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NEWS FROM THE U.A.E.
Excerpts from UAE Dailies

Weatherman debunks stormy Friday warning - refutes rumours

Dubai: 26 July:A weather forecaster on Tuesday assured people that a heavy storm is not expected in Dubai on Friday after a hoax e-mail warned residents to stay indoors.

Phil Targett, duty forecaster at Dubai International Airport, said Friday is expected to be a normal day and that there was no cause for concern.

"We're not expecting anything dramatic on Friday according to our modelling data. Friday looks like being a relatively average sort of day," he said.

The e-mail apparently from an office in Qatar and sent under the title of "urgent warning" - says workers are trying to secure buildings to prevent flying debris.

It cautions that a weather system is moving down the Gulf and winds could reach as much as 60mph (96.5kph), causing huge waves of more than five metres.

"Please inform everybody about this expected adverse weather condition. According to the forecast the wind speeds are likely to increase as the system moves down the Gulf and it is expected to reach Dubai on Friday!!!" the message says.

It adds that people should stay indoors on Friday and "avoid the beaches" because of the massive waves.

"Our office in Raslafan, Qatar has closed all operations and they are now trying to secure everything as far as possible to prevent flying debris," the e-mail, which is sent anonymously, continues.

Targett said wind speeds as high as those mentioned in the e-mail were "very uncommon" in the UAE."

"We might get about 15 knots (about 27kph), something of that order, on Friday. It's possible we're looking at a fresh southerly, but we're not looking at anything dramatic.

"If there was an extreme weather system in the Gulf region that could affect Dubai, forecasters here would be aware," he said.

GULF NEWS


54-member family lives in a one-hall, 1 bedroom home!

AL AIN — 26 JULY: The living conditions of some Emirati families are so appalling that they have to be seen to be believed.

One bedroom, a small hall, a tiny bathroom and corridor converted into a kitchen, serve as the house for a family of 54 members.

Saad Gubaish Al Yehyaey said: ‘‘we are a very big family and live in this small and old house which itself needs to be demolished and rebuilt.''

Saad said he had retired several years back. ''Due to mistakes in procedures, I 've not returned back to the work, I took so many loans from banks here in Al Ain to meet expenses as my father is paralyzed and has quadriplegia due to a serious accident that occurred a long time ago,'' he confided. 

Saad said he lives in his father‚s house with his eight children. ''Three of my children have asthma as they live in an unhealthy environment with the ventilation in the house no good,'' he informed. He said that his father married twice and the second wife with her eight children also live in the same house.

Saad complained that since the accident occurred, his father had not received his monthly pension money from his employer because he stopped work two years before the official retirement age.

Saad appealed to authorities to reinstate him in his previous job or arrange other work for him in order to help his family. He also appealed to the municipality to give him a suitable new house as well.

His youngest brother Badr Gubaish, the 8-year old, said innocently: ''I wish if I could have my own room to play inside.'' Their brother Faisal, the 7-year-old, has asthma. He would like to join Al Ain Sports Club in future, but for the present he cannot breathe when he runs due to his condition. 

Another local family is living in similar circumstances. Abdullah Salih Al Kurby, the UAE citizen, lives with his 35-member strong family in a small residence.

Al Kurby has run up loans estimated at Dh 720,000 and faces the threat of being fired from work at any time. His eldest son is married and has his own family, while his second son has served a three-year sentence and now has no work.

A third story is about Khamis Khalfan Al Yahyae‚y who lives with his big family of 40 members in five rooms.

''My eldest son Khalifa is married but he has no work due to cardiac disease,'' added Khamis.

Khalifa, a father of six children, said that he has sent a request to the authorities to grant him a new house in order to relieve the burden of his father.

KHALEEJ TIMES


Court clears release of Indian captain and crew of tanker


DUBAI/FUJAIRAH — 26 JULY: The Fujairah Court of Appeal yesterday ruled that the Criminal Court in the emirate has no jurisdiction to conduct trial of accused allegedly involved in a crime in international waters.

This has set the stage for the release of an Indian ship captain Jitendra Malhotra and five other crew members convicted by the lower court for killing their compatriot Sudheer Nonia Jagannathan aboard a Norwegian oil tanker 'Champion Pioneer' while it was sailing in international waters off the Fujairah coast.

Responding to a plea by the families of the convicted, the Appeal Court noted that the murder took place outside UAE territorial waters.

The Fujairah Criminal Court had earlier claimed jurisdiction over the case and sentenced Jitendra to life imprisonment and five other crew members to five years in jail.

The captain and the sailors will be reportedly released soon after the legal formalities are completed.

The Indian missions in the UAE had earlier pleaded to the Fujairah Criminal Court to transfer the case to India as the incident took place in International waters and the victim as well as the accused involved in the case were all Indians.

When Khaleej Times contacted an Indian Consulate official, he said: "We are aware of the court ruling. But we cannot say anything now with regard to the possibility of the accused facing any trial in India."

Meanwhile, Meena Mathew, legal adviser to both the shipping  and the insurance companies, said: "The captain and crew members will be released soon after the legal formalities are completed. The family of the victim has given pardon for the accused after they have received blood money from the families of the accused sailors. So the matter is solved now."

Sudheer, aged 31, hailed from Mumbai and was employed as a fitter on the vessel. He was allegedly killed on February 6 this year following a dispute with the captain. The vessel was coming from New Mangalore port in Karnataka in southern India to dock at the Fujairah port en route to Kuwait.

The Fujairah court got involved in the case as the emirate was the nearest port of call.

Sudheer was allegedly beaten to death just a few days after joining the crew. However, the accused claimed that he had turned violent and had only been restrained. His body was taken to India after completing the legal procedures in the UAE.

The families of the crewmembers submitted a pardon letter from the victim's family, while the court was hearing the case but it was not taken into consideration by the court as it was not attested and certified by the local authorities in India.

KHALEEJ TIMES

UAE and Saudi Arabia's realty boom make them favourites among Indian workers


Dubai: 26 July : The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait are the preferred destinations for Indian workers, according to the annual report released by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs.

"The demand for Indian workers is increasing since the entire Gulf is undergoing a massive construction boom. The three Indian states from where the labour is being outsourced in large numbers to the Gulf are Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh," said a source from the Overseas Indian Affairs ministry.

"It is very difficult to say whether the increase is due to the hike in their salaries. As per the information ... received from various Protector of Immigrants offices across India most of the labour is from the unskilled and semi-skilled sector," he added.

Emigration of Indian labour in large numbers also prompted the ministry to establish overseas counselling centres, which are expected to be operational by October.

"The ministry has also initiated an e-governance project to link all offices of the Protector of Emigrants across the country. Once the link is established it will make it much easier to get a unified data [on] the ... labour outflow overseas. Now it is recorded individually by each state," said the source. "The project is expected to be completed by the end of this year."

India has made emigration clearance mandatory for individuals who have not completed high school. The rule exists only for the GCC and the Far Eastern countries.

According to the report, the number of emigration clearances granted by the eight offices of the Protector of Emigrants has increased from 279,000 in 2001 to 549,000 in 2005.

The UAE is the main destination for Indian workers closely followed by Saudi Arabia. Outside the Gulf region, the intake of Indian manpower by Malaysia has shown a significant and consistent increase.

"The increase in the number of Indian labour coming to the UAE is quite obvious because there are quite a number of companies which pay their workers on time. The numbers of faulty companies are very less," said B.S. Mubarak, Indian Labour Consul.

The Indian workers who spoke to Gulf News said that prospects of regular employment and salaries were the main reasons for coming to the UAE. "It is very difficult to get a steady income in India," said a worker.

The ministry will reportedly partner with the private sector for working in standardised testing, certification and quality assurance sectors.

GULF NEWS

  

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