Schools across the UAE have reminded parents of illness rules requiring children with fever, vomiting or diarrhoea to stay home until they are well enough to return, as the 2026–27 academic year gets under way. A circular issued by one Dubai school sets a specific threshold: children must be fever-free for at least 24 hours without fever-reducing medication before coming back to class, and those who have had vomiting or diarrhoea must wait 48 hours after symptoms subside. Which symptoms require a child to stay home The Dubai circular lists the conditions that should keep a child at home: a…
Author: Catherine Smith
A Dubai resident escaped the 26 August flash flood at Nepal’s Gyirong border crossing by a single day’s scheduling difference, watching from a city hours away as the building housing the Isha Foundation Kailash pilgrims was engulfed, leaving 77 pilgrims and three staff from the S3 group unaccounted for. Raj Mehta, 35, had completed the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra a week earlier as part of a separate batch. His close friend from Spain, identified only as GDA, was in the S3 group, which began its crossing from China into Nepal through Gyirong Port on the morning of 26 August. One day’s…
The All-Star Sumo competition arrives in Abu Dhabi on 26 September 2026, bringing the UAE its first international professional sumo event at Space42 Arena on Al Raha Street. Nine elite wrestlers from Japan, Mongolia and Egypt will contest 36 bouts in a one-night card organised by the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi (DCT Abu Dhabi) in collaboration with USA Sumo. Who is competing in the All-Star Sumo Abu Dhabi lineup The nine competing wrestlers bring a combined total of more than 67 years of professional sumo experience, according to the All-Star Sumo event organisers. Headlining the field…
A 16-month-old Jordanian girl, Katia Abu Al Saud, has begun treatment for spinal muscular atrophy at Al Jalila Children’s Hospital in Dubai after Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum agreed to cover the full cost of her care. Her mother, Nour Roudnahal, said the medical team had completed Katia’s initial examinations and was preparing the next steps in her treatment. The two travelled to Dubai from Queen Alia International Airport in Amman, according to Gulf News. The Dubai Media Office announced on 20 August that Sheikh Mohammed would fully fund Katia’s treatment at the hospital. ‘By the grace of God…
UAE Minister of State Noura Al Kaabi visited Timor-Leste to advance UAE Timor-Leste digital cooperation across government services, food security, water management and investment, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Al Kaabi was accompanied by Abdulla Salem Al Dhaheri, UAE Ambassador to Indonesia and non-resident ambassador to Timor-Leste, and Omar Shehadeh, UAE envoy to the Caribbean and Pacific states. The visit forms part of a broader Pacific tour aimed at deepening the UAE’s diplomatic and economic engagement in the region. Talks cover digitisation, trade and economic agreements Al Kaabi met President José Ramos-Horta, with discussions centring on the digitisation…
Dubai’s shared housing law gives authorities the power to carry out surprise and routine inspections of shared housing units, with residents, owners and operators required to allow access to authorised inspectors under the new rules. Law No. (4) of 2026 was issued on 11 March 2026 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in his capacity as Ruler of Dubai. It regulates the management and occupancy of shared housing across the emirate, and prohibits any person or entity from allocating a unit for shared housing without first obtaining a permit. Permits are issued and renewed according to rules set by…
Four participants in Big Ticket’s third weekly e-draw for August took home Dh25,000 each, with winners drawn from Bangladesh, India and the Philippines. Each ticket for the weekly e-draw costs Dh150 inclusive of VAT, according to Big Ticket’s draw rules and procedures. The four wins come from a draw series whose monthly grand prize stands at Dh15 million, as listed on the Big Ticket Winners Club page for Series 290. Winning tickets for the weekly e-draw are selected by an independently certified random number generator, with results published on the Big Ticket website and announced during the live show. Big…
UAE back-to-school traffic on Monday ran more smoothly than many parents expected, with staggered drop-off timings and new road capacity easing congestion for the first day of the new academic year. More than 1.2 million students returned to classrooms after a summer break of nearly two months. Staggered timings and new lanes made a difference Mirdif resident Tayyaba Anwar said the drive to Khawaneej was unusually clear. ‘Usually my route has a lot of traffic because it is a school area,’ she said. ‘But today I got almost no traffic. I believe it’s because a lot of public schools have…
Dr Anwar Gargash, Diplomatic Adviser to the UAE President, called on Monday for a Gargash political solution to the Hormuz crisis, warning that the region’s state of “neither war nor peace” could not continue as the UAE Air Force responded to a drone detected over the country’s territorial waters approaching from Iran. The UAE Ministry of Defence confirmed the intercept and said the Armed Forces remained on a high state of readiness. In a separate statement, the ministry denied media reports that Al Menhad Air Base had been targeted by missiles. What Gargash said Writing on X, Gargash said realistic…
The UAE school mobile phone ban came into force at the start of the 2026–27 academic year, with students at public and private schools subject to confiscation of their devices for up to one month on a first violation, according to Arabian Business. A ministerial ruling prohibits students from bringing mobile phones into schools following the Ministry of Education curriculum. Repeat breaches can result in the phone being held for longer than a month. Beyond confiscation, the Ministry of Education’s rules require that any student caught using a phone for non-educational purposes faces the penalties set out in the regulations,…