Dubai, Jan 23: The UAE government has ordered to stop all flying operations of private drones and light sports aircraft in the Gulf country for a month, days after two Indians and a Pakistani national were killed in Abu Dhabi in a rare drone and missile attack claimed by Yemen's Houthi rebels.
In a statement, the Ministry of Interior ordered to stop all flying operations of drones and light sports aircraft for owners, practitioners and enthusiasts from January 22.
According to the statement, the ban also encompasses air and sail spots.
"The decision came after the misuse spotted recently, not limiting the practice of these sports to the areas identified in the user permits and trespassing into areas where these types of activities are prohibited, said the statement released by the UAE's official news agency Wam.
The regulations were put in place in coordination with the General Authority for Civil Aviation and in line with the relative guidelines, it said.
It said that exceptions might be granted for filming. The entities that have work contracts or commercial or advertising projects that rely on filming using drones must communicate with the permit authorities to take the necessary exceptions and permits to carry out their work and projects, it said.
The ministry reminded users that anyone performing these activities during that period and disregarding guidelines will be subject to legal liabilities.
Last week, Yemen's Houthi rebels targeted a fuel depot in Abu Dhabi and the city's main airport, heightening tensions in the oil-exporting region.
The UAE blamed the attack on Yemen's Houthi rebels, saying this sinful targeting will not go unpunished.
The UAE "reserves its right to retaliate to these terrorist attacks and this sinful criminal escalation", said a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
The Houthi rebels have taken responsibility for several drone attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities in the past. The UAE is part of the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen fighting Houthis.
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New Delhi, Mar 28: A court here Thursday extended the Enforcement Directorate custody of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal till April 1 in the excise policy case.
The agency sought seven-day custody of the AAP chief, but the court said he has to be produced before it on April 1 at 11 am.
The ED had produced him before Rouse Avenue court Special Judge Kaveri Baweja as his current six-day custody was ending on Thursday.
The ED said in its fresh remand plea that during Kejriwal's custodial interrogation, his statements were recorded over five days but he was "giving evasive replies".
It said statements of three other persons relevant to the case have also been recorded during the remand period.
It said that during the ED custody, Kejriwal was confronted with C Arvind, the then personal secretary to deputy CM Manish Sisodia who was handed over the draft Group of Ministers (GoM) report for the 2021-22 excise policy at the residence of the chief minister.
It said the statement of one of the AAP candidates in the 2022 Goa elections was also recorded during Kejriwal's ED custody. It revealed that the candidate did not have any money and his election expenditure was "taken care of by the AAP Office Delhi only through their associates",
The plea said that during the custody, data from the mobile phone of the chief minister's wife have been extracted and were being analysed.
"However, data from other four digital devices seized during the search at Kejriwal's premises on March 21 (belonging to Kejriwal) are yet to be extracted as the arrestee (Kejriwal) has sought time in providing password and login credentials after consulting with his lawyers," it said.
The application said the movable and immovable property details, income tax returns (ITRs), and other financial details sought from Kejriwal were yet to be provided by the chief minister, or his family members.
The federal probe agency said it had sought the details regarding the appointments made with the chief minister in the online portal in his office.
It said the during the interrogation, summonses were issued to senior excise officials in Punjab who were "involved in the arm-twisting of certain (liquor) wholesalers of Delhi."
The agency said that when the demand for bribes was not fulfilled, these officials either shut down their factories or did not allow the wholesalers to despatch their goods to Punjab.
The plea said the officials concerned sought time on the summonses, citing the hooch tragedy in Sangrur.
"The arrestee needs to be interrogated further in the wake of these reasons or findings. Hence, it is imperative in the interest of investigation that seven days' further custodial remand of Arvind Kejriwal may be granted to the Directorate of Enforcement," the plea said.