Young volunteers help to keep Abu Dhabi green and clean by removing rubbish from the Emirates Heritage Club in Al Samha yesterday as part of the annual Clean Up UAE campaign. Similar efforts were also taking place at Mussaffah, Al Bateen, Zafranah and Al Wathba. Lee Hoagland / The National
Young volunteers help to keep Abu Dhabi green and clean by removing rubbish from the Emirates Heritage Club in Al Samha yesterday as part of the annual Clean Up UAE campaign. Similar efforts were alsoShow more

Up to three tonnes of waste collected in Abu Dhabi clean-up



Broken bicycles and bits of carpet were among up to three tonnes of rubbish collected as a part of a clean-up effort in Abu Dhabi.

Thousands of volunteers took part in the annual Clean Up UAE event, organised by the Emirates Environmental Group (EEG), which takes place across all seven emirates over a week.

The initiative was launched in the capital on Wednesday and ends in Dubai on December 12, by which time more than 45,000 people are expected to have taken part.

The campaign, in its 12th year, started in five areas of the capital – Al Samha, Mussaffah, Al Bateen, Zafranah and Al Wathba.

“It was a beautiful day,” said Habiba Al Marashi, chairperson of EEG. “Nature was kind to us, the weather was beautiful.

“It was also great to have the support of Abu Dhabi Municipality and other organisations. We had many private companies and schools taking part. There was a celebratory mood.”

Amid the cheerful atmosphere, volunteers collected about 700 kilograms of waste in a 5-square- kilometre area of Al Samha, near the Emirates Heritage Club.

“Combined with the other sites, we removed between two and a half and three tonnes of waste,” Mrs Al Marashi said.

Much of the debris was glass or plastic, but broken bicycles, vacuum cleaners, pieces of carpet and petrol cans were also found.

For the youngest volunteers, the clean-up was educational, such as when some young children collected dry tree branches.

“We explained to them that these belonged to nature and that it was only the synthetic materials we were after,” Mrs Al Marashi said.

The first clean-up event in December 2002 included only Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman, with only a handful of volunteers taking part.

Mrs Al Marashi expects thousands of participants this year.

“I know more people will come after they read the reports from our Abu Dhabi event,” she said.

The clean-up continues on December 8 in Maleha, Sharjah. A day later, the campaign moves to Ajman and to Ras Al Khaimah on December 11.

Volunteers will clean the vicinity of Nad Al Sheba in Dubai and along Al Ain’s Airport Road on December 12. Smaller events in Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah are also planned.

Companies and individuals interested in taking part can register at www.eeg-uae.org.

vtodorova@thenational.ae

The Bio

Name: Lynn Davison

Profession: History teacher at Al Yasmina Academy, Abu Dhabi

Children: She has one son, Casey, 28

Hometown: Pontefract, West Yorkshire in the UK

Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Favourite Author: CJ Sansom

Favourite holiday destination: Bali

Favourite food: A Sunday roast

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Gender pay parity on track in the UAE

The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.

"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."

Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.

"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.

As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general. 

The Sand Castle

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Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

Water waste

In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.

Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.

A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.

The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.

2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups

Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.

Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.

The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo

Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 6-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km

Price: Dh133,900

On sale: now 

UAE and Russia in numbers

UAE-Russia ties stretch back 48 years

Trade between the UAE and Russia reached Dh12.5 bn in 2018

More than 3,000 Russian companies are registered in the UAE

Around 40,000 Russians live in the UAE

The number of Russian tourists travelling to the UAE will increase to 12 percent to reach 1.6 million in 2023

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Europe’s rearming plan
  • Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
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  • Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
  • Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
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Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
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Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh132,000 (Countryman)
A State of Passion

Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi

Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah

Rating: 4/5

The biog

Mission to Seafarers is one of the largest port-based welfare operators in the world.

It provided services to around 200 ports across 50 countries.

They also provide port chaplains to help them deliver professional welfare services.

The specs

Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors

Power: 480kW

Torque: 850Nm

Transmission: Single-speed automatic

Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)

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Bantamweight

Siyovush Gulmomdov (TJK) bt Rey Nacionales (PHI) by decision.

Lightweight

Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) bt Hussein Fakhir Abed (SYR) by submission.

Catch 74kg

Omar Hussein (JOR) bt Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) by decision.

Strawweight (Female)

Seo Ye-dam (KOR) bt Weronika Zygmunt (POL) by decision.

Featherweight

Kaan Ofli (TUR) bt Walid Laidi (ALG) by TKO.

Lightweight

Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW) bt Leandro Martins (BRA) by TKO.

Welterweight

Ahmad Labban (LEB) bt Sofiane Benchohra (ALG) by TKO.

Bantamweight

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Lightweight

Mohammed Yahya (UAE) bt Glen Ranillo (PHI) by TKO round 1.

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Alan Omer (GER) bt Aidan Aguilera (AUS) by TKO round 1.

Welterweight

Mounir Lazzez (TUN) bt Sasha Palatkinov (HKG) by TKO round 1.

Featherweight title bout

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Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction

Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.

Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.

Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.

Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.

Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.

What are the guidelines?

Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.

Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.

Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.

Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.

Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.

Source: American Paediatric Association