DUBAI // Police are increasing their efforts in the battle against elephant poaching in a campaign warning transit passengers that it is illegal to carry ivory.
They will remind those travelling through Dubai International Airport that wildlife protection laws forbid the transport of ivory across international borders.
Information in English, Arabic and Chinese, will be displayed until the end of June on 28 electronic screens in Terminals 1 and 3.
This is the second year of the campaign, with authorities hoping to eventually get the message across to a million passengers.
As ivory smuggling mostly follows a route from Africa to the Far East, Brig Ali Atiq bin Lahej, director of the General Department of Airport Security at Dubai Police, said Dubai’s location made the focus on transit passengers important.
“Dubai airports are at the crossroads between Asia and Africa and that is why the General Administration focused on transit points to ensure ivory is not smuggled,” Brig bin Lahej said.
“The police have the ability to detect smuggling attempts, especially of goods that affect elephants and wildlife. We have a strong partnership with Dubai airports to provide state-of-the-art devices and capabilities to detect smuggled goods.”
The campaign is organised in partnership with the Ministry of Environment and Water and the International Fund for Animal Welfare.
“It is a warning message to traders and people who own ivory not to bring ivory to Dubai,” said Dr Elsayed Mohamed, regional director for the Middle East and North Africa at the fund. “The major destinations for ivory are China and Thailand.”
Dubai’s strategic position as a travel centre makes it a target for smugglers, he said.
“From the confiscations happening here you can see that ivory is passing through Dubai Airport,” Dr Mohamed said. “It is geography, you cannot change it.”
One of the most significant seizures was in May last year, when 259 tusks were found in a ship at Jebel Ali Port. The official cargo records claimed the items were pieces of furniture.
In November 2012, a haul of 215 tusks was discovered at the same port. The ship’s owners had registered the cargo as white beans.
Under UAE law, people caught smuggling endangered animals or animal parts face jail sentences of up to six months, fines of up to Dh50,000, or both.
Demand for ivory has long affected elephant populations. After protection measures appeared to be reducing the levels of poaching in the 1990s, it appears elephants are again being killed en masse.
The UN report Elephants in the Dust: the African Elephant Crisis shows poaching has intensified since 2007. In 2011, about 17,000 elephant deaths were recorded at sites monitored by scientists in Africa, with the number for the entire continent believed to be as high as 25,000.
In many countries, especially those in central and western Africa, the number of animals targeted by poachers exceeds the growth rates of the populations.
“If this continues, we will face a point of no return for elephant populations,” said Dr Mohamed.
vtodorova@thenational.ae
Opening Premier League fixtures, August 14
- Brentford v Arsenal
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- Chelsea v Crystal Palace
- Everton v Southampton
- Leicester City v Wolves
- Manchester United v Leeds United
- Newcastle United v West Ham United
- Norwich City v Liverpool
- Tottenham v Manchester City
- Watford v Aston Villa
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How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
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'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
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1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
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Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
The bio
Date of Birth: April 25, 1993
Place of Birth: Dubai, UAE
Marital Status: Single
School: Al Sufouh in Jumeirah, Dubai
University: Emirates Airline National Cadet Programme and Hamdan University
Job Title: Pilot, First Officer
Number of hours flying in a Boeing 777: 1,200
Number of flights: Approximately 300
Hobbies: Exercising
Nicest destination: Milan, New Zealand, Seattle for shopping
Least nice destination: Kabul, but someone has to do it. It’s not scary but at least you can tick the box that you’ve been
Favourite place to visit: Dubai, there’s no place like home
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Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
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"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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Quick%20facts
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World Cup final
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When: Sunday, July 15, 7pm (UAE)
TV: Game will be shown live on BeIN Sports for viewers in the Mena region
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