Meet the UAE’s first female crane operator

January 29, 2015

Dubai, Jan 29: Aisha Al Marzouqi is the UAE’s first woman to work as a crane operator at Khalifa Port in Abu Dhabi.Ayesha Hassan AbdulRahman

Aisha, a 28 year-old Emirati, operates one of the port’s super-post-Panamax cranes weighing 1,932 tonnes with a height of 126.5 metres. Her main job is to unload container vessels using the crane which has a lifting capacity of 90 tonnes.

Aisha is currently in the final phase of her training programme and will be working independently on site upon completion of training. Unlike other occupations, Aisha’s workplace does not consist of a desk and computer, but rather a glass cabin with the necessary controls of the crane overlooking the vessels beneath her feet.

“As part of my job, there are challenges like getting on the crane in the first place,” she said. “However I love the job. It requires a lot of attention and focus because you are operating something that is big in size and carries heavy containers.”

She explained that she got the job through a recruitment event held for UAE nationals, when she heard Mohammad Al Shamsi speak about the shortage of Emirati employees in the workforce.

Aisha was looking forward to being the first Emirati woman to occupy this position, setting an example in her society.

“I watched a documentary about a female pilot in the UAE Air Force who truly inspired me. Before I started my training at Khalifa Port container terminal, I was given a tour of the port facilities and the ship-to-shore quay cranes really fascinated me. I felt this was my calling and I decided to become a crane operator,” she said.

Working five days a week, her shifts consist of four hours from 8am to 4pm. Aisha followed her ambitions with family and friends constantly commending her decision.

“They all encouraged me and blessed my decision and now I am named the first Emirati woman to become a crane operator,” she said.

Abu Dhabi Terminal has employment and training initiatives to boost its Emiratisation strategy.

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Agencies
July 5,2020

Iraq’s deputy parliament speaker Hassan Karim al-Kaabi on Saturday described the move as provocative and in violation of international law.

Kaabi also called on the Iraqi government to take swift measures to halt such actions.

The Embassy’s move to fire in a residential area in the heart of Baghdad is an unacceptable act and another challenge for the Arab country, adding to the mass of its provocations and illegal actions in Iraq, he noted.

According to Iraqi media, the US tested a patriot missile system inside Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone.

Anti-US sentiments have been running high in Iraq since Washington assassinated top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani and the second-in-command of the Iraqi popular mobilization units, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, in January.

Following the attack, Iraqi lawmakers unanimously approved a bill on January 5, demanding the withdrawal of all foreign troops.

Baghdad and Washington are currently in talks over the withdrawal of American troops. Iraqi resistance groups have vowed to take up arms against US forces if Washington fails to comply with the parliamentary order.

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News Network
April 12,2020

Apr 12: Parents in Abu Dhabi affected by the Covid-19 situation can seek help from the authorities in paying off their children's school fees, it was announced on Sunday.

The Abu Dhabi Media Office took to Twitter to announce the reprieve. The Authority for Social Contribution - Ma'an and Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (Adek) "will support parents with children attending private schools in #AbuDhabi who are affected by the current economic challenges, by paying school fees or providing devices for distance learning".

The move is part of the 'Together We Are Good' programme which aims to support residents impacted by the Covid-19 coronavirus crisis in the country.

"Parents can call the toll-free helpline on 800-3088 or register their request at http://togetherwearegood.ae. The closing date for fee assistance applications is 23rd April 2020," the media office tweeted.

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Agencies
April 27,2020

Riyad, Apr 27: The Saudi-led Arab Coalition supporting Yemen’s UN-recognized government on Monday urged all parties to end any escalation of hostilities and return to the status that existed before the Southern Transitional Council (STC) declared self-rule.

In a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the coalition emphasized “the need to cancel any step that violates the Riyadh agreement and work to accelerate its implementation.” 

On Sunday, the United Arab Emirates-backed STC scrapped a peace deal with the internationally recognized government of President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

Accusing the government of corruption and mismanagement, the separatists said they would “self-govern” the key southern port city of Aden and other southern provinces.

Yemen’s Foreign Minister Mohammed Al-Hadhrami described the move as a “resumption of its (STC’s) armed insurgency and rejection and complete withdrawal from the Riyadh agreement.” 

Authorities in Yemen’s southern provinces of Hadramawt, Abyan, Shabwa, Al-Mahra and the remote island of Socotra also rejected the separatist group’s claim to self-rule.

The government said local and security authorities in the five provinces dismissed the move as a “clear and definite coup.” 

Some of the provinces issued their own statements condemning it.

The coalition appealed to all parties to “give priority to the interests of the Yemeni people over any other interests”. 

It also urged the parties involved not to lose their focus on working to achieve the goal of restoring the state, ending the Houthi “coup” and “countering terrorist organizations”.

“The Coalition has and will continue to undertake practical and systematic steps to implement the Riyadh Agreement between the parties to unite Yemeni ranks, restore state institutions and combat the scourge of terrorism,” the statement said. “The responsibility rests with the signatories to the Agreement to undertake national steps toward implementing its provisions, which were signed and agreed upon with a time matrix for implementation.”

The STC has been part of the coalition-backed forces fighting the Iran-backed Houthi militia, which seized control of the Yemeni capital Sanaa and other provinces in 2014.

The Houthi “coup” has led to the formation of the Saudi-led coalition, which had since driven away the Houthis from the south and other provinces. President Hadi’s government has made Aden as its temporary seat.

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