Here is your digest of what is making the headlines in the Emirates.
A board showing cancelled flights at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. Getty Images
The suspension of flights to certain destinations was extended by UAE airlines as tensions between Israel and Iran continued to escalate.
All Emirates airline flights to Tehran in Iran, and Baghdad and Basra in Iraq have been suspended until June 30. Its flights to Amman in Jordan and Beirut in Lebanon were suspended until June 22.
Etihad Airways, the UAE's national airline, cancelled services to and from Tel Aviv until June 22. The airline added it was rerouting several flights in response to airspace restrictions in parts of the Middle East, adding this may lead to disruption and delays in the coming days. Passengers were urged to check on the status of their flights online.
People outside Marina Pinnacle tower on Monday. The National
Helpless and heart-broken. That was how one man said his fellow residents were feeling after 3,800 people were evacuated from a 67-storey building during a blaze in Dubai Marina, which began on Friday night with residents reporting repeated flare-ups in the hours after.
Streets around the building, which is informally known as “Tiger tower”, were still cordoned off on Monday and scores of fire engines, water lorries and emergency workers remained at the scene.
The smell of smoke was strong and the building had severe scorch marks on several sides. Damage was pronounced at the top of the tower where the fire began.
Hijri New Year will be marked with a public holiday on Friday, June 27. Antonie Robertson / The National
A public holiday will be given to UAE government workers on Friday, June 27, to mark the beginning of the new Islamic year, authorities confirmed on Monday.
The Islamic, or Hijri, New Year, signifies the start of Muharram, the first of 12 months on the Islamic calendar.
The Federal Authority for Government Human Resources released a circular to ministries and federal departments to confirm the public holiday. In contrast to Eid Al Fitr and Eid Al Adha, religious observances are typically not held for the Islamic New Year. It is widely seen as a day of reflection rather than celebration.
People caring for their elderly parents in Abu Dhabi are able to avail of a flexible working programme as part of an initiative to enhance the well-being of the elderly. Read more here
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh with a stop in Yangon from Dh3,075, and Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Phnom Penh with its partner Bangkok Airlines from Dh2,763. These trips take about nine hours each and both include taxes. From there, a road transfer takes at least four hours; airlines including KC Airlines (www.kcairlines.com) offer quick connecting flights from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from about $100 (Dh367) return including taxes. Air Asia, Malindo Air and Malaysian Airlines fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville from $54 each way. Next year, direct flights are due to launch between Bangkok and Sihanoukville, which will cut the journey time by a third.
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.
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
Autumn international scores
Saturday, November 24
Italy 3-66 New Zealand
Scotland 14-9 Argentina
England 37-18 Australia
Key facilities
Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
Premier League-standard football pitch
400m Olympic running track
NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
600-seat auditorium
Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
Specialist robotics and science laboratories
AR and VR-enabled learning centres
Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Troy Payne, head chef at Abu Dhabi’s newest healthy eatery Sanderson’s in Al Seef Resort & Spa, says singles need to change their mindset about how they approach the supermarket.
“They feel like they can’t buy one cucumber,” he says. “But I can walk into a shop – I feed two people at home – and I’ll walk into a shop and I buy one cucumber, I’ll buy one onion.”
Mr Payne asks for the sticker to be placed directly on each item, rather than face the temptation of filling one of the two-kilogram capacity plastic bags on offer.
The chef also advises singletons not get too hung up on “organic”, particularly high-priced varieties that have been flown in from far-flung locales. Local produce is often grown sustainably, and far cheaper, he says.
Trish Stratus and Lita beat Alicia Fox and Mickie James in a tag match
Nia Jax won a battle royal, eliminating Ember Moon last to win
Toni Storm beat Io Shirai to win the Mae Young Classic
Natalya, Sasha Banks and Bayley beat The Riott Squad in a six-woman tag match
Shayna Baszler won the NXT Women’s title by defeating Kairi Sane
Becky Lynch retained the SmackDown Women’s Championship against Charlotte Flair in a Last Woman Standing match
Ronda Rousey retained the Raw Women’s title by beating Nikki Bella
Our legal columnist
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
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
