Dubai housemaid dies in gas explosion, and a rat's to blame



Dubai Police confirmed on Thursday that a housemaid was killed following a gas cylinder explosion.

The explosion was a result of a rat tampering with the gas cylinder tubes in a kitchen of a villa in Dubai.

Captain Mohammed Ali Al Qasim, head of the criminal engineering department at Dubai Police, said that "the villa’s owner had warned his maids against using the stove in the kitchen after smelling a gas leak".

However, one of the maids entered the kitchen and ignited one of the burners, leading to the explosion that damaged the kitchen's walls, which eventually collapsed into her colleague's room. The maid was killed instantly, while the fire from the explosion caused moderate burns to the other maid.

Capt Al Qasim confirmed that this was not the first incident where rats have caused a gas leak. "A similar case was reported  in Al Tuwar area, but no fatalities were reported."

"The first six months of this year witnessed 68 fires in houses, compared to 160 house fires registered throughout last year."

He stated that most house fires were a result of faulty electrical connections, gas explosions and air-conditioning malfunctions.

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Company name: Almouneer
Started: 2017
Founders: Dr Noha Khater and Rania Kadry
Based: Egypt
Number of staff: 120
Investment: Bootstrapped, with support from Insead and Egyptian government, seed round of
$3.6 million led by Global Ventures

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Uefa Champions League, last 16, first leg

Ajax v Real Madrid, midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports

COMPANY PROFILE

Company: Eco Way
Started: December 2023
Founder: Ivan Kroshnyi
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Electric vehicles
Investors: Bootstrapped with undisclosed funding. Looking to raise funds from outside

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Dooda Solutions
Based: Lebanon
Founder: Nada Ghanem
Sector: AgriTech
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NBA Finals results

Game 1: Warriors 124, Cavaliers 114
Game 2: Warriors 122, Cavaliers 103
Game 3: Cavaliers 102, Warriors 110
Game 4: In Cleveland, Sunday (Monday morning UAE)

MATCH INFO

Sheffield United 3

Fleck 19, Mousset 52, McBurnie 90

Manchester United 3

Williams 72, Greenwood 77, Rashford 79

Nick's journey in numbers

Countries so far: 85

Flights: 149

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Calories: 220,000

Floors climbed: 2,000

Donations: GPB37,300

Prostate checks: 5

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Six tips to secure your smart home

Most smart home devices are controlled via the owner's smartphone. Therefore, if you are using public wi-fi on your phone, always use a VPN (virtual private network) that offers strong security features and anonymises your internet connection.

Keep your smart home devices’ software up-to-date. Device makers often send regular updates - follow them without fail as they could provide protection from a new security risk.

Use two-factor authentication so that in addition to a password, your identity is authenticated by a second sign-in step like a code sent to your mobile number.

Set up a separate guest network for acquaintances and visitors to ensure the privacy of your IoT devices’ network.

Change the default privacy and security settings of your IoT devices to take extra steps to secure yourself and your home.

Always give your router a unique name, replacing the one generated by the manufacturer, to ensure a hacker cannot ascertain its make or model number.

Our legal consultant

Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

MATCH INFO

Champions League quarter-final, first leg

Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)

Match on BeIN Sports

Racecard

5pm: Al Maha Stables – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m

5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,600m

6pm: Emirates Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m

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7pm: The President’s Cup – Group 1 (PA) Dh2,500,000 (T) 2,200m

7.30pm: The President’s Cup – Listed (TB) Dh380,000 (T) 1,400m


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