ABU DHABI // Five Emirati relatives were arrested after a family argument turned into a shoot-out, a court heard yesterday.
Two of the group suffered bullet injuries, but the men told the Criminal Court of First Instance yesterday that the shots were fired only in warning and had not been intended to harm anyone. They told the court they forgave each other and asked the judge to bail them out.
The court heard the five men were arguing when SM fired a number of rounds from his Kalashnikov rifle.
SM faces charges of attempted murder, possessing a gun without a licence and taking drugs - all of which he denies.
BA, who was hit by one of the bullets from SM's rifle, told the court he had recovered from his injury and forgave SM, who he said had not meant to hurt him.
"The bullet hit the ground and then bounced back up hitting my leg," he said.
BA was also accused of attacking SM. However, BA denied this and SM refused to comment. "We just had a fight, I won't take oath, and I forgive BA and give away my right," said SM.
A second bullet from SM's Kalashnikov hit AB, who was also accused of using a firearm without a licence, and not reporting a crime.
BA's brother - who was not named or charged - took the two injured men to hospital and reported the incident to police.
Another family member, GT, denied charges of using a firearm and threatening BA. BA backed up this denial, saying GT had not threatened him.
FK, who did not appear in court yesterday, is also accused of not reporting the crime,
The case has been adjourned until March 26. The five men were not granted bail.
hdajani@thenational.ae
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Install an air filter in your home.
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
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