NEWS FROM THE UAE
Excerpts from UAE Media
'Black points will reduce accidents'
DUBAI/UAE - MAR 04: Lt General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Commander of Dubai Police on Monday presided over a meeting to discuss implementation of the black points system for errant drivers, which came into effect from March 1.
The meeting was attended by officials from Dubai Police and from the Ministry of Interior.
Lt. General Dhai Khalfan said that black points will not be withdrawn from the files of violators of traffic rules in Dubai.
The emirate has been implementing the system since 1999.
He added that implementation of the system all over the Emirates will help reduce traffic accidents and make roads more secure and safe for motorists and pedestrians alike
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Abu Dhabi's new taxis to be fitted with State-of-art tracking systems
Abu Dhabi, Mar 04: As part of its strategy to improve the transportation system in the Emirate to meet international standards, The Center for Regulation of Transport by Hire cars (Trans AD) announced the implementation of tracking and dispatch system on a sample of cars for testing before the final launch in next few months.
This was announced during a press roundtable held by TransAD to update the media on the latest developments. TransAD also announced their plan to withdraw more than 4000 old taxis before the end of 2008.
TransAD announced that inspectors will be sent out periodically to ensure that drivers and operators are abiding by the laws and living up to the new standards as set by TransAD. To enforce the act, operators and drivers get audited and those who violate the law will be penalized and fined by TransAD.
Khaled Saleh Al Rashedi, General Manager of TransAD, stated during the press meeting that the Center started issuing beneficiary Certificates for releasing the compensation fund which will be AED 1000 per month per license for a period of 25 years, as stipulated by the law. This compensation shall be remitted by those who carry old licenses on the 25th of every month at the National Bank of Abu Dhabi.
Al Rashedi also declared that the cars will be equipped with a new state-of-art tracking and dispatch device provided by CERT InfoTrack, a UAE company specialized in developing these kinds of solutions. The device will include many useful features such as detailed maps of UAE, an electronic meter, a database recording system and will be able to accept payments through Credit Cards in foreseeable future. The dispatching services will be offered to public through a Call Centre, which will be accessible 24/7/365.
Dr. Robert Richards, CEO of CERT commented on this topic: "CERT is currently testing the system on some of the new cars and will be installing them on all cars in the next few months as per the roll-out plan of TransAD for customers to reserve their taxis. One central telephone number for all hire car companies will be in place, in addition to individual numbers for each of them".
Trans AD also confirmed that all taxi drivers are required to attend comprehensive training sessions and courses from the Emirates Driving School, which include geographical information about the Emirate, regulations governing taxi services and road traffic laws.
TransAD has already introduced a telephone number for any comments, 600 53 53 53, for the general public - encouraging people to call and give their input or feedback regarding any relevant matter. Mr. Al Rashedi stressed the importance of public participation in the development process and urged everyone to call and make a difference.
WAM/MAB
'Keep wastes at bay from sea'
Abu Dhabi - Mar 04:ALL kinds of wastes are posing big risks to the maritime environment and its living creatures. Oil pollution is one of the biggest dangers that threaten the maritime environment, followed by all kinds of wastes that are often dumped into the sea.
Accordingly, the Abu Dhabi Environment Agency has recently adopted a new campaign that would last for one year, aiming at cleaning the deep bottom of the sea adjacent to the UAE coastal line, as well as the fishing harbours.
The area of regional seas in the UAE is estimated at 37,000 square metres; whereas the length of the UAE coastal line extends for 2,390 kilometres. Such a huge area has helped in creating a diversity of environmental creatures. In the meantime, all primary reports show that there are huge quantities of pollutants on the local shores and the localities adjacent to the coastal line. Damaged fishing equipment, plastic bags and other metal or wooden wastes that are related with fishing pose big dangers to the sea life. There are also numerous fishing equipment that are often lost in the sea; thus posing big threats to various kinds of sea creatures.
Within one of the latest cleaning campaigns, more than 6,725 kilogrammes of wastes were collected from Al Musaffah Canal and its shores within a few hours. In the meantime, more than 7,245 kilogrammes of wastes and debris were collected from the shores of Al Mirfa City.
Maritime environmental pollution usually results in huge material losses; mainly represented in the death of a large number of sea creatures such as fish, shrimps, sea turtles, dolphins and migrating birds. Maritime pollution also affects the pure water sources, as a large percentage of pure water in the UAE come from sea water desalination stations. On the other hand, the government often spends huge sums to control sea pollution, which strikes hard at the national economy. Oil spots, in specific, cause big risks to maritime reserves in the UAE, which include seaweeds, sea plants and sea birds.
According to Magid Al Mansoury, secretary general of the Abu Dhabi Environment Agency, the fishing sector in the UAE has improved and developed within the past few days. "Such development was accompanied by a notable increase in production. The development was also accompanied by a marked increase in the number of fishermen and fishing boats; thus resulting in a series of negative attitudes, which had left their impacts on the whole the fish wealth. The most important of such negative attitudes is dumping the fishing wastes into the sea, especially plastic bags in which fishermen often keep the bait. "The wastes also might include damaged fishing tools and metal equipment, broken glass, lead, paper and torn fabrics," he said, pointing out that there was a notable increase in the death rates of seals in 2007; reaching 12 seals.
Mansoury laid stress on the importance of increasing the environmental awareness of fishermen and beach users. "They should all avoid dumping any wastes in the sea water, so as to protect the maritime environment and avoid pollution. This would result in the increase of fish wealth and the protection of the maritime species that are threatened of extinction. A clean sea environment, on the surface and the bottom of the sea, is what we are aiming at," he said, pointing out that the issue of maritime environmental pollution is not limited to the UAE; but it is a problem facing the whole world.
"International statistics show that more than six million tons of plastic wastes are dumped in the world oceans every year. Within the past few weeks and within our campaigns for cleaning the seawater, we managed to remove more than 6,725 kilogrammes of wastes and debris at Musaffah Canal. The collected wastes included wooden tools and some polystyrene-made equipment, plastic bottles and bags as well as tires. More than 7,245 kilogrammes of wastes were collected as well from the shores of Mirfa City, which included plastic, wooden and glass wastes," he noted, pointing out that such huge quantities of wastes reflect the unawareness of all workers in companies and factories, as well as fishermen and swimmers, about the risks that all kinds of wastes pose to both the maritime environment and in turn the human health.
Thabet Zahran, director of Maritime Environment Research Centre at the Abu Dhabi Environment Agency, highlighted the dangers that wastes pose on the coral reefs in the Arab Gulf water.
"The Arab Gulf water is considered poor in coral reefs, compared to other regions worldwide such as the Red Sea. There are only 35 kinds of coral reefs in the Arab Gulf water. Nevertheless, the coral reefs play very important role in the maritime production of the region."
"The coral reefs usually represent the food, the shelter and the egg nursing for a large number of fish species and other maritime creatures. They also act as wave breakers in cases of heavy storms or hurricanes. Coral reefs are also considered as an important tourist attraction, as they attract divers from all over the world. Accordingly, wastes dumped in the sea water endangers the coral reefs and thus might have direct impacts on the national economy," he said, pointing out that the coral reefs also play an important role in protecting the shores from erosion.
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Fog delays morning flights
UAE - MAR 04: THE entire UAE was enveloped by a thick fog this morning, delaying a few incoming flights.
Duty Forecaster at Dubai International Airport Weather Department, Dr SK Gupta said that the fog started setting over south of Dubai in Jebel Ali from the middle of the night itself but enveloped the entire area by 3 am.
He said that fog lifted in Dubai only at 8:30 am.
He said that the foggy conditions were prevailing in the desert area for the last few days and Al Ain and Mihhad stations were enveloped by fog for the last three nights.
He said that the fogs enveloped the coastal areas also after the light southerly wind, very favourable for the foggy conditions, started with the Shamal (North Westerly) wind completely collapsing.
He said that fresh strong Shamal will start blowing on Wednesday but only to moderate on Thursday.
An Emirates airline spokesperson said a few incoming flights were delayed due to the early morning fog.
Delay in landing triggered delayed departures as airlines had to complete the mandatory turn-around procedures before aircraft took off again.
Although visibility was very low, most flights were guided for touch down by state-of-the-art onboard navigational equipment.
The schedules returned to normal once the fog lifted.
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Parents queue up overnight to register school children
DUBAI - MAR 04: The pressure on parents to secure a good education for their children was keenly displayed at Dubai Scholars, where a large queue had formed outside the school gate as parents sought enrolment for their children for the upcoming academic year.
With only 85 seats available, the yearly intake was completed within just one hour of the school gates opening. Many of the hopeful adults had started to form a queue from mid-afternoon a day in advance, enjoying the shared camaraderie that came from being parents caught in the same situation and wanting the best for their children.
Kiran Kumar was one such parent who was clearly taking no chances for the opportunity to register his child at the school. Arriving at the school on late afternoon, he remained at his post until the school opened for business the next morning.
"I'm doing this to secure my child's future," he explained, midway through his marathon wait.
Mukesh Eshdevnan, another parent waiting patiently in line, had come across the school through his friends' recommendations.
"Even though I'm ultimately planning to move back to India, I still want my kids to have a British curriculum-based education," he remarked. "There is a changing trend in India with the growing acceptance of the British curriculum, so I feel that this education can be safely shifted back home."
It wasn't just family members that were braving the cool evening temperatures outside the school.
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