On Sept. 16, Abu Dhabi will host the Iron Union 5 exercise, which is part of the Iron Claws programme. The former helps to develop bilateral relations through exchanging military expertise. The Iron Union 5 will see the UAE Armed Forces work together with the US Ground Forces to upgrade and strengthen the readiness of the UAE Armed Forces.

On Sept. 14, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The two countries have had close ties since Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain cut diplomatic ties and trade links with Qatar on June 5, 2017. The Emir then flew to Europe to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron. After the meeting, Merkel voiced her opinion on the dispute to the public. “We won’t solve this conflict in the open with everyone in the world voicing their opinion,” she said, calling for low-profile talks.

The meetings led people to think that Qatar is ready to start discussions with other Gulf countries to end the dispute. This move comes after last week’s tensions between Qatar and Saudi Arabia due to a misreported call by the Qatar News Agency.

On Sept. 13, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and the General Headquarters of Dubai Police announced that starting on Oct. 15, the speed limit will be reduced from 120 km/h to 110 km/h on Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road and Emirates Road.

The news, delivered by Dubai Media Office Twitter account @DXBMediaOffice, received positive feedback in the comments section, with people thanking the Dubai Police Department for this initiative.

“The decision is mainly intended to curb traffic accidents resulting from overspeeding, especially as the two roads witness huge volumes of heavy vehicles traffic in both directions,” said CEO of the RTA Maitha bin Adai.

This speed limit reduction follows several other measures taken by Dubai Police Department in the last couple of months, such as increased fines for talking on the phone while driving and parking in illegal areas.