Residents, arriving back from their summer vacation, have been shocked to find that their electricity bills have more than doubled — despite a power cut last month, which left much of the emirate without power for days.
“I was on holiday in Egypt for a month and when I came back here I had to pay the electricity bill for Dh1,000, even though I usually pay Dh500 at the most,” said Ahmad Mansoon… MORE
The engine of the black Corvette revved to a gasket-popping roar. Its driver leant out of his window. He was dressed in traditional Arab robes but wore a rubber wizard’s mask. He held an aerosol aloft and directed a jet of party foam into the air. Four-wheel drives plastered in pictures of Dubai’s Royal Family roared their engines back in approval. The cacophony was deafening.
On the opposite carriageway smoke billowed from the spinning back wheels of a new Land Cruiser as the driver pressed the brakes and floored the accelerator. This was the favourite way for many of the fervently patriotic and car crazy Emiratis to mark National Day in Dubai this week, the 38th anniversary of the founding of the United Arab Emirates, and one of the biggest celebrations of the year.
A mile away at the new Marina Yacht Club, Western expats were also working their way into a party mood. Deferential Filipino staff served a foamy lobster broth as an amuse bouche between courses. Beer and cocktails loosened tongues and a knot of dancers formed in front of the band. Tens of millions of pounds worth of powerboats bobbed at their moorings beneath the revelry on the terrace. Behind the boats a dozen skyscrapers framed the view, a few of the lights in their thousands of flats were on. “It’s so beautiful here,” said a pretty young Anglo-Indian woman clutching a large glass of chilled white wine and taking in the scene.
Welcome to the modern equivalent of the last days of Rome. The failure of Dubai World, one of the Emirate’s flagship companies, to honour a debt due last month has rocked this city state to its foundations. By any conventional logic Dubai is now a busted flush…MORE
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It was October 2003; the setting was the recently opened Madinat Jumeirah, its lobby strewn with even more rose-petals and incense-bearers than usual. For the weary Dubai hack pack, lured there by the anticipation of free Jumeirah International catering and yet another laser-etched paperweight or pleather business folder, it was clear that Sheikhliness was afoot.
Sharpened pencils and reporters’ notebooks were readied as the crowds descended the elevator into the press conference room. It was packed to the rafters. As well as journalists there were endless VIP guests, businesspeople and white-robed members of the royal retinue.
This was an era of great works of Vision™ – from Dubai Internet City and Media City to Dubai International Financial Centre. The emirate was growing, it was the start of the boom. People were excited about Dubai, they were anticipating great things. So far everything made sense. The direction was clear. Trade, commerce, technology: all areas that Dubai already did or likely could excel at.
And then a lengthy video played, introducing Dubailand. Endless CGI scenes of housing developments were intercut with stock footage of theme parks and shots of Dubai. It was more bewildering than impressive. As it went on, it made progressively less sense. The accompanying speech was no more enlightening.
As the media shuffled out, and started swapping notes, one thing became clear. Everyone had been left with a strange, prevailing sensation of tackiness. (According to one source in a production company that didn’t win the bid, the video was made on the cheap in Asia). Nonetheless, this was an era when everyone believed in Dubai, and when everyone – local or expat – wanted to believe in Dubai.
But no one understood Dubailand. Other than that it appeared to be connected to tourism, it didn’t seem very well defined. And its history has been one of cancellations, cover-ups, shifting goalposts. There was this article by ITP (link goes to archived pdf): “Projects worth billions of dollars have been shelved on the massive Dubailand development” – it was hastily pulled from the web, despite containing quotes from a senior official. Its assertions were never corrected or denied. As one source says in the banned article: “Many [projects] were unfeasible and impractical – the numbers just didn’t work, and they were simply shrouded by the glitz of the idea.”
Looking back, Dubailand is perhaps the defining moment when the Vision™ first faltered. Let us not forget what we were told that day, these are the words of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum:
“I would like to tell capitalists that Dubai does not need investors, investors need Dubai and I tell you that the risk lies not in using your money but in letting it pile up. It is dormant and dead if it is merely a figure in an account. I tell them not to hold onto it and kill it in safes, let it breathe and be active because money is like water – if you lock it up, it becomes stagnant and foul-smelling, but if you let it flow, it stays fresh. If it does not flow, it will become stagnant and its colour will change. When I encourage you to invest, I am not asking you to put your money into a fire – I guarantee that your money will be invested in carefully studied projects. I want to be frank with you – I have the courage to take decisions and to bear the responsibility for the consequences. Do you have the courage to be frank and decisive?”
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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Why does everything bizarre in the UAE happen in RAK? Seriously?:
Ras Al Khaimah: Palm trees which fall over for no apparent reason are spreading panic among some residents in Ras Al Khaimah.
The Fisheries Section and other RAK departments have announced they will address complaints in the northern parts of Ras Al Khaimah and test palm trees – which are falling over.
Sources from those departments said experts will be despatched to examine some of the trees which have fallen in the northern parts of the emirate including Shamal, Al Rams and Khor Khowair. Residents in these areas have reported several cases where mature palm trees have suddenly fallen to the ground with no clear reason… SOURCE
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More than a year ago, Dubai quietly launched a wide-ranging anti-corruption investigation to revitalise investor confidence in the emirate.
The results of the operation so far, revealed to The National, are staggering: 11 investigations or court cases are under way; 34 executives are either in court or on their way there; and Dh3.58 billion (US$950 million) has allegedly been stolen or used as bribe money, according to files from public prosecutors that give the first overview of the whole operation.
Since March 2008, investigators appointed by the Dubai Government have been looking into executives from some of Dubai’s leading real estate and financial firms, a move acknowledged by the Government for the first time a year ago this week. In an online question-and-answer session earlier this year, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said the reason was simple: “No one in the Emirates is above the law and accountability.”…SOURCE
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I’m forever blowing bubbles
Property bubbles in the sand
They grow so fast, obviously can’t last
But why do I care, I still own the land
People keep on buying
I take all their cash
Oh, I’m forever blowing bubbles
And bubbles always crash
“Nowadays, ten months after the financial crisis came crashing in on the United Arab Emirates (UAE), nearly destroying its shiniest component, Dubai, hundreds of cranes and dredgers have yet to resume work. The Queen Elizabeth II, once the world’s smartest liner, due to become yet another posh Dubai hotel, is a sleeping quayside hulk. Nothing is happening on three of the most recently man-made islands shaped like palm trees off Dubai’s coast that were the latest flashy projects of Nakheel, the emirate’s shaky real-estate developer.”
Another lucky expat gets a free stay at the Al Wathba government hotel:
A BRITISH businesswoman faces a year inside a squalid Arab prison for having an affair — after her fuming husband shopped her to police.
Cops in Dubai nabbed blonde mum-of-two Sally Antia, 44, as she left a five-star hotel with her lover in the early hours.
Last night she was in custody and facing deportation after admitting in court: “Yes, I did it.”
Sally, who has been married for 14 years and lived in Dubai for 12, told officers she paid for her lover’s flights from the UK to the strict Muslim emirate.
Calling Dubai a “strict Muslim emirate” is akin to describing Amsterdam as a “puritanical Christian state”.
Dubai will survive the global credit crunch and the UAE Central Bank may subscribe further bonds other than the $10 billion bonds in February to meet the commitments and spending programmes, according to a top professor here.
Dean of Dubai School of Government Dr Tarik Yousef, in an interview with Khaleej Times, said Dubai is not just a city or an emirate. It has gained regional and global importance. Many people, sectors institutions, companies, entities, leaders want to achieve what Dubai has achieved because it is in everyone’s interest. Therefore, Dubai will remain socially, economically and politically a major hub for the world
“Dubai cannot be allowed to fail, and there is a strong commitment to ensure that Dubai is protected and remains attractive. Steps have been taken in Dubai to contain the crisis and set an amazing balance between the impact of the crisis and protecting whatever has been achieved,” Dr. Tarik said.
“Dubai is restructuring its public finance and has so far taken essential steps to reverse the current negative situation. The UAE government as well has shown a sense of seriousness and commitment to the growth and revival. The government has tried to balance everything and done what is right and pragmatic. There has been very little panic and more sense of coordination and thoughtful action.”
He added, “I am sure Dubai and the UAE together are dealing with the plunge effectively. We must remember that their futures are tied and one cannot exist without the other. All the emirates need to come together to face the challenges that we are facing,” he said.
Observing that 2009 is going to be a difficult year for Dubai as for the rest of the world, Dr. Tarik said 2010 may also be a difficult year too.
However, “We are thankfully in a part of the world which doesn’t have to go the IMF for a bailout or for cash,” he said…SOURCE
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| http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/09/04/08/10302132.html |
04/07/2009 11:48 PM | By Rayeesa Absal and Sunita Menon, Staff Reporters
Abu Dhabi/Dubai: Beaches of Abu Dhabi are on “red tide” alert, officials said on Tuesday, while those in Dubai were
clear of the menace.
Dubai residents and tourists were seen having a good time on the beaches yesterday.
Civic officials in both cities are keeping a constant watch of the waters for the potentially poisonous algal bloom.
“We are monitoring the situation closely. So far it has not entered the capital but it depends on factors like wind direction and water salinity”, said Thabit Al Abdessalaam, Director of Biodiversity Sector – Marine Environment at Environment Agency Abu Dhabi (EAD). “It is unlikely that it will spread to Abu Dhabi because today it [red tide] is very much dissipated and was not seen in its original intensity. Its usual life cycle is about 3 to 4 days”, he noted.
EAD, along with the Dubai authorities, inspected water bodies on Monday to find that the red tide had spread until the Jebel Ali area. “The fact that it stopped raining is also helping us, because rain would cause draining of more nutrients into the sea which triggers red tide.” The winds are also not in the easterly direction, he added.
EAD is coordinating with the Abu Dhabi Municipality as well as authorities in Dubai to make sure all precautionary measures are taken, Abdessalaam said.
The last time the emirate witnessed a major red tide problem was in 2003, when fish kills were recorded in Mussafah Channel.
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| http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/09/04/06/10301690.html |
04/06/2009 10:41 PM | By Shakir Husain, Staff Reporter
Dubai: Defying the economic downturn, Dubai on Monday launched a new low-cost airline, flydubai, which will start 
flights in June with Beirut and Amman as initial destinations.
The move to launch flydubai as scheduled is expected to boost Dubai’s tourism sector and help residents travel at low cost. The airline will also bolster the emirate’s plans to become a hub for international air traffic as it begins to fly to more regional destinations…
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A British mother found guilty of adultery may never see her children again after the emirate’s highest court yesterday 
refused to let her remain in the country.
Marnie Pearce, 40, had hoped to have her conviction overturned so she could keep her two sons, aged eight and four, with her in Dubai. But a panel of five judges sitting in the Court of Cassation dismissed the appeal – her second – and upheld her three-month sentence and subsequent deportation.British Embassy officials have written to the Attorney General asking that the deportation order be rescinded, and friends said the former teaching assistant was still determined to fight for custody of her sons in a civil hearing.
However, a lawyer said yesterday’s decision could cost Pearce the civil custody hearing. Abdulhamid al Kumaity said a mother convicted of an honour crime usually forfeited her right to apply for custody…SOURCE
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The Ras Al Khaimah Municipality on Monday shutdown a factory selling packed meat for a period of seven days and 
imposed a fine of Dh10,000 for re-using rusted tins for packing fresh meat.
Adil Ali Al Deek, Head of Health and Environmental Department at Ras Al Khaimah Municipality, said the municipal inspectors
found the factory workers washing and removing rust from around 5,000 used tins at the factory premises, which were to be used for packing fresh meat.
“Re-using old tins to pack fresh foodstuffs is unhygienic and a violation of the municipal health laws,” said Al Deek.
He stressed that companies dealing in foodstuffs in the emirate should give top priority to the public’s health and not in making profits.
He said that the company was also charged with employing four workers without municipal health cards and was given an official warning for the permanent closure of the business in case they repeat the violations…SOURCE
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This could be the end of the road for the iconic black and brick-red twin guitars outside the Hard Rock Cafe. There may be no more strumming for the larger-than-life six-strings that have been mute spectators to the ‘rise and fall’ of the landmark cafe at Dubai’s Media City.
Management at the cafe’s Middle East office confirmed that there was no guarantee if the guitars, which are as old
as the 11-year-old cafe, will be a part of a new Hard Rock Cafe expected to open soon in the emirate.
Khaleej Times reported on Wednesday that the cafe had closed its doors to ‘hard rockers’ last Saturday after operating out of the emirate for over a decade.
Even as Hard Rock scouts for a new place to relocate in Dubai, the two concrete guitars — unique to the emirate, may disappear from the entrance of cafe forever.
“There is no guarantee they will be part of the new cafe. They are made of concrete and we are not sure if they can be moved. If they are not (part of the new cafe), there will be something else more spectacular,” Jihad Allabban, director of the cafe’s Middle East operations, told KT.
The guitars were designed and erected especially for Dubai just ‘to keep with the theme of the place’ “Each Hard Rock Cafe has its own theme and we do not replicate it anywhere else. At present, we do not know what we are doing with them. We will have to check with our engineers,” he added.
According to the cafe’s website, blues and rock guitarist Eric Clapton set the trend when he gave away his guitar to the American cafe in the 1970s after dining at the first Hard Rock in Hyde Park in London. British guitarist and singer Pete Townshend followed suit, after which guitars, drums, pianos, harmonicas, microphones, shirts, pants, scarves, shoes, handwritten lyrics, cars, bikes, a bus and assorted rock memorabilia from celebrities have found their way into over 138 Hard Rock Cafes, hotels and casinos in 42 countries…
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Tourism officials hope to dispel negative perceptions of Dubai in a campaign that will show world travel’s opinion makers the emirate as it really is.
“Keep Discovering Dubai” will bring more than 2,000 travel industry professionals and media to Dubai from now until May.
The campaign would help change “current negative perceptions” of the emirate, a source at Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing said.
The source was referring to illegal dumping of sewage on Dubai beaches and reports of an outbreak of legionnaire’s disease at a hotel, which were later disproved.
At stake is the emirate’s largest single revenue generator, worth Dh57 billion every year – 19 per cent of its economy.
Hoteliers and tour operators welcomed the move by Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), in partnership with Emirates Airline.
“Bringing in people to see the emirate first-hand is going to make a huge difference,” said Kulwant Singh, the managing director of Lama Tours, one of the largest operators in Dubai.
“At a time when countries such as Malaysia and Singapore are at war with Dubai to snatch tourists from us, the DTCM is supporting the brand it has created and putting up a fight.”
The department will pay for familiarisation trips of three to four days to more than 1,000 of the travel agents and tour operators, and more than 300 members of the media, the source said.
“These two groups have been identified as our main target through which we will effectively influence potential travellers.”
The objective of the familiarisation trips is to provide travel agents and media with first-hand experience of desert safaris, restaurants and cultural attractions such as the Bastakiya neighbourhood near the Dubai Creek.
“It looks like a great initiative to educate the retail travel agents,” said Jeff Strachan, the area director of Marriott Hotels in the Middle East.
Since the start of the crisis, the leisure capital of the UAE has seen hotel occupancy rates and margins fall….SOURCE
Too bad they are too buy destroying actual culture like the Dhow harbor and Satwa.
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