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But you still have to have a health card… So don’t throw it away just yet…
11/27/2008 12:02 AM | By Nina Muslim, Staff Reporter
Dubai: The Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday that the new Identity Card can replace the Health Card to obtain services at public hospitals.
Starting today, the ID card will replace the health card at medical facilities for those who have obtained it, Humaid Al Qutami, Minister of Health told Gulf News on Wednesday. But those who have yet to get the ID card can still obtain medical services using their health cards, he explained.
Earlier, the WAM news agency quoted a ministry circular issued to all directors and officials in health zones, hospitals and specialised health centres as saying that new health cards will not be issued without the ID card…
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Posted 1 year, 3 months ago at 3:22 pm. Add a comment
Once again, EIDA has failed the public relations test of getting the information out as to the advantages of having an ID card. No one is going to want it if it is seen as a fruitless exercise in bureaucracy. Given all of the problems, I would politely suggest EIDA might want to put the card plans on hold and re-boot the entire operation in 6 months.
Many expatriate families in the UAE find it an expensive affair to obtain the National ID cards, saying the expense incurred is an additional burden on their family budget.
While the charges for ID cards are Dh100 for nationals, expatriates have to pay Dh100 for each year of their visa validity. For children the fee is Dh 50.
“I am living in Sharjah with wife and three children and the visa validity for us is for two years. I have to pay Dh700 for the ID card for two years and Dh200 for the application form from the Emirates Post. This is a lot of money for us as we all are struggling with the escalating cost of living,” said Pradeep Nair, working as an accountant in Dubai.
Nicci Lauren, a British expatriate, said they had to pay Dh1,200 for the ID card for the family and Dh200 for application form…SOURCE
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Posted 1 year, 3 months ago at 9:36 am. 1 comment
All things considered, they got off pretty easy so to speak.
11/25/2008 11:34 PM | By Bassam Za’za’, Senior Reporter
Dubai: A British couple allegedly caught indulging in sexual activity on the beach – and later got a three-month suspended jail term – had submitted a written undertaking that they’ll get married pending church approval from London.
Judges of the Dubai Court of Appeal on Tuesday suspended the three-month jail term against 34-year-old British male visitor and his 36-year-old compatriot female because they were convinced that the couple will not repeat their crime ever again.
Presiding Judge Mohammad Abdul Aziz Hafez confirmed in the verdict sheet that the couple was incriminated in sexual activity on the beachside and committing public indecency.
The court rejected the convicts’, 34-year-old V.A. and 36-year-old M.P. denial of indulging in sexual activity in public and committing public indecency, and deemed it as a sheer attempt to avoid justice.
According to articles 83 and 84 of the Federal Penal Code, Presiding Judge Hafez treated the couple leniently by suspending the jail term and confirming that they will pay a fine of Dh1,000 (for consuming liquor) before they get deported.
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Posted 1 year, 3 months ago at 9:29 am. Add a comment
This Fall, we are celebrating six years in the UAE. It is hard to believe we have come so far since we left our life back in Florida. I have had a lot of success with the American University of Sharjah. In fact, I am beginning my second year as an administrator. However, new adventures and worries always come up. Some times it seems that Dubai is slipping further from reality. The insane traffic. Cat culling. Not dealing with the issue of housing for the workers instead of a wealthy over-class. The economic meltdown…
Hopefully, we can continue to bring you the details of our life in the UAE. Insh’Allah…
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Posted 1 year, 3 months ago at 12:24 am. Add a comment
ABU DHABI/DUBAI – Sudden downpours on Sunday caused traffic jams and road accidents in the UAE in which two persons were killed and 16 others injured.
The sky is expected to be partly cloudy in eastern and northern parts of the country on Monday, with some possibility of rain.
Besides wreaking havoc on traffic flow, the rain also led to 47 road accidents in Abu Dhabi in which 16 people were injured. In Dubai, two Indians were killed in accidents.
Sharjah and Dubai witnessed massive traffic jams in the morning with residents complaining that it took over four hours to reach their destinations. Over 1,500 schoolchildren reached schools late due to congestion on arterial roads.
Lt- Col. Yaslam Al Tamimi, Head of Serious Road Accidents, Abu Dhabi Traffic and Patrols Department, said, “Most of the road accidents occurred inside the capital, while other mishaps took place on the Dubai-Abu Dhabi highway. One person was seriously injured while the others suffered minor injuries.”
He noted that the most of these accidents happened because motorists did not keep their vehicle at safe distance from others, a factor especially important on slippery roads. A number of roads also saw partial water-logging, further hampering traffic.
The bout of bad weather follows a sand storm in Dubai that reduced visibility drastically…SOURCE
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Posted 1 year, 3 months ago at 12:56 pm. Add a comment
DUBAI – A new, 12-lane bridge with an inverted metal arch will be the seventh crossing over Dubai Creek and the latest effort to ease traffic congestion. The bridge, costing Dh810 million, will be located near Dubai Creek Park, Wonderland Park and Dubai Courts in Bur Dubai, and Deira City Centre and Dubai Golf Club in Deira.
Called Dubai Smile, the design was approved on Sunday by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Mattar Al Tayer, executive director of the Roads and Traffic Authority, said bridge could carry around 24,000 vehicles an hour, easing traffic across the creek, particularly in the area of Deira City Centre.
The width of the bridge would be 61.6 metres and the arch would rise up to 100 metres.
The bridge would accommodate around 24,000 vehicles per hour, which would boost the intake of vehicles from surrounding roads and ease traffic across the creek, particularly in the neighbouring area of Deira City Centre, Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Roads and Traffic Authority (RTA), said on Sunday.
The crossing would allow free flow of traffic in all directions and full navigational traffic 24 hours a day as it rises 15 metres above the water level of the creek.
The width of the waterway is 400 metres, enabling large yachts to pass through, said Al Tayer.
In Bur Dubai, the 7th Crossing will be linked with the underpasses of Rashid Hospital Project. From Deira side, it will be linked with Al Ittihad Road, which is currently being widened by the RTA at a cost of Dh800 million…SOURCE
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Posted 1 year, 3 months ago at 12:54 pm. Add a comment
Abu Dhabi: With the deadline to get National Identity Cards approaching fast, people are frustrated as many of them are neither able to fill up an online application form nor get an appointment with Emirates Identity Authority (EIDA) to register for their cards.
Most of them were worried whether they would be able to complete the registration before December 31, amid reports on possible sanctions like freezing of bank accounts from January 1, 2009 of Emiratis and expatriate professionals who don’t register.
Many of them were disappointed after failing to fill up the application online. “Whenever I opened the EIDA website, the application was not available and finally when I got it after 15 attempts, it disappeared before I completed the form”, said G. Nair a Gulf News reader in Dubai.
Others who were fortunate to fill up the application form online or did it through Empost post offices were complaining about non-availability of appointments.
They said they could not register even after waiting for long time in queues in front of EIDA centres.
“It would not be fair to fix December 31 as a deadline, if EIDA is not in a position to handle the pressure and grant appointments”, said Arish Ehsan in Abu Dhabi.
Considering such complaints, EIDA has developed free software to replace online application form and are trying to increase the capacity of registrations, a senior official told Gulf News yesterday. “There is no move to freeze bank accounts of Emiratis or expatriate professionals who don’t register before the deadline,” said Engineer Thamer Rashed Al Qasemi, Planning Director and Project Management Director at EIDA.
“EIDA does not have that authority but Emiratis may find it difficult to do certain official transaction from January 2009, as per a law in this regard”, said Al Qasemi. “The law stipulates that National Identity cards will be the only valid document for Emiratis for identification for any official transactions from January 1, 2009″, said Al Qasemi.
He clarified, “Applicants will no longer face ‘web failure’ due to heavy traffic to fill up the application online. They will soon get a free software of ‘pre application registration’ which will enable the applicant to fill up the form on a computer even without an internet connection, and take the print out with the bar code to proceed for registration, said the official. Apart from EIDA website, free CDs of software will be available at all EIDA centres which can be copied and redistributed, said Al Qasemi.
“People will be able to download it from several other websites which have offered to host the ’software’. We welcome other organisations (having websites) to follow the suit and contact me on my email: talqasemi@emiratesid.ae,” he said.
The arrangement with the Empost post offices to fill up the forms at a cost of Dh 40 will continue and it is meant for people who don’t have access to a computer….SOURCE
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Posted 1 year, 3 months ago at 12:49 pm. Add a comment
Aldar Properties has revealed a detailed plan for its $5 billion commercial development, Al Dana, at the heart of the 10.5-kilometre Raha Beach development.
Work on the development is underway, with several buildings under construction.
They include four integrated buildings comprising the World Trade Centre, and the Gateway, building which was designed by celebrated architect Rafael Vinoly who designed New York’s new World Trade Centre.
“The total investment in Al Raha Beach is about $48 billion, and of that, $5 billion is the cost of Dana, which is the commercial heart of the development,” Ronald Barrot, the company’s chief executive officer, told Gulf News.
With this, total projects under construction exceed $90 billion, taking into consideration the $40 billion Yas Island development comprising 6,000 acres, and the iconic Old Market in the Abu Dhabi city centre…
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Posted 2 years ago at 9:27 am. Add a comment
Technorati Profile
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Posted 2 years, 8 months ago at 11:32 pm. Add a comment
We have recently switched from using Greymatter to Word Press 2.22. We hope you will like the changes.
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Posted 2 years, 9 months ago at 10:35 pm. Add a comment
Abu Dhabi yesterday unveiled plans to develop Saadiyat Island into an international tourism destination by attracting about Dh100 billion in three phases through public-private partnerships…
The company, Tourism Development and Investment Co. (TDIC), will have an initial capital of Dh100 million and would be fully owned by the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority.
“Saadiyat Island will be the first of many projects falling under” the new company, he said. “This is an important chapter in Abu Dhabi’s history. The creation of TDIC ushers in a new era of economic transition for the emirate, while the development of Saadiyat, a unique natural resource, represents one of the most vibrant episodes in the capital’s evolution.”
“Saadiyat is a symbol of Abu Dhabi’s renewed economic openness and a signal to the world that this emirate is very much open for partnerships and business on an international scale.”…
Saadiyat will be developed in three phases with total completion scheduled for 2018. The masterplan envisages six highly individual districts with 29 hotels, including a seven-star resort, three marinas, museums and cultural centres, two golf courses, civic and leisure facilities, sea-view apartments and elite villas.
The six island districts are: Cultural District, Al Marina, Saadiyat Beach, South Beach, Saadiyat Park and The Wetlands…
Stunning Facts
* Infrastructure Cost: Dh5.5b
* Hotels with 7,000 rooms: 29
* Golf Courses: 2
* Villas: 8,000
* Appartments: 38,000
* Home to residents: 150,000…
To be managed by: Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC)
* Owned by Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA)
* Saadiyat Island covers an area of 27 sq.km.
* It is 500 metres offshore north-east of Abu Dhabi city.
* Saadiyat Island means Island of Happiness.
* The island has sensitive mangrove reserves.
* Saadiyat will be lined to Abu Dhabi city via two causeways. Each with10-lane freeways.
* Provision for light rail transport is made.
* Abu Dhabi has 200 natural offshore islands.
* This will attract Dh100 billion worth of investment… {{link http://gulfnews.com/business/Real_Estate_Property/10035489.html SOURCE}}
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Posted 3 years, 10 months ago at 8:27 pm. Add a comment
A long-awaited project to ease traffic congestion between Sharjah and Dubai has been announced.
The Dh700 million project will expand a 7.5km stretch of Al Ittihad Road – used by more than 8,000 cars per hour at peak times – into an eight lane expressway… {{link http://gulfnews.com/nation/Traffic_and_Transport/10026867.html MORE}}
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Posted 3 years, 11 months ago at 6:52 am. Add a comment
As Summer Surprises moves along, Modhesh will be all over Dubai. If you spot him, send any pictures of him to spotmodhesh@usa2uae.com and we will publsih your pictures.
Here are some recent Modhesh spottings:
![IMG_0200[1] (259k image)](http://usa2uae.com/archives/IMG_0200[1].jpg)
Modhesh at City Centre, Deira
Continue Reading…
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Posted 4 years, 7 months ago at 6:04 am. Add a comment
The city’s blogging community has reacted with disappointment to Etisalat’s blocking a popular Dubai-based blog.
Secret Dubai Diary, a weblog that examines UAE life from an occasionally ironic perspective, was blocked for visitors using Etisalat servers on Sunday.
“I have never heard or read of a Dubai blog being blocked before,” says Adnan Arif, an award-winning UAE-based blogger. “Out of all the UAE-based blogs it is the most interesting. It is probably the first blog to hit on a formula that works for local readers.”…{{link http://gulfnews.com/Articles/NationNF.asp?ArticleID=173591 MORE}}
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Posted 4 years, 7 months ago at 10:55 pm. Add a comment
Modhesh, the Dubai Summer Surprises mascot, will follow schedule of activities, according to the organisers.
Shopping malls like BurJuman Centre, Ibn Battuta Mall, Al Bustan Centre, Al Ghurair City, the Deira City Centre and Modhesh Fun City remain his favourite spots for relaxation and encounters with his friends….{{link http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/BusinessNF.asp?ArticleID=170333 MORE}}
Meet Modhesh– one of the stranger things about Dubai.
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Posted 4 years, 8 months ago at 5:46 am. Add a comment
