Rima Jabado has been cataloguing shark species in the Emirates’ waters for the past two years.
Rima Jabado has been cataloguing shark species in the Emirates’ waters for the past two years.

New shark species found in RAK



DUBAI // A marine biologist hopes she may soon be lending her name to a new species of shark she discovered in UAE waters.

Rima Jabado, who for the past two years has been cataloguing shark species in the Emirates' waters, recently found the fish at a landing site in Ras Al Khaimah.

She said her curiosity was sparked by subtle differences in the teeth and the shape of the sharks' mouths.

"They are smaller sharks, similar to the milk sharks," Ms Jabado said. "They don't grow very big. I found very few of them but they just looked slightly different."

She has been conducting her own genetic analysis of the sharks, which are less than 70 centimetres long, and has sent pictures to various taxonomists around the world.

Ms Jabado, a Lebanese-born Canadian, said she could only be sure one of the two shark species she found was entirely new to science, but verification would have to be done by taxonomists around the world.

"I'm not the one to confirm this," she said. "It needs to go to specialist taxonomists around the world and we need to do genetic work before we can confirm it. It can take sometimes two to three years to describe a new species."

Ms Jabado also spent some time in light-hearted speculation about how the new species might be named.

"I wish they could be named after me," she said. "Maybe I could auction off the names for more funding. That would be the ideal scenario."

The discovery of a new marine species was common, Ms Jabado said.

"A new species is described every couple of weeks, whether it is a shark, a coral or a fish species," she said. "The marine environment is huge and there are still so many things we don't know. New things are being discovered constantly because we are going to new areas."

The last time a new species was discovered was in March, when a close relative of the hammerhead shark was found in Brazil.

Last year there were four shark species discovered around the world, and the pace of new discoveries is increasing.

In the past decade 200 species have been found, compared with fewer than 200 in the three decades before that.

Ms Jabado said that as the Gulf waters were scoured for sharks more thoroughly there was greater potential for more discoveries.

"We have new technologies now to help us identify them, which is making the task easier," she said.

Ms Jabado made the announcement at Atlantis, The Palm, ahead of an ocean-awareness day at the hotel today.

The event will include a lecture by the nature documentary maker Mike Rutzen, who is an expert on the great white shark.

Mr Rutzen welcomed Ms Jabado's work in cataloguing species.

"If you don't know enough about them you can't protect them, their habitat or their food sources," he said. "These research projects are critical to these animals' survival."

Ms Jabado has so far categorised 30 shark species in the UAE and is due to publish her findings this year.

Among those she has found are two species of hammerheads, black-tips and bull sharks.

Ms Jabado added that Mr Rutzen will not be able to indulge his dangerous passion for diving with great whites in Gulf waters.

"The majority of sharks we have are quite small," she said. "We don't have any great whites here."

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

Rating: 1/5

Company profile

Name: Dukkantek 

Started: January 2021 

Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani 

Based: UAE 

Number of employees: 140 

Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service) 

Investment: $5.2 million 

Funding stage: Seed round 

Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office  

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From: Wimbledon, London, UK

Education: Medical doctor

Hobbies: Travelling, meeting new people and cultures 

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Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

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Name: Fruitful Day

Founders: Marie-Christine Luijckx, Lyla Dalal AlRawi, Lindsey Fournie

Based: Dubai, UAE

Founded: 2015

Number of employees: 30

Sector: F&B

Funding so far: Dh3 million

Future funding plans: None at present

Future markets: Saudi Arabia, potentially Kuwait and other GCC countries

Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut

Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”

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Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors

Transmission: two-speed

Power: 671hp

Torque: 1050Nm

Range: 450km

Price: Dh601,800

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Guide to intelligent investing
Investing success often hinges on discipline and perspective. As markets fluctuate, remember these guiding principles:
  • Stay invested: Time in the market, not timing the market, is critical to long-term gains.
  • Rational thinking: Breathe and avoid emotional decision-making; let logic and planning guide your actions.
  • Strategic patience: Understand why you’re investing and allow time for your strategies to unfold.
 
 
Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
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If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
What is the FNC?

The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning. 
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval. 
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.