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Cinemagoers in the UAE will soon be able to download mobile bar-coded cinema and entertainment show tickets through cellphones, eliminating the need for physical delivery.
Etisalat Wednesday announced a strategic partnership with Mobiqa, specialists in mobile content optimisation, to bring mobile phone ticketing to the region… MORE
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When Mall of the Emirates first opened in 2005, its combination of high-street favourites and luxury stores soon made it the go-to place for discerning shoppers. Bringing together designer labels such as Louis Vuitton, D&G and Gucci, its ski-sloped roof also housed the UAE’s first Harvey Nichols… But tomorrow, Mall of the Emirates will attempt to regain the designer-heeled footfall it lost to Fashion Avenue with its new extension, the Fashion Dome. With more than 30 luxury fashion outlets, 20 of which are new to the mall, the piazza-style Fashion Dome promises a return to the exclusive shopping experience it used to monopolise… MORE
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More than two million national ID cardholders will soon be able to renew their cards at certified typing centres, cutting out the need to go to Emirates Identity Authority (Eida) registration centres, a top official told Gulf Newsyesterday.
The advantage of the new renewal system is that ID cardholders will not have to make an appointment or check the working hours of Eida centres, Dr Ali Al Khoury, Acting General Manager of Emirates Identity Authority (Eida), said.
“Instead they can visit any certified typing centre which mostly work long hours,” he said.
He said the new renewal system was expected to be operational by next month.
At present ID cardholders have to visit Eida registration centres for renewal with separate counters set aside for them… MORE
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Dr Khaled Abdelalim, an Islamic preacher who has a show on Ajman TV, argued that Ramadan should be the high season for worship because it is a time when the rewards are unlimited compared with the rest of the year.
“During Ramadan the doors of heaven are open and the doors of hell are closed,” he said. “So not a single breath should be wasted with anything that does not please Allah.”
He said people do need to release their stress with some “fun” but suggested they focus on positive, “halal” fun.
“For example, one could play sports, go out and enjoy nature, visit relatives,” he said. “These activities are fun and are encouraged in Islam, which makes them a form of worship as well.”
Watching soap operas during Ramadan not only wastes time, but no true joy can come from doing so as real happiness comes from doing what pleases God and helping others, he said.
“Even those who watch comedy shows are not truly happy, they are just laughing hysterically,” he said… MORE
A likely increase in fuel prices within the next few weeks will exert greater inflationary pressures on the UAE economy as producers and suppliers will pass on the increase in transportation costs to the consumers, experts cautioned Sunday… MORE
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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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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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The oasis city has reached a deal with the US-based company to provide a host of online services to connect with residents and manage its internal operations.
Residents will be able to check information on new developments on Google maps, have city documents translated to another language and, possibly, have a direct e-mail connection with the local government.
Internally, the municipality will use Google systems for tasks such as document management and project planning.
Al Ain to Incorporate Google Services
“We can help Al Ain to maximise the effectiveness of its e-government portal [and] link all the information and resources available to Al Ain residents,” said Matthew Landeg, the head of enterprise sales for Google.
He was in Al Ain to speak with municipality department heads about how the company could strengthen the city’s online resources and provide better services and greater transparency to the community.
One idea that came out of the meeting was to set up a Google e-mail account for every household and use it to communicate with residents.
“If this idea is indeed put into effect, the Al Ain Municipality will probably be the first in the world to do this,” a spokesman said…SOURCE
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Just ask yourself, why would you buy when the charges may be as high as 100k per year for maintenance…
Homeowners in The Cove development in Ras al Khaimah could each face service bills of more than Dh100,000 (US$27,226) a year because the developer must rely on generators to provide power to the luxury resort.
That is more than the average cost of renting a villa in the emirate, which has been beset by acute electricity shortages.
“If they are running the airconditioning during the month, they are having a bill of Dh3000 to Dh4000 a month,” said Ashraf al Agamawy, the manager of the project, which includes a five-star Rotana Hotel.
“We don’t get electricity from the Government and are running over eight diesel generators, which is very expensive.
The Cove in Ras Al Khaimah
It costs me about Dh2.5 million per month.”
The Cove was launched in April 2005 by Orascom Hotels and Development, one of Egypt’s largest developers. It comprises 78 apartments and 188 villas, 75 of which were sold under a form of timeshare agreement with the Rotana Hotel.
Under timeshare agreements, owners are allowed to use their villas for a maximum of four weeks a year…SOURCE
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The Abu Shagara area in Sharjah suffered a power outage on Monday morning, sparking fears that the power snapping has come to revisit them like in August and early this month.
The frequent power outages that had badly affected Sharjah industrial areas eased during Eid Al Fitr and subsequent days, bringing residents relief. But on Monday, the power went off around 4am in Abu Shagara. It was not restored until 2.30pm, said residents.
Ajmal Hassan, who lives on the 15th floor of a building in the area, woke up in the morning to a dark apartment and wondered what had happened. “I never thought the power outage will happen again. I thought this must be a mistake, but I had paid my electricity bill. Then I opened the apartment door and found the whole floor in darkness,” Hassan said.
“I have a well-defined routine each morning. I prepare my coffee, have my shower, watch the news on television and then go for work. On Monday, I could not do that.”
Muwahib Ali said she lives in a tall tower with her family and she decided not go to work or send her children to school because they live on the 15th floor and could not use the lift… SOURCE
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“Misuse” of the Metro by some commuters had led to intermittent service with delays at stations and causing inconvenience to commuters during the first two days of the Metro operation, an RTA official said.
Peyman Younes Parham, an RTA spokesperson, said: “Some passengers on board pushed emergency buttons to open or close the doors or just for fun and this led to delays in the train service,” he said, adding that most of the commuters do not yet know how to use the train… SOURCE
Long before the first train of the day, it was clear that the Dubai Metro’s debut weekend would provide the biggest challenge of its short history.
Crowds of would-be passengers descended on stations beginning early in the morning, unaware that no train would run until 2pm. The crush threatened to overwhelm both staff and the system, with officials estimating that 30,000 passengers passed through the turnstiles in the first two hours of operation yesterday.
Last night, several stations were briefly closed and service was suspended after reports that some passengers had been hitting the emergency stop buttons on the crowded trains.
At the Mall of the Emirates station, where some of the biggest crowds congregated, Metro employees used a megaphone to urge passengers to stay calm and not push. Workers were later joined by transport police after the queuing system threatened to break down as dozens of men tried to push their way through to platforms.
Nakheel Station was also closed for a while in the evening, with staff saying that a train had broken down, halting service for at least an hour. Trains were stationary at Al Rashidiya as well, at the end of the Red Line, for more than an hour, forcing some passengers to abandon their journeys.
Mohammed Sageer said he boarded a train with his family at 6pm and was still waiting to leave an hour later. There was no air conditioning and lights were flickering on and off at the station.
“There was no information, people were getting very confused and women and children were getting upset,” he said, adding that Metro staff were unable to offer refunds.
Services were due to be extended past the official closing time of midnight to 2am so passengers could return home…SOURCE
Dubai makes history with the opening of the Metro system at 9pm on Wednesday. The world’s largest automated driverless Metro system has been built by 30,000 workers at an unprecedented pace and will serve around 1.2 million passengers every day.
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Reply to the article Schools to fly flag and play anthem published by The National. source…
“Raising the flag and playing the national anthem are a must for students when attending school because it reflects their national sentiments towards their nation, leadership and land,” Mr. al Qattami said in a statement issued by WAM, the state news agency It’s an interesting statement and a statement that embodies in its self a silent yet a very prominent reality of this country. Let me undo this jigsaw puzzle for you rather than putting the piece together. He talks about a national anthem and in this anthem there lay a verse “My country, my country, my country, my country” Whose country it this really? Is it my country cause I have lived here all my life and still need a visa or is it the country of the south Indian worker carrying glass for the windows of the skyscrapers to make this country glittery yet he as to go on a strike for his meek little pay or is this a country of those people who get the jobs where the only requirements they need to fulfill is “Only UAE nationals may apply”. This country defiantly is a country for those who can afford it. It has plenty to offer in its malls, its night clubs and its expensive developments. It has the most lit up highways for its people to enjoy. Only for those who can pay.
The anthem also says “Each of us swears to build you and work for you. Our work is pure, we work in purity” whose work are we talking about? And if work is so highly valued that it merits a mention in the anthem surly work has to be rewarded. Rewarded with the states of being an expatriate no matter what. Rewarded with deportation or rewarded with a ban after having a falling out with your employer.
I have sung this anthem all my school life and never once has the national sentiment towards this nation its leadership or even its land been evoked as I have always been an expatiate and always will be. Every time I wanted to say “Oh my homeland” I was reminded the expiry date of my visa. Every time the sentiment stimulated I was compartmentalized in one of the several boxes labeled Pakistani, Indian, Bengali, etc. I was never accepted as a part of the local community, the emarati community.
Never once welcomed with open arms and a smile instead was subjected to live like a Jew or a Christian in my own Islamic land. instead subjected to pay dhimmi. This literally means responsibility of protection. Protection from whom, from other neighboring Islamic countries. Protection from Oman, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan…
lastly all that i can say to Mr. al Qattami and the leadership and the people of this nation. I am a Muslim expatriate from past 25 years now with an outsider or a refugees way of life living in an Islamic country forced to sing for a nation that will never be mine and wave a flag that will never see me worthy enough of defending its honor its dignity.
I sure do feel patriotic!
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Dubai seriously needs to reconsider what it wants to be. No one will visit the equivalent of Saudi Arabia on a vacation.
Dubai’s shopping malls don’t just combine the awesome collections of international brand labels, but go further to enlighten newcomers on Emirati cultural rules and what’s the acceptable general behaviour.
The rules are on signs at the main entrances and distributed by security personnel as well.
It includes no smoking in the mall, wearing of respectable clothing and no kissing or public displays of affection, no consumption of alcohol in the mall and few other don’ts.
Sabina Khanvwani, Head of Public Relations and Marketing Department at Burjuman Centre, said despite the signs, there are still visitors who still need to be reminded of what is and what is not acceptable.
“Burjuman has already fixed stickers on the main entrances in order to deliver the message directly to them, some of them adhere and others don’t. We cannot enforce them to comply but we keep reminding them that Dubai is part of the UAE and it’s a Muslim country with a conservative society and must be respected.”
Most expatriates Gulf News spoke to say they didn’t do things on purpose or to annoy the Emirati community. They just grew up dressing that way.
Tania N. a 29-year-old Russian businesswoman, said she got confused when a security guard at the Mall of the Emirates handed her a brochure on how to dress appropriately.
“I respect Dubai, its religion, culture and people, I come here frequently for business and pleasure, and I was never asked to cover my shoulders or my knees until recently,” she said.
“I used to wear a sleeveless short gown or miniskirt and according to my background it is a decent outfit and doesn’t cause any kind of embarrassment. But lately a security approached me and in a polite way handed me a brochure that includes the mall’s courtesy policy regarding dress code and general behaviour.”
Asked whether she will adhere to the mall’s dress code, she said: “I really don’t find it necessary, besides I don’t have long or covered outfits, and the most importantly I didn’t do something bad to Dubai or its people.”
Katayoon Tahmoress M, an Iranian writer based in Dubai agrees with Tania.
“I love Dubai and I like its style. But the way I dress is completely a personal matter and I don’t allow anybody to educate me on what to wear and what not to wear.”
Gabriel and Elena, both Americans, said the visitors and expatriates should’ve been informed of the dress and behavioural rules before they fly into the country.
“Such instructions should be informed before we enter the country not while we are shopping. Besides the weather in Dubai is truly hot,” they said.
Mariam Al Salem and her Emirati companions said visitors and expatriates should tow the line.
“Our rules must be strictly followed,” Mariam said… SOURCE
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