NEWS FROM THE UAE
Excerpts from UAE Dailies
Sleeping worker dies in Ajman fire
AJMAN — Nov. 29: A lubricant factory was gutted yesterday when a fire broke out at 11am due to a short circuit in the old industrial area in Ajman.
A worker who was sleeping on the premises was burnt to death, according civil defence officials.
The Solar Lubricants, one of the largest oil lubricant companies in Ajman, was destroyed completely causing an estimated loss of Dh20 million, sources said. The flames also reached the premises of Puss Engineering, a company offering maintenance and repair service for heavy equipment and vehicles located in the neighbourhood.
Four vehicles of the employees of Solar Lubricants parked outside the factory premises were also gutted.
“All the company’s documents and files as well as a number of mobile phones of employees have been completely gutted, but the fire fighters managed to salvage the refinery section of the company,” said Colonel Saleh Al Matroushi, Director of the Ajman Civil Defence.
He said the body of the worker killed in the fire had been recovered from the debris.
A number of Ajman fire fighters sustained injuries in the rescue operation and were rushed to the hospital. Al Matroushi added later that the fire-fighters were treated and discharged by late evening.
The entire operation lasted for over several hours and the fire was brought under control by 4pm. The Ajman Civil Defence had to call civil defence and police squads from neighbouring emirates to help prevent the fire from spreading.
High flames
Al Matroushi said, “Four minutes after the call was received at the operations room in the civil defence, the fire engines arrived at the scene. But, when the office realised that the flames were very difficult to control, we called for support and help from Umm Al Quwain, Sharjah and Dubai civil defence and armed forces.”
He said that a large quantity of goods at the entrance of the factory created difficulty for the fire-fighters to carry out their job.
Brigadier Ali Alwan, Deputy Director of Ajman Police, told Khaleej Times that as soon as the police received information at 11am about the fire the civil defence squad was dispatched immediately.
The team of the police patrols and civil defence immediately evacuated the building and put out the fire successfully. The police had to block all the streets and entrances leading to the factory to help the civil defence officers do their job easily.
Saif Al Shamsi, Deputy Director of Ajman Municipality, said that the municipality will soon form a committee which will include officers from civil defence and municipality to intensify the inspection in the industrial areas and to force the factories to implement the fire protection regulations effectively in order to curb fire accidents in the emirate.
George Cyril D’sa, the owner of the company, told Khaleej Times that the fire had started in the morning hours at around 9am and around 34 employees who were inside the oil depot were evacuated.
“I am very grateful to the Ajman Civil Defence for their great work to save the refinery. If their was any delay in containing the fire, the refinery would also be gutted and that would have resulted both in human and huge property loss,” said George.
He said that the company would suffer an estimated loss of over Dh20 million due to the fire.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Leading stars of world cinema to converge on Dubai for DIFF
DUBAI — Nov. 29:Top stars from Hollywood, Bollywood and the Arab world will lighten up the third edition of the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) this year from December 10 to 17.
The DIFF anticipates an increased A-List attendance this year, which means a whole galaxy of stars will walk the opening night red carpet.
Hollywood celeb guests will include Joshua Jackson and Laurence Fishburne, who are in Dubai to promote their film, Bobby, directed by Emilio Estevez, scheduled to open DIFF 2006. Barrie Osborne, the producer of Lord of the Rings, will also be one of the guests.
Hot and happening stars such as Ivana Milicevic, who played Valenka in Casino Royale, and Diane Kruger, who played Helen in Troy (2004) will add to glamour quotient of the event. Oliver Stone will screen his new film, World Trade Centre, at the festival and will also receive the DIFF Salutes honour along with Bollywood megastar Shah Rukh Khan and celebrated Syrian filmmaker Nabil Maleh.
Bollywood will send a contingent of some of its brightest stars. Apart from Shah Rukh Khan, screen legend and style icon Dev Anand will grace the occasion along with dashing John Abraham and southern superstar Mohan Lal.
Arab celebrities attending the festival will include the who’s who of the Egyptian film royalty — Mahmoud Abdul Aziz, Salah Saadany, Ahmed Bider and Hani Salama. Turning the heat on will be glamour queens Hind Sabri, Mona Zaki and Hanan Turk. Laila Elowi, a jury member for the Muhr Awards, and the gorgeous Mervat Amine will also be there.
Celebrity guests from the AGCC will include Hayat Al Fahad, Abdul Hussain Adbulredha, Saad Al Faraj, Ghanem Al Saleh and Mohammed Al Mansour from Kuwait and Ghanem Al Salaifi and Abdul Aziz Al Jassim from Qatar.
Prince Albert of Monaco, ruler of Monaco and son of the late American film actress Grace Kelly, will also attend the festival.
Abdulhamid Juma, Chairman of DIFF, said, “DIFF is becoming more prominent on a global scale and hence, naturally it’s attracting those who contribute their talents to the film industry. Our red carpet attendance is a plus for DIFF and also for Dubai as our city becomes more prominent on the world stage. Many more stars can be expected.”
DIFF also announced the films in the running for the inaugural Muhr Awards for Excellence in Arab Cinema. Competition films are all made by Arab directors and dwell on the history or culture of the Arab world.
There are three categories — Features, Documentaries and Shorts Films.
Prizes for the top films in each categories will include Gold, Silver and Bronze trophies and DIFF certificates. The awards will be given to winners at a special ceremony on December 17 at the Al Sahra Resort in Dubailand.
Masoud Amralla Al Ali, DIFF’s Artistic Director of Arabic Programming and Coordinator General of the Muhr Awards programme, said, “We received several entries and our international jury members will have a difficult task in finding the top three films in each category. We have ended up with films from 15 countries. The jury members have selected 10 short-listed films in each category.”
FESTIVAL LINE-UP
115 films from 47 countries, out of which 38 will premiere in the UAE
The festival is primarily divided into two sections. The first section, In Competition, showcases the films competing for the Muhr Awards for Excellence. There will be films by such award-winning directors as Mai Masri, who will present her new documentary, Beirut Diaries: Truth, Lies and Videos
The second section, Out of Competition, features both Arab and international cinema. The two dedicated Arab programmes include Arabian Nights, featuring works of some of the world’s best known Arab filmmakers, and Emerging Emiratis, showcasing films by UAE nationals. There will also be a children’s section for the first time
Operation Cultural Bridge features films that mend the rift in cross-cultural understanding between the Muslim world and the West. One of these films will be selected to close the festival in a special gala screening on December 17
Café Europe comprises films from across Europe’s major film production centres such as the UK, France, Italy and Spain
Insights from Asia will feature cinema from the culturally rich capitals of the Far East including Japan, China, the Philippines and South Korea
Cinema from the subcontinent features films from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh
Destination Documentary will present the best documentaries of 2005-2006, projecting core human values that surface in contemporary turbulent settings.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Airport police arrest 1,479 for violating residency rule in Dubai
DUBAI — Nov. 29:The security team of the Airport Police station arrested 1,479 people this year for violating residency laws.
The CID teams managed to curb thefts on the open beaches in Dubai and the abra areas. Colonel Jasim Mohammed Al Zaabi, Acting Director of the Airport Police Station, said security teams had ensured safety on the Dubai beaches that witnessed a huge influx of tourists throughout the year.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Abu Dhabi consumes 25 tonnes of meat daily
ABU DHABI — Nov. 29: The meat consumption in the emirate of Abu Dhabi amounts to about 20 to 25 tonnes of meat a day with imports mostly from Australia, India and Somalia.
This was stated by Dr Abdullatif Eldaw, head of the meat inspection section of Abu Dhabi Food Control Authority, in an interview with Khaleej Times.
The number of butchers’ shops in Abu Dhabi has almost doubled during the current year, a rise of 80 per cent, from 260 last year to the present 400, in spite of the stringent conditions imposed by the regulatory authorities for issuing a licence, he pointed out.
Dr Eldaw stressed that one of the requirements for obtaining a licence for opening a butchery is to have a refrigerated room of certain standards for storing meat.
The tools used in the shop should be of stainless steel in addition to the non-use of the wooden block, which was used for cutting meat in the old days.
Dr Eldaw said one of the conditions to issue a licence was that the shop should display information about the types of meat in a visible manner.
Different consumption patterns exist in Abu Dhabi. While the UAE citizens prefer to eat Al Jazeeri meat, the expatriates go in for the Australian meat. Of late, Pakistani meat too has joined the competition in the markets of Abu Dhabi, in addition to the Indian and Somali variety.
The Food Control Authority of Abu Dhabi imposes stringent penalties in the event of any irregularities, including the closure of the shop for a period of three days.
He added that punishment is doubled to seven days in the absence of eliminating the causes of the offence.
A month-long closure would be enforced in case of sale or offer of meat of unknown origin or slaughter outside the abattoir identified by the concerned bodies, Dr Eldaw said, adding that the Authority would be increasing the number of inspectors soon.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Four men jailed for raping schoolboy
Dubai - Nov. 29: Four men will have to spend one year in jail each for gang-raping a schoolboy inside a villa, a court ruled on Tuesday.
The Dubai Court of First Instance found the four UAE nationals, identified as S.A., 20, A.B., 22, K.N., 20, and S.O., 21, guilty of raping their 16-year-old compatriot schoolboy, K.T., as charged by the Public Prosecution.
They were charged with luring the victim into S.A.'s house in Satwa before molesting him in the majlis.
The four were in a car when they ran into K.T., and S.A. tried to force the boy into the vehicle.
When the other men saw that S.A. failed to force the schoolboy into the car, they ganged up against him and forcefully walked him to S.A.'s majlis.
Police accused the four of raping the victim one at a time. The forensic doctor who examined K.T. told the court the boy was "used to having sexual intercourse".
When a defence lawyer asked whether the schoolboy was used to having sex, the doctor said yes.
The doctor also said there were no signs of violence or bruises on the boy's body.
When asked whether it meant that the boy was not "raped", the doctor said: "It means that there was no physical violence."
GULF NEWS
Visitor gets life in jail for smuggling heroin in stomach
Dubai - Nov. 29: : The Dubai Court of First Instance has sentenced a visitor to life in prison for smuggling 40 heroin capsules in his stomach.
The Pakistani visitor, identified as H.A., was given an additional three-year term for trying to bribe a policeman to escape.
Two of his accomplices - compatriot S.S. and K.K. from Ivory Coast - who were arrested in a sting operation were also handed life-terms, which is 25 years in jail.
The Public Prosecution had charged the trio with trafficking heroin. H.A. was additionally charged with offering Dh1,000 and $100 in bribe to the policeman who escorted him to extract the capsules from his stomach.
A custom's inspector suspected that the accused was carrying drug capsules in his stomach after having him scanned at Dubai International Airport.
The visitor was taken for questioning and examination where it was revealed he had swallowed 40 capsules, each weighing nine grammes.
It was heard that he offered the policeman, who escorted him to hospital, a bribe to allow him to escape.
An anti-narcotics squad arrested S.S. and K.K. in a sting operation and they admitted that H.A. supplies them with drugs.
GULF NEWS