The Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship will take place from April 6-9, the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation (UAEJJF) announced on Wednesday.
The 12th staging of the championship was twice rescheduled before being cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
This year’s event takes place under strict adherence to health and safety measures, with organisers insisting the well-being of athletes, officials and support staff being the top priority.
The federation was among the first sporting bodies in the region to pioneer a return to live competitive sport and has successfully organised a string of training camps and competitions featuring domestic and international fighters.
The championship, popularly known as the World Pro, will have the opening day be for juniors under 18 and the next day will feature the Masters competition, while fighters competing in the professional category will be in action April 8-9.
Mohammed Salem Al Dhaheri, vice president of federation, said the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the federation are confident the tournament has been organised with the highest regard for safety of everyone involved.
“Over the past year, we have successfully organised several championships and training camps, all with extremely high health and wellness standards,” he added.
“We have developed a comprehensive set of tried and tested protocols to ensure that these are maintained over the course of the tournament.
“I am confident that the experience gained from organising these high-quality events will enable us to successfully conduct the 12th edition of this prestigious championship.”
The championship has already received overwhelming interest from the international jiu-jitsu community and is another marker of Abu Dhabi’s position as the world’s jiu-jitsu capital.
Faisal Al Ketbi, the most decorated Emirati jiu-jitsu fighter, said that he was looking forward to participating in a championship after a long absence of international competitions.
“It will be great to welcome the leading jiu-jitsu fighters of the world to Abu Dhabi and to go toe-to-toe against some world-class athletes,” he said.
“We have been preparing keenly for the World Pro and we are glad that the federation has taken the decision to organise this tournament, which provides us athletes with a massive platform to test ourselves against the best in the world.”
UAE-based players
Goodlands Riders: Jamshaid Butt, Ali Abid, JD Mahesh, Vibhor Shahi, Faizan Asif, Nadeem Rahim
Rose Hill Warriors: Faraz Sheikh, Ashok Kumar, Thabreez Ali, Janaka Chathuranga, Muzammil Afridi, Ameer Hamza
Your rights as an employee
The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.
The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.
If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.
Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.
The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.
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Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
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Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
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Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Bharat
Director: Ali Abbas Zafar
Starring: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Sunil Grover
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
