RTA launches Dubai Brand Vehicle Plate Numbers

The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) will offer the Dubai Brand Vehicle Plate Numbers; which will be optional for interested clients, thus the RTA will be the first government entity to integrate the Dubai Brand in its promotional campaign.

Ahmed Bahroyzan, CEO of RTA Licensing Agency, said: “The RTA is committed to the directives of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to use new Dubai Brand and endorse it as a tool in marketing and promoting Dubai in order to show that the Emirate acts in a single team spirit and speaks with one voice to citizens and visitors. We have therefore opted to develop the new & innovative design of number plates for private vehicles only during Gitex Technology Week in a bid to showcase the new Dubai Brand to various entities, firms, individuals and visitors from all over the globe, and accordingly fulfill the ambitious vision of promoting the brand in a proper manner.

“The Dubai Brand Vehicle Plate Numbers have an air of luxury as the Brand is embossed in an innovative manner using digital printing technology and can resist various climatic conditions. Moreover, its colours will showcase the beauty of both the plate & the vehicle in a prominent manner and break away from the existing conventional shape of the plate. The price set for obtaining both the front & rear plates is 420 dirham,” said Bahrozyan.

Detailing the procedure of obtaining the plates, the CEO of Licensing Agency said: “Applications for the plate can be submitted via a host of electronic channels such as RTA website, RTA Call Center (Tel: 8009090), and the smart app: Drivers & Vehicles on smart phones starting from the end of this month. The plates can be handed over through customers service centers and service providers; namely Deira Customers Service Center, Al Barsha Customers Service Center, Al Mumayaz at Aswaq Al Mizhar, Al Mumayaz at Aswaq Al Barsha, Quick Technical Testing at Al Qusais, and Wasil Vehicle Testing Center at Al Jaddaf.”

About the future plans of the Dubai Brand Vehicle Plate Numbers, Bahrozyan said: “Work is progressing in a plan to insert the Brand gradually on the plates of Dubai taxicabs and public buses of the RTA by the end of the first quarter of 2015. Such plates will be of a black colour only, rendering them different from plates of private vehicles as we are seeking to engage in a massive promotion of the brand, particularly as public transit means tour the width & breadth of the Emirate and will have a substantial role in supporting the promotion of the brand.

Source RTA.ae

US, Florida officials confirm second case of Mers

Washington: US health officials said on Monday a second case of Mers, a deadly virus first discovered in the Middle East in 2012, has been found in the state of Florida.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the presence of the virus, known formally as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, with health officials from Florida.

The CDC said in a statement it was the second “imported” instance of Mers, meaning a traveller contracted the virus in another country and brought it to US shores. The first such imported case involved a man who flew from Saudi Arabia and travelled to Indiana earlier this month.

The patient in that case, a US healthcare worker who lives and works in Saudi Arabia, flew from Riyadh to London and then Chicago, before boarding a bus to Highland, Indiana. He then began experiencing symptoms of fever, shortness of breath, and sought care at Community Hospital in Munster, Indiana.

Source: Gulfnews.com

FNC rejects full foreign ownership of companies

Abu Dhabi: Overwhelming opposition by the Federal National Council to full foreign ownership of companies yielded an immediate response with the Government scrapping the proposal.

Members of the House unanimously rejected a clause in the draft companies law which would have allowed foreigners to fully own certain companies after a decision of the Cabinet.

They said the move would endanger the UAE’s national security, citing the country’s population’s structure in which “Emiratis account for less than 10 per cent”.

“If the move had been passed citizens would have left nothing to own and our parliament with its weak powers would not be able to change such a law,’ said Dr Abdul Rahim Al Shaheen, a representative from Ras Al Khaimah.

Source GulfNews.com

UAE Public Holidays 2013

UAE’s public holidays in 2013:

Occasion	Date	Day	Duration (No. of days)
New Year’s Day	January 1	Tuesday	1
Prophet Mohammed’s Birthday (PBUH)	January 24	Thursday	1
Israa & Miaraj Night*	June 6	Thursday	1
Beginning of Ramadan	July 9	Tuesday	0
Eid Al Fitr*	August 8/9/10	Thu/Fri/Sat	3
Arafat (Haj) Day*	October 14	Mon	1
Eid Al Adha*	October 15	Tue/Wed/Thur	3
Hijri New Year’s Day*	November 5	Tue	1
UAE National Day	December 2/3	Mon/Tue	2
*Islamic holiday exact dates are subject to moon sighting and may differ from the date given

Ministry of Labour announces UAE National Day holiday

The private sector institutions and companies will be off work on Sunday, December 2, 2012, on the occasion of the 41st National Day of the UAE, according to a circular issued today by Saqr Ghobash Saeed Ghobash, Minister of Labour.

Ghobash extended his congratulations to President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Their Highnesses the Supreme Council Members and Rulers of the Emirates and people of the UAE on the occasion.

Source SevenDays

US bank backs $2b loan for UAE nuclear plant

Dubai: The Export-Import (Ex-Im) Bank, the official export credit agency of the United States, has authorised a $2 billion direct loan to UAE’s Barakah One Company to underwrite the export of American equipment and service-expertise for the construction of a nuclear power plant in the UAE, a bank statement said.

The credit line comes under the ‘U.S. – UAE 123 Agreement for Peaceful Civilian Nuclear Energy Cooperation’ signed by both the countries in 2009 and the ‘Arrangement Between the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of the U.S. and the Federal Authority for Nuclear Regulation of the UAE For the Exchange of Technical Information and Cooperation in Nuclear Safety and Security Matters’ in 2010.

The United States’ National Security Council and the Departments of State and Energy have approved the transaction.

This will help more than 5,000 American jobs in 17 states and comes at a crucial time when US unemployment rate flirts around the psychological 8 per cent mark ahead of President Barack Obama’s re-election bid in November.

“Total non-farm payroll employment rose by 96,000 in August, and the unemployment rate edged down to 8.1 per cent,” the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics reported on Friday.

Full Story Here

Source Gulfnews.com

Iran says can destroy US bases "minutes after attack"

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran has threatened to destroy U.S. military bases across the Middle East and target Israel within minutes of being attacked, Iranian media reported on Wednesday, as Revolutionary Guards extended test-firing of ballistic missiles into a third day. Israel has hinted it may attack Iran if diplomacy fails to secure a halt to its disputed nuclear energy programme.
The United States also has mooted military action as a last-resort option but has frequently nudged the Israelis to give time for intensified economic sanctions to work against Iran. 


"These bases are all in range of our missiles, and the occupied lands (Israel) are also good targets for us," Amir Ali Haji Zadeh, commander of the Revolutionary Guards aerospace division, was quoted by Fars news agency as saying. 
Haji Zadeh said 35 U.S. bases were within reach of Iran's ballistic missiles, the most advanced of which commanders have said could hit targets 2,000 km (1,300 miles) away. 


"We have thought of measures to set up bases and deploy missiles to destroy all these bases in the early minutes after an attack," he added. It was not clear where Haji Zadeh got his figures on U.S. bases in the region. U.S. military facilities in the Middle East are located in Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Turkey, and it has around 10 bases further afield in Afghanistan and Kyrgyzstan. SCEPTICISM Defence analysts are often sceptical about what they describe as exaggerated military assertions by Iran and say the country's military capability would be no match for sophisticated U.S. defence systems. 


Iranian media reported that this week's three-day "Great Prophet 7" tests involved dozens of missiles and domestically-built drones that successfully destroyed simulated air bases.


Source:  Yahoonews Read More Here!!

UAE Temperature to reach 50 degrees

The UAE has been suffering from the severe heat for the last several days and ground level temperature has exceeded beyond 50 degrees Celsius in some internal areas. The official weather forecast always indicates atmospheric temperature that is three to four degree less than the ground level temperature.


 In the coastal area temperature will on Tuesday be 43 degrees Celcius at its maximum but will fall to 26 degrees Celcius at night. People in the interiors will face the toughest summer time with mercury shooting up to 49 degrees Celcius but it will also fall to 26 degrees Celcius in the night.


Humidity could test people’s nerves in the coastal areas by moving up and down between 20 per cent and 95 per cent at times. Wind is expected to blow at the speed of 32 to 38 km/h in the coastal and internal areas. 

 Source Gulfnews.com

Memo from UAE Defense Ministry - High Temperature

Subject: Memo from UAE Defense Ministry - High Temperature
Importance: High

Dear All,

This is for your kind information.

Memo from UAE Defense Ministry

UAE - The Defence Ministry has advised all car owners in the UAE not to fill the tank full cause for the next few weeks temperatures will shoot upto 53-54 degrees and thus can cause the tank to burst. Please pass this message on as all of us here are habitual of filling our car tanks full.

السلطات الإماراتيه

تنصح مواطنيها مالكي السيارات بأن لإيقوموا بملىء خزان الوقود بشكل كامل وان يتركو فراغ على الأقل للأسابيع القليله القادمه وذلك توقعا لارتفاع درجات الحراره مابين 53 و 54 درجة مئوية ولاحتمال انفجار الخزان مما قد يترتب عليه إصابات وخسائر لا قدر الله

أرجوا إرساله للجميع. لأن هذا الموضوع مهم جدا

UAE Oil Pipeline to Bypass Strait of Hormuz

A pipeline being built by the UAE to pump most of its oil exports from east coast terminals bypassing the Strait of Hormuz will be operational next month, His Highness Shaikh Hamad Bin Mohammad Al Sharqi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Fujairah, told AFP in an interview. 


Construction of the 360-km pipeline began in 2008.

The pipeline will have an initial capacity of 1.5 million barrels a day rising to 1.8 million barrels a day, which represents the bulk of the UAE's current production of around 2.5 million barrels a day, Shaikh Hamad said. 


The Habshan-Fujairah pipeline will carry oil from fields in Abu Dhabi to Fujairah.


Fears of a closure of the Strait of Hormuz intensified in recent months after Iran threatened to close the strategic outlet to the Gulf if Western governments kept up their efforts to choke off its oil exports in a bid to rein in its controversial nuclear programme. 


 In addition to the exports of the UAE and Iran itself, all the oil exports of Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar are shipped through the waterway. Iraq also pumps the bulk of its exports through ports on the Gulf. Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, pumps most of its crude from its terminals on the Gulf, but it can divert significant supplies to terminals on the Red Sea. 


 Shaikh Hamad, however, played down the possibility of a closure of Hormuz. "I do not believe there will be a war," he said, arguing that the tension with neighbouring Iran is just a "summer cloud that will clear."

Source Gulfnews.com

UAE Dress Code

UAE have varying degrees of tolerance to clothing styles from around the world. There are legal guidelines as to what is not acceptable, especially in Sharjah which has its own decency laws, but in general, people can mostly wear what they like within reason. If you like to reveal more flesh than commonly accepted in the office place, or like to wear what many would regard as extreme, offensive, or off-beat clothing, then it would be wise to tone down your dress code in the UAE, especially outside Dubai, and especially areas with a greater proportion of nationalities likely to be offended, and especially during Ramadan.

This information guide is generally intended for western expatriates, tourists, and visitors since they are usually the ones who most commonly come into conflict with dress codes in the UAE. Arab citizens from GCC countries tend to wear similar clothing, and other Arabs and most Asians usually dress more conservatively than westerners anyway.


source: dubaifaq

The culture chasm: On the wrong side of the law

Dubai: Expatriates have found themselves on the wrong side of the law — jail terms followed by deportation for public indecency and obscene gestures. Alarming, worrying, yet true. The accused have been guilty of acts ranging from flashing a finger at someone to consensual sex in public.

The recent court cases reported by Gulf News not only illustrate this, but point to a far more insidious subtext — cultural misunderstanding.

An expatriate who considers the middle finger as a commonplace gesture in his country, now finds himself in an uncommon position — in front of a judge for the very act. He may also not realise — until it is too late — that apart from obscene acts, certain overt physical gestures overlooked in his home country are punishable in his host country.

Would you call this a case of misunderstanding? Or would it be fair to label expatriates as culturally ignorant?  Read more in  Gulfnews.com

UAE vs Uzbekistan Football team - UAE wins

UAE's football team made their dreams and history of UAE Football when they scored  3-2 victory against Uzbekistan in Tashkent to be in the London Olympics 2012.

(GettyImage)

UAE Regulator clamps down on fake mobile phones

Abu Dhabi: UAE telcommunication service providers etisalat and du will suspend all services to mobile phone subscribers who are using counterfeit handsets as of January 1, it was announced at a news conference here yesterday.

"Users of fake devices will be imminently contacted by their service providers and all phones that are not type approved will be disconnected from all telecom services, including calls, texts and the internet," said the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) in a statement.

"We want the UAE to be clean of fake handsets — the operators have been told," TRA Director-General Mohammad Nasser Al Ganem told reporters.

Al Ganem said as many as 70,000 fake handsets had been identified by the two telecom service providers, which fall short on minimum quality standards.

source: Gulfnews.com

EIDA forms committee for information security policy

Jul 19, 2011 - 12:01 -

WAM Abu Dhabi, 19 July 2011 (WAM) -- The Higher Management at the Emirates Identity Authority has held an executive meeting to discuss the information security policy. 

During the meeting, which was chaired by Dr. Eng. Ali Mohamed Al Khouri, Emirates ID Director General, and was attended by executive directors and a number of managers, a higher committee for the Emirates Identity Authority's information security policy was formed which would be concerned with the organizational and applied aspects as a monitoring authority tasked with evaluating and developing the mechanisms of work and the associated processes. The committee will include in its membership representatives of all the Emirates Identity Authority's departments and registration centers across the UAE and will be chaired by the Emirates ID Director General.

The committee will be concerned with developing and approving the general policy of information security and ensuring that the information security objectives are in line with the Emirates Identity Authority's objectives and strategic plan. The committee will be also concerned with managing the sources related to the information security system management and reviewing the results of the risk assessment reports and how far they affect work.

The Committee will be tasked with developing and managing the implementation of the risk treatment plans in addition to ensuring the application and development of the Emirates Identity Authority's information security management system and the efficiency of plans for dealing with security incidents.

During the meeting, the Information Security Department at the Emirates Identity Authority made a presentation on the information security planning project, which included the controls and measures for protecting information and maintaining its confidentiality as well as the uses of corporate resources, which incorporated the machines and networks at the Emirates Identity Authority.

Meanwhile, Al Khouri said the Emirates Identity Authority is aware of the importance of the information it is dealing with and is extremely keen on protecting it and keeping it confidential as per the highest security standards and controls.

Al Khouri stressed the importance of continually developing the Emirates Identity Authority's security system and ensuring the integration and efficiency of the information security and protection policies and plans at all levels in line with global standards for protecting the security and transparency of information as well as its systems and applications in the digital environments.

''The Emirates Identity Authority will spare no effort to meet all the requirements of work necessary to protect its information and keep the data of its customers confidential,'' he said.

He added that the Emirates Identity Authority is working on developing its interactive service system related to its customers and is activating online services to this effect, noting that the strategic projects which the Emirates Identity Authority is currently carrying out are concerned with electronic linkage with government organizations.

Al Khouri stressed the Emirates Identity Authority's keenness on building and enhancing confidence in its security standards and systems, which include the security of information and networks, maintenance of privacy and confidentiality and protection of data and are regarded in their entirety as the major pillars for supporting the development projects of knowledge-based communities.

Al Khouri called for focusing on the training of employees and the holding of regular seminars for them to be introduced to one another and be reminded of their role in applying the security policy at the Emirates Identity Authority and treating this issue as a top priority.

It is worthwhile that the Emirates Identity Authority was the first among the federal organizations to be awarded an ISO certification in information security. It was also the world's first project for ID advanced identification systems to be awarded such certification.

WAM/TF

Consumer rights on high alert - Department of Economic Development

Dubai UAE: The biggest dispute retailers have with consumers involves product refund and exchange policies, according to a Department of Economic Development (DED) survey. Read Consumer Rights Here

"A big percentage of businesses in Dubai are franchises and they have imported their policies from the chains in their countries. They bring them here and force them on consumers. This has caused most of the disagreements," said Mohammad Lootah, Deputy CEO of the DED's Commercial Compliance and Consumer Protection Division.

After recent discussions with the division on UAE consumer laws, most retailers are "convinced that they should go in line" with local laws, he added.


The DED organised a consumer rights campaign to educate retailers on Consumer Law No 24 of 2006 that regulates refunds, exchanges, warranties, bills and other aspects of retail in April. Officials said yesterday that 89 per cent of retailers who participated said they understood their duties and rights.
The law, for instance, states that if a product has a defect or it's not repairable, it is the responsibility of the retailer to exchange it for another, explained Lootah. If no stock is available, retailers must refund the amount paid.

"Consumers think they can change their mind and return the product, but according to the law they can only return it if there's a defect. Especially with jewellery or clothes, some people just use them for an occasion and try to return them the next day," said Adel Al Helou, Head of Consumer Protection.

Source: Gulfnews.com

Graveyard for Non Muslim in the UAE

Al Ain UAE: Al Ain Municipality has set up a graveyard to help all non-Muslim communities in the city as a gesture of religious tolerance.

The graveyard is located in Al Foa'a district some 15km away north of downtown.
A municipality official said the graveyard, which cost more than Dh16 million, will be opened by the end of this year.

The cemetery occupies 40,000 square metres and has facilities including a church, a waiting room and chambers for municipality services.


source: Gulfnews.com

Earthquake in Pakistan magnitude 7.4 felt in UAE

Dubai - January 19 2011, at around 00:23 midnight a quake was felt in Ras Al Khaimah, Sharjah, Dubai, and in some part of Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.of UAE.

The epicenter of the earthquake has been reported in southern Pakistan and it was of magnitude of 7.4 on the Richter scale.

UAE residency visa, labour card validity cut to two years

Dubai: A new decision has been approved to reduce the life of the labour card for all workers and employees in the private sector, to two years from the current three, officials confirmed on Tuesday.

A senior official at the Labour Ministry told  the rule will be implemented in January 2011. "As the labour card will be for only two years, naturally the residency visa will also be for two years," the official explained.

According to a statement by Humaid Bin Deemas, Acting Director-General of the Ministry of Labour, carried by WAM, "The UAE Cabinet has reduced the validity of labour cards of all categories of people who work in private sector from three years to two years in a bid to regulate the labour market."

The Cabinet decision aims to unify the labour card validity for all work categories to be similar to that of drivers, domestic helpers and other similar categories who are given only two-year labour cards and residence visas by the Department of Residency and Foreigners Affairs, while other professions currently get three-year labour cards and three-year residence visa.

Major General Nasser Al Awadi Al Minhali, Assistant Undersecretary at the ministry's Naturalisation and Residency Affairs department told, the change in the validity of the labour card will impact the expiry date of the residence visa issued to expatriates.

"When we get an application for a residence visa we look at the validity of the labour card issued by the Ministry of Labour; if it is for two years then we will issue a two-year residence visa," he explained.

source: GulfNews.com

Petrol Price to rise-up again in UAE for the third times in 2010

Abu Dhabi: Petrol prices in the UAE are set to rise a third time this year. Sources from oil company Adnoc told  that the fuel distribution companies are about to increase price on fuel.

The source added that in private meetings of the boards of directors of the fuel suppliers it turned out that they fear to report significant losses if the prices remain at the current levels. The increase will be 20 fils per liter. This means that the cost of Special fuel will increase from Dh1.72 to Dh1.92 per liter.
The source, added that the increase will become effective "a few weeks after Eid holiday." The previous increase happened just last Thursday 15th of July 2010.

The price of E-plus will increase from Dh1.61 to Dh1.81. Diesel will increase from Dh2,35 to Dh2,55 per liter.

Source: Gulfnews