DUBAI: More than AED 2 million (approximately Rs152.4 million) in cash, around 35,000 electronic devices and 3,000 passports were recovered from taxis in Dubai last year, the emirate’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said, after handling over 104,000 lost-property reports across the city.

The reports were managed by the RTA’s Lost and Found Team at its Call Centre, which works closely with taxi companies and drivers to trace and return forgotten belongings to passengers.

The authority said the system relies on verifying trip details, tracking vehicle movements and coordinating directly with drivers to locate missing items, with most belongings found and owners contacted within two hours of a report being filed.

Commonly recovered items included:

a) Cash exceeding AED 2 million (Rs152.4 million)

b) 35,000 smartphones, laptops and tablets

c) 3,000 passports and official documents

d) Jewellery and other valuable personal belongings

The Call Centre provides services in several languages, including Arabic, English, Urdu, Hindi, Filipino, French, Chinese and Russian, making it accessible to Dubai’s diverse population — including the large Pakistani driver community working in the taxi sector.

The officials said many taxi drivers, including Pakistanis, have demonstrated exceptional honesty by promptly handing in lost items, helping ensure their safe return to owners.

Pakistani taxi drivers, who form a significant part of Dubai’s transport workforce, are widely regarded as among the most honest and cooperative, according to industry feedback and passenger experiences.

US President Donald Trump’s plane was forced to return to an air base late Tuesday due to a “minor electrical issue” shortly after departing for Switzerland, the White House said.

Air Force One returned to Joint Base Andrews out of an abundance of caution, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said. It landed shortly after 11:00 pm (0400 GMT).

Journalists travelling with Trump reported that lights in the cabin went out briefly after takeoff.

Trump and his entourage changed planes at Joint Base Andrews and took off again shortly after 0500 GMT, about two-and-a-half hours after his initial departure.

With its classic blue and white livery, Air Force One is arguably the world’s most iconic plane and an instantly recognisable symbol of the US presidency.

Trump has long been unhappy with the current Air Force One jets — two highly customised Boeing 747-200B series aircraft that entered service in 1990 under President George HW Bush.

Last year, Trump said his administration was “looking at alternatives” to Boeing following delays in the delivery of two new 747-8 aircraft.

In May, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth accepted a Boeing 747 that the Gulf emirate of Qatar offered to Trump for use as Air Force One.

The jet — worth hundreds of millions of dollars — has raised huge constitutional and ethical questions, as well as security concerns about using an aircraft donated by a foreign power for use as the ultra-sensitive presidential plane.

• Decision made due to security threats ahead of Feb 12 polls.
• Campaigning for Bangladesh elections begins Thursday (tomorrow).
• New Delhi says withdrawal move part of “internal readjustments”.
  

NEW DELHI: India will withdraw its diplomats’ families and dependents from Bangladesh in the face of security threats as tension rises ahead of a February 12 general election, an Indian official said on Wednesday.

Campaigning begins on Thursday for Bangladesh’s election, which has sparked protests and counter-protests.

Ties between the South Asian neighbours soured after former prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled to India in 2024, following deadly protests.

India’s withdrawal move was part of “internal readjustments”, the official said, without elaborating.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, pointed to Indian media reports of New Delhi’s decision. It was not immediately clear when the families would return.

The foreign ministries of India and Bangladesh did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In December, India summoned Bangladesh’s high commissioner, or ambassador to voice its concern over what it called a deteriorating security situation there, particularly threats targeting the Indian mission in the capital, Dhaka.

The interim government led by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus has repeatedly sought Hasina’s extradition to Bangladesh, while rejecting New Delhi’s concerns over violence targeting members of the minority Hindu community.

Ties between Dhaka and New Delhi have remained strained since the Awami League government of then prime minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted following violent, student-led street protests in July and August 2024.

Recently, protests were held in Bangladesh over the killing of student leader Sharif Osman Hadi who was a vocal Indian critic and took part in 2024’s uprising.

His death set off violent protests with angry mobs torching several buildings, including two major newspapers deemed to favour India, as well as a prominent cultural institution.

Bangladesh police said the alleged killers, Faisal Karim Masud and Alamgir Sheikh, left Bangladesh through the Haluaghat border with India.