The UAE's trailblazing first all-women Swat team is ready to put skills to the test against the world's best at a thrilling Dubai competition next week.
Dubai Police's formidable female task force — made up of jiu-jitsu champions, keen-eyed sharpshooters and officers chosen to protect A-list celebrities — will join more than 60 elite teams from around the world setting their sights on success at the UAE Swat Challenge 2023.
The UAE will be aiming to replicate the clean-sweep of podium places achieved by its representatives in last year's high-octane competition.
The fourth annual event will be staged at the Dubai Police training centre in Al Rowaiyah, from February 20 to 24, with 14 squads from the UAE taking part.
Organisers are calling on members of the public to turn out in force to cheer on the highly-trained competitors.
What is UAE Swat Challenge?
The challenge is organised by the Dubai Police and is held under the patronage of Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior.
It first started in 2019. Different teams from Dubai and Abu Dhabi as well as squads from Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and the Ministry of Interior usually take part.
The five-day event aims to promote co-operation and understanding between international Swat teams, highlighting the best practice.
There are five tests — tactical, assault, officer rescues, tower events and obstacle courses — designed to assess the tactical skills, mental focus and physical endurance of the participating teams.
And every year, before the main international challenge, teams in the Emirates compete against each other to prepare for the Swat Challenge.
“This is an opportunity to network with other law enforcement professionals from around the world,” said Maj Gen Abdullah Ali Al Ghaithi, Director of Dubai Police’s Protective Security and Emergency department.
“We can learn from each other, exchange ideas, develop new strategies and techniques that help in protecting the international community.
“During the 2022 version, 34 teams took part but this year 63 teams have registered so far.
The senior officer said he is hoping for high turnout for the week-long event.
“They can come root for the teams from their home countries. And if they love action, we promise them that,” he said.
A panel of 34 international judges will decide this year's winners.
“Our job is to make sure that range aspects are run safely and the rules are followed,” said jury head John Gnagey, a former Swat officer from the US.
He said two of the judges are active Swat officers.
“We have done this ourselves for many years, so errors or violations are very easy to pick up.
“When it comes to shooting, the rounds hitting the targets speak for themselves as far as obstacles course, you watch how they run or if there were any safety violations.”
The overall winner will receive $70,000, with the runners-up securing $30,000 and the third-placed team earning $20,000.
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
BELGIUM%20SQUAD
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Libya's Gold
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.
Key recommendations
- Fewer criminals put behind bars and more to serve sentences in the community, with short sentences scrapped and many inmates released earlier.
- Greater use of curfews and exclusion zones to deliver tougher supervision than ever on criminals.
- Explore wider powers for judges to punish offenders by blocking them from attending football matches, banning them from driving or travelling abroad through an expansion of ‘ancillary orders’.
- More Intensive Supervision Courts to tackle the root causes of crime such as alcohol and drug abuse – forcing repeat offenders to take part in tough treatment programmes or face prison.
The biog
Place of birth: Kalba
Family: Mother of eight children and has 10 grandchildren
Favourite traditional dish: Al Harees, a slow cooked porridge-like dish made from boiled cracked or coarsely ground wheat mixed with meat or chicken
Favourite book: My early life by Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, the Ruler of Sharjah
Favourite quote: By Sheikh Zayed, the UAE's Founding Father, “Those who have no past will have no present or future.”
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
THE SCORES
Ireland 125 all out
(20 overs; Stirling 72, Mustafa 4-18)
UAE 125 for 5
(17 overs, Mustafa 39, D’Silva 29, Usman 29)
UAE won by five wickets
The figures behind the event
1) More than 300 in-house cleaning crew
2) 165 staff assigned to sanitise public areas throughout the show
3) 1,000 social distancing stickers
4) 809 hand sanitiser dispensers placed throughout the venue
