Dubai Shopping Festival

News & Issues from United Arab Emirates (UAE.)

We try to publish untold News from our own sources and perspective

• July 30 , 2007: The toll system"Salik"imposed by Dubai government in Shaikh Zayed Road , and soon will be implemented in other roads, is a toal disaster for motorist in Dubai. Many people do not agree on imposing such a system without proper planning. Many think it will create a high traffic on other roads and that is exactly what happened. Also it will create inflation as transportation expense will rise, adding more to the already high inflation economy of Dubai. Dubai government is more interested in creating an income which is estimated at Dh. 600 million a year and that is what really counts. They think this step will make people less dependent on cars and use public transportation. However there is no public or mass transportation system in operation. They should have waited for the Metro to start.  Dubai need more roads, as this toll is not the solution for traffic problem. Dubai want to have a population of 5 million by 2010, now it is less than 2 million, so how can the existing roads handle such increase? Where are the new roads? In top of such problem the design of some bridges and fly over is very bad. In one spot (Rashdeya & Nad AL Hammar cross over) there are 4 roads merging together which will definitely create a hazardous and dangerous situation for drivers.

• July 13, 20007: Inflation is hitting Dubai in all sectors , recently the price of rice has seen a substantial increase.

   

• July 6, 2007: Professionals working in Dubai spend on average 1 hour and 45 minutes each day commuting, the highest figure in the region.  Cairo is in second place in the traffic rankings with 1 hour and 33 minutes, while Jeddah residents enjoy the lowest reported commute time in the region at just 46 minutes per day. Dubai also tops the list as the city with the biggest parking problem.

  July , 2007: The toll system"Salik"imposed by Dubai government in Shaikh Zayed Road , and soon will be implemented in other roads, is a total disaster for motorist in Dubai. Many people do not agree on imposing such a system without proper planning. Many think it will create a high traffic on other roads and that is exactly what happened. Also it will create inflation as transportation expense will rise, adding more to the already high inflation economy of Dubai. Dubai government is more interested in creating an income which is estimated at Dh. 600 million a year and that is what really counts. They think this step will make people less dependent on cars and use public transportation. However there is no public or mass transportation system in operation. They should have waited for the Metro to start.  Dubai need more roads, as this toll is not the solution for traffic problem. Dubai want to have a population of 5 million by 2010, now it is less than 2 million, so how can the existing roads handle such increase? Where are the new roads? In top of such problem the design of some bridges and fly over is very bad. In one spot (Rashdeya & Nad AL Hammar cross over) there are 4 roads merging together which will definitely create a hazardous and dangerous situation for drivers.

  July 1, 2007: Dubai street planning is the worse in The Gulf , with a few new roads they think they have resolved the traffic problems. The new roads can accommodate the exisiting traffic , let alone the expected increase of population to 5 million , only in Dubai.

   

  May 12, 2007: Thirty per cent of the UAE population is at risk of heart attack due to  hypertension, according to a regional hypertension organization. Hypertension is also known as the silent killer, affects one in four adults globally, but experts believe the rate is higher in the UAE  and GCC countries due to the high diabetes and obesity rates. The problem is that there are people who are not aware yet that they had hypertension , so the rate is really expected to be higher.

   

• Sept.28, 2006: Students in Dubai schools are suffering from traffic , as they spend between 2 to 4 hrs a day on the road to reach their school due to the increasing bad traffic. The traffic problem is getting worse by the day in Dubai , with roads jam almost in all hours.. Municipality and the Road Authority have no proper solution for this huge problem. Most of their road projects will not help much to ease traffic. They need an International Consultant to do proper street planning , instead of relaying in low skilled engineers.

• Sept. 17, 2006: Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoom has been accused of child labor and human trafficking of young children, from Pakistan. It is claimed he use the children for camel racing in Dubai. The action claims that Sheikh Mohammed, his brother Hamdan and 500 others are responsible for abducting and trafficking the children. It was filed on behalf of six unidentified parents and thousands of unnamed children in  a US court in Miami. We believe this is a bogus case , since The use of child camel jockeys was banned in Dubai 13 years ago. Someone wants to make money by accusing the Ruler of Dubai , knowing that he is a rich man. It would be interesting to know the name of the lawyers and the names of accusers.

• August 30, 2006: Dubai population has reached 1.2 million this year. Dubai government is planning to increase the population to 5 million by the end of 2010, However the infrastructure , specially roads and electricity & water can not meet that demand. Traffic jam will be getting much worse, many people are leaving Dubai to Ajman and other less congested emirates.

• August 16, 2006: Dubai survived the hottest day of the year on Wednesday when the temperature climbed up to a sizzling 45.9C. Today maximum was 1.6C below Dubai's all-time record of 47.5C, reached in August 1999.

• June 6, 2006: Strong inflation is developing in Dubai and also all over the UAE. The government have no plans nor have any idea in how to control inflation. UAE will be facing a real Economic problem. Stock Market crashed over 50%  and many people lost money. What will be next?

• June 5, 2006: UAE Bank officials met to discuss the safety of bank ATMs after fraudsters hacked into a machine in Dubai last month.

   

  May 21, 2006: Shortage of water in Sharjah is making people life miserable , with the start of summer. Electricity cuts in Sharjah & Dubai , also is getting worse. All of this are indication of poor planning and fast development and increasing demand. The bottom line is that governments can not cope with increase of development and population growth.

   

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  May 5, 2006: Hundreds of residents were stuck in lifts during the two-hour blackout that struck Ajman on Tuesday night. The city was plunged into darkness for two hours due to a failure in the electricity plant's main generator. May 2, 2006: Crimes in UAE at the rise. Mostly due to influx of workers coming from certain countries. these workers are mostly unskilled and un-employed.

   

• May 2, 2006: Air-pollution due to car emission is getting high. the air pollution can be spotted in major area such as Sheikh Zayed Road. The main problem are the high number of heavy vehicle traveling on major road for construction purpose. The irony of the situation is that Dubai & UAE government are not aware and even do not care about such problem. Living in Dubai is not a favorite option , with such bad condition of air pollution and bad traffic jams.

   

• May 2, 2006: The body of a national who was missing for four months has been found by the Royal Oman police in a house in Buraimi, an Omani town neighboring Al Ain.

   

• May 2, 2006: Dubai has unveiled plans for a $27 billion resort complex including the world's biggest hotel.

   

• May 1, 2006: In Sharjah , The grieving family of a 93-year-old national who died in hospital were forced to transport his body in their four-wheel drive for his burial in Kalba. There were no ambulance welling to take the dead man to burial.

   

• Feb.11, 2006: Dubai and Sharjah are facing a real bad traffic problems. With no apparent solution and proper road planning , the problem will certainly escalate. Dubai will soon be the worst city in the Middle East in terms of traffic, if it is not yet

   

• Feb.6, 2006: Dubai Police are training prison inmates on yoga to relieve them of stress and help them view the world as a better place. What’s next , Tai Chi and perhaps Thai message to make prisoners relax.

   

• Jan.30, 2006:The U.A.E. yesterday condemned the publication in a newspaper in Denmark of cartoons insulting the Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), which have sparked a wave of denunciations and boycott of Danish products across the Muslim world. Many people started to boycott Danish products.

   
• Jan.18, 2006: Residents in Sharjah have complained against a sharp increase in cooking gas cylinder prices, which have shot up by almost 77 per cent over the past year. The price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders once again increased last week by 14 per cent. This is the fifth time in just one year that the price of cooking gas has been increased. The prices of various sizes of gas cylinders also increased in Dubai and Ajman by 30 per cent on December 9.

   

• Ja.18, 2006: Abu Dhabi Investment House (ADIH) announced its plan to invest US$160 million in the first phase of a new prestigious real estate project in the Beirut Central District.

   

• Jan.16, 2006: An American family has vowed never to return to Ski Dubai after discovering a hacksaw blade on the slopes during a visit. The holiday-makers said they were "horrified" when they spotted the sharp, six-inch blade sticking up from out of the snow. Many people reported seeing sharp object at Ski Dubai. We recommend to people to avoid going there and getting injured, since the management has lack of interest in people safety and it is obvious that no one has checked the slope before filling it with snow , and also no one is cleaning and inspecting the snow regularly for sharp or dangerous object.

   
• Jan.8, 2006: Thousands of residents in the Springs, Emirates Hills, Desert Springs Village and Meadows housing projects in Dubai were hit by acute water shortage for about 18 hours yesterday, causing sanitary problems in homes. This is mainly due to bad management & Planning and shortage of infrastructure facilities to accommodate the vast construction boom in Dubai.

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  Jan.4, 2006: His Highness Sheikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai has died.  God Bless his soul....

   

   

• Dec.27, 2005: About 200 taxi drivers refused to take passengers on Monday, protesting against 18-hour working days, poor working conditions and an unfair payment system. This comes at an increase of there daily rent to Dh.25. The drivers already pay Dh235 to drive a Peugeot taxi car for 24 hours. The Drivers make between Dh1, 000 to Dh2, 500 a month, and they are fined between Dh50 and Dh5, 000 if they had an accident, a dusty car, or other offences. They are also fined if they did not meet daily targets. They are also fined Dh1,000 if they went on emergency leave. Such conditions are inhuman and unacceptable, as there car companies extort profits from the drivers and treat them badly.

   

• Dec.27,2005:  Car accidents fatality on the rise, in Dubai,  from 17 death per month to 19 death.

• Dec.26,2005: Milk prices are going up in UAE , by 10% , what else everything is going up...soon life will be too expensive to live in Dubai. In facts many proffessionals ( doctors and engineers) are planning to leave Dubai to another destination , like Qatar and Bahrain.

   
• Dec.17,2005: Up..Up…prices are going up.. The average hotel price up in Dubai, is getting to be very expensive, harming the city tourism business. Dubai has 28,000 hotel rooms and more than 7,000 serviced apartments that last year served 5.42 million tourists. Average room rates for a five-star hotel vary from $250 to $350 per night and more. Even summer rates average between $175 to $250 per night much higher than any comparable cities. Dubai is becoming a very expensive city , soon the city will suffer as inflation in almost all sectors hit the economy , which will definitely lead to stagnation. It seems that Dubai government does not have a long term view of the future economy, instead it only thinks about construction, what about: Traffic jams, increase of gasoline prices, rise in real estate rentals and also putting a price on all cars entering Dubai from Sharjah….Dubai will eventually will have a great economical problem, and all indication the economy will collapse…

• Dec.3, 2005: U.A.E is charging GCC citizens living in U.A.E the full price of utilities ( Electricity & water) while U.A.E citizens living in Kuwait , for example, are charged a nominal fee, same as Kuwaiti citizens.

• Dec.2, 2005: The U.A.E took a step nearer democracy in a ground-breaking move yesterday when President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan announced that for the first time, half the members of the Federal National Council would be elected.

   

• Nov.29, 2005: Traffic problem is getting really bad , as many drivers get stranded in the road for over an hour, in which it is usually a 10 mint. drive.

   

• Nov.27, 2005: An earthquake measuring at least magnitude-5.9 shook southern Iran on Sunday, killing 10 people and flattening at least four villages, officials said. The temblor was felt as far away as Oman and the United Arab Emirates. In Oman and the United Arab Emirates, buildings were evacuated and people fled into the streets. In Dubai, buildings were evacuated as people scrambled for safety.

   

• Nov.21, 2005:  Dubai may become the next global headquarters of United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) by the year end, said UNOPS Operation Support Unit Division Chief Gary Helseth.

• Nov.21, 2005: : Emirates Airlines has placed an order for 42 Boeing 777 jets worth $9.7 billion at list prices, the airlines' chairman said Sunday, while China has signed a deal to buy 70 Boeing 737 airliners valued at $4 billion. Emirates, which has a current fleet of 83 planes, is scheduled to receive the first aircraft from the order in 2007, and has an option to buy 20 more 777s.The announcement was made at the annual Dubai Airshow, the largest regional aircraft exhibition.

   

   
• Nov.15, 2005: Sheikh Mohammad ordered on Friday that rent increases in all leased properties in Dubai must not exceed 15 per cent annually. This order came after Dubai have seen abnormal rent increase.

   

• Nov.2, 2005: Sales of the little blue pill increases with Eid Al Fitr, according to U.A.E pharmacists and Viagra manufacturer Pfizer.

   

  Sept.2, 2005: Fuel prices are going to increase in U.A.E, this will trigger an inflation , which will be very bad for the economy.

  Sept.1, 2005: Sheikh Mohammad Al Maktoum ordered Dubai Municipality to expedite some road projects to ease the traffic jam problems in Dubai, however all such projects will not solve the problem  as the population of Dubai increase rabidly and the existing roads will not be enlarged and no additional main roads will be made. Traffic congestion is really paralyzing Dubai and will have a negative impact in Dubai economy. The problem is that there are no professionals working in Dubai Municipality who do a proper planning for roads.

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   May 29, 2005: Residents are taking desperate measures to bring antivenom to the country to treat one of the UAE's most poisonous spider bites. Doctors at more than 30 private clinics and hospitals in Dubai have confirmed they do not store the medication. More than 10 families have confirmed they have now identified redbacks in or around their homes at both The Springs and The Greens. Prior to the introduction of the specific ant venom in 1956, 13 deaths were officially recorded due to a redback spider bite in Australia. Nowadays, ambulances, hospitals and even doctor's surgeries in Australia, where the spider is common, have the drug on their shelves.

   

  May 23, 2005: Eighty-five more falcons have been released into the wild under the Sheikh Zayed Falcon Release Program bringing the total number of falcons freed under the program to about 1,000. The birds, which were tagged with identity microchips, were released in Pakistan's Chitral region, in the Hindukush mountain range over a four-day period. Some of the birds were donated by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, as part of their contribution to the program, which was initiated by the late President in the mid-1990s. The program was launched to reflect the local tradition of falconers releasing their birds back into the wild at the end of a hunting season.

• May 23, 2005: In UAE, Some pharmaceutical companies have threatened health authorities that they would stop supplying life-saving drugs if their payments dues were not paid on due time. Due to a budget deficit, the ministry of Health in UAE has been lately encountering a problem, in securing money for some pharmaceutical companies in return of importing essential drug items.

   

  May 6, 2005: Fishermen have stopped setting out to sea for their daily haul of fish in the past couple of days, after they found worms wriggling out of bodies of the fish they caught with their fiber nets. The fishermen, who usually move four to five miles into the sea, found that most varieties of fish including Gubgab, Al Sada, Al Jarjor, Al Farsh and Al Khubat they caught had worms wriggling out of their heads and other parts of the body. The fishermen were left with no option but to dump back the bleeding load of fish back into the sea. The issue will be brought to the notice of the Ministry of Agriculture for investigation into this strange phenomenon; however UAE Agriculture Ministry is not able to deal with this matter anytime soon. People in UAE , should be aware of this health hazard and avoid eating fish for the time being.

   

  April 14, 2005: Rents in the UAE have increased 17 times faster than salaries in the past year, according to a new report. The study comes as a concern for private sector workers, who have seen their pay increase little while public sector staffs have just been awarded 15 or 25 per cent pay rises. Such a move will definitely fuel inflation. Rents increased by an average of 26 per cent over the past 12 months, according to the survey of about 500 professionals. This compares with an average salary rise of a mere 1.5 per cent, with most staff saying their wage had not gone up at all. This means rents have gone up 17.3 times faster than salaries. Rent now makes up 32 per cent of an individual's salary, compared with 26 per cent this time last year. Authorities in UAE and specifically in Dubai are not concerned with inflation, which will have a real drastic economical outcome in the country. Many workers are leaving Dubai and living in Sharjah to avoid paying the high rent, however this is increasing the big traffic problem between Sharjah and Dubai, which is getting really out of control with no obvious and realistic solution.

• April 9, 2005: With effect from April 14, the price of a 5-gallon water bottle will rise by one dirham for the domestic sector and Dh4 for groceries and supermarkets. Prices of many items are on the rise , and Dubai is really becoming an expensive place to live in.

• April 9, 2005: Air pollution in Dubai is developing to become a major problem. However authorities in Dubai still ignore it. Air pollution will certainly affect the health of citizens in the area and will soon cause many problems.

• April 9, 2005: Traffic accidents are in the rise on the roads of Dubai. The authorities are not taking serious steps to tackle this problem. Long Traffic jams are becoming a trade mark of Dubai roads. However no real solution to this problem is underway. Dubai government is only concentrating in making building projects without proper city and road planning. Another issue with the roads safety in Dubai is the direction signs, which in most cases are not properly located and have no logic in terms of direction. In fact direction signs are really confusing. Just who decide to put signs in such places have no sense of traffic.

• April 2, 2005: There are about 60,000 millionaires in the UAE, according to some published reports. This is a record number considering that the country's gross national product (GNP) is $80 billion (Dh294 billion).
• March 29, 2005:  Education authorities in UAE here have promised to review a book taught in an international private school that features a photograph of two Jewish children sporting plaited hair and yarmulke. What kind of mentality that rejects such pictures and what is wrong with a Jewish boy image appearing in a textbook.
• March 25, 2005: A U.N. report into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri concluded that Lebanon’s investigation into the killing wasn’t satisfactory and a new international investigation is needed. The report , recently released, says there was a “distinct lack of commitment” by Lebanese authorities to investigate the crime, and the investigation was not carried out “in accordance with acceptable international standards.” “However, it is clear that the assassination took place in a political and security context marked by an acute polarization around the Syrian influence in Lebanon,”. It also says Syrian military intelligence shares responsibility to the extent that it and Lebanese security services failed to provide “security, protection, law and order” in Lebanon. The report also said it was doubtful that a proper investigation could be carried out with the current Lebanese security apparatus in office.
•  March 24, 2005: A motorcycle patrol officer died yesterday morning on his way to a traffic accident on Shaikh Zayed Road, he became the first policeman to be killed this year. This shows how bad the traffic problem is escalating in Dubai , with no positive plan to solve it. Bigger roads are needed and more police action is needed to curb bad drivers. Meanwhile , a mother saw her son die when he was hit by a driver who jumped a red signal. There were about 210 accidents recorded last year after drivers jumped a red light. Traffic is becoming very bad in Dubai , and the authorities seem to do nothing to solve the problem.

   

• FEb.24,2005:

  Palestinians do not welcome the controversial offer of a Dubai-based property magnate to buy up all the properties that Israeli settlers vacate in Gaza later this year as it would amount to recognizing Israel. Asked about the proposal of Mohammad Ali Al Abbar, the Director-General of the Dubai Department of Economic Development and Chairman of Emaar Properties, an Israeli Arab lawmaker dubbed it as an attempt to transform Palestine into a huge real estate project.

  “Palestine is not a real estate project,” Knesset member Mohammed Barakeh said in Tuesday.

  Israel’s second television channel reported that Abbar had offered $56 million for homes at the Gush Katif settlement bloc in the southern Gaza Strip.

  Abbar’s secret visit to the Occupied Territories last week and his alleged meetings with senior Israeli leaders also angered many in the Arab region.

  The London-based Elaph web site quoted Israeli sources as saying that Abbar had met secretly with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. He is also believed to have had talks with Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres after briefly meeting Sharon in the first publicly reported meeting between officials from the two countries, which have no diplomatic relations. Many people see the visit of Mr. Abbar and his proposal as out of step in such a political mix and without a peaceful solution to the Palestinian issue. Just what exactly the purchase of purchasing illegal built  settlements mean , is it to reward the government of Israel. What about establishing Emaar Palestine will achieve? Palestine is not Dubai, as a lot of corruption are spread and most properly that any financial or economic development will be wasted , just like the billion of Euro spent the EU which has gone into the pocket of Yasser Arafat and his aids of Ministers.

   

• Feb12, 2005: Motorists driving to Dubai from Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and neighboring emirates will have to pay a traffic toll from early next year. Construction of the toll gate network will start in April and will be ready by January 2006. The municipality is expected to generate between Dh300 million and Dh400 million a year from the toll system. The toll gates will be installed on all roads leading to Dubai from Sharjah and Abu Dhabi. It is projected that inflation will rise by 5 to 10% due to such illogical plan of extorting money from people without justifying project or cost or even giving any advantage or solution to the trapped drivers who spend many hours trying to get to Dubai from Sharjah. Since most of labour and materials are located in Sharjah , there will be added cost to all services , materials  and commodities which will reflect on increased inflation to all citizens in Dubai. The question here is where is the solution for the traffic jam? How much it will cost ? and then you think to ask people to share the cost. In Dubai everything is done in the opposite way. Dubai government is only interested in getting revenue from people without offering the needed service.
• Aug.25, 2004: The Dubai International Airport is experiencing a significant increase in inbound traffic with most passengers returning from their summer holidays. Airlines have ensured the comfort and convenience of passengers during this busy period when the return traffic starts from the third week of August till mid-September. Emirates, providing services to 77 cities in 54 countries in Europe, North America, the Middle East, Africa, Indian subcontinent and Asia-Pacific, is among the airlines which are gearing up for the ongoing rush of returning passengers at the Dubai airport. In top of all this rush someone in the Civil Aviation had the crazy idea to do construction of the parking at the arrival area which has created a lot of incontinences to passengers and made people suffer to get out and get a ride to their home or hotel.

• Aug.25, 2004:Etisalat, the UAE’s telecommunications provider, is blocking web sites arbitrarily, Internet users here have complained. Subscribers said they had been denied access to web sites which do not contain any offensive content, such as translation sites and medical guides. “I tried logging onto the web site www.orqut.com, which basically connects my friends with one another, but couldn’t as Etisalat had surprisingly blocked it. It’s quite frustrating to be unable to have access sites which are authentic and not derogatory to anybody in any way possible,” said Matthew Arthur, an accountant. Blocking certain web sites has been a part of Etisalat’s policy of upholding the cultural and social values of the UAE. This is sometimes, however, taken to a grave extent as many medical web sites which may contain certain words such as ‘sex’, ‘breasts’, etc, are blocked.

• June 3, 2004: The principal of the Japanese School in Dubai yesterday said the institution will admit Japanese students if their parents relocate to the UAE from Al Khobar in Saudi Arabia. A Japanese diplomat in Dubai said earlier yesterday that Japanese oil company employees and their families could be relocated to the UAE. There are reports that panic has gripped the Japanese community in Al Khobar after suspected Al Qaida militants killed 22 people, many of them Asians, in a shooting spree and hostage-taking in Al Khobar.
• May 30, 2004: A fight that broke out between two women in a shopping mall became so fierce that police and security guards struggled to break it up.  A police squad arrived and threatened to use force if the women did not stop fighting. The women were then escorted by police to a nearby mosque, where they continued cursing and shouting at each other. When police failed to calm them down, they were taken into custody. Crazy  women!
• May 7, 2004: Car wash has become a major problem for residents of Abu Dhabi city after authorities began cracking down on any washing done in the open, residential parking lots. Many car owners in the city are now finding it difficult to wash their vehicles - legally or illegally. Officials, on the other hand, believe that casual car wash is against the law, distorts the city's beautiful image and poses a hazard to the environment. But car owners are lost in between, since there are not enough proper car wash facilities and considering the high charges which force them to resort to casual residential washes. This is not a logical decision.

• April, 25, 2004: Three restaurant workers sustained life-threatening injuries early on Sunday when a gas cylinder exploded at a canteen in the Al Majaz Area. The explosion apparently happened as a result of gas leak, sources said. The explosion was so loud that it was heard in areas far away from the site in the quiet early hours of the morning. A police officer said the explosion occurred at around 5.15am.The walls of the restaurant collapsed and all its contents were destroyed. A number of residential apartments, company offices, commercial outlets and vehicles outside the building were damaged, some of them heavily. The explosion brought to the fore questions over the safety of the use of gas cylinders in shops and even in residential units. The police operations room received a report that an explosion destroyed a canteen in Al Majaz Area.
• April, 25, 2004: Dubai Airport security forces has received the "Excellence in Aviation Security" Award, an international recognition for its distinguished role in aviation security. This recognition to the Dubai Police was awarded jointly by Singapore Airlines Terminal Services (SATS) and Murdoch University in Australia. Dubai Police won the most distinguished category in the award scheme, "Best Overall Aviation Security Organization". We hope Dubai airport will be safe and stay safe and that all other airports in GCC receive similar certifications.

• April 24, 2004: According to a new road project announced by the Sharjah government, a 5km freeway will come up by the year-end linking Al Nahda Interchange and Emirates Road , giving motorists the option of taking the largely bottleneck-free ring road to travel to Dubai .

• April 17 , 2004: It was confusion , long lines at passport control in Dubai Airport . The luggage pick up area was a total miss. Luggage was put on a conveyer without board announcement, so passengers have to check all conveyer belts to look for their luggage. The situation was out of control. Just imagine what will happen , when the new airport extension will open and more flights are scheduled. Airport official should take a look into this problem and solve any congestion , as the summer season of travelers are coming.

   

• April 11, 2004: The Federal National Council (FNC) has called on the UAE government to take swift action to solve the problem of water shortages in the Northern Emirates. The council made its call during its session on Tuesday which was attended by Humaid bin Nasser Al-Owais, minister of electricity and water and chairman of the Federal Authority for Electricity and Water, who was summoned by the house to answer questions raised by members on issues related to electricity and water. The Northern Emirates have been suffering severe water shortages in recent years. The dwindling water supplies have impacted the daily life of a large number of residents, forcing many to temporarily abandon their homes and seek shelter in other areas. "In spite of the existing projects in the field of water production, transportation, and distribution in the country, some areas in the Northern Emirates are still hit by shortage in water supplies.

• March 13,2004: A major power outage hit Sharjah city for two hours, throwing business out of gear and creating chaos for residents. Analysts estimated the loss at around Dh20 million. Hundreds of thousands suffered as the power failed at 9.10am. A large number of people were reported trapped in lifts, and those living in highrises had to use the stairs to go to work. There was chaos at major traffic junctions as police struggled to control traffic. The power failure led to water shortages in some areas, further aggravating the situation.

• March 6, 2004: Thick fog lasting up to 12 hours blanketed the UAE for the fifth straight day in the early hours yesterday.
  The thick fog caused scores of flight diversions and inconvenience to hundreds of airline passengers and created a domino effect of departure and arrival delays.
  The UAE's flag-carrier reported an unprecedented number of flights – 80 for Emirates alone – had to be diverted to other airports in the region. The airline said flights will continue to be disrupted by foggy conditions until March 9. Weathermen said the fog reduced visibility to 50 meters. Furthermore  3 were killed and 73 are injured in road accidents due to the fog. The police did not do anything and did not know what to do , they just sat and waited instead of helping people in the streets.

• March 5, 2004: Drug user can face from 4 to 20 years in prison in UAE. This harsh rule has destroyed many young people lives. For a simple one mistake , a young adult can be sentenced to prison and his life will be destroyed. Such person , will not find a job , after he leave prison, and will not be socially accepted , even by his family , mainly because he was in prison. However if such drug user is been treated as an addict who would need care and treatment and a rehabilitation program can put him back on track. We think UAE justice is wrong and a revision of the law is required here to help society and not to damage it. It is to be noted that there are no rehab centers or program in UAE.

• March 3, 2004: A number of expatriates who have served their prison sentences and are to be deported stay on in the UAE, claiming they have to clear debts. This has created a serious problem for the law enforcement officials, who are seeking prompt solution. Court sources said: "Judges now have become alert and grow suspicious in such kind of claims, especially if both the prisoner and the claimant are of the same nationality." Prisoners conspire with some trusted friends, who tell the authorities that the convicts owe them money and file cases allowing deportees to stay on in the country.

• Feb.27, 2004: The UAE may be heading for a major drought unless the country starts taking drastic remedial action, according to a report.  Water consumption in the UAE is the highest in the world, exceeding 100 gallons per person every day with an annual growth rate of 8-10 per cent. Groundwater levels in the country have dropped at a rate of one meter every year for the past 30 years.
  The estimated annual recharge for groundwater in the UAE was 20 million cubic meters while the rate of groundwater extraction has been around 880 million cubic meters a year.

• Feb.27, 2004: Dubai Police are changing registration plates for vehicles and the new design will no longer have the Burj Al Arab logo on it.
  Details of the new design are still being finalized, but it will feature larger numbers which are more visible. The police decided to redesign the plates after people complained that the code of the generation of the number plates was not clear.
  Dubai number plates have gone through many development stages and designs. Before the Burj Al Arab design, introduced nearly three years ago, the plates were colored to distinguish different generations.
  The first 100,000 Dubai plates were white, the second 100,000 were orange, followed by red numbers with a white background for the third 100,000.

• Feb.26, 2004: A 15-year-old girl has been reunited with her family after she ran away from home and hid at her school.
  Police managed to trace the girl after she had been found hiding in her classroom during the night by a security guard who suspected the intruder was a burglar.
  The girl, who had been missing for a week, was so weak from not eating or sleeping properly that she had to be taken to a hospital in Ras Al Khaimah for a check-up.

• Feb.20, 2004: Global Village, the international attraction of the Dubai Shopping Festival, again exceeded all visitor expectations this year with over five million people visiting the event in its final year at Dubai Festival City , before moving to the planned new Emirates Road permanent venue.

• Feb.19, 2004: The fire on board a dhow berthed at the Dubai Creek on Tuesday evening could have turned into an environmental disaster as the vessel was carrying a huge quantity of diesel, apart from other cargo.

   

• Feb.16, 2004: The UAE Central Bank said yesterday reports that a Dubai-based businessman helped Libya and Iran develop nuclear programs were speculation, but that he would be investigated if proof emerged of illegal activities.
  US President George W. Bush has described Tahir as a deputy to Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan 's atomic program, who has confessed to leaking nuclear secrets to Iran , Libya and North Korea . Bush said Tahir was in Malaysia . When the US President talk , he must have a proof , however UAE Central Bank think they are better informed than the CIA.
• Feb.10, 2004: An Iranian plane carrying mostly foreign workers crashed Tuesday as it approached Sharjah airport in the United Arab Emirates , killing 43 people aboard, officials said. The Kish Air Fokker-50, flying to Sharjah from the Iranian island of Kish in the Gulf, crashed at 11:40 a.m. in an open area about two miles from the airport. Three survivors were hospitalized. Flights to nearby destinations such as Kish mainly carry foreigners — particularly Asian workers, including Indians, Pakistanis and Filipinos, who make up the bulk of the Emirates’ work force — to exit and return in order to remain within Emirati visa requirements. Foreigners whose visas are expiring need to exit and re-enter on a new visa, which takes two or three days to process. This is all because of the strange law that a worker has to exit and re-enter with a new visa, so Kish became the place of such exist. Just why the rule do not allow a visa change , for a worker without existing. many countries do that, except the UAE.
• Jan.28, 2004: Multiple car accidents, car piling up and road blockage has paralyzed Dubai and Sharjah after the rain storm. It was not much rain , however the drainage system was not effective in some roads and car drivers were not careful. At least 4 people are dead and many injured during yesterday rain. Dubai Police are overwhelmed of the high rate of road accidents , that it will take over 3 hrs. for a police car to reach the accident scene. During that time , you can imagine the severity of the road jam. what make the situation hopeless , is the poor design of Dubai and Sharjah road , as they can not accommodate to the rising population and growth rate. Dubai Municipality  and Dubai government is only interested in expanding the city with more building and they are ignoring the requirement for proper road system.
• Jan. 28, 2004: A fast-spreading mass-mailer Internet worm, known as "MyDoom", yesterday attacked computers of home users and big companies here. Many TV stations, hotel chains and even an international news agency in Dubai were hit. Unlike a virus, a program fragment that inserts itself into other programs, a worm propagates itself across a network, using resources on one machine to attack other machines.
  The worm was spreading quickly over the Internet on Monday and yesterday, clogging network traffic and leaving hackers an open door to infected personal computers, according to anti-virus experts. Watch out for any worm , virus and keep your computer safe, just do not open any mail that you do not know.
• Jan.27, 2004: The Dubai Court of First Instance last week sentenced the Editor-in-Chief of the Kuwait 's Al Siyassah newspaper, Ahmad Jarallah, to a six-month prison term for libelous statements made against former Miss Lebanon Joelle Behlok and published on a web site owned by him. The former beauty queen was also awarded Dh3, 000 as compensation.
• Jan.26, 2004: Authorities are planning to set up two centers that will be tasked with the responsibility of issuing the planned identity cards for UAE nationals and residents. One of them will be in Bur Dubai and the second one will be in Deira, it was revealed yesterday.
• Jan.15, 2004: Dubai shopping Festival has kicked started this year, with over 200 events and exhibitions. Avoid the traffic, it is unbelievable , you can get stuck for many hours in the road. Dubai roads are not designed to handle such traffic. There is a real traffic crisis in Dubai and the shopping festival make it worse.
• Jan.13, 2004: Dubai International Airport continued with a double digit growth for 2003. A total of 18.06 million passengers passed through the airport, registering a growth of 13 per cent over the 15.9 million in 2002.
• Jan.9, 2004: A crackdown on Internet cafés and computer shops that run an illicit trade in internet-to-phone cards is imminent. What complicates the issue is the fact that even state-run schools such as the Higher Colleges of Technology have been dabbling in voice-by-Internet projects. College students in Abu Dhabi will be dabbling in high-tech communications gear that bypasses traditional telephone networks through voice-over-Internet protocol technology. Since there is only one telecommunications carrier in the U.A.E, Emirates Telecom. Corp, there is no independent telecommunications regulator to arbitrate disputes between service providers and users of communications services. Actually Etisalat as it is locally called plays a monopoly by charging high fees for calls and internet access. UAE government should stop this monopoly.
• Jan.8, 2004: Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) LLC and Emirates Petroleum Products Company (Eppco) are offering two Lexus cars and Dh150,000, along with the 330 RX and E300 during the DSF if one purchases a ticket for Dh200. This massive series of promotions is available at their 69 service stations in Dubai under the theme 'Out of this World'. Only 5,000 tickets for the Lexus Mega Raffle will be available daily with 4,000 sold via Enoc and Eppco outlets.
• Jan.7, 2004: Air Arabia's inaugural flight to Doha took off at 7.50pm last night, marking the first in a line-up of eight new destinations to be launched this month by the UAE's third national airline and first low-cost airline in the Middle East and North Africa region.
• Jan.7, 2004: The six-month ban on expatriates upon cancellation of their employment visas is likely to be lifted soon, according to an official source at the Ministry of Interior. 'We are carefully studying the drawbacks of the ban and once it is concluded that it is adversely affecting the labor market in any way, it will immediately be lifted,' the source said. The ruling, which was issued in April, banned expatriates for six months from transferring their visas to other sponsors or applying for new jobs the moment they cancel their residence visas. Once the ban is lifted, all residency departments will apply the old rules under which expatriates falling under the categories exempted in a previous cabinet order need not leave the UAE for six months and return on a new sponsor's visa. At present, only expatriate employees who are eligible for a sponsorship transfer and who meet all the stipulated conditions, including the consent of his/her sponsor, completion of one-year in a company and a valid residence visa among others, will be eligible to change jobs within the country without inviting the six-month ban. The six month ban was seen as a punishment for foreign labors coming to help in the building boom of the city. Many people suffered under such illogical and inhumane rule.
• Jan.5, 2004: General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Minister of Defense and Head of Dubai Police and Public Security, yesterday ordered a major reshuffle of Dubai Police department.

July 18, 2003: The Planning and Survey Department at Dubai Municipality has finalized the planning of the ambitious University City project in the Al Ruwaiya area, on the Dubai to Al Ain highway, and work on the first university building is fast nearing completion.
Twenty universities will be built on the new premises, which will stand on an area of 1,100 hectares. It will accommodate 38,000 students.
All colleges, universities and academic institutions will be shifted to the University City campus except Dubai Women's College and the Aviation Academy because they have permanent buildings.

• July 17, 2003: The son of a businessman forged official documents and claimed he was earning a low salary, in order to qualify for a grant from the U.A.E Marriage Fund.
  The young man, a U.A.E national, had applied for the grant, which helps men with marriage expenses, by submitting forged papers stating that he earned Dh6,000 a month.
  The grant, which is designed to help limited-income U.A.E nationals who want to marry compatriots, has helped tens of thousands of men with their marriage costs. But a minority have resorted to dubious means to gain extra cash, according to Jamal Obaid Al Bah, the fund's Director General.

• July 13, 2003: Few days ago Ex-Information minister " Mohammad Saeed Al Sahaf" , the famous comical figure of Saddam regime, have arrived with his family in Abu Dhabi on a flight coming from Baghdad. He stated that his life might be in danger and he did not indicate if he would ever go back to Iraq.

• July 2, 2003:Banks will soon be investing millions of dirhams to replace old and flawed ATMs in line with the recent Central Bank directives although most banks undertake this exercise incorporating latest technology on a regular basis.
  However, bankers observed that cooperation from customers, the government and tight security measures are required to fight ATM fraud rather that mere replacement of ATMs.
  Currently, there are some 985 ATMs in the U.A.E and about 99 per cent of them are part of the GCC Interbank Switch.

• July 1 , 2003: Harvard Medical School and Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC) announced they will form a joint venture in medical education and training, quality assurance, knowledge management, research and strategic planning.
  The joint venture will be planned during the next six months.
  It will enable the creation of several Harvard Medical School Education Centres in DHCC.

• June 26, 2003:The new labor rules and regulation of banning visa transfer have affected many workers in U.A.E and also affected businesses. Many businesses are loosing a lot of money and others actually closed down, since the new laws are in effect.  Small business are hit hard and have no chance of surviving, so it is evident that the new law has been put to protect the Companies, who are managed and owned by certain individuals who have a say in terms of regulating new law and killing off all small business. So be aware, whatever bussiness you want to establish in U.A.E, think twice, it is not heaven anymore and chances of success is nil, mainly due to the labor law.

• June 25, 2003:The Ajman Education Zone has found that many students are anemic and suffer from various health problems ranging from obesity, thalassemia, heart problems to poor eye sight.
  A senior health official said about 26 per cent of the students were found to be suffering from ailments. Tests were undertaken on nearly 4,200 students

• June 23,2003: All the Naturalization and Residency departments (NRDs) in the country last week began implementing the six-month ban on all categories of expatriates seeking to change their jobs and transfer their sponsorships, according to Interior Ministry officials.
  A top official of the Sharjah Residency and Naturalization Department said the majority will have to leave according to the Cabinet's decision which said that expatriates of all categories should leave the country for six months. They should re-enter the country with a new visa and a new labor permit. We think that this law is totally unrealistic and unfair, it must be changed as both individuals and companies will truly suffer from such injustice. This law is not to the benefit of the U.A.E at all.

• June 22,2003: Four Filipino sailors died in an explosion aboard an oil tanker off the coast of the United Arab Emirates, last  Thursday. Authorities have identified the bodies of the four Filipinos who were blown to pieces in Wednesday's explosion.
  The blast occurred while oil was being transshipped between two tankers, the Panamanian-registered Sebu and the Maltese-flagged Efxinos, off the town of Kalba on the UAE's eastern coast.

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• June 18 , 2003: Emirates yesterday awarded Airbus and Boeing the biggest orders in global aviation history, valued at $19 billion for 71 aircraft, in the presence of General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and UAE Defence Minister.
  Of the 71 planes on order, Airbus won 45 and the rest went to Boeing.
  The deals were signed at the Paris Air Show by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Dubai Civil Aviation President and Emirates Chairman.
  They include orders for 21 Airbus A380-800 and leasing of two A380-800s, as well as the leasing of 26 Boeing 777-300ERs, 14 from General Electric Capital Aviation Services and 12 from the International Lease Finance Corp. and powered by General Electric GE90-115B engines.
  The deals also cover orders for two more ultra-long-haul A340-500 and 18 of the A340-600 higher gross weight aircraft as well as the leasing of two A340-600s from ILFC.
  This makes Emirates the launch customer for the A340-600HGW.
  The additional 23 A380s bring Emirates' total order for the giant double-deck superjumbo to 45, the largest of any airline. Way to go Emirate..

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• June 16, 2003:His Highness Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, has issued a decree appointing Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi as the Crown Prince of Ras Al Khaimah. Decree No. 10 of 2003  took effect yesterday.
  Sheikh Saud is Sheikh Saqr's fourth son.
  He was born in 1956 and became head of the Emiri Court after finishing his studies at Michigan University in the U.S.
  He holds a bachelor's degree in political science and economics. This is a wise decision.
  Sheikh Saud is currently chairman of the civic council and head of the RAK Fathers' Council for Education. He also heads several companies and financial establishments including Julfar, Ras Al Khaimah Ceramic Factory and Al Manal Shopping Centre.
  The former Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler Sheikh Khalid bin Saqr is the eldest son of Sheikh Saqr. He  became Crown Prince in 1968. He will retain the post of Deputy Ruler.
• June 16 , 2003: Dubai Summer Suprises ( DSS) will start June 19 till Aug. 29.
• June 12, 2003: Precautionary measures against the SARS virus will be increased and run throughout the summer at Abu Dhabi International Airport, despite the fact no case to date has been registered in the country, an official of the Civil Aviation said here yesterday.
• June 12, 2003: The U.A.E has recorded the highest population growth rate in the Arab region because of a sharp increase in national births, better health services and continued influx of expatriates to benefit from expanding business opportunities, according to official figures. Growth is projected at around 6.3 per cent in 2003, when the population is expected to exceed 3.7 million at the end of the year.
• June 1, 2003: Etisalat has warned its customers against obtaining duplicate SIM cards from illegal dealers, and advised using Etisalat's Tawam service to avoid any risks or problems. Recently, Etisalat issued advertisements warning customers against the tendency of some shops to make duplicates of mobile phone SIM cards.
• June 3, 2003: Most banks in the UAE have slashed the ATM (automatic teller machine) withdrawal limit to Dh1,000 or Dh2,000 in the wake of reports that huge sums of money are being siphoned off fraudulently from some machines.
  There are unconfirmed reports that 'a team' was into data capturing, either accessing the secret PIN of customers or accessing the database of banks. The fraud is understood to have taken place in a Southeast Asian country.
  Since most ATMs are connected through a central network ATM cardholders can use any machine in the UAE to withdraw money from their account.
  Though the chiefs of some banks acknowledged that they suspect some sort of fraud has taken place using ATMs (particularly those of one local bank), a true picture of what really happened and how much money is involved is yet to emerge.
  A meeting of leading banks was convened under the auspices of Visa International, presumably to weigh the seriousness of the situation and pursue effective remedial measures. Keep your money safe , that is the message , in this electronic age it is easier to steal your money.
• June 2, 2003: German carrier Lufthansa has increased capacity on their flights to and from the U.A.E by introducing daily flights from Abu Dhabi and has reintroduced the larger 747 on their various U.A.E routes. The introduction of these daily flights to and from Abu Dhabi along with the presence of the Boeing 747 on the U.A.E routes means passengers will have a greater opportunity to get connected with the rest of the world with Lufthansa.