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Dubai Festival of Literature Begins… #Dubai #uaenews #uae http://bit.ly/co9rfb

Dubai Festival of Literature Begins… #Dubai #uaenews #uae http://bit.ly/co9rfb

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Dubai Festival of Literature Begins… #Dubai #uaenews #uae http://bit.ly/co9rfb

Dubai Festival of Literature Begins… #Dubai #uaenews #uae http://bit.ly/co9rfb

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#Dubai will now confiscate vehicles with expired registrations… #uaenews http://bit.ly/cSiAh2

#Dubai will now confiscate vehicles with expired registrations… #uaenews http://bit.ly/cSiAh2

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#Dubai will now confiscate vehicles with expired registrations… #uaenews http://bit.ly/cSiAh2

#Dubai will now confiscate vehicles with expired registrations… #uaenews http://bit.ly/cSiAh2

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Will There Be New Elections in the #UAE for FNC… #uaenews http://bit.ly/bsjffv

Will There Be New Elections in the #UAE for FNC… #uaenews http://bit.ly/bsjffv

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Will There Be New Elections in the #UAE for FNC… #uaenews http://bit.ly/bsjffv

Will There Be New Elections in the #UAE for FNC… #uaenews http://bit.ly/bsjffv

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Abu Dhabi is spending 28million to promote Bu Tinah as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Nature #UAE #uaenews http://bit.ly/d1M2Iy

Abu Dhabi is spending 28million to promote Bu Tinah as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Nature #UAE #uaenews http://bit.ly/d1M2Iy

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Dramatic Rescue in Wadi Al Munaei #uaenews #uae http://bit.ly/9iM5L6

Dramatic Rescue in Wadi Al Munaei #uaenews #uae http://bit.ly/9iM5L6

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CCTV comes to Abu Dhabi #uaenews http://bit.ly/c4awH1

CCTV comes to Abu Dhabi #uaenews http://bit.ly/c4awH1

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UAE is going to get some Dust… #uaenews #uae http://bit.ly/b8wG9t

UAE is going to get some Dust… #uaenews #uae http://bit.ly/b8wG9t

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UAE Banks Stuck with 50% Non-performing Loans

Non-performing loans are expected to swell almost 50 per cent to nearly Dh65 billion (US$17.69bn) this year as the global economic downturn and sagging property prices take a further toll on the country’s lenders.

The rise is likely to force lenders to set aside more reserves to protect themselves.

“Non-performing loans are already at a reasonable level,” Sultan Nasser al Suwaidi, the Central Bank Governor, said yesterday.

“If you take into account write-offs, non-performing loans would be higher.”…SOURCE

Non-performing loans were expected to rise to 6.5 per cent of bank lending this year from 4.4 per cent last year, he said. The total value of loans and advances in the UAE is Dh1 trillion, according to Central Bank statistics.

Banks’ loan books have been adversely affected by exposure to a severe correction in the country’s property sector, with estimated price declines of up to 50 per cent in Dubai and 40 per cent in Abu Dhabi.

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Trapped in the Burj Khalifa

Tourists visiting the Burj Khalifa have told how dozens of people “began to cry” after being stranded on the building’s observation deck for over an hour.

At the Top, a visitor attraction located on the 124th floor of the world’s tallest building, is temporarily closed to the public following “technical issues with the power supply” but is scheduled to reopen on Sunday, February 14.

A senior Dubai Civil Defence official confirmed to Gulf News on Monday there was an incident at the Burj Khalifa on Saturday evening.

Video: Inside the Burj Khalifa

The official said: “This is a minor case; it was not serious at all. Staff members at the Burj Khalifa handled the situation perfectly. Our role was to ensure the safety of the public. It is absolutely normal for a new building to face minor issues such as this, which involved one of the Burj Khalifa’s elevators.”

Gulf News spoke on Monday to several tourists who were stranded on the observation deck for over an hour on Saturday.

In pictures: View from the observation deck
All you need to know about At the Top

Michael Timms, a 31-year-old telecommunications engineer from the US, said: “I was walking around the observation deck when I heard this really loud noise and what looked like smoke or dust coming out from one of the elevator doors. There were at least 60 people on the deck at the time. Employees and security staff were telling people that everything was ok. But once it became clear we were not being allowed back down, some people got really angry while others started crying.”…SOURCE

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Etisalat Caught With Non-Contract Workers

Hundreds of employees of etislalat’s 181 directory service are not under the company’s sponsorship, Gulf News has learnt.

The call centre employees, who are based in Ajman, say they have never been issued with employment visas or labour cards. They told Gulf News they are paid Dh16 per hour but have no contract. Many of them have been working there for more than five or six years.

“I was sponsored by my father,” said a 25-year-old Arab employee, who has been at the centre for five years. “I was able to obtain a visa from a company in Dubai and am working at etisalat,” he said.

Another employee, who has been working there for three years, said he was sponsored by his father. His sponsorship is going to expire in three months, he added.

A woman employee said she worked for the call centre for one and a half years but has stopped working for them now.

“I was on the sponsorship of my father,” she said…SOURCE

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No individual meals at public kitchens in Sharjah

The Sharjah municipality has implemented a new rule that forbids public kitchens from serving individual-sized meals to customers. It is being enforced from the first week of February.

Owners of public kitchens, however, are unhappy with the decision and said they would oppose the ban as it will lead to a loss in business. They have already filed a petition to the Sharjah Executive Council and the Sharjah Consultative Council to revoke the ban.

Sharjah Municipality distributed a circular to 36 public kitchens last Sunday stating that they are no longer allowed to sell individual meals to customers, and can only provide meals in large portions.

Public kitchens offer local dishes in addition to sandwiches and snacks. They are very popular among Emirati families during Ramadan and Eid as they have the choice of bringing in their own plates.

“We make our day-to-day income by selling individual meals and our customers have the choice of either sitting inside the premises or buying a take away meal. We have no choice but to obey the rules but that does not mean we agree with it,” said Nasser, a manager of a public kitchen in Al Khan.

“If we can only cater to banquets this will eventually put us out of business.”…SOURCE

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Thumbs-up to the Abu Dhabi Police Crackdown on Tail-gaters

Police fined 750 motorists in the first two days of a campaign against tailgating on the capital’s roads.

Most of the fines were issued on Al Khaleej Al Arabi Street and Mahawi Street – in the direction of Abu Dhabi – and other city streets, Lt Col Hamad al Ameri, the head of the traffic investigation section of the Abu Dhabi traffic and patrols department, said yesterday.

The majority were handed out during peak hours in the morning and around noon, Lt Col al Ameri said.

The number of fines issued was more than double the 351 given out the previous month.

Lt Col al Ameri said most of the motorists fined were young and were not keeping a safe distance from vehicles ahead of them, annoying other drivers and creating a major risk on the road.

Sixteen unmarked police cars are patrolling the roads as part of the “Leave Space Before it is Too Late” campaign, which began on Sunday. The number of officers on patrol has also been stepped up.
Drivers ticketed for tailgating face a fine of Dh400 (US$110) and four black points on their licence… SOURCE

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