Chapecoense air crash: Leaked tape shows plane 'ran out of fuel'

 

The plane which crashed in Colombia killing most of a Brazilian football side had run out of fuel, according to a leaked audio recording.

A pilot can be heard repeatedly requesting permission to land due to an electric failure and lack of fuel.

Just six of the 77 people on board the plane survived.

The team, Chapecoense, had been due to play a cup final in Medellin on Wednesday evening. Fans instead gathered to pay tribute.

Thousands of people carrying candles and wearing white filled the stadium where Chapecoense was to have played Atletico Nacional.

At the same time, Chapecoense fans held a tearful vigil at their home stadium in Chapeco, Brazil, which was draped in black ribbons. Both stadiums were filled to capacity.

What the audio tells us

The leaked conversations between the flight crew and a Colombian air traffic controller give a glimpse of the frantic, final moments of the doomed plane.

The pilot and can be heard warning of a "total electric failure" and "lack of fuel".

Just before the tape ends, he says he is flying at an altitude of 9,000ft (2,743m). The plane slammed into a mountainside near the Colombian city of Medellin late on Monday.

That there was no explosion when the plane came down also points to lack of fuel, with one Colombian military source telling the AFP agency its absence was "suspicious".

It is not known why the plane was out of fuel: whether it was due to a leak or because there was not enough on board.

Investigators have yet to announce any single cause for the crash and a full analysis is expected to take months.

Who was on board?

Chapecoense were flying to Medellin for what would have been the biggest match in their history - the final of regional tournament the Copa Sudamericana.

The team lost 19 players in the crash. Twenty journalists were also killed.

Among the survivors, Chapecoense said that two players remained in a critical but stable condition, while the club's goalkeeper had had one leg amputated and might still lose his other foot.

An injured journalist also remained in critical condition, the club said.

Another survivor, flight technician Erwin Tumiri, said he was still alive because he followed safety instructions.

"Many stood up and started shouting," he said. "I put the suitcases between my legs and assumed the brace position."

What has the reaction been?

Three days of official mourning is under way in Brazil, with thousands of fans in the city of Chapeco massing in their home stadium to mark their loss.

Chapecoense directors say they expect up to 100,000 to attend collective funerals once all the bodies have been identified, most likely on Friday or Saturday.

"We're very anxious for the arrival of the bodies, to give them a last tribute, which they deserve. The city has stopped, waiting for that moment to come," said one supporter.

There has been an outpouring of grief and support from the football world.

The team Chapecoense were due to play in the Copa Sudamericana, Atletico Nacional, have offered to concede the game so Chapecoense are declared winners, while leading Brazilian sides have asked the league to protect the side from relegation.

Many of football's most famous names, from Lionel Messi to Pele, have offered condolences.

Is it just a shadow or a ghost caught on camera?

Apparition clicked ‘accidentally’ during a desert outing spooks people

Namit Vyas took this picture of his wife and daughter last Friday during an off-roading trip in Sharjah. He noticed the the apparition only after he transferred the images from his camera to the phone

Sharjah: Call it photo-bombing by the unknown or what you will but a ghostly figure caught on camera by an amateur photographer on a recent desert outing is giving people the chills.

Indian Namit Vyas, 33, had gone on an off-roading trip with his family and friends last Friday, during which he clicked about 50 photos with his DSLR camera.

It was just another fun-filled outing in the desert but when he got home and checked the photos, he saw something in one particular frame he wasn’t prepared for.

Taken around twilight near interchange number 9 on Sharjah’s Al Dhaid Road, the photo was of his wife Anita, also 33, and their three-year old daughter Illisha but in the foreground there was ‘someone’ else too.

Alone in the dark

The image, which has since been shared many times on Facebook and has got people talking about it, shows a blurry figure of what appears to be a woman with outstretched arms and feet bent inwards.

Vyas, who clicked the particular photo in ‘auto mode’, said he has no idea of how the figure appeared in the frame.

“I usually edit all my photos before posting but not this time. The photo you see is completely raw, untouched,” said the man from Shimla who works as a sales manager in Dubai “I still don’t know what was that because I know I had clicked only my wife and daughter in the frame. There was no one else.”

Vyas’s friend Deepanjan Banerjee who was standing by when the picture was taken, said: “The shadow in the picture is clearly visible but what’s baffling is that there was no one else in the frame except the two. The figure too doesn’t resemble any of the women in our group.”

Dubai-based Anjali Sharma who claims to have spent several nights at ‘haunted’ places across the UAE to record paranormal activities, said: “Such images are often produced when certain energies we can’t see are caught on camera. This might have been the case here too.”

XPRESS photographers said the image couldn’t have been photoshopped.

Bodies left strewn on streets of Aleppo

Latest army bombardments leaving civilians with no warning, and nowhere to hide

An image grab taken from a video released by the White Helmets, on November 30, 2016, reportedly shows bodies lying on a street in the rebel-held district of Jubb Al Qubbeh in eastern Aleppo following government artillery fire.

 

Aleppo: The Syrian army’s advance into rebel-held east Aleppo has deprived families of anywhere to hide and left shredded bodies of men, women and children strewn in the streets.

Previously, civilians in the eastern sector of the city could try to take shelter from air strikes inside buildings, but now sudden artillery fire can pound the streets without warning, mowing down all those in its path.

“It’s really raining shells,” said the AFP correspondent in the battered city.

On Wednesday, the correspondent witnessed a shell crashing onto a main road, ripping off a little girl’s hand and piercing her head with shrapnel.

With east Aleppo’s ambulances either destroyed or lacking fuel, no rescue services were available.

Two young men on a moped tried to whisk 10-year-old Mona away to safety, but her family later told AFP that she died of her serious injuries.

Two weeks into the all-out assault and after a months-long siege, pro-government forces have seized control of around 40 per cent of what had been rebel-controlled east Aleppo since 2014.

After wave after wave of air strikes, the army is pounding rebel areas with intensive bombardment.

The crude barrel bombs dropped by helicopters at least gave those on the ground a chance to take cover once the aircraft were sighted.

The relentless artillery barrage has punched gaping holes in the walls of the apartment buildings still standing and torn down balconies.

The UN’s World Food Programme spokeswoman Bettina Luescher on Wednesday described the plight of civilians in east Aleppo as a “slow motion descent into hell”.

‘Impossible to cross’

Many civilians in the stricken areas, especially Shaar district, have been left with no escape route to government-controlled parts of Aleppo.

“The shelling doesn’t stop. It’s impossible to cross,” said one group trying to flee with their few possessions.

Videos posted online Wednesday by Syrian Civil Defence rescue group and the opposition Aleppo Media Centre show a blood-soaked street filled with corpses, human body parts and shoes.

A teenage boy appears, crying next to two bodies, one of them his mother who had been walking a few paces behind when the shell struck.

“The artillery hit a first time and we ran. That’s when I saw my mother was dead,” he says to the camera.

The teenager had been with his parents and a group of displaced persons seeking shelter in a government-controlled neighbourhood of the divided city.

“We’re leaving because of the injustice, the air strikes, the bombardments, the lack of food,” says the distressed father, as the bodies are wrapped in orange plastic.

More than 50,000 terrified civilians have fled rebel-held areas in four days.

According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor, the battle launched on November 15 has killed more than 300 civilians in east Aleppo, including 33 children.

Solar Impulse 2 back in Switzerland

Plane’s stay at Dübendorf would be temporary, company looking for best option

 

Abu Dhabi: Solar Impulse 2 (Si2), the first zero-fuel airplane that circumnavigated the world, is waiting for its future role after it was shipped back to Switzerland from Abu Dhabi last week.

The plane had set several world records by flying more than 40,000km in 17 legs and 15 months on solar power alone, crossing Asia, the Pacific, the USA, the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and the Middle East. The plane supported by Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, Masdar, had started its world trip from Abu Dhabi and completed it here with Swiss adventurers Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg taking turns in the cockpit.

Now Si2 is finally back to its origins, where the idea began and the adventure of perpetual endurance started 13 years ago, the Solar Impulse teams said.

“The airplane couldn’t stay in Abu Dhabi, therefore, we brought it back to Switzerland where we have a hangar to store it until we find the best option,” an official spokesperson of Solar Impulse, the organisation that owns the plane, told Gulf News by email from Switzerland on Wednesday.

Asked whether the public can see the plane at Dübendorf airfield in Switzerland where it is being kept now, she said: “The airplane won’t be reassembled in Dübendorf because the hangar doesn’t allow it; it’s too small. Therefore, we will not organise public display.”

A Solar Impulse announcement said the plane’s stay at Dübendorf would be temporary as they were looking for the best option for her future. They added that it was not an easy task given the plane’s 72-metre wingspan! The design of the aircraft, the right weather window or the necessary authorisations were challenging in this regard, they said.

Museums in different parts of the world have shown keen interest in hosting Si2, but none of them has sufficient space for an airplane that size. Asked whether this option was totally ruled out due to the plane’s size, the spokesperson said: “ No, if we cannot find a place where the airplane can be displayed entirely, we are also considering displaying only part of the plane — its fuselage, cockpit, wing etc,” she said.

Solar Impulse is considering using the plane in future technological projects. The spokesperson said the possible areas of the projects would be electrical propulsion and power management, but it was too early to give the details.

Borschberg, one of the pilots, said: “Si2 is now back in Dübendorf, where it was designed and built and where the team is currently working on new and efficient transportation solutions.”

Piccard, another co-pilot, said: “Solar Impulse’s message continues. The flight around the world was only the first part of the adventure; the second is the World Alliance for Clean Technologies that was launched in Marrakesh on November 11.”

Solar Impulse said its engineers have been continuing to work on innovative projects, such as unmanned and high endurance electric aircraft.

Inauguration of heroes’ memorial Wahat Al Karama

UAE rulers, shaikhs and dignitaries gather in Abu Dhabi for inauguration of heroes' memorial 

 

  

Abu Dhabi: UAE rulers, shaikhs, dignitaries and guests gathered in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday for the inauguration of the memorial site, Wahat Al Karama (Oasis of Dignity), to honour the UAE’s heroes.
The event started with the entrance of Their Highnesses to the Memorial Plaza, accompanied by a 21-gun salute, followed by the laying of wreaths at the memorial. Minister of Foreign Affairs Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan also gave a speech.
Family members of fallen UAE heroes were also presented with medals by Their Highnesses to honour their sacrifice to the nation.


The site covers an area of 46,000 square metres, symbolically located between the Shaikh Zayed Grand Mosque and the General Headquarters of the UAE Armed Forces. Wahat Al Karama is open to the public 24 hours a day.
Wahat Al Karama is considered a cultural landmark that reflects the UAE’s pride in the sacrifices made by its heroes and where the values of dignity, unity and solidarity for the sake of the nation are enshrined, making it a true oasis of honour.
The site would immortalise the heroes’ memory, and forever bear witness to their sacrifices, inspiring future generations of young Emiratis to adhere to their country’s national values.
The memorial consists of 31 metal panels, each leaning on the other, in an expression of strength, mutual support and solidarity, reflecting the unbreakable bond between the UAE’s leadership, its people, and those who sacrificed their lives for the country.
Engraved on the panels of the memorial are poems written by the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, founding father of the UAE, as well as the memorial’s long supportive spine which bears the pledge of allegiance of the UAE Armed Forces.



The memorial also features a Pavilion of Honour, which contains the names of each of the UAE’s heroes since the time of the country’s unification in 1971. Each hero’s name is displayed on an illuminated panel made from aluminium reclaimed from Armed Forces vehicles.

 

Significance explained

Mariam Nabeel, a guide from the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Cultural Authority, explained the idea behind the Pavilion of Honour and what it meant to signify.
“This area has the names of all 196 martyrs and it goes from right to left. The material of the wall is made from aluminium. Going around the pavilion, above the walls are verses from the Quran and this is meant to show that our martyrs will be in paradise. The aluminium itself was brought from China and Australia,” she said. 


“In the middle of the pavilion, we also have placed big anti-reflective glass pieces that contain the country’s military pledge of allegiance on them, each glass weighs 1.2 tonnes and the oaths signify the heroes who have reflected the pledge’s words in their actions and sacrifices. There are a total of seven glass pieces to once again reflect the seven emirates,” she added. 
Nabeel said that visitors who come to the monument could feel a sense of pride. 
“The pavilion represents both peace and pride, the visitor can feel proud of the UAE heroes for what they have done for their country and they can contemplate the sacrifices that have been made by our heroes for us and our country. The pavilion also represents our traditions, culture, and religion — on the entrance wall of the pavilion is the first chapter of the Quran, and so we believed that it was important to link all of these concepts together because they represent the UAE and what our heroes stood for.”

Martyrs' memorial to be built in Dubai

 
 
Meanwhile, a martyrs’ memorial will be set up in Dubai and completed in November 2017, in time for the next year’s Commemoration Day.
The orders to establish the memorial were issued on Wednesday by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Shaikh Mohammad said that the memorial must be fitting for the martyrs’ great sacrifices, immortalising their memory and elevating the status of martyrdom for the sake of the nation in the spirits of future generations.
“Immortalising Emirati martyrs is an immortalisation of the strength and sacrifice of the people of the UAE. We are a people who do not fear presenting our dearest children as martyrs for our dearest land,” said Shaikh Mohammad.

Thailand's parliament to invite prince to become new king

BANGKOK: Thailand's parliament is expected to invite Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn to become the new king on Tuesday, lawmakers said, more than one month after the death of his father, revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

King Bhumibol, who was the longest-serving head of state in the world when he died at the age of 88, played a stabilizing role during decades of often-violent conflict in Thailand.

The crown prince's invitation to become monarch will likely allay some public concerns that the succession might not go according to plan.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said last month the prince had asked to delay the succession in order to grieve with the public.

The prince has not spoken publicly since his father's death and news about his plans has come through the government.

According to procedures outlined in the constitution, the cabinet, which meets once a week on a Tuesday, will ask the president of parliament to invite the crown prince to become king. The prince will then have to accept the invitation in order for him to be proclaimed king.

The prince, who is in Germany, will fly back to Thailand later this week so an audience with the president of parliament can then take place, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

"Today we are waiting for the government to send a letter to parliament. We expect this to happen imminently," a member of the National Legislative Assembly, who declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media, told Reuters.

In a departure from the usual Tuesday cabinet meeting, members of the cabinet and the junta met jointly at Bangkok's Government House on Tuesday, according to a Reuters reporter at the scene.

Prayuth, who took power from an elected government in a 2014 coup, has said that a year-long mourning period for the king will not affect a general election the junta has promised to hold in 2017.

The military, which has traditionally portrayed itself as he ultimate defender of the monarchy, is widely expected to remain a key power broker even after the 2017 general election.

BANGKOK: Thailand's parliament is expected to invite Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn to become the new king on Tuesday, lawmakers said, more than one month after the death of his father, revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

King Bhumibol, who was the longest-serving head of state in the world when he died at the age of 88, played a stabilizing role during decades of often-violent conflict in Thailand.

The crown prince's invitation to become monarch will likely allay some public concerns that the succession might not go according to plan.

Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said last month the prince had asked to delay the succession in order to grieve with the public.

The prince has not spoken publicly since his father's death and news about his plans has come through the government.

According to procedures outlined in the constitution, the cabinet, which meets once a week on a Tuesday, will ask the president of parliament to invite the crown prince to become king. The prince will then have to accept the invitation in order for him to be proclaimed king.

The prince, who is in Germany, will fly back to Thailand later this week so an audience with the president of parliament can then take place, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

"Today we are waiting for the government to send a letter to parliament. We expect this to happen imminently," a member of the National Legislative Assembly, who declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media, told Reuters.

In a departure from the usual Tuesday cabinet meeting, members of the cabinet and the junta met jointly at Bangkok's Government House on Tuesday, according to a Reuters reporter at the scene.

Prayuth, who took power from an elected government in a 2014 coup, has said that a year-long mourning period for the king will not affect a general election the junta has promised to hold in 2017.

The military, which has traditionally portrayed itself as he ultimate defender of the monarchy, is widely expected to remain a key power broker even after the 2017 general election.

Dh31m car plate number bidder arrested for fraud in Abu Dhabi

Businessman sent to seven days custody pending investigation on bounced cheque

 

Abu Dhabi: The Public Prosecution in Abu Dhabi has sent an Emirati businessman to seven days custody after his Dh31 million cheque bounced. The man paid by cheque after successfully bidding for car plate number 1 in an auction held in Abu Dhabi on November 19.

The businessman A.A.M. was charged with fraud after he wrote the check without sufficient balance in his account for the Vanity Number Plate Auction, a statement from the prosecution said.

He admitted to the prosecutors that he had insufficient funds when he issued the Dh31 million cheque for the plate number, claiming that he was planning to sell the number for a higher sum and to pay Dh31 million from the proceeds.

The public prosecution accused him duping the vehicle number plate auction organiser Emirates Auction, by registering for the auction, and issuing a cheque knowing that he did not have sufficient funds.

The prosecution statement said that Emirates Auction’s regulations states that asset ownership cannot be transferred to others, without fulfilling the complete payment of the amount, and any action taken prior to making the full payment is considered illegal and invalid and is criminalised by the law.

“I’m so excited that I won plate number 1, it feels amazing and I was willing to pay any amount to get the plate number. I often come to auctions like that and fetch the most unique numbers at the highest bids,” the businessman had told Gulf News during the auction on November 19.

The Vanity Number Plate Auction featured 50 exclusive and unique vanity number plates and fetched a total of over Dh99 million.

Asma Samir is a journalist based in Abu Dhabi

12 killed as fire guts Turkey school dormitory

Most of the dead are schoolgirls aged under 14 as reports suggest escape door failed to open

 

Istanbul: Twelve people, most of them schoolgirls, were killed on Tuesday when fire ravaged a dormitory for pupils in the southern Turkish region of Adana, local officials said.

The fire, which officials said was likely caused by an electrical fault, raced through the building’s wooden interior as panicked victims tried to jump from windows to safety.

Officials expressed concern that many of the dead were killed after they were unable to open a closed fire door to escape the top floors of the building.

Images showed scenes of devastation as emergency services arrived to tackle the fire at the dormitory building, parts of which were turned into a blazing wreck and whose roof collapsed.

“We lost 12 of our citizens in the fire. Eleven of them were schoolchildren and one was a tutor. 22 citizens are injured,” Adana region governor Mahmut Demirtas told Turkish NTV television.

“According to initial findings, we believe the fire was caused by electrical fault,” he said.

The Dogan news agency specified that all 11 of the schoolchildren killed were girls. Their identities have yet to be disclosed but they were also said to be 14 or under.

The disaster took place in the town of Aladag north of Adana city, one of the biggest urban centres in the south of Turkey.

Jumped from window in panic

Television footage showed the three-storey building in flames, with fire engine teams trying to put out the blaze.

Demirtas said some terrified schoolgirls were injured after jumping out of the window to escape the flames. He added that none of the injuries were serious condition.

The governor said the fire at the private schoolchildren dorm broke out at around 7.25pm (8.25pm UAE) and it was brought under control some three hours later.

Demirtas declined to comment on claims that fire escape stairs were locked and students were unable to use them.

But Adana city Mayor Huseyin Sozlu said: “It appears that the fire escape stairs door was locked. Children could not open it. Bodies were found there,” he said.

He told NTV “of course children would have survived” if they had been able to flee down the fire escape stairs.

“From tomorrow the governor’s office will start an investigation.”

He said the children were aged between 11-14.

Students trapped on the second and third storeys of the building who could not flee outside, were killed in the fire, the Dogan news agency said.

The fire spread rapidly because of the building’s wooden interior and carpeted floor, officials said.

Aladag district’s mayor Mustafa Alpgedik, quoted by the Dogan news agency, said the fire erupted on the ground floor and then the flames spread because the third floor was wooden.

With the burning of the wooden floor, the roof then entirely collapsed, he said.

In an agonising wait, families who could not see their children stood outside in tears, Dogan added.

The dorm had a capacity for 54 students and was open to both secondary and high school students. Demirtas said it was a private dormitory with 34 students in residence.

Fires are frequent in Turkey due to antiquated and often wooden buildings and faulty electrics. But a disaster of this magnitude is highly unusual.

In a sign of the seriousness of the incident, several ministers were heading to the region, including Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu and Education Minister Ismet Yilmaz.

Demirtas meanwhile informed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who expressed his sadness over the catastrophe, the state-run Anadolu news agency said.

Ex-UAE league coach Caio Junior killed in Colombia crash

Caio Junior, former boss of AGL sides Al Shabab and Al Jazira, was on plane that went down near Medellin

Dubai: For the past two seasons, covering matches involving Al Shabab was more of a joy due to the presence of a certain Luiz Carlos Saroli — known as Caio Junior. The news of him being on the ill-fated Colombia flight, which wiped out the entire Chapecoense football team when it crashed, was shattering.

The chartered aircraft, which was flying from Brazil via Bolivia, crashed on its approach to the city of Medellin in Colombia.

Footballing circles in the UAE responded in shock after hearing of the tragic demise of the former Al Shabab and Al Jazira coach. News reports indicated that all but five of the 81 passengers had died. Of these, three were supposed to be Chapecoense players.

As news trickled in that Caio Junior was no more, a distraught Al Shabab media officer Adel Al Hammadi insisted that they still held hope that their former coach may be one of those who had survived the crash. Most of the Al Shabab players tried to call Caio Junior on his private mobile phone with the hope that he may pick up their calls.

After spending two years with the side from Al Mamzar, the club decided to end Caio Junior’s contract after a run of losses and dropped points that resulted in Al Shabab ending fifth in the Arabian Gulf League (AGL), thus missing out on one of four direct spots in the AFC Champions League.

Caio Junior was a calm, calculated and yet a restless soul. He was a true professional and yet he brought in something very personal to the people with whom he worked while the players saw him as a father figure. The coach’s son Matheus has posted a message on Facebook requesting privacy for him and his family at such a difficult time. “Friends, my brother and my mother are both well. We request for some privacy at this moment and thank everyone who has been sending in condolence messages,” Matheus said in his post.

Missed flight

He was also scheduled to accompany his father for the first leg of the 2016 Copa Sudamericana final between Chapecoense and Atletico Nacional in a match that was seen as the biggest in the history of the club. He forgot his passport at home and couldn’t make the trip.

“We are strong. We are going to get past this. Thank you one and all,” Matheus’s post concluded.

Following the crash, Atletico Nacional have requested the governing body of the competition that the trophy be awarded to Chapecoense as a tribute to the departed squad.

Ironically, Caio Junior’s last words to the media after qualifying for the final were: “If I die today, I will die a happy man.”

No one must have expected his wish would come true in this fashion!

Quick facts

 

Name: Luiz Carlos Saroli (Caio Junior)
Born: March 8, 1965 (Cascavel, Brazil)
Position: Forward
Youth career: Gremio (1980); Cascavel (1983-1984)
Senior career: Gremio (1985-1987); Vitoria Guimaraes (1987-1992); Estrela Amadora (1992-1994)
Teams managed: Palmeiras (2007); Vissel Kobe (2009); Al Gharafa Qatar (2009-2011); Al Jazira (2012); Al Shabab (2014-2016).

Now you can park and ride on Dubai Canal

Park under the Shaikh Zayed Road bridge to access the Boardwalk

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Dubai: Now, park your car on the side of canal enjoy the vistas from the Boardwalk or take a ride on a ferry or a water taxi.

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has opened up more than 1,600 paid parking slots for the canal visitors in the Business Bay and Safa areas.

The parking facilities are located on either side of the canal from one end to the other, including 652 slots bearing the Code G located at the Business Bay district and 628 parking slots allocated beneath Shaikh Zayed Road bridge and Safa Park.

Additionally, 322 parking slots around the Dubai Water Canal bearing the Code A are also available.

Maitha Bin Adai, CEO of Traffic and Roads Agency at RTA, said the seasonal parking cards will not be valid in the areas bearing code G, while the cards will be valid in the areas around the canal with code A.

“Dubai Water Canal is shaping into one of the most attractive tourist attractions for residents, visitors and tourists in Dubai, which requires the provision of key infrastructure, such as parking slots as they help facilitate movement around the landmark,” she said.

Parking under the Shaikh Zayed Road bridge is the best place to leave your cars and walk along the canal with family and friends.

Heading from the direction of Sharjah on Shaikh Zayed road, the easiest way to access the Shaikh Zayed bridge parking is to take the Umm Ammar exit after the Mazaya Centre and turn left from the small roundabout on the service road running parallel to the highway.

For metro travellers, the Boardwalk is just a few hundred metres from the Business Bay station, just a 10-minute walk on either side of Shaikh Zayed road.

Visitors to the canal can also enjoy the view from the top of Shaikh Zayed road bridge as the RTA has opened two elevators each on either side from Boardwalk.

Ferries are available from both ends — the Dubai Canal marine station near Jumeirah Beach Park and Al Jaddaf marine station near Creek metro station — at 10am, 12 noon and 5.30pm. At the Shaikh Zayed road station, which is right next to the canal fountain on the 16-lane bridge, the ferries will be available at 11.25am, 1.25pm and 6.25pm towards Jumeirah, while heading towards Jaddaf the ferries will be available at 12.25pm, 2.25pm and 7.25pm.

Water taxis are available on call from 10am to 10pm.

Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid's daughter is getting engaged

The royal couple from Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah announced their engagement on social media 

   

Dubai: The emirate of Dubai will soon be in full swing as the daughter of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai has announced news of her engagement

 On her Instagram account on Monday, Shaikha Latifa Bint Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced her engagement to Shaikh Faisal Saud Khalid Al Qasimi.

 

Shaikh Faisal is from the royal family of Ras Al Khaimah, who posted a photo of himself with the caption: "With His Highness Shaikh Saud Bin Rashid Al Mualla, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Umm Al Quwain."

Shaikha Manal Bint Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum also extended a congratulatory message on Instagram, wishing the royal couple a prosperous future together. 

Fans of the ruling families also posted messages on social media about the engagement, which was a trending topic in the last 24 hours under the hashtag #AlMaktoumandAlQasimiWedding.

Men accuse brothel owners of sword attack

Three suspects allegedly assaulted duo with swords in flat that turned out to be a brothel

Dubai: Three suspects were accused on Monday of attacking two men with swords and knives and chopping off four fingers of one of them after the victims threatened to report to police that the attackers ran a brothel.

The Emirati man and his Indian friend were said to be searching for a place to dine when a group of Vietnamese men lured them to have a massage in a flat at Dubai International City in January.

When the two friends realised that they had been lured to a brothel to have sex, according to record, one of them told the men that prostitution is banned in the UAE and said he would be calling the police.

The Emirati testified to prosecutors that when they entered the flat, the men came with four women who turned out to be prostitutes and told them they could have sex with the women.

Three of the men jumped out of the window of the first-storey flat and absconded.

The Emirati and Indian man left the flat and went down, before they spotted a group of 10 to 12 men running towards them armed with swords and knives.

The two friends started running towards their car before the Indian lost balance and fell on the ground.

Records said the group repeatedly stabbed him and caused him severe injuries.

When the Emirati man tried to help his friend, he was attacked as well.

Prosecutors accused the Vietnamese trio of trying to kill the Indian, assaulting him and causing him permanent disability. They were also charged with assaulting the Emirati and injuring him.

The Vietnamese trio pleaded not guilty and refuted their accusations when they appeared before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Monday.

According to the charge sheet, prosecutors said the trio and an unidentified number of their countrymen [who remain at large] formed a gang and attacked the Emirati and the Indian.

The suspects [the trio and the fugitives] caused 10 per cent permanent disability to the Emirati and a 25 per cent permanent disability to the Indian man.

The trio, who stood trial on Monday, refuted a list of five accusations before presiding judge Urfan Omar.

“When I told them that prostitution is prohibited in the UAE and that I will call the police, the three men who were present in the flat, jumped out of the window.

"When we went down, a group of 10 to 12 men attacked us with sharp tools. My friend fell down and they repeatedly stabbed him … he had four of his fingers chopped off. I ran towards him and tried to save him. I defended myself against stabs with one arm and used the other arm to pull my friend away. They attacked me on the head and back …,” he claimed to prosecutors.

Hundreds attend funeral of late Dubai Police chief Lt General Mazeina

The late Lt General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina was laid to rest Friday following a fatal heart attack on Thursday night 

 

Dubai: Lt. General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, died on Thursday night at Rashid Hospital following a heart attack.

Following are the latest updates:

The late Dubai Police Chief, Lt Gen Khamis Mattar Al Mazeinah, was laid to rest in Dubai's Al Ghusais graveyard, with hundreds of people praying for him, including shaikhs, top officials and well-wishers from the wider public.

People prayed in at least three separate groups in succession to accommodate the crowds.

Family, some with tears in their eyes, received condolences from the attendees who are trickling out now.

Al Mazeinah died on Thursday night at Rashid Hospital in Dubai.

"He was a very approachable, open and humorous person. He greatly benefitted Dubai Police by establishing various new departments and empowering their heads to be a force for good," said a Pakistani employee in Dubai Police's HR department who was at the burial.

"He was a true gentleman. I heard about his death through colleagues on Thursday night."

Dubai Police is directing the rush of cars and traffic leading to the huge public graveyard on Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Road.

Eerlier, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, accompanied by Lt General Shaikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council, and Shaikh Maktoum Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, led the Friday prayers at the Zabeel Grand Mosque, which will be followed by funeral prayers for Lt Gen Al Mazeina.

Hundreds of well-wishers have gathered at the Zabeel Mosque to attend the funeral prayer for Lt. General Khamis Mattar Al Mazeina, Commander-in-Chief of Dubai Police, who died on Thursday night.

The funeral prayer was held after the Friday prayers.

Security is tight. A few expats too have arrived for prayers and respects. Zabeel Mosque, located in the namesake area, is also formally known as Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum Grand Mosque. 

Condolences pour in

Lt General Al Mazeina died on Thursday night at Rashid Hospital after he was rushed there following a heart attack.Condolences poured in from early Friday morning.

Shaikh Mohammad condoled with the family of the Dubai Police Chief in a series of tweets on Friday morning, one of which states. “My personal condolences to the family of Khamis Matar and his companions, the people of Dubai and the people of the UAE…”

He was previously the deputy commander of Dubai Police.

Earlier Lt Gen Al Mazeina was the director of the general directorate for criminal investigations at Dubai Police, a role he took over in 2000.

How Sharjah doctor prevented surgery on newborn baby

Filipino baby Kelly Hope was experiencing bowel obstruction

Sharjah: An invasive treatment was prevented on a newborn baby, thanks to a Sharjah doctor who observed the baby’s condition and treated her with enema.

Filipino baby Kelly Hope, who was experiencing bowel obstruction symptoms after she was born, avoided an unnecessary surgery after a doctor from University Hospital Sharjah (UHS) observed her condition and found that the highly thick meconium was the reason behind her obstructed bowel.

Her parents Ryan and Mary Hope were desperately looking for treatment after a physician at the time of their baby’s birth in another hospital suspected that the infant’s colon was obstructed and she needed to be transferred for an operation.

Ryan and Mary were turned away by more than one hospital before they sought medical attention from UHS, where Prof Hakam Yaseen, senior consultant neonatologist and head of the Department of Paediatric and NICU, took care of Kelly’s bowel obstruction.

The doctor found the case to be common among babies and said doctors should be aware that the meconium can obstruct an infant’s bowel and that it doesn’t require a surgery.

He said the stool normally consists of various products the baby ingests in the womb that have been shed, as well as mucus, bile, water, amniotic fluid and the soft hair that cover’s the baby’s body.

“Sometimes a baby’s stool, the meconium, is highly viscid and blocks the intestine. We gave the baby an enema and washed the colon. Afterward, her condition stabilised, passing motion normally and the vomiting no longer persisted,” he said.

He advised the mother to only feed Kelly small portions and five days later, Kelly went home with a clean bill of health.

“My wife was crying with worry,” said Ryan. Late in the night, he and his friend went to the NICU to visit their baby. “Kelly had a tube in her mouth. We just wanted to take our baby home. We felt completely helpless.”

Improving the awareness of meconium consistency will prevent unnecessary surgeries from being performed on newborns with bowel obstruction symptoms, Prof Yaseen said.

7.2 earthquake and Hurricane Otto hit Nicaragua

Tsunami warning issued and state of emergency declared as Pacific Ocean country pummelled

 

A fierce hurricane and a powerful offshore earthquake struck Central America at the same time Thursday, triggering emergency responses in Nicaragua, El Salvador and Costa Rica, and prayers among fearful populations.

Hurricane Otto, a storm packing winds of 175 kilometres per hour hit first, plowing into Nicaragua’s southern Caribbean coast.

Communities in that zone and in northern neighboring Costa Rica were evacuated ahead of it. There were no immediate reports of any deaths.

Just an hour later came the earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.0 and located 120 kilometers off El Salvador in the Pacific Ocean, on the other side of the Central American isthmus. It was felt also in Nicaragua’s capital Managua and in Costa Rica.

While there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties from the temblor, El Salvador and Nicaragua issued a tsunami alert for their Pacific coasts, and El Salvador ordered all people in the zone to evacuate.

The double whammy was a dire test for a largely poor region generally lacking resources and preparedness for major disasters.

Hurricane

Faced with a hurricane and possible tsunami, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega on Thursday declared a national emergency - a step Costa Rica had already taken ahead of Hurricane Otto.

The storm was expected to chew its way along a broad swath of territory on both sides of the Nicaragua-Costa Rica border into Friday, losing strength as it went.

But the US National Hurricane Centre warned Otto’s trailing rains “will likely result in life-threatening flash floods and mudslides.”

Earlier this week, the outer bands of the storm caused the deaths of four people in Panama.

The hurricane came ashore Thursday near San Juan de Nicaragua, also known as Greytown, south of the city of Bluefields and close to the Costa Rican border.

“The wind is very strong and it’s raining a lot,” a local resident, Aldrick Beckford, told AFP by telephone. “We just saw neighbors’ roofs collapse.”

A reporter for Nicaraguan state television in San Juan de Nicaragua described a “difficult” situation with brutal gusts. “There are cables fallen, trees brought down,” he told Channel 4 television.

The wind lifted off the roof of the town hall, which had been operating as an emergency coordination center.

In Bluefields, a city of 45,000 people, and elsewhere, panic-buying cleared shops of bottled water, battery-powered lamps and plastic bags. On Wednesday, hundreds crammed onto boats to flee, while others who remained hammered metal sheeting over windows.

“This is the first time a hurricane has hit here,” said Faucia Pena, an inhabitant of Bluefields. “We are asking God to end it or send it elsewhere. Everybody is afraid.”

Both Nicaragua and Costa Rica closed schools, mobilized emergency crews and issued red alerts for areas across much of their territories for the hurricane.

They also carried out evacuations, though some residents in northern Costa Rica decided to stay put to guard against looters.

One woman who did evacuate her home near the village of Barra del Colorado, Teresa Romero, 52, told AFP that around 10 male locals had refused to leave. She was taking shelter in a church near the capital San Jose.

“Otto is the southernmost landfalling hurricane in Central America on record,” the US hurricane center said.

A previous, far-stronger hurricane, Matthew, devastated parts of southern Haiti early last month, killing 546 people and leaving nearly 175,000 homeless.

Offshore quake

The strong earthquake on the other side of the region came as the hurricane was making its way west.

It occurred at a depth of 10.3 kilometres, according to the US Geological Survey - sufficiently shallow to spark fears in the Salvadoran government of a possible tsunami.

“All protection mechanisms have been activated under which we have started evacuations,” the minister in charge of the emergency response, Aristides Valencia, said on state radio.

Officials were scrambling to evaluate the impact of the quake. The task was made more difficult because some telephone lines in the capital San Salvador were cut.

People ran out of dozens of buildings in the city in panic, fearing aftershocks.

Update: At least 67 dead in China construction accident

Platform under construction at a power plant's cooling tower collapses in eastern China's Jiangxi province 

 

At least 67 people have died after a platform under construction at a power plant's cooling tower in eastern China's Jiangxi province collapsed on Thursday, state news agency Xinhua said.

The accident happened in Fengcheng at around 7 am (2300GMT, 3am Dubai), and rescuers are on the scene Xinhua said, without giving other details.

Deadly accidents are relatively common at industrial sites in China, and anger over lax standards is growing after three decades of swift economic growth marred by incidents from mining disasters to factory fires.

China has vowed to improve safety at such facilities.

President Xi Jinping has said authorities would learn the lessons paid for with blood after chemical blasts in the port city of Tianjin last year killed more than 170 people.

How three children died when simple backyard game became well tragedy

One minute four cousins, all aged four, were playing; the next they had fallen 50 metres

 

Al Ain: For Hessa, Mohammad and twins Sultan and Khalifa, all of them only four years old, life was about playing and having fun.

On Wednesday afternoon, the four cousins were playing in the backyard of Hessa’s house in Al Ain when tragedy struck.

“Hessa, Mohammad, Sultan and Khalifa went to play outside in the backyard as usual,” an emotionally distraught Umm Mohammad Al Khaili, a relative of the children, told Gulf News.

“Then, they saw a cat and started chasing it. Their mothers and relatives had gone to attend Al Asr prayers.

"The children ran after the cat and when it jumped on to the wooden cover over an abandoned water well in the corner of the backyard, the children too jumped on it.

"The plywood cover suddenly gave way and the children fell into the well. The water well is abandoned and was dug 20 years ago.”

The children fell 50 metres down the well in Al Naifia area of Al Hili in Al Ain.

The families of the children searched for them all over the house and were shocked to find them in the well.

Major Mohammad Saleh Al Beloushi, director of the emergency and safety department of Al Ain Police, told Gulf News that police teams along with Emirates Rescue and Search teams were dispatched immediately to the accident site after receiving the information.

Al Beloushi said: “The children were evacuated from the water well. Four-year-old Khalifa Mohammad Al Darmaki was rescued alive and rushed to Al Ain Hospital, whereas his twin brother Sultan [Mohammad Al Darmaki] and four-year-old maternal cousins Hessa Saeed Al Khaili and Mohammad Mubarak Al Khalili were pronounced dead and their bodies transferred to Al Jimi morgue for an autopsy. Investigations are under way to determine the cause of death.”

The children sustained severe fractures and suffered from suffocation as a result of the fall.

“Khalifa has been discharged from hospital after recovering from his injuries, however, he is still in shock and can’t believe what happened," Umm Mohammad added.

"He refuses to talk to anyone about what happened to his twin and cousins in the accident. He is currently being treated by a psychologist,” .

Hessa’s father, Saeed, flew back from France on Thursday afternoon.

All born towards the end of 2011, Hessa, Mohammad, Sultan and Khalifa, all aged four, were cousins and went to the same school in Al Ain and studied together in kindergarten.

The deceased children will be buried in Al Mutawea cemetery on Friday around 7am after Al Fajr prayers in Al Mutawea Mosque.

Abandoned well accidents in the UAE

May 2011: A three-year-old boy rescued after falling 11 metres into an abandoned water well of a house located in Mazaid area of Al Ain. The boy sustained minor injuries after jumping on the wooden lid of the water well that gave away.

February 2015: An 18-year-old Emirati dies after trying to rescue a nine-year-old boy who fell in an abandoned water well in Awhalaeh area of Fujairah. Both victims drowned in the well.

Water wells

Upon the establishment of the UAE, the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan would give people land for farming, and due to scarce water resources, people dug groundwater wells for irrigation and farming and built their houses on these farms.

Today, many of the contemporary houses in Al Ain are built on land that has abandoned water wells built decades ago.

Police scotch rumour

Abu Dhabi Police announced on Thursday that there is no suspicion of crime in the incident. The police called on the public to avoid sharing misleading information and spreading rumours.

“We reiterate that the information being shared by the public is nothing but a rumour,” the Abu Dhabi Police official Facebook page stated.