Coronavirus: Dubai Police help tourist stranded by pandemic return home


Patrick Ryan
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Dubai Police helped a tourist return to her home country after she became stuck in the emirate when Covid-19 grounded flights worldwide.

The woman was spotted in a “distressed and fatigued” state by officers in a patrol car.

Brig Abdul Raheem Bin Shafia, director of Al Barsha Police Station, said she looked as though she needed help.

“As our officers accompanied her to the station, they learned the woman had come to Dubai with a tourist visa before the coronavirus outbreak,” he said.

When airports around the world closed to commercial flights, the tourist, from an unspecified Asian country, became stuck in Dubai.

Brig Bin Shafia said the holidaymaker eventually ran out of money and had to check out of her hotel.

Police referred her to their Victim Support Programme, where staff took her to hospital for undisclosed care.

They also booked her a room at a hotel, where she stayed until flights resumed.

“We provided her with a ticket to fly back home and facilitated her Covid-19 test and travel procedures,” Brig Bin Shafia said.

Company profile

Date started: December 24, 2018

Founders: Omer Gurel, chief executive and co-founder and Edebali Sener, co-founder and chief technology officer

Based: Dubai Media City

Number of employees: 42 (34 in Dubai and a tech team of eight in Ankara, Turkey)

Sector: ConsumerTech and FinTech

Cashflow: Almost $1 million a year

Funding: Series A funding of $2.5m with Series B plans for May 2020

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The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
NBA Finals so far

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The new speaker of Iraq’s parliament Mohammed Al Halbousi is the youngest person ever to serve in the role.

The 37-year-old was born in Al Garmah in Anbar and studied civil engineering in Baghdad before going into business. His development company Al Hadeed undertook reconstruction contracts rebuilding parts of Fallujah’s infrastructure.

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Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

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The specs

Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8

Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm

Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km

Price: Dh380,000

On sale: now