Dubai: Govt departments to stay closed for 3 days from today

Work will be suspended in government departments and institutions for three days, starting today, March 25 — as a mark of respect for the late Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance, who passed away on Wednesday.

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Flags in Dubai will fly at half-mast for 10 days from today.

Several events planned for Wednesday and the coming days have also been cancelled.

The live streaming of the Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire and Finest Surprise draw at 11.30am on Wednesday has been cancelled in observance of the untimely demise of Sheikh Hamdan, officials announced. Results will instead be posted on the Dubai Duty Free website.

Arab Fashion Week and the Spinneys 92 Cycle race have also been postponed.

A Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) virtual press briefing on the new partnership agreement for the Emirates Lunar Mission webinar has been cancelled, said an official statement from MBRSC.

The Centre for Arab Genomic Studies has cancelled the ‘Population Genetics’ webinar scheduled to take place on Wednesday. “Due to the unfortunate passing of Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ‘Population Genetics’ webinar will be rescheduled. The new date will be announced soon. All registrations will be carried forward,” said the Centre on Twitter.

Dhanusha Gokulan

Originally from India, Dhanusha Gokulan has been working as a journalist for 10 years. She has a keen interest in writing about issues that plague the common person and will never turn down a human interest story. She completed her Bachelor in Arts in Journalism, Economics and English Literature from Mangalore University in 2008. In her spare time, she dabbles with some singing/songwriting, loves travelling and Audible is her favourite mobile application. Tweet at her @wordjunkie88