United Arab Emirates

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, chaired the meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives Foundation, during which His Highness approved the annual business report, where the total expenditure during the previous year was AED2.3 billion. In a post on his account on the X platform, His Highness said: "I chaired the meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives Foundation. During it, we adopted the annual business report, where the Foundation's total expenditure during the previous year was AED 2.3 billion. The aid reached more than 165 million people in 122 countries."His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum added: "The UAE has chosen to create hope. It has chosen to build life. It has chosen to stand with humanity wherever they are." The largest of its kind in the region in the field of charitable, humanitarian, relief and community work, MBRGI has made a positive impact on the lives of about 165 million beneficiaries in 122 countries around the world.The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives Foundation was able to increase the number of beneficiaries of its initiatives by 16 million compared to 2024, and expanded its programs, campaigns, and relief and community projects to include 122 countries, an increase of 4 countries compared to the number of countries it covered in 2024.The announcement of the results of the report came during the chairmanship of the Board of Trustees of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense, Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, and His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Second Deputy Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Emirates Airline and Group, His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the UAE Olympic Committee, His Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, and His Highness Sheikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.The meeting was also attended by HE Mohammed Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Secretary General of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, HE Saeed Al Attar, Executive Director of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, HE Dr. Alawi Al Sheikh Ali, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Noor Dubai Foundation, HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Suqia Foundation, HE Mohammed Al Murr, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Library Foundation, HE Matar Mohammed Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Endowment, HE Abdullah Al Basti, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Charity Foundation, HE Marwan bin Ghalaita, Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Emirates Food Bank, HE Mona Ghanem Al Marri, Chairman of the Arab Media Award, and HE Jamal bin Huwaireb, Executive Director of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Knowledge Foundation.

His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the UAE, received the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, the Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP, on 18 April 2026 for her first official visit to the UAE. The two Ministers discussed the deep and historic UK-UAE relationship, founded on a shared commitment to regional stability, prosperity and international cooperation. They built on discussions between the UK Prime Minister the Rt Hon Sir Keir Starmer MP and the President of the UAE, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, on 9 April. The two Ministers formally agreed to a Framework for enhanced cooperation between their two countries, covering foreign affairs, defence, trade and investment, artificial intelligence, the energy transition, and judicial cooperation and illicit finance. The Framework provides an ambitious basis to deliver a long-term bilateral partnership and strengthened mutual resilience. The Secretary of State thanked the UAE authorities for their extensive efforts to safeguard British Nationals amid recent regional hostilities. HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs expressed appreciation for the continued support from the UK in response to Iranian aggression. Both Ministers agreed on the importance of ongoing consular cooperation. The Ministers condemned in the strongest terms Iran’s egregious and unjustifiable attacks, on the UAE and States across the region, including against civilians and civilian infrastructure, in clear breach of their sovereignty and territorial integrity and in flagrant violation of fundamental principles and rules of international law, including the UN Charter. Recalling UN Security Council resolution 2817 (2026), the two sides condemned Iran's actions and threats aimed at closing, obstructing, or otherwise interfering with international navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. The Ministers affirmed the importance of freedom of navigation without tolling in the strait, in accordance with international law, reflected in UNCLOS. The two Ministers further recalled the 19 March 2026 decision of the International Maritime Organization Council condemning Iran’s threats and attacks against vessels and its closure of the Strait of Hormuz as representing a grave danger to life and serious risk to the safety of navigation and the marine environment. The Ministers welcomed the initiative by the UK and France, announced on 17 April, to support freedom of navigation, to stand up for international law, and to protect global economic stability and energy security with the support of an international coalition. The two Ministers condemned attacks in Sudan against civilians, as well as humanitarian personnel and convoys, by the warring parties. They stressed that the warring parties have a responsibility to bring the conflict to an end and the international community to increase pressure to bring this about, and that the protection of civilians must remain central. They emphasised the urgent need for an immediate and unconditional truce to enable rapid, safe, and unimpeded humanitarian access across Sudan and rejected any attempts to politicise humanitarian assistance. The Ministers underscored that Sudan’s future must be determined by its civilians through an independent civilian-led process to meet the aspirations of the Sudanese people towards a transition to a civilian-led government. They welcomed recent engagements between the Quad, the United Kingdom and the European Union, most recently on the margins of the Berlin Conference, and reaffirmed the importance of continued coordination to advance peace in Sudan. The Ministers also reaffirmed their commitment to supporting a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine in line with international law and the principles of the UN Charter, including respect for sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity. They welcomed the most recent UAE facilitation of prisoner exchanges between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, bringing the total number of prisoners exchanged to 6,305 since the beginning of the war. They also discussed ways of cooperating on supporting Ukraine’s recovery. The Ministers looked forward to continue close cooperation and to growing the UK-UAE relationship over the period ahead.

The United Arab Emirates condemned in the strongest terms the terrorist attack that targeted two northern border posts in the State of Kuwait using two explosive-laden drones launched from the Republic of Iraq.In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) affirmed that this terrorist attack constitutes a violation of the sovereignty of Kuwait and a threat to its security and stability.The UAE expressed its full solidarity with Kuwait and its support for all measures aimed at safeguarding its security and stability.

Dubai: A heartwarming video shared by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence of the UAE, and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, shows a spontaneous stop to say hello to a camel.The video, posted with the caption “We came to say hello … Emaar", filmed from inside a car, shows Sheikh Hamdan pausing to greet a camel when a young boy accompanying him excitedly recognises the animal, calling out, “Emaar”.The boy then worries if it might bite him, to which Sheikh Hamdan reassures the child that it would not.A well-known animal lover, Sheikh Hamdan often shares candid moments with different animals, and has done a lot for animal and nature conservation.

Dubai: A powerful quote by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, is once again resonating online, after His Excellency Mohammed Al Gergawi shared a video revisiting the message.“In the UAE, in Dubai, I don’t care if you are a gazelle or a lion, when you wake up, you better start running,” Sheikh Mohammed famously said.Today, His Excellency Mohammed Al Gergawi, UAE Minister of Cabinet Affairs, posted a video on these inspiring words, showing just how important that insight is.Describing it as a powerful lesson, Al Gergawi’s post features an illustrated retelling of the well-known analogy of the lion and the gazelle — a metaphor for the constant drive required to succeed.“Every morning, when the gazelle wakes up in Africa, he makes sure he outruns the fastest lion or he’ll be killed. When the lion wakes up, he makes sure that he outruns the slowest gazelle or he will starve. I say, in the UAE, in Dubai, I don’t care if you are a gazelle or a lion - when you wake up, you better start running.”

Dubai: His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, has asked his 17+ million followers on Instagram which phone they would choose, out of four.“Which one would you choose?”, he wrote on his Instagram stories, sharing a picture with four options — Leica Leitz Phone, iPhone 17 Pro Max, Vivo X300 Ultra and Oppo Find X9 Ultra.All four phones have some of the most advanced camera-focused smartphones in the market, and Sheikh Hamdan is also well-known as a photography enthusiast.Within just two hours, the iPhone 17 Pro Max surged ahead, securing a dominant 76 per cent of the votes, far outpacing its rivals. Do you agree?

Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced the relocation of intercity bus station located on the ground floor of the Centrepoint Station parking building. According to an RTA announcement on X platform, it will be relocated to the front facade of the parking building for buses heading to Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain.Passengers are requested to follow the directional signage to reach the new station location, RTA said. The arrangement is in support of the Blue Line Metro project works, RTA added.

Dubai Police has taken firm action against a number of motorcycle riders after they were caught performing dangerous stunts and violating traffic laws on roads across the emirate.The riders were seen driving on one wheel and weaving between vehicles, a behaviour that puts lives at risk and poses a serious threat to road safety.Brigadier Jumaa Salem bin Suwaidan, Director of the General Department of Traffic at Dubai Police, said traffic patrols detected multiple serious violations, including reckless riding and failure to follow traffic regulations.These actions endangers both riders and other road users and can result in serious accidents.The motorcycles involved have been impounded, and legal action has been taken against the offenders in line with traffic laws.Riders are urged to follow safe driving practices and avoid any form of dangerous behaviour on public roads.He also called on parents to play a more active role in monitoring their children and raising awareness about the dangers of reckless riding, stressing the importance of ensuring compliance with traffic laws to prevent serious injuries or fatalities.Dubai Police further highlighted the importance of family supervision and early education on road safety, encouraging riders to use designated areas and avoid imitating risky behaviours seen on social media.

Abu Dhabi: New members of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council were sworn in before UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Council.Those who took the oath were His Excellency Shamis Ali Al Dhaheri, Member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Chairman of the Department of Community Development, and His Excellency Mohamed Taj Eddine Ahmed Alqadi, Member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Chairman of the Department of Education and Knowledge.His Highness congratulated the new members of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and wished them and the Council’s members continued success in carrying out their duties to strengthen government systems in Abu Dhabi, further enhance services provided to the community, and contribute to advancing development plans in line with future aspirations.His Highness affirmed that enhancing quality of life across all levels in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi remains a key priority and sustained approach.His Highness took a group photo with the members of the Executive Council.The oath-taking ceremony was attended by H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Court for Special Affairs, along with a number of sheikhs and officials.