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Tariq Al-Mansouri

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  • Indian passport holders can get a free UAE entry visa on Abu Dhabi holidays of at least three nights.
  • DCT Abu Dhabi covers the full visa cost, worth Dh285 (about $77) per traveller.
  • The pilot runs from August 1 to October 31, 2026, with up to 20,000 visas available.
  • Bookings must go through participating travel partners or online travel agencies, with a return flight from India.

The Abu Dhabi free visa for Indian travellers is here, and the rules are refreshingly plain. Book a holiday of at least three nights in the emirate, and your UAE entry visa comes at no extra cost. The Department of Culture and Tourism, Abu Dhabi, known as DCT Abu Dhabi, covers the fee. That charge runs Dh285, or roughly $77 a person.

The offer began on August 1 and runs through October 31, 2026. During this pilot window, DCT Abu Dhabi will support up to 20,000 visas.

Who can claim it

Treat this as a targeted deal, not an open door. The Abu Dhabi free visa for Indian travellers applies to Indian passport holders who depart from India. You need to book through a participating travel partner or an online travel agency. Your stay must run at least three consecutive nights at a hotel in Abu Dhabi. A return flight from India is also required.

One detail matters here. Travellers cannot apply on their own. The free UAE visa for Indian tourists flows only through approved partners, so the package is the key.

Behind the scenes, travel companies have two ways to process the visa. One route uses a Destination Management Company appointed by DCT Abu Dhabi. Pick this path, and the department pays the visa cost directly.

The second option lets partners keep their existing destination management companies. Under this route, DCT Abu Dhabi reimburses Dh285 for every visa issued. Either way, you receive a UAE entry visa without paying more, and the Abu Dhabi holiday package carries the cost.

The math adds up fast. At 20,000 visas and Dh285 each, the pilot represents about Dh5.7 million, close to $1.5 million in direct travel support.

Why Abu Dhabi is targeting India

India sits near the top of Abu Dhabi tourism priorities. The Abu Dhabi free visa for Indian travellers extends a longer effort to strengthen air links and build closer ties with the travel trade. Cheaper entry means an easier yes for a family weighing a trip. Indian nationals also form the UAE’s largest expatriate community, nearly 35 percent of the population, with about 800,000 living in Abu Dhabi alone.

Abdulla Yousuf, Director of International Operations at DCT Abu Dhabi, framed the goal in market terms. He said India remains one of the destination’s most important international markets, and the department wants to keep making Abu Dhabi more accessible for Indian travellers.

Yousuf gave a second reason too. By covering the visa, he said, the department hands travel partners another strong reason to recommend the emirate. He pointed to longer stays as the payoff, with visitors spending more time across the emirate’s culture, entertainment, hospitality and natural attractions.

What travellers should check

So where does this leave you? If a three-night Abu Dhabi trip already sits on your list, the Abu Dhabi free visa for Indian travellers trims a real cost from the total. Ask your travel partner whether they take part before you pay. Book early. The 20,000 cap could fill before October, and once it does, the free window closes.

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  • Abu Dhabi, Tourism, UAE

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Apple's iPhone Duo
  • iPhone

The iPhone Duo is Apple’s first foldable iPhone, and it opens like a small book into a 7.6-inch screen. Closed, you hold a 5.4-inch outer display that fits in a pocket. Both screens share the same aspect ratio, so a video or app scales cleanly as you move between them. Stand it up on a table, and it works hands-free for calls or video. Apple showed the phone on September 9 at its Surprise and Shine event in Cupertino, where new chief executive John Ternus led his first keynote. He said rival foldables often feel like two phones stuck together. The Duo tries to feel like one device that changes size when you need it.

What the screens and camera can do

Open the Duo and the inner display runs 50 percent larger than the iPhone 18 Pro Max. A custom nano-texture finish cuts glare and hides the crease, the seam that has annoyed foldable owners for years. Peak brightness reaches 3000 nits, so the screen stays readable outdoors. Inside, an under-display FaceTime camera keeps the view whole, with no notch breaking the screen. The rear camera leans on a 48MP Dual Fusion system with a main and an ultra-wide lens. There is no telephoto, a trade Apple made to save room in the thin body. Smart Take reads the scene and snaps the photo when everyone poses, so you can stand in the shot instead of behind it. You can also shoot 48MP photos and 4K video at up to 120 frames per second.

iPhone Duo specs that matter for daily use

The iPhone Duo specs point to a phone built for long, heavy days. Inside sits the A20 Pro chip with a vapor chamber that spreads heat during games and video edits. Apple pairs it with a dual-battery design that fits more cells into the frame. You get up to 31 hours of video on the inner screen and up to 44 hours on the outer one. Plug it in, and it reaches 50 percent in about 20 minutes. A Grade 5 titanium frame and a precision hinge give the body its strength, and Touch ID moves to the side button in place of Face ID.

iPhone Duo prices are ridiculously high

Here is the part your wallet cares about. The iPhone Duo price starts at $1,999 for 256GB in the United States, which makes it the most expensive iPhone in the lineup. In the UAE, iPhone Duo starts at AED 8,499 for the 256 GB, AED 9,349 for the 512 GB, AED 11,049 for the 1 TB, and the laptop-price level of AED 13,599 for the 2 TB. Preorders open October 16, and the iPhone Duo release date lands on October 23. Apple plans a first wave across more than 70 countries, then adds 28 more on October 30. For comparison, Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 8 starts near $1,899.

Why the foldable iPhone arrives only now

Apple waited years while Samsung and others sold foldables. Now the foldable iPhone brings iOS 27 features built for two screens, like Split View and apps that respond to how you hold the phone. eSIM handles the connection, since there is no SIM tray anywhere. Apple Pencil support arrives later in 2026. That gap of a few weeks after the iPhone 18 Pro points to a slower, careful rollout for a harder build. If you have wanted a phone that turns into a small tablet without feeling clumsy, this is Apple’s answer, and you can hold one this month.

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Work from Park initiative
  • Business

The Work from Park initiative puts bookable workspaces inside Dubai’s public parks, starting with Al Barsha Pond Park. Dubai Municipality announced the programme on 19 April 2026 and said it had signed two memoranda of cooperation to deliver it. One went to Group AMANA, which builds the units, and the other to Letswork LLC, which operates them.

Entrepreneurs, freelancers, small and medium-sized enterprises

The structure is a public-private partnership. Dubai Municipality provides the park and the mandate. Private firms handle design, construction, and daily operation. The municipality said the model gives the private sector a route into public facilities while each site keeps its role as a park.

Target users are entrepreneurs, freelancers, small and medium-sized enterprises, and anyone doing remote work in Dubai. Content creators get dedicated production rooms, which the municipality said are meant to strengthen their place in the emirate’s creative economy.

Letswork runs the booking side. Users reserve space through the Letswork app, check in on arrival and use one membership across the company’s network of venues. The offer covers desks by the hour, event space, podcast recording and production rooms for creators. Letswork will also run training programmes and group sessions for creative talent and new businesses.

How the Work from Park initiative is built

Group AMANA delivers the first site through its DuBox unit. DuBox builds the workspace modules in a factory, then transports them to the park and assembles them on site. The municipality said this shortens the build schedule, reduces waste and lowers the environmental footprint compared with conventional construction. Units can be reconfigured later as demand shifts.

The Al Barsha Pond Park site was scheduled to open in May 2026. Letswork now lists it as a bookable venue on its platform. The listing describes modular pods with high-speed Wi-Fi, power and climate-controlled seating, plus podcast studios and creative production rooms. Members can book day passes, meeting rooms and private offices under one Letswork membership.

Dubai Municipality said the Work from Park initiative would add more sites across the emirate later in 2026. Locations and opening dates for those have yet to be confirmed.

Bader Anwahi, CEO of the Public Facilities Agency at Dubai Municipality, said the partnerships combine advanced construction methods with private sector expertise to produce public infrastructure “that is flexible, sustainable, and aligned with modern lifestyles and work patterns.”

Richard Abboud, CEO of Group AMANA, said modular construction lets the company build efficient, adaptable units at speed.

Why the Work from Park initiative fits Dubai’s planning goals

The programme sits under three policy frameworks. Dubai’s 2040 Parks and Greenery Strategy targets 95 million park visits a year by 2040. Land use falls under the Dubai Urban Plan 2040. Economic targets through 2033 come from the Dubai Economic Agenda D33.

Omar AlMheiri, co-founder of Letswork, said the partnership would add dedicated creative spaces and podcast studios. He described it as a step toward changing where and how people in the UAE do flexible work.

Dubai Municipality describes the Work from Park initiative as the first of its kind. Existing Dubai coworking spaces operate from office towers, hotels and retail sites. This programme moves the format onto municipal parkland, with the municipality as host and a private platform as operator.

Outdoor workspaces in Dubai face one obvious constraint: summer heat. The Letswork listing addresses this with climate-controlled seating inside the pods. Demand across a full year of operation will show whether the format holds. The second site, once announced, will be the next signal of how fast the municipality intends to scale.

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