NEWS FROM THE UAE
Excerpts from UAE Dailies
Motorist with 24 black points will lose licence
DUBAI — May 03: If you flout traffic rules, you will be accumulating "black points" which can even lead to your licence being revoked.
The General Department of Traffic will introduce in the middle of this month a black points system for traffic violations to curb accidents on Dubai roads. The step will be taken following the directives of Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council.
Brigadier Mohammed Saif Al Zafeen, Director of the General Department of Traffic at Dubai Police, said if a motorist collects 24 black points, his driving licence will be withdrawn for a year.
The black points system was introduced earlier, but it was not implemented effectively, he said. The new system will be stricter, he added.
Brigadier Al Zafeen said, “There are some traffic offences which will receive 24 points automatically. These include reckless driving or causing fatalities or if motorists are convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol, exceeding speed limit or driving a car with no number plates.”
If a motorist jumps the red signal, he or she will receive 12 points and the car will be seized for a week. If the person is caught for a second time, the car will be seized for a month and if it’s repeated again, he or she will be referred to courts.
Al Zafeen said new rules have also been issued for trucks. If a truck driver is charged with a traffic offence, the vehicle will be seized for a month. If a truck driver is responsible for damaging another vehicle or jumping the red signal, his licence will be withdrawn for a year and expatriate drivers will be deported, he added.
Regarding temporary driver's licence, Al Zafeen said if people holding such licences are guilty of any serious traffic violation, they will not be allowed to apply for permanent licences for at least a year.
Al Zafeen said the new rules had been issued to ensure road safety.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Two fishermen rescued as boat capsizes
FUJAIRAH — May 03: The coast guards, two days ago, rescued two fishermen whose boat capsized at least10km off the Kalbaa port.
Recalling the incident, Ali Rashed Ali Al Danhani, one of the rescued fishermen and owner of the 27-foot-long boat, said, “As usual, I went fishing from Dibba seaport. I was accompanied by my co-worker Ali Ahmed Al Noun. We sailed away at least 10km offshore with the intention of catching tuna. Having reached there, I stopped the boat and cast the fishing net. Suddenly, we noticed the boat sinking from the back. We tried to control the boat but to no avail. It was sinking fast.”
KHALEEJ TIMES
Police intensify vigil after mystery car fires
SHARJAH — May 03: Following a spate of mysterious incidents over the past two days, including torching of three parked cars belonging to different owners, the Sharjah Police yesterday intensified patrolling in various parts of the emirate.
According to the police, unidentified miscreants set fire to three cars parked in private villa compounds in the Fayha area. Two of the burnt cars belonged to a Pakistani national while one was owned by a Palestinian.
The Palestinian's car was parked about 100 metres away from the Pakistani's cars, but the incident happened around the same time .
According to an official from Sharjah Civil Defence, the department received a call at 2:15am on April 29 informing them about the cars on fire. The officers immediately rushed to the scene and extinguished the blaze which had already destroyed two cars parked in the garage of a private house of Pakistani national Imam Al Deen Rafiqu.
While struggling to extinguish the flames engulfing the two cars, they observed smoke in the next street where they found another car, which belonged to the Palestinian national, destroyed by fire.
The fire incidents have caused concern among the local residents who are at a loss to ascertain the motive of the miscreants who set fire to the cars.
The police official said intensified patrolling would ensure security in the area and prevent reccurrence of such incidents.
Investigations are on and efforts are being made to bring the culprits to justice, he added.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Joint Dubai drive to evict bachelors
DUBAI — May 03: The Dubai Municipality and the Dubai Naturalisation and Residence Department (DNRD) will jointly work to evict bachelors from residential areas in the emirate.
The DNRD has authorised the municipality to review the residence visas in their system.
A senior DNRD official said a temporary work team, consisting of staff from Dubai Municipality and DNRD, has been formed to crack down on landlords and bachelors found violating the civic body's housing rules.
Col Obaid Mehayer bin Suroor, deputy director in DNRD said: "The coordination is there between the DM and the DNRD. The DM takes care of everything regarding infringement of the housing laws and DNRD's role is to eliminate violations of the residency rules and regulations."
"The cooperation is ongoing between the two sides in all fields. As to the cooperation mechanism on the question of bachelors living in residential family areas, the coordination started about three weeks ago following a meeting attended by representatives of the authorities concerned.
“Both departments agreed on sharing automated information to implement the law," bin Suroor added.
"The Building Inspection Section of the municipality carries out raids on houses and villas which are not abiding by the law, whether as to the number of people living there or to the infringement of residency and sponsorship laws. DNRD is informed whenever necessary to take necessary action," he pointed out.
The municipality is also coordinating with the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority in this connection. In addition, Dubai Police help would also be sought whenever required.
Khalid Mohammed Saleh, director of the Buildings Department in the municipality, said these departments would be working in tandem.
"The DNRD and the municipality would be forming inspection teams. We are also planning a team consisting officials of the DNRD and Buildings Department on a temporary basis. Checks would be carried out and the violators would be punished," he said.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Summer Surprises events will cater to all age groups
DUBAI — May 03: Unlike the previous editions in which each week was dedicated to a particular theme, this year's Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) will feature all the themes throughout the 10-week duration, a top official of DSS said.
Unveiling the "DSS Spa Package 2007" on the sidelines of Arabian Travel Mart, DSS Chief Executive Officer Saeed Al Nabouda said, "Previously, government departments conducted different themes. This time they will be just supporting partners, and all the activities will be organised by DSS committee."
Instead of concentrating only on children, this year's event will cater to all age groups, he said, and felt that this will make the summer event's appeal wider and attract a large number of family visitors. "These changes will complement the extraordinary growth of Dubai seen in the past decade as we are trying to elevate the events to cater to the increasing number tourists," he said.
Announcing the details of spa package promotion, Nabouda said, "After the stupendous success of maiden Spa Promotion last year, we decided to add a few more attractions. This year's promotion includes the latest rejuvenation treatments available in different parts of the world such as health spas, dry and wet spas, medical mud therapies and oriental spa treatments."
Dubai Summer Surprises will commence on June 21 and run until August 31.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Metro tunnel work in progress
DUBAI — May 03: The Chairman and CEO of Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Mattar Al Tayer, has inspected the progress of work at the Union Square Station and the initial tunnelling drive of Dubai Metro currently being carried out from the Union Square Station to Burjman and Al Riqqa stations.
He also inspected the progress of work in viaduct deck segments of the Dubai Metro line.
Al Tayer set off his tour from the Union Square and was briefed on the work by Abdul Majeed Al Khaja, CEO of Rail Agency.
Al Tayer toured the tunnel and checked the work completed so far by the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM); Al Wugeisha 1, which has crossed Al Maktoum Road and is now moving underneath the road extending from the Dubai Municipality to Radisson SAS Hotel. It will come to the BurJuman Station in September.
He said, “Monitoring equipment have been installed in the area and around the tunnel paths in order to ensure that no damage or disruption is caused to the surrounding buildings during the tunnelling process. Precautionary measures and emergency plans have also been developed in conjunction with Dubai Civil Defence, Dubai Police and Department of Health and Medical Services.”
He also inspected the work of Al Wugeisha 2, which on March 26 commenced tunnelling works from the Union Square Station towards the City Centre Station via the Al Riqqa Station.
He announced that a third TBM, Al Wugeisha 3, will arrive in Dubai in September to kick off tunnelling works in the Al Ras Station heading towards the Burjman Station via the Al Ghubaiba Station.
Al Tayer rounded off his tour by inspecting the work in progress in the Dubai Metro viaduct deck segments on Shaikh Zayed Road.
KHALEEJ TIMES
Preventive steps to check robbery
ABU DHABI — May 03: The Department of Municipalities and Agriculture in Abu Dhabi is taking preventive measures in coordination with the Abu Dhabi Police to secure shopping centres against robbery.
Eng Abdullah Nasser Al Janiby, General Manager of Public Services in the Abu Dhabi Municipality, told Khaleej Times that one of the tasks of the municipality was to ensure that proper security measures were taken in shops.
He added that the civic body would organise training sessions for officials in shopping centres. The training programme would cover such areas as how to handle surveillance cameras.
Eng Al Janiby further said the Abu Dhabi Municipality had welcomed the decision of the Abu Dhabi Police to
prevent oil tankers and liquefied gas tankers from parking in public places and residential areas in the emirate.
He added that the municipality would allocate places for those tankers outside the city as soon as possible to ensure the safety of people and properties.
KHALEEJ TIMES