Saudi Arabia to ease lockdown in phased manner

Abu Dhabi, Jan 16: The number of people being killed by terrorism activities worldwide has decreased significantly over the recent years, according to the latest Global Terrorism Index.

The 2019 Global Terrorism Index, which was presented at a forum in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday also showed that the UAE improved its ranking in the index by coming down to 130th rank among the 163 countries. The terrorism impact in the UAE is categorised as 'very low'. In the UAE, only two terrorism incidents were reported over the past decade - one in 2010 and another in 2014 - and there were no casualties.

Commenting on the report, Mansour Al Mansouri, director of the UAE National Media Council (NMC) said: "These findings rightly show the UAE as one of the safest countries in the world in terms of terror threat."

The index showed that the total number of deaths from terrorism declined for the fourth consecutive year in 2018, falling by 15.2 per cent to 15,952 deaths. This represents a 53 per cent reduction since its peak in 2014 when 33,555 people were killed in terrorist attacks.

The index published for the seventh year in a row, ranks 163 countries across the globe according to the relative impact of terrorism. This takes into account the number of terrorist incidents, deaths caused by terror and total value of property damage.

The latest results saw three Middle East countries - Iraq, Syria and Yemen - continue in the top 10 positions of the index.

The findings also showed Taleban overtaking Daesh as the deadliest terrorist group in the world, accounting for 38 per cent of all terrorist deaths. This is an increase of 71 per cent. Afghanistan is the country most affected by terrorism in 2018 followed by Iraq, Nigeria, Syria and Pakistan, according to the report. The least impacted nations were Belarus, Guinea-Bissau, Oman, The Gambia and North Korea.

During his presentation of the key findings of the index at the Foreign Correspondent's Club of the UAE (FCC), Serge Stroobants, director of Europe and Mena at the Institute of Economics and Peace, said lesser people were now being killed in terrorism activities.

"There have been long-term trends in global terrorism, with deaths caused by terror down by 52 per cent compared to high point of 2014, which saw Daesh and Boko Haram at their peak," said Stroobants attributing the decrease in the deaths to the increase in security measures and cooperation among nations in the fight against terrorism.

In contrast to this, there has been a 320 per cent increase in far-right terrorist incidents in the West, with political ideology being the driving force behind an increased proportion of terror motivation.

"There has been an increase in far-right terrorism in Western Europe, North America and Oceania for the third consecutive year," said Stroobants.

Terrorism still remains a global security threat, according the index, with 71 countries recording more than one death - the second highest number of countries since 2002.

Stroobants said conflicts remain the main cause of terrorism with 90 per cent of terrorist incidents occurring in places where there are conflicts or insurgencies.

The report said the global economic impact of terrorism was $33 billion in 2018, a substantial decrease of 38 per cent from the previous year.

Boko Haram was responsible for 80 per cent of all female suicide attacks, said the terrorism index.

Global Terrorism Index: Most affected countries

>Afghanistan (7379 deaths)

>Iraq (1,054 deaths)

>Nigeria (2,040 deaths)

>Syria (662 deaths)

>Pakistan (537 deaths)

>Somalia (646 deaths)

>India (350 deaths)

>Yemen (301 deaths)

>The Philippines (297 deaths)

>Democratic Republic of the Congo (410 deaths)

Dubai, Apr 26: The Central Bank of the UAE (CBUAE) has instructed financial institutions in the country to search and freeze all bank accounts of Indian billionaire BR Shetty and his family along with those of companies where he has a stake.

The apex bank has also blacklisted several firms associated with Shetty along with their entire senior management.

In an advisory issued last week, CBUAE cited decisions of the Federal Attorney General and asked financial institutions to search and freeze any bank accounts, deposits or investments in the name of Shetty or his family members.

Financial institutions have been directed to stop transfers from these accounts and deny access to deposit boxes.

Currently in India and facing a string of charges, Shetty is the founder of NMC Health.

The heathcare provider was placed into administration by a UK court recently following an application by the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) which alone has an exposure of $981 million (Dh3.6 billion).

Overall, UAE banks have a combined exposure of more than Dh8bn to NMC which owes money to Oman-based banks and financial institutions as well.

Probing credit facilities
The Central Bank has sought information about credit facilites extended to the Shettys along with details of their safe deposit boxes and the financial transfers they have made till date.

A similar advisory has been issued for NMC Healthcare and NMC Holding, based on the decision of the Head of Plenary Fund Prosecution.

The Central Bank has also blacklisted several companies associated with Shetty. Key staff members of these firms have been similarly blacklisted.

Abu Dhabi, May 18: Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has recorded a special message for Indian expats in the UAE as the country fights the coronavirus pandemic.

Khan - one of the biggest stars of Bollywood for decades - enjoys a large fan following in the Gulf, which is why Abu Dhabi roped in the actor to record a special video message for expats, urging them to cooperate with authorities in the capital and the country as they carry out sanitisation and testing programmes.

In the video, tweeted by the Abu Dhabi Media Office on Sunday night, the superstar appeals to Indians in Abu Dhabi to become heroes by staying home (stepping out for essential work/errands only), following precautionary measures and simply 'do the right thing' by getting tested if they have any Covid-19-related symptoms.

"كونوا أبطالاً، وقوموا بالعمل الصائب"
النجم الشهير سلمان خان، والذي صور أفلاماً عديدة في أبوظبي، يناشد الجالية الهندية باغتنام كرم وإنسانية حكومة وشعب أبوظبي، والتعاون معها من خلال الالتزام بتعليمات الجهات المعنية وإجراء الفحوصات عند ظهور أي عوارض الإصابة بفيروس كوفيد-19. pic.twitter.com/PVfaWg2j4z

— مكتب أبوظبي الإعلامي (@admediaoffice) May 17, 2020

Khan, who has shot his recent super hit films (Race 3) in the capital, assured expats that Abu Dhabi authorities will not leave the community in these challenging times as it is a hospitable city who takes care of all residents.

"Following preventive measures also protects your family from the virus - so do the right thing as heroes do," Khan concludes.

The second phase of Abu Dhabi's sanitisation and testing in labour areas is underway, which started on May 16. Special testing facilities have been set up in the city for this purpose that test thousands of workers everyday.

As of May 17, UAE has confirmed over 23,000 cases along with over 8,000 recoveries and 220 deaths.

The country recently made a breakthrough in treating Covid-19 by using stem cells to help with the recovery.

The UAE leadership has thanked citizens and residents for their cooperation and assured that the country will take care of everyone in the country - with food and medicines being the red line, and that there will be no shortage of either during the crisis. Stimulus packages have been announced to help businesses stay afloat.