Dubai and Abu Dhabi have announced free parking for the Islamic New Year holiday.
Public and private sector workers will have a holiday on Friday, July 21, which marks the start of the Islamic year 1445.
Dubai Roads and Transport Authority said parking will be free of charge on Friday in all paid areas except for multi-storey car parks.
The RTA also announced that Dubai Metro will operate an hour later during part of the holiday. The red and green lines will operate from 5am to 1am, while Dubai Tram will be in service from 6am until 1am.
The buses will start at 5am and be in service until 12.30am. The metro link bus services will be synchronised with the metro timetables.
Abu Dhabi’s Integrated Transport Centre also announced free parking for the public holiday. The Mawaqif parking fees will be free of charge from midnight on Friday and will resume at 8am on Saturday.
Drivers will not be charged for passing through the emirate's toll gates on Friday.
The toll gates – located on several bridges in the capital – will be reactivated at 7am on Saturday.
Public bus services will follow Friday and the official holiday schedule.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Closing the loophole on sugary drinks
As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.
The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed:
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
