The UAE sent 10 tonnes of medical supplies to Italy to help medics tackle the Covid-19 pandemic.
The shipment will help to support more than 10,000 doctors and nurses, the UAE government said.
Italy is one of the worst affected countries worldwide.
It had recorded 128,000 confirmed cases and more than 15,000 deaths as of Monday, April 6. About 21,000 people have recovered from the virus.
Thanks to my colleague Abdullah bin Zayed for the friendship and solidarity shown. A gesture that we will not forget
Medical aid such as masks, gloves and protective suits are crucial to ensure medics on the front line do not become casualties.
"Thanks to my colleague Abdullah bin Zayed for the friendship and solidarity shown," Italy's Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio wrote on Twitter in a message to the UAE's Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation.
"A gesture that we will not forget."
Omar Al Shamsi, UAE ambassador to Italy, said Italy was thankful for the shipment, which arrived in the early hours of Monday morning.
Speaking to The National from Rome, the ambassador said the operation was arranged in less than 24 hours. Demand for new protective medical gear is high and there are shortages in many countries.
"They are in so much need for masks, sanitisers, and gloves... hundreds of thousands per month," Mr Al Shamsi said.
The ambassador and his diplomatic staff sent their families home to the Emirates when the outbreak began.
"My children wanted to stay but I told them 'you should leave because the situation is escalating'."
The embassy then tracked down the 27 Emiratis studying in Italy, and found 10 families who were on holiday.
"We reached them and asked them to leave the country before the virus spread and they immediately left," he said.
Since then, embassy staff have mostly worked from home.
Mr Al Shamsi said the situation remained serious, but deaths have begun to fall as social distancing and the lockdown in cities takes effect.
“The numbers are going down so, if God wills it, within a month officials said it will become stable."
Mr Al Shamsi said Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, was the first leader from outside the European Union to speak to Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in early March, as the scale of the crisis became clear.
“Italian officials were very appreciative that he was the first to call," he said.
And he said images of Burj Khalifa lit up in the colours of the Italian flag with the message 'siamo con voi' - we are with you - were warmly welcomed by the Italian press and widely spread on social media.
On Sunday, the UAE sent an aid flight to Pakistan carrying 11 tonnes of protective equipment for medical staff.
It included 20,000 Covid-19 test kits, 500,000 gloves, 30,000 protective gowns and face masks and 10,000 sanitisers.
Pakistan recorded 2,899 cases of Covid-19, with the death toll at 45 and with 208 recovered patients, as of Sunday.
Dubai's streets empty as permit to leave home introduced
Company Profile:
Name: The Protein Bakeshop
Date of start: 2013
Founders: Rashi Chowdhary and Saad Umerani
Based: Dubai
Size, number of employees: 12
Funding/investors: $400,000 (2018)
Short-term let permits explained
Homeowners and tenants are allowed to list their properties for rental by registering through the Dubai Tourism website to obtain a permit.
Tenants also require a letter of no objection from their landlord before being allowed to list the property.
There is a cost of Dh1,590 before starting the process, with an additional licence fee of Dh300 per bedroom being rented in your home for the duration of the rental, which ranges from three months to a year.
Anyone hoping to list a property for rental must also provide a copy of their title deeds and Ejari, as well as their Emirates ID.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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UAE v Gibraltar
What: International friendly
When: 7pm kick off
Where: Rugby Park, Dubai Sports City
Admission: Free
Online: The match will be broadcast live on Dubai Exiles’ Facebook page
UAE squad: Lucas Waddington (Dubai Exiles), Gio Fourie (Exiles), Craig Nutt (Abu Dhabi Harlequins), Phil Brady (Harlequins), Daniel Perry (Dubai Hurricanes), Esekaia Dranibota (Harlequins), Matt Mills (Exiles), Jaen Botes (Exiles), Kristian Stinson (Exiles), Murray Reason (Abu Dhabi Saracens), Dave Knight (Hurricanes), Ross Samson (Jebel Ali Dragons), DuRandt Gerber (Exiles), Saki Naisau (Dragons), Andrew Powell (Hurricanes), Emosi Vacanau (Harlequins), Niko Volavola (Dragons), Matt Richards (Dragons), Luke Stevenson (Harlequins), Josh Ives (Dubai Sports City Eagles), Sean Stevens (Saracens), Thinus Steyn (Exiles)
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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