New UAE media law: Fines of up to Dh1 million for insulting religious beliefs
The legislation reinforces the UAE's commitment to promoting ethical, respectful, and responsible media conduct. It outlines a series of offenses, many of which come with tiered fines depending on the severity or repetition of the violation.
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The National
3 hours ago
- The National
Can Somaliland's Berbera Port anchor African trade security?
While Houthi attacks in the Red Sea pose a clear and present danger to the vital trade artery and the rising port congestion in the region throws another spanner in the works, Africa needs another trade hub. Could Somaliland's port city of Berbera be the answer? Analysts and officials see it as a feasible alternative to current trading hubs in Africa such as Djibouti, and say the port city is a buffer against regional and global supply chain disruptions. Recent investments from the UK and the UAE's DP World are reflective of that view. With mounting security concerns and congestion forcing longer docking waiting time in other regional ports, the flow of investments to Berbera is rising. DP World, one of the top global port operators in the world, alone has invested more than $400 million in Berbera's expansion since 2017. The port is located near the Bab Al Mandeb strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and is a choke point for global shipping. Nearly 10 per cent of global trade, including a significant share of oil and container traffic between Europe and Asia, passes through this corridor. The significance of this part of the region cannot be understated, as it accounts for up to 12 per cent of global oil transported by sea, according to data from the International Chamber of Shipping. However, Berbera currently accounts for only about 0.06 per cent of global container traffic, so it has handling capacity to offer more to shipping lines, the engine of global trade. Ethiopia's new trade lifeline With the rise in investments, Berbera has started to relieve some pressure in the strait. It has also given landlocked Ethiopia a second maritime gateway, reducing its dependence on Djibouti and providing the country with an alternative trade route to skirt disruptions in the Red Sea. Last year, Somaliland signed an agreement to lease a 20km stretch of coastline to its neighbour, a move that caused a diplomatic row and prompted Somalia to summon the Ethiopian ambassador in protest. Mogadishu does not recognise the breakaway Somaliland, which seceded amid a civil war in 1991. 'The vision of the Somaliland government and DP World is to make Berbera a regional marine trade and industrial hub,' Supachai Wattanaveerachai, chief executive for DP World's Horn of Africa operations, told a Somaliland-UAE investment conference in June. 'We know Ethiopians need multiple gateways to connect to world trade and for us, with Somaliland, we need to provide services.' Ethiopia currently relies on Djibouti for about 90 per cent of its maritime trade, paying more than $1.5 billion a year in port and transit fees alone. Berbera could slash this cost by up to 30 per cent, according to analysts. Dean Mikkelsen, an independent maritime and logistics analyst, said Berbera is 'increasingly seen as a viable option to Djibouti, particularly amid the instability' in the Red Sea. 'Its position near Bab Al Mandeb enables direct access to one of the world's busiest shipping corridors, while remaining just out of the immediate range of Houthi attacks,' he told The National. With its structural challenges, expensive pricing and geopolitical concentration Berbera is a better option than Djibouti in terms of trade resilience, 'even with Somaliland's uncertain political status', Mr Mikkelsen said. 'Djibouti's geopolitical congestion is a result of the fact that many foreign countries operate military bases from the US, China, France, Japan, Italy and Saudi Arabia and that it is located near conflict-scarred areas such as Yemen – a complex geopolitical environment that can impede the safe flow of goods and add operational risk. Djibouti, he said, still matters, but it certainly suffers from crowding. The country's overdependence on Chinese debt to fuel growth also makes it vulnerable to sudden shifts in economic fortunes, he explained. 'Berbera's growth under DP World has brought new deepwater berths and better container capacity, offering shippers a credible alternative that reduces exposure to geopolitical risks. Ironically, it is Djibouti's own limits that are pushing the change along.' Rise in western backing and security concerns Somaliland is also deepening its strategic defence co-operation with the US, which bodes well for its prospects of growth. 'This includes collaborations with US Africa Command to enhance security in the vital shipping lanes of the Gulf of Aden,' Mr Mikkelsen said. 'Somaliland has publicly offered to host an American military base, reinforcing its position as a stable and co-operative partner in the region.' Quoting data from British International Investment Projects, he said by 2035, the Port of Berbera will enable trade equivalent to about 27 per cent of Somaliland's gross domestic product and 8 per cent of Ethiopia's GDP. The development of Berbera port is becoming 'increasingly important' in the regional trade perspective, Saeed Al Zari, group vice president for government affairs at DP World, told The National. DP World is already working on bringing new infrastructure to Somaliland, including edible oil tanks in Berbera, a move that has led to the opening of the International Finance and Food Company's edible oil plant and the soon-to-be-launched Essa Al Ghurair plant, he said. The future plans aim to improve 'the quality of edible oil available in the region, reducing the price of this essential commodity and now supplying both Ethiopia and Puntland', he said. A rise with limits However, Berbera's emergence is not without limits. Somaliland's lack of international recognition presents legal ambiguity and curbs access to funding. But investors appear to be warming to the region. 'A big investment has already been made in Somaliland,' said Abdirahman Hassan Nur, Somaliland's Minister of Trade and Tourism. 'DP World is an example. I believe many other investors are already in the pipeline.' Mr Wattanaveerachai said that when DP World took over the port, it could handle less than 100,000, but the capacity has risen to 500,000. 'Today, we have transformed the Berbera port, not just in capacity but in efficiency. All run by locals – Somaliland people,' he said. The vision of Somaliland is to develop Berbera as a hub of economic development where companies can open offices without being physically located in Berbera, he added. The UAE-Somaliland investment conference in June brought together regional stakeholders including Dubai Chambers and Al Marzooqi Group of Companies. The aim was to attract more investment and highlight Berbera's potential. 'Despite the lack of international recognition, Somaliland has demonstrated the ability to manage critical infrastructure and ensure a level of operational stability. The Somaliland Port Authority, as the governing authority of Somaliland ports, manages the interaction with the security forces responsible for security in Berbera,' Mr Al Zari said. 'Berbera is revolutionising the logistics network in the Horn of Africa and reducing the cost of importation for some of the poorest people in the world.' Analysts urge caution Carl Sykes, group managing director of Neptune P2P Group, however, cautioned against hopes of Berbera attaining total regional dominance. 'Berbera port is emerging as a viable alternative to Djibouti, but it remains modest in scale at under 500,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit annually, compared to Djibouti's multimillion-TEU capacity,' he told The National. 'While Berbera has made impressive gains in efficiency and cargo growth, it lacks the regional security guarantees enjoyed by Djibouti, which is protected by multiple international military bases.' He said Berbera had the potential to serve as a modest buffer in regional supply chains but said its affect on global supply chain shocks was 'likely to remain limited given its relatively small scale, emerging infrastructure and geopolitical sensitivities'. Mr Mikkelsen, however, argued that the second phase of Berbera Port's expansion will begin once 75 per cent of current capacity is utilised, with plans to boost throughput to 2 million TEUs annually, following DP World's completion of the first phase that increased capacity to 500,000 TEUs. 'Djibouti's restraints are forcing the push for alternatives. Berbera's location and continual improvements are meeting this need,' he said. 'At a time when supply chain resilience is a global imperative, Berbera is well-placed to be a powerful trade facilitator between Africa and the Middle East.' In addition, international recognition of the region or a stable deal with Somalia would allow Berbera to realise its full potential as a central hub for regional trade, he said.
The National
12 hours ago
- The National
UAE and US working to 'get chips moving' after AI deal
After this week's debut of the White House's Artificial Intelligence Action Plan, the UAE is ready to expedite its AI partnership with the US. This follows President Donald Trump's visit to Abu Dhabi in May, when he announced the US-UAE AI Acceleration Partnership, which included plans for a 5GW UAE-US AI Campus. Those plans allow for the UAE to obtain powerful CPUs and GPUs from the US which are necessary to build up AI infrastructure. Once completed, part of the campus, dubbed Stargate UAE, will be among the largest AI data centres in the world. Security guarantees to protect the UAE AI technology from falling into the wrong hands were are major aspect of the deal. Also bolstering the deal, Mr Trump's much-anticipated AI plan, unveiled on Wednesday, seeks to reduce regulatory barriers in place to build up AI infrastructure in the US, while pushing for increasing the prevalence of US AI technology around the world. That bodes well for the UAE, and other countries with similar AI aspirations. It's also a sharp contrast to the former president Joe Biden's policies. His administration sought tighter export controls on US chips to prevent them from being used in China. 'The UAE welcomes President Trump's AI Action Plan and is ready to fast track our strategic AI partnership with the US,' Yousef Al Otaiba, UAE Minister of State and ambassador to the US, said on Wednesday. 'As a trusted partner, we are working closely with leading US companies to adopt and scale American technology in the UAE and beyond.' Some pundits aren't sold however, and they're trying to exert influence to slow the US-UAE AI Acceleration Partnership. In an opinion article in The Washington Post, Christopher Chivvis and Sam Winter-Levy from the Carnegie Endowment, a US-based think tank, expressed concern about China somehow getting access to the US AI technology, among other things. 'To now approve the offshoring of the data centres that will house so many of the resulting chips to another conflict-prone region would be a major unforced error – one that will prove difficult to reverse,' they wrote. The UAE has addressed this by committing to a $1.4 trillion investment framework for AI infrastructure in the US. Regardless, the Wall Street Journal also reported that some in the White House have sought to take a closer look at the recently announced UAE deal, amid concerns about US technology diffusion. But last week, the White House cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence adviser beat back those concerns, and reaffirmed the US partnership with the UAE. 'These are countries that are long-standing partners and allies of the US going back many years,' White House AI chief David Sacks said during a round-table discussion at the Pennsylvania Energy and AI Summit, referring to the UAE. Mr Sacks added that the Trump administration thought that if US technology wasn't used in AI projects around the world, China-owned Huawei would step in to fill the vacuum. 'We don't want to create demand for Huawei,' he explained, also describing some of the chip smuggling scenarios that have become prevalent in media reports as quixotic. He said the newest standard data centres technology hardware is approximately 2.4m tall, with servers weighing 1,600kg, and that it's 'very easy to see' if they're being transported. 'I know that our Gulf State partners would honour our security agreement,' he said just hours before President Trump appeared at the event in Pennsylvania. 'This is ultimately a trust-but-verify situation, and all we have to do is send an inspector to a data centre and they can count the racks,' Mr Sacks explained, reiterating that he felt the scenarios of AI hardware smuggling were 'blown wildly out of proportion.' Meanwhile, there's no indication from the White House or Department of Commerce, which is ultimately responsible for allowing the export of US technology, that criticism of the UAE deal is gaining traction. In a statement to The National, the UAE ambassador expressed continued optimism about the AI plans with the US announced back in May. 'Signed just 60 days ago in Abu Dhabi, the UAE-US investment and Ai partnership will deliver enormous benefits to both countries,' Mr Al Otaiba said. 'High level teams have been actively engaging to advance the agreement, to get chips moving and to accelerate technology co-operation.'
The National
14 hours ago
- The National
UAE has hosted more than 17,600 Afghan evacuees since 2021
Almost four years since the Taliban took power following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, UAE authorities have provided details of how many Afghans it has hosted. The UAE has spent almost Dh1.35 billion ($367.6 million) hosting Afghan refugees before relocating them to other countries since 2021, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. There have been 17,619 Afghans hosted in Emirates Humanitarian City in Abu Dhabi since there were widespread evacuations after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, two decades after they were toppled by the US and Nato. The assistance covered all the needs of Afghan citizens − including health care, logistical and diplomatic services, communications, shelter and food − ensuring comfort, a dignified life and well-being, said a statement from the ministry released on Thursday. EHC also provided services related to departure procedures, with 17 offices opened for the embassies of the countries to where Afghans were seeking relocation. School transport was also provided, along with on-site education and training courses. Almost 2,600 Afghans benefitted from training and professional development workshops, the ministry added. 'The UAE has spared no effort in assisting the Afghan people, being at the forefront of countries that have initiated support for Afghanistan,' said the ministry. 'This reflects its humanitarian mission, which is based on the values of giving, charitable work, spreading peace and consolidating coexistence, tolerance, and the principles of human fraternity. 'It also promotes solidarity with peoples during the most difficult circumstances and crises facing countries. 'The focus on caring for people and preserving their dignity has been a constant approach in the UAE's journey since its founding, regardless of ethnic, religious, or geographical backgrounds and in line with its noble humanitarian principles. It has become a global symbol of humanitarian giving and sustainable good.' A US news outlet reported earlier this month that the UAE was preparing to send a small number of evacuees back to Afghanistan in July.
