed during the 2014 attack by ISIS fighters in the village of Solagh in the Sinjar region of northern Iraq. AFP
  • Fatima Noor performing in a 'Wall of Death' stunt during an annual carnival at a Sufi shrine in Shah Jiwana, in Pakistan's Punjab province. AFP
    Fatima Noor performing in a 'Wall of Death' stunt during an annual carnival at a Sufi shrine in Shah Jiwana, in Pakistan's Punjab province. AFP
  • Employees working at the construction site of a grain storage project in Yancheng, in eastern China's Jiangsu province. AFP
    Employees working at the construction site of a grain storage project in Yancheng, in eastern China's Jiangsu province. AFP
  • People queue to cast their votes at a polling station during general elections, in Cape Town, South Africa. AP
    People queue to cast their votes at a polling station during general elections, in Cape Town, South Africa. AP
  • Children sit on top of a car in Noumea, France's Pacific territory of New Caledonia. Riots sparked by a constitutional reform project broke out this month. France has lifted a state of emergency across the territory after two weeks. AFP
    Children sit on top of a car in Noumea, France's Pacific territory of New Caledonia. Riots sparked by a constitutional reform project broke out this month. France has lifted a state of emergency across the territory after two weeks. AFP
  • Eunide Majeur Montis, the wife of mission director Judes Montis, cries after attending his funeral service in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. AP
    Eunide Majeur Montis, the wife of mission director Judes Montis, cries after attending his funeral service in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. AP
  • Buildings cover Gardi Sugdub Island, part of the San Blas archipelago off Panama's Caribbean coast. About 300 Guna Indigenous families are set to relocate to new homes, built by the government, on the mainland. AP
    Buildings cover Gardi Sugdub Island, part of the San Blas archipelago off Panama's Caribbean coast. About 300 Guna Indigenous families are set to relocate to new homes, built by the government, on the mainland. AP
  • Horse riders perform during the 23rd Hassan II Trophy of Traditional Equestrian Arts (Tbourida) in Rabat, Morocco. EPA
    Horse riders perform during the 23rd Hassan II Trophy of Traditional Equestrian Arts (Tbourida) in Rabat, Morocco. EPA
  • Dorothea Barron, 99, who was a serving Wren at the time of D-Day sits in a Spitfire with pilot Jeremy Britcher at Biggin Hill Airport in Kent, England. AP
    Dorothea Barron, 99, who was a serving Wren at the time of D-Day sits in a Spitfire with pilot Jeremy Britcher at Biggin Hill Airport in Kent, England. AP

News

Today's best photos: From beetle counting to an ex-Wren in a Spitfire

The National picks the most striking images from around the world

The National

May 29, 2024

  • English
  • Arabic

More from The National:

Tuesday's best photos: From Ed Davey's paddle boarding fall to cheese rolling

Monday's best photos: From a new Iranian parliament to farmers protesting in Brussels

Sunday's best photos: From skin-shedding cicada to Cannes Palme d'Or winner

Saturday's best photos: From a Naval Academy graduation to Cannes fashion

Friday's best photos: From a White House state dinner to the Pope's new biography

Thursday's best photos: From a star nursery to ex-chancellors in Berlin

Company name: Play:Date

Launched: March 2017 on UAE Mother’s Day

Founder: Shamim Kassibawi

Based: Dubai with operations in the UAE and US

Sector: Tech 

Size: 20 employees

Stage of funding: Seed

Investors: Three founders (two silent co-founders) and one venture capital fund

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo

Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm

Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km

Price: from Dh94,900

On sale: now

SERIE A FIXTURES

Saturday Benevento v Atalanta (2pm), Genoa v Bologna (5pm), AC Milan v Torino (7.45pm)

Sunday Roma v Inter Milan (3.30pm), Udinese v Napoli, Hellas Verona v Crotone, Parma v Lazio (2pm), Fiorentina v Cagliari (9pm), Juventus v Sassuolo (11.45pm)

Monday Spezia v Sampdoria (11.45pm)

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl

Power: 153hp at 6,000rpm

Torque: 200Nm at 4,000rpm

Transmission: 6-speed auto

Price: Dh99,000

On sale: now

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What the law says

Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.

“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.

“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”

If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.

Mica

Director: Ismael Ferroukhi

Stars: Zakaria Inan, Sabrina Ouazani

3 stars

Updated: May 29, 2024, 1:22 PM
Photography