DUBAI: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is offering a 10-year Golden Visa to donors contributing at least AED 2 million to Islamic Waqf endowments, making charitable giving a pathway to long-term residency.

The programme has been launched in collaboration with GDRFA Dubai and Dubai Islamic Awqaf. It allows both UAE residents and international donors to apply under the “Financial Supporters of Humanitarian Work” category.

To qualify, applicants must make a minimum donation of AED 2 million (Rs156 million) to a certified Waqf or humanitarian project, and they must also hold at least a university degree.

The nominees must come from Awqaf Dubai or an authorised humanitarian institution.

Proof of donation, identity documents, and academic credentials are mandatory, according to the official.

Applications can be submitted through the GDRFA Smart Services portal or at Amer Centres across Dubai.

A joint GDRFA-Awqaf committee reviews submissions before approval.

Once granted, the visa remains valid even if the holder stays outside the UAE for more than six months.

Waqf, in Islamic tradition, refers to a permanent charitable endowment. It can include land, buildings, cash, or other assets dedicated to public welfare, such as education, healthcare, or religious institutions. Once donated, the assets cannot be sold or inherited.

Awqaf Dubai ensures that all endowments are Sharia-compliant, transparent, and channelled into sustainable community development.

Officials emphasise that the Golden Visa is not only a reward for philanthropists but also a strategic move to attract global supporters of sustainable humanitarian work, reinforcing Dubai’s image as a centre of generosity and social impact.

PARIS: Thieves broke into Paris’ Louvre museum by using a crane and smashing an upstairs window on Sunday, stealing priceless jewellery from an area that houses the French crown jewels before escaping on motorbikes, the French government said.

The robbery is likely to raise awkward questions about security at the museum, where officials had already sounded the alarm about a lack of investment at a world-famous site that welcomed 8.7 million visitors in 2024.

The thieves struck at about 9:30am (0730 GMT) when the museum had already opened its doors to the public, and entered the Galerie d’Apollon building, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

The robbery took around four minutes, Culture Minister Rachida Dati told TF1, and it was carried out by professionals.

“We saw some footage: they don’t target people, they enter calmly in four minutes, smash display cases, take their loot, and leave. No violence, very professional,” she said on TF1.

She said one piece of jewellery had been recovered outside the museum, apparently dropped as they made their escape.

Dati declined to say what the item was, but newspaper Le Parisien said it was believed to be the crown of Napoleon III’s wife, Empress Eugénie. The jewel was broken, the newspaper said.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez told France Inter that three or four thieves got into the museum from outside using a crane that was positioned on a truck.

“They broke a window, headed to several display cases and stole jewels… which have a real historical, priceless value,” Nunez said.

Probe underway

A video posted on X by a museum guide showed visitors filing towards exits in the middle of their tour, initially unaware of the reason for the disruption.

Nunez said a probe had been opened, with a specialised police unit that has a high success rate in cracking high-profile robberies such as this one, tasked with running it.

No injuries were reported, Dati said.

The Louvre, the world’s most-visited museum and home to Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, said on X it would remain closed for the day for “exceptional reasons”.

In one of the most daring art thefts in history, the Mona Lisa was stolen from the museum in 1911 in a heist involving a former employee. He was eventually caught and the painting was returned to the museum two years later.

Questions on security

Earlier this year, officials at the Louvre requested urgent help from the French government to restore and renovate the museum’s ageing exhibition halls and better protect its countless works of art.

Dati said the issue of museum security was not new.

“For 40 years, there was little focus on securing these major museums, and two years ago, the president of the Louvre requested a security audit from the police prefect. Why? Because museums must adapt to new forms of crime,” she said. “Today, it’s organised crime — professionals.”

US President Donald Trump has responded to Saturday’s anti-Trump “No Kings” rallies taking place across the US in his typical aggressive style, posting an AI-generated video on his Truth Social platform depicting him as a king.

He is shown wearing a crown and piloting a fighter jet that drops filth on anti-Trump protesters, soiling their clothes and causing chaos among the crowd.

Huge crowds took to the streets in all 50 US states at “No Kings” protests on Saturday, venting anger over President Trump’s hardline policies, while Republicans ridiculed them as “Hate America” rallies.

Organisers said seven million people marched in protests spanning New York to Los Angeles, with demonstrations popping up in small cities across the US heartland and even near Trump’s home in Florida.

House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, on Friday echoed a common refrain among his party, labelling the “No Kings” protests “the hate America rally.”

Protesters spanning all age groups took to the streets en masse for “No Kings” rallies across the United States on Saturday, denouncing what they view as authoritarian tendencies and unbridled corruption of US President Donald Trump.

Organisers expected millions of people to turn out by day’s end at more than 2,600 planned rallies in major cities, small towns, and suburbs, challenging a Trump-led agenda that has reshaped the government and upended democratic norms with unprecedented speed since he took office in January.

Demonstrators filled Times Square in New York City, where police said they made “zero protest-related arrests” even as more than 100,000 people rallied peacefully across all five boroughs.

Events in Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Denver, Chicago, and Seattle also drew crowds that each appeared to encompass thousands, if not tens of thousands, of people.

On the West Coast, more than a dozen rallies occurred around the Los Angeles area, including the primary site downtown. In Seattle, demonstrators filled a parade route that stretched for more than a mile from downtown through the Seattle Centre plaza around the city’s landmark Space Needle. More than 25,000 protested peacefully in San Diego, police said.

The protests reflected growing unease among many Americans, mainly on the ideological left, with developments such as the criminal prosecution of Trump’s perceived political enemies, his militarised immigration crackdown, and the sending of National Guard troops into US cities — a move Trump has said was aimed at fighting crime and protecting immigration agents.

Trump has said little about Saturday’s protests. But in an interview with Fox Business aired on Friday, he said that “they’re referring to me as a king – I’m not a king.”

Saturday’s protests were aimed at building on the momentum gained from more than 2,000 “No Kings” protests that were staged on June 14, coinciding with Trump’s 79th birthday and a rare military parade in Washington.