A proposal to introduce corporate taxes is still under study, the country’s minister of state for financial affairs was quoted on Wednesday as saying.

Obaid Humaid Al Tayer repeated previous statements that the UAE, a major Opec oil producer, has no plan to impose income taxes on individuals despite a steep fall in crude prices over the past months.

Speaking to reporters after a Federal National Council session on Tuesday, he said the drop in oil prices has had no impact on the federal budget and projects.

“There is no plan to impose income tax on individuals. There has been a study to introduce fees on cash remittances by foreign workers in the UAE, but no decision has been taken yet as we need to know the size of these remittances and the workers’ categories.”

Tayer said a draft law to introduce corporate income taxes is still in its first stages and that there are consultations between local governments in this respect.

“This income tax on companies is still within the framework of the corporate tax draft law…it is still in the first phase and no agreement has been reached yet,” he said.

He said a sharp fall in the prices of oil, a major component of the UAE’s revenue, has not affected federal spending this year.

He noted that the federal budget is financed through contributions by Abu Dhabi and Dubai as well as government investments and other sources.

“The decline in oil prices has not affected the budget…no project or any other programme would be cancelled or suspended,” he said.

Asked about the planned value added tax (VAT), the minister said it could be enforced in 2018 or 2019 in case it is approved by the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council.

“The private sector needs to know which items would be taxed and needs to be given 18 months to enforce it after it is endorsed,” he said.

“Things will become clear in the first quarter of 2016…but there will be no individual decision to enforce this tax as it will be enforced by all GCC members.”

Actor Salman Khan's marriage is a topic that has kept many a Bollywood fans occupied for several years now.

Every single time Salman is spotted with some lady or the other, be it a Bollywood actor or someone else, the grapevine works itself into a tizzy over Salman Khan's 'mystery woman'.

As recently as a few months ago too, yet another tsunami of rumours drowned the internet. This time around, it was said that Salman Khan might have gotten engaged to the woman he is supposedly in a relationship with - Romanian TV personality Iulia Vantur.

Recently, when actor Shah Rukh Khan visited his reality show Bigg Boss to promote 'Dilwale', SRK asked Salman to settle down. Looks like Salman paid heed to his friend's advice.

Now BollywoodLife reports that Salman is all set to put an official stamp on his relationship and that too on his birthday on December 27.

A source close to the star told the website that the Romanian television presenter will be present for the birthday bash to be held at his farmhouse.

And during the party Salman might introduce Iulia as his girlfriend.

Earlier, in an interview on TV, Salman had said that he would 'think about marrying only after the courts give their verdicts'. And if the verdicts from the courts went against him, the actor said, then he would marry only after being released from jail.

Now, given the fact that Salman has been cleared of all charges in the 2002 hit-and-run case, the actor might finally be able to walk down the altar.

When asked Salman neither denied nor accepted his relation with Vantur, whom he is allegedly dating for quite some time.

Salman and Iulia's relationship last came under speculation when the two were spotted enjoying a family lunch together.

The duo were seated next to each other in the presence of Salman's sister Alvira and other family members.

The linkup however dates back to 2011 when a Romanian magazine had quoted that Iulia had met Salman when she came to India on a holiday.

Salman had no qualms in making his relationship with Iulia public, since he has reportedly been seen at several Mumbai celebrity hotspots with her.

Iulia, an established Romanian actor and TV anchor first met Salman in early 2011 when she visited India with her then boyfriend Marius Moga, who introduced her to Salman on the set of 'Bodyguard'.

The Australian government on Wednesday caved in and granted visas to the mother and brother of a dying Pakistani man after being accused of "a callous decision" condemning him to a lonely death.

Hassan Asif, a 25-year-old who came to Australia on a student visa, has been diagnosed with terminal cancer and told he has just weeks to live.

His mother and brother wanted to be with him in his final days, but they were refused visas as they were considered at risk of overstaying.

But the decision sparked an outcry with the Melbourne City Mission homeless refuge, which is caring for Asif, urging Immigration Minister Peter Dutton to "show some compassion".

"Hassan faces a lonely death as immigration department refuse mum's visa," it said on its Facebook page. "We urge Peter Dutton to intervene and reunite Hassan with his family one last time."

The Labour opposition demanded Dutton "sort out this bureaucratic bungle".

"On the face of it, it seems a cruel and callous decision to refuse his Pakistani-based mother and brother a visa to visit Asif," said shadow immigration minister Richard Marles.

"This appears to be a disgraceful and heartless decision."

Dutton, holding a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, said it was the "right decision" to refuse the visas based on the information that was provided.

But within half an hour he had changed his mind.

"I'd asked the post in Islamabad to have a look at the case, to ask for additional information. That's happened and the visas have been approved," he told Sky News.

"I'm hopeful that they can arrive in Australia soon and spend some time with their terminally ill son and brother. I think that's what most Australians would expect."

Melbourne City Mission's Sherri Bruinhout said Asif cried when he heard the news.

"There were tears all round when his brother called Hassan, the family are thrilled and delighted to be able to come Australia," she told Fairfax Media.

"When we heard the news everyone was crying."

The Saudi Police have arrested a Pakistani resident in Jeddah, identified as Khurshid, for selling bottles filled with camel urine.

According to media reports the man was arrested because the urine in the bottles was his own.

The source said the accused were raided and the police found dozens of bottles filled with urine, which after being subjected to analysis, came back positive as human urine. 

Police said investigations revealed that man was engaged in such activities for months.

Camel urine has been known to be consumed by some people to help them cure health problems.

The three new labour rules, effective from the New Year, are in line with the Constitution and International Labour Standards, said Saqr Ghobash, Minister of Labour and Chairman of National Qualifications Authority (NQA).

Emirates 24|7 brings the details of each of the three laws, which involves employment contract, in this three-part series…

Labour Contract:

The first rule states the employer is obliged to provide foreign workers employment contracts, which details the rights of both the parties in the native language of the recruit.

When recruiting people from abroad, the resolution stipulates that the employer must give the new recruit – who is abroad - an offer letter comprising details of the job.

As per the Ministry of Labour decision, the offer letter should detail the rights and duties of both the employee and employer.

The resolution also emphasises that the employment contract must be offered in the native language of the employee, so as to ensure the person understands the terms mentioned in the contract.

“The work contracts will be in the local language of the worker so they understand all the terms and conditions,” Major-General Obaid Muhari bin Suroor, Deputy Director-General of the Directorate General of Residency and Affairs in Dubai, confirmed to Emirates 24|7.

“This will help the worker understand their rights and duties towards their organization,” he added.

Also, request for issuing work permits for foreign workers must be accompanied by the employment contract that is duly signed by both the parties.

Only, if both the employer and the employee have signed the contract will it be officially registered with the Ministry as a legal contract.

And once the contract is registered, amendments can be made only with the consent of both the parties and after the Ministry approval.

These rules also apply to people recruited from within the UAE.

Ghobash put the resolutions recently to over 300 ministry employees and legal scholars to review and provide feedback.

(Image via Shutterstock)

A 137-year-old Saudi man who remains asleep most of the time at his home in the Gulf Kingdom wakes up regularly for prayers with the help of his son.

A short YouTube film showed the man was asleep and almost in a trance when his son put his hand on his father’s head and shouted to him that it was time for prayers.

The lean old man, who was still lying and could hardly move, then started to say Azhan (prayers call) in a low shaky voice as his tears began to roll down on his cheek, prompting his son to give him tissues.

“My father’s condition should be a lesson for all,” his son said, quoted by the Kuwait Arabic language daily Al Anba, which did not say where in Saudi Arabia the man lives.

With just a day away from Christmas, it’s quite certain that Santa has already started his journey across the world.

If you are an enthusiast, looking forward to the goodies that you’ve wished Santa to deliver, technology can make your wait seem not so arduous.

Norad (North American Aerospace Defense Command) based in Colorado, is busy tracking Santa’s yuletide journey through an interactive website, smartphone apps and social media.

The website (www.noradsanta.org) features Santa’s North Pole Village, includes a holiday countdown, games, activities and even a gift shop. The website is available in eight languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese and Chinese.

The Santa tracking apps are also available in the Windows, Apple and Google Play stores, so parents and children can countdown the days until Santa’s launch on their smartphones and tablets.

Tracking opportunities are also offered on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Google+. Santa followers just need to type “@noradsanta” into each search engine to get started.

There is a Santa hotline too to answer the most pressing questions – from Santa’s estimated arrival time to the amount of weight he gains eating cookies throughout the long night.   

And, the number of people eager to know about Santa is on the rise. Calls fielded by these Tracks Santa hotline have grown steadily, totaling nearly 550,000 over the last five years alone.

Last year set a new record with 134,970 calls from all corners of the globe during a single 23-hour period. Volunteers will be at their posts again this year from 4 a.m. MST (6 a.m. EST) on December 24 through the early morning hours of December 25. 

The hotline is part of the programme to make certain Santa makes a successful journey. The experts here carefully monitor his travels and ensure his safety using radar, satellites, jet planes and Santa Cams positioned in strategic locations worldwide. As a result, the Tracks Santa volunteers have an insider’s view of Santa’s progress to share as he soars through the night sky.

The Norad Tracks Santa began 60 years ago with a simple typo. A department store ad promoting a December 24 Santa hotline mistakenly listed the number of an air defense operations center in Colorado. Colonel Harry Shoup was on duty that night. Rather than hanging up, he had his team check the radar, find Santa’s location and share the information with every child who called.

Since then, thousands of volunteers and corporate contributors have helped keep the magic alive – turning the programme into an enduring and beloved annual tradition.

Indian actress Asin's engagement to Micromax co-founder Rahul Sharma came as a surprise to many.

Ever since the actress announced her relationship with Sharma, speculations regarding her marriage date have been doing the rounds.

Earlier there were reports that she was getting hitched in November 2015.
 
However, new reports suggest that she is tying the knot on January 23, 2016. But it seems, this date is also false.

'Save the Date' cards have definitely gone out, but they are not for the wedding.

It is just a small party hosted by the lovely couple to celebrate their wedding, which is soon to follow in Mumbai.
 
The card must have confused people as it card read 'Save the Date'.

The marriage date will be announced soon.
 
The card for the party is printed in gold that were sent across by Asin and her beau. It reads, 'Save The Date: Celebrating Asin and Rahul. Saturday January 23, 2016. Invite to Follow.'

Looks like gold will be the theme of the party and the wedding.

Prosecutors say a Minneapolis man admitted that he killed his 89-year-old mother because he was upset that a bedbug outbreak would get her kicked out of her home.

Michael Gallagher is charged with second-degree murder in the death of Patricia Ann Gallagher. The 62-year-old's bail was set at $2 million Tuesday.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that Gallagher told investigators that he went to his mother's downtown Minneapolis apartment on Thursday to help her clean and that he called 911 the next morning and said he had killed her.

Police say Gallagher said he beat his mother with a sculpture of himself and that he tried to smother her with a pillow and strangle her. He doesn't have a lawyer yet.

The dramatic mix-up during the Miss Universe pageant is hard to digest for millions of viewers who watched the event live.

The pageant's host, US comedian Steve Harvey, misread his cue card in front of a global television audience late Sunday and initially announced that Miss Colombia, Ariadna Gutierrez, had triumphed instead of Miss Philippines.

Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez is mistakenly crowned Miss Universe 2015 during the 2015 MISS UNIVERSE show at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, California, on December 20, 2015. AFP

Heavy is the heart of the girl who wears the crown for, like 5 minutes.

But Miss Colombia, Ariadna Gutierrez, is a picture of grace and her statement is dripped with class.

The beauty queen released a statement shortly after the US $400,000 crown featuring 10 carats of diamonds was plucked from her head and awarded to Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach.

Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez is mistakenly crowned Miss Universe 2015 during the 2015 MISS UNIVERSE show at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, California, on December 20, 2015. AFP

"After the storm comes the calm. I want to thank each and everyone of you who have sent messages of support and strength. Every one of you has become an incredible human being in my book and I am the most fortunate and thankful for having the support not only from one country but from the whole entire world," she wrote.

And she also had love for the real Miss Universe, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach.

"I also want to congratulate the Philippines for their new Miss Universe. The happiness that you must be feeling must be incredible. Life continues and in the future we will find out why things happen the way they happen. Thank you all for your LOVE SUPPORT and KINDNESS."

Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez (L) is mistakenly crowned Miss Universe 2015 by Miss Universe 2014 Paulina Vega (R) during the 2015 MISS UNIVERSE show at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, California, on December 20, 2015. AFP

The whole incident became a major embarrassment for the pageant organisers and also for the host.

Half-laughing, half-sobbing with emotion, Gutierrez was fleetingly crowned and congratulated at the ceremony in Las Vegas, waving to fans as she cradled a huge bouquet of flowers. But as she blew kisses to an adoring crowd, Harvey was forced to come clean about his blunder.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said Monday he was shocked by the episode, which made the front pages of the country's main newspapers.

"I was watching Miss Universe with my family," Santos told Radio Nacional. "Our queen was marvelous. She looked spectacular. It was such a disappointment when the host said he'd made a mistake."

"To me, our queen is and will remain Miss Universe. They put the crown on her head. The photos are there to prove it. To me, as a Colombian, she is still Miss Universe."

Miss Colombia 2015 Ariadna Gutierrez (L) is mistakenly named Miss Universe 2015 instead of first runner-up during the 2015 during the 2015 MISS UNIVERSE show at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, in Las Vegas, California, on December 20, 2015. AFP

Santos had publicly celebrated a year ago when the previous Miss Colombia, Paulina Vega Dieppa, won the Miss Universe 2014 title.

Colombia-born film star Sofia Vergara, America's highest-paid TV actress, also posted a photo of Gutierrez on Instagram, with a Spanish caption that read "queen all the same."

The crown is removed from Miss Colombia Ariadna Gutierrez (L) by Miss Universe 2014 Paulina Vega (C) after the pageant's host misread the card that actually stated Miss Philippines Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach (R) as winner. AFP

Comedian Harvey later apologised for his mistake. “I’d like to apologize wholeheartedly to Miss Colombia & Miss Philippines for my huge mistake. I feel terrible,” he posted on Twitter.

"Secondly, I’d like to apologise to the viewers at that I disappointed as well. Again it was an honest mistake. I don’t want to take away from this amazing night and pageant. As well as the wonderful contestants. They were all amazing."

A luxury apartment in Hong Kong sold for a record HK$594.7 million ($76.7 million), days before Christmas, making it the most expensive flat in the city and possibly in Asia, reports said Friday.

An unidentified buyer paid more than HK$103,700 per-square-foot for the 5,732 square-foot (532 square-metre) unit at the luxury 39 Conduit Road apartment tower in the southern Chinese city's upmarket Mid-Levels residential area, The Apple Daily and The Standard reported.

The condominium, on the 46th floor with a view of the iconic Victoria Harbour and a 1,754 square-feet rooftop, had a list price of HK$646.48 million on developer Henderson Land Properties' website.

The price beats the previous record HK$470 million paid for a luxury unit which takes up the entire eighth floor of the Opus Hong Kong, a 12-storey residential building designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Frank Gehry, in 2012.

Henderson Land was not available for comment Friday, a public holiday.

This comes as analysts said a US interest rate hike could put an end to the housing boom in the Chinese city which maintains a decades old peg with the US dollar.

Hong Kong-based brokerage CLSA warned the residential market was at a "turning point", with prices possibly dropping 17 percent by 2017, while other firms have tipped falls of up to 30 percent.

Hong Kong's de facto central bank last Thursday raised its base interest rate by 25 points to 0.75 percent after the US Federal Reserve announced its first rate increase in more than nine years.

But chief analyst for Midland Realty Buggle Lau said the record-breaking purchase does not reflect the bigger picture of the overall property market in the city.

"The super-rich, I don't think the small increase in the interest rates have any impact on their purchasing power," Lau said.

"This is exceptional, it can't reflect the whole market," which he described overall as "sluggish".

Property prices in Hong Kong, famous for its sky-high rent and super-rich tycoons, have more than doubled in six years due to record low interest rates and a flood of wealthy buyers from mainland China.

Many residents complain they can no longer afford decent accommodation in the city of seven million people, and analysts say property ownership is out of reach even for the upper middle class.

A worker at a Paris airport has been arrested after pocketing 20,000 euros ($22,000) dropped by the Moroccan ambassador to the United States, police said on Thursday.

The ambassador was leaving Air France's VIP lounge at Charles De Gaulle airport and heading for a flight to New York Wednesday when two mobile phones fell from his bag and he realised the money was missing.

Retracing his steps, he was unable to find the money and left the airport police to continue the search while he boarded the plane.

Video surveillance showed a temporary employee of the airport picking up the money. He was arrested at his home on Wednesday night.

A police source said around half the money had been recovered.

The man was released from custody on Thursday but it was not clear what charges he might face. Local authorities confirmed he had lost his job at the airport.


 

Deputies say a wife thought her husband was having an affair when she found a 22-year-old woman wearing his pajamas. Turns out the woman was just hiding from the law.

The Volusia County Sheriff's Office said in a news release Monday that Eryn Rice slipped into the couple's Deltona home on Sunday after escaping from a deputy who'd arrested her for shoplifting. They said she washed her clothes, showered and took a nap.

The Orlando Sentinel reports (http://goo.gl/wjjTEm ) when the 73-year-old woman first saw Rice, she thought her husband was cheating on her. The husband was playing golf; when he returned, he swore he'd never seen her before.

Not knowing she was on the run, the couple drove Rice home. Later, they contacted authorities, who arrested Rice.

Jail records didn't list an attorney.

Police in Louisiana say officers used a dating app to arrest a man accused of stealing a phone at gunpoint.

The Lafayette Police Department announced in a news release that 27-year-old Leroy Hebert was arrested Tuesday. The Advocate (http://bit.ly/1RFI61X ) reports officers posed as a woman on a dating app and arranged a meeting with Hebert at a Lafayette hotel.

Police say the owner of the stolen phone told authorities he was robbed at gunpoint by two men Monday night. Authorities say the victim was able to access his phone activity online and found a selfie Hebert took on the phone.

Hebert was booked on a count of armed robbery. It isn't clear if he has an attorney.

Authorities haven't identified the second suspect.

Year 2015 was a landmark year in the tall building world, the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) said, stating that “perhaps no one could have anticipated the degree to which innovation and novelty would be embraced at every turn.”

The following are the council’s list of the top 12 happenings.

# January

New York's 111 West 57th Street gets final approval

The slender tower at 111 West 57th Street received final approval by the New York City Department of Buildings on January 6, 2015. The 426-meter supertall tower is one of several luxury skyscrapers along 57th street that are reshaping the skyline of Midtown Manhattan.

# February

57-Story prefabricated skyscraper completes in Changsha

Broad Group, a company specializing in prefabricated high-rises, completed their tallest building to date, the 57-storey J57 in Changsha China. Using modular construction techniques, the building was constructed in a short time-span with limited environmental impact.

# March

London proposal offers a solution to skyscraper shadows

A proposal for a two-tower complex in London was significant for its attempt to create towers that cast no shadow. Using computer modelling, the firm discovered they could reduce shadows by as much as 60 per cent by positioning the two curved towers in such a way that, when one blocks the sun from the public plaza below, the other reflects light back down.

# April

Paris receives first housing project of 50 meters since 1970s

After more than three decades, Paris completed its first housing project over 50 meters thanks to a change in building regulations that allow for high-rises in the city’s 13th arrondissement. The new complex features 200 apartments with terraces that spiral upwards. It seeks to connect to the rigid grid of the surrounding neighbourhood while transitioning the built environment from horizontal to vertical.

# May

Ping An Finance Center structurally topped out in Shenzhen

Developers and designers of the Ping An Finance Center in Shenzhen, China celebrated the structural topping out of the mega-tall building, meaning that the highest primary structural element was put in place. Attendees of the topping out ceremony watched as the final structural beam was hoisted and fixed into its permanent position atop the building’s core.                    

# June

World’s tallest wood building proposed in Paris

Architects specializing in wooden buildings proposed what could become the tallest wooden building in the world for Paris. The 35-story Baobab was developed as a carbon-neutral proposal for the city’s Réinventer Paris competition, which aims to alleviate the city’s urban housing challenges.

# July

Jerusalem’s Downtown to get Pyramid-Shaped High-Rise

In a marked shift from the city’s typical built environment, a Jerusalem municipal committee approved the construction of a high-rise building as part of a drive to revitalize the city’s downtown core. The pyramid-shaped skyscraper will feature a boutique hotel, luxury apartments, retail amenities, a rooftop restaurant, and a public plaza.             

# August

Japan’s tallest building planned near Tokyo Station

Tokyo is set to receive its first supertall skyscraper after plans were revealed for a 390-meter high-rise located near Tokyo Station, the main rail terminal in Tokyo, the busiest station in Japan. As part of a long-term plan to redevelop the station, the new skyscraper – which will be the tallest in the country – will have a lengthy gestation period. The building is not expected to be completed before 2027.

# September

Bogotá’s crowdfunded skyscraper architecturally tops out

The under-construction BD Bacatá skyscraper in Bogotá, Colombia reached a milestone when it architecturally topped out in September. The project is notable not just because it will be the tallest building in the country when completed, but because it is the first skyscraper to be crowdfunded, having been financed to the tune of $170 million by more than 3,800 Colombians.

# October

Work begins on Australia 108 in Melbourne

Construction officially began on Australia 108, which will be the tallest building in Melbourne and the tallest residential tower in the Southern Hemisphere when completed. Although the project is not expected to complete until 2020, some residents could move in as early as 2018 due to a staged construction process.

# November

Bosco Verticale named CTBUH 2015 best tall building worldwide

CTBUH Awards Jury selected Bosco Verticale as the “2015 Best Tall Building Worldwide”. The pair of residential towers are located in the Porta Nuova district of Milan, Italy and have a height of 110 metres and 76 metres, respectively. They will host more than 900 trees (approximately 550 and 350 trees in the first and second towers, respectively) on 8,900 square metres of terraces. Within the complex is also an 11-story office building; its facade does not host plants.

# December

Chicago Plan Commission approves Vista Tower

The Chicago Plan Commission set the stage for the city’s third tallest building when it gave approval for the $1 billion Vista Tower. The riverfront skyscraper, which will start construction in 2016, will be 361 meters when completed, placing it between the 346-meter Aon Center and 442-meter Trump International Hotel & Tower. As of today, it would be the city’s seventh supertall skyscraper in existence.

 


 

Gold rates for Friday December 26, 2015

DD/TT RATES AT 3.45 PM - 23 Dec 2015

Weekly Gold Rates 

   
Get retail Gold and Forex rates with Emirates 24|7 

Rates will be updated twice daily

Emirates 24|7 brings you the daily Dubai gold rate (22k, 24k, 21k and 18k), as well as currency exchange rates, including the Indian rupee, Pakistani rupee, Philippine peso, Sri Lankan rupee, sterling pound, euro and may more against the UAE dirham (US dollar).

The rates for 24 carat, 22 carat, 21 carat, 18 carat and Ten Tola (TT) Bar (11.6638038 gram) will be updated four times a day to keep them fresh and relevant for buyers of gold bars and gold jewellery in the UAE.

The update times for Retail Gold Rate in Dubai will be at 9.30am, 2.30pm, 5pm and 8pm (unless there is drastic fall or rise in the international rate).

On Saturdays, the gold rates will be updated at 9.30am and this rate will stay static through Saturday and Sunday until the international market reopens on Monday.

Please note that the retailers add making charges separately to the quoted rate of gold.

The Retail Gold Rate in Dubai is being supplied by the Dubai Gold and Jewellery Group.

Foreign Exchange Rates

The Foreign Exchange Rates of major currencies will be updated twice each working day at around 8:30am and 3:30pm.

These will cover both the Remittance Rates [for sending money] and the Currency Notes Rates [for buying and selling of currency notes].

The Foreign Exchange Rates are being supplied by UAE Exchange.

The UAE skies will remain cloudy on Saturday, with the cloud cover increasing over scattered areas, according to National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS).

There are chances of rainfall accompanied by fall in temperatures, the weather bureau added.

Moderate to fresh winds are expected to kick up dust in exposed areas and is likely to reduce horizontal visibility at times.

Temperatures in internal areas will dip to lows of between 11 and 18 degree Celsius, while mountainous areas will see a low of 8 degree Celsius.

Maximum temperature in coastal area will hover between 24 and 26 degree Celsius, with a humidity of 90 per cent.

EARLIER STORIES

Temp drops to 9°C; mild tremors felt on Thursday morning

The lowest temperature recorded over the UAE today morning was 9°C in Jais Mountain at 1:45 AM.

The National Center for Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS), the official UAE weather forecaster, says the sky will be partly cloudy weather to cloudy at times.

The amount of low clouds will increase over the islands, the western areas, and the coasts during night and Saturday morning, with a chance of rainfall.

Moderate to fresh winds can be expected in general, especially over the sea, and causing dust to blow over the exposed areas.

Sea will be rough in the Arabian Gulf, and moderate to rough at times in Oman Sea.

The relative humidity will increase during night and early morning times over the internal and the coastal areas.

Mild quake in UAE's Dibba region


The National Center of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) said the tremor was recorded at 4:46am on Thursday morning.

The tremors were mild and it was experienced only by a handful of people.

"Felt by few people with intensity 1-2 on Mercalli scale with no effect over UAE," the NCMS tweeted.
 

A strong earthquake shook parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan, rattling buildings and forcing sleeping residents out of their homes.

More than 30 people were injured as houses or walls collapsed in the northwestern Pakistan city of Peshawar, said emergency rescue service spokesman Bilal Ahmed Faizi. A total of 41 people were taken to hospitals in the city, according to doctors and rescue officials.

Pakistani official Ghulam Rasool told The Associated Press that the magnitude-6.9 quake was centered in Tajikistan near the Afghan border, beginning after midnight Saturday and lasting for 59 seconds.

However, the US Geological Survey reported that the quake measured at magnitude 6.2 and was centered in the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan. Twitter users in the Afghan capital, Kabul, reported feeling the tremors.

Meanwhile, local media in India reported that tremors were felt in parts of North India following the quake. According to Delhi Police, there has been no reports of any damage yet.

Hamid Nawaz, the head of Pakistan's disaster management authority, said they were still assessing damage. He confirmed that some old homes and walls collapsed in Peshawar, but he refused to share further details.

The quake was also felt in the Kashmir region. In Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, some residents remained outside their homes despite the chilly winter weather, fearful of aftershocks.

Sahiba Khan, an 18-year-old student, said she was reading when the earthquake jolted her home.

Homepage image courtesy Shutterstock

Pics credit: Sanskriti and media entertainment