Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Not so great Britons

 

Britons are more likely to be arrested in the UAE than anywhere else in the world, new figures have shown.

The 2009 British Foreign Office 'British Behaviour Abroad Report' shows that 294 people from the UK were arrested here in the 12 months up to March 31, with 48 of those drug arrests.

In a year that saw drunken Brits having sex on a beach and threatening to blow up a plane, the report makes stark reading for expats hoping to make a good impression.

"As a proportion of the number of visitors, Britons were most likely to be arrested in the United Arab Emirates," the report says bluntly.

Marco Blankenburgh, who runs cultural sensitivity courses in the UAE, said British expats are often caught out by the belief that anything goes in the moderate nation.

"You have to remember that you are in a Muslim country. People forget that," he said.

"They forget they are in the Middle East because, Dubai especially, is largely open and tolerant."

An advisory note with the report explains that Britons must be aware of local traditions.

"Topless sunbathing, swearing and public displays of affection can also lead to arrest in some countries. This highlights the need for Britons to ensure they carefully research the area to which they are travelling," it said.

British couple Vince Acors and Michelle Palmer mortified fellow British expats last year when they were caught in a compromising position on Jumeriah Beach after a drunken brunch.

The case made headlines around the world, while compatriot Mark Winterbottom was arrested at Dubai airport in July 2008 for a drunken tirade in which he threatened to blow up a plane.

The report also notes that there is one Briton in the UAE who is facing a possible death penalty - one of 12 internationally. That person is believed to be Mark Arnold, although this has not been confirmed. Arnold is facing murder charges for allegedly killing his ex-girlfriend, Kerry Winter.

Foreign Office Minister Chris Bryant said: "So many of the problems we deal with can be avoided with a little bit of preparation. Researching the local laws and customs before you travel could avoid time in a foreign jail." And an official with Dubai Public Prosecution said simply: "There are no differences between all the nationalities... Any person breaking the law must be punished."

Michelle Palmer and Vince Acors:
The infamous pair were arrested in July 2008 after a policeman caught them having sex on Jumeirah Beach.
They were both sentenced to three months in prison, later suspended on appeal.

Mark Arnold: Currently on trial for allegedly murdering his ex-girlfriend in 2008. He's already been convicted in a separate case of assault.

MR X-Posed:
A boozed-up British man exposed himself to a Lebanese woman at JBR. He said he was too drunk to remember what happened

Don't get carried away at iftar

 

Ramadan is a time of reflection and spirituality. It is also a time to discipline oneself both morally and physically. Those who are able to utilise it by exercising restraint will gain the most from it, in terms of getting closer to God and their loved ones.

Fasting can improve a person's health, provided that they eat healthy and reasonable proportions. According to a senior doctor from the Ministry of Health though, people tend to get more obese and diabetic due to 'overeating' and/or consuming a lot of greasy and fatty meals.

Adequate nutrition is obviously needed as Muslims refrain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset. But people should not let themselves go and gorge. Instead, they should follow a balanced diet.

Ramadan is a time for family and communal gatherings and as a result, many people tend to share iftar - the end of fast meal. While having a variety of dishes to choose from is great, there's a need to remember not to go overboard. Having huge quantities of food go to waste is in fact, very much contradictory to the spirit of Ramadan. Muslims are aware that this is a time for simplicity and to reach out to the needy and be more involved in charity work.

public

Health

H1N1 fears may set school opening back

 

Abu Dhabi: Health authorities are studying a proposal to further postpone the opening of schools until November to prevent H1N1 virus contamination among schoolchildren, Gulf News has learnt.

The proposal covers both public and private schools that follow the education ministry's curriculum.

A source said postponing the school opening was among the many options discussed during a meeting held last week between the National Committee to Combat H1N1 and officials from the ministries of education and health, as well as educational councils and health authorities.

The option to postpone the opening of schools for another month is gaining ground, and a decision will be made within the next two weeks following the expected influx of residents who are returning from vacation, the source said.

The source said health authorities cited a study that said it would be difficult to contain the virus and prevent it from spreading among schoolchildren if more than one case appeared in any school.

The study recommended that schools remain closed until the situation is under control.

The Gulf News source said rescheduling the school opening to November would allow returning residents to have more than a month's time for self-quarantine to determine whether they have been infected by swine flu.

The extra period likewise gives enough time to treat those who became infected or have shown symptoms of the flu virus. Hence, if school is postponed until November this will ensure suspected cases are treated at home.

Moreover, most schools are not ready to cope with the situation in case more than one person becomes infected.

Another factor being considered was the lack of hospital beds to handle patients in case of a widespread outbreak.

Sources told Gulf News that health authorities had received reports from international bodies suggesting that the possibility of the virus spreading in cold countries is greater, because the virus thrives better in cooler climates.

Authorities are concerned that schoolchildren returning with their families from cold countries maybe carrying the H1N1 virus.

Are you considering keeping your children at home during the first few days of school? Is your child's school taking necessary precautions to prevent any spread of H1N1 flu?


Traffic and Transport

 

The Metro system is to provide an alternative mode of transport to ease congestion, save passengers' travel time and reduce traffic pollution.

New residential areas to benefit

 

Dubai: The Jumeirah Lake Towers (JLT) Metro Station will mainly cater to the huge new residential and commercial developments including the Dubai Marina and the JLT.

The JLT Station is located on the Red Line of the Dubai Metro between Interchange number five and the recently built Interchange 5.5 which is also called Dubai Marina Interchange on Shaikh Zayed Road.

Its location has strategically been chosen to meet the transport needs of thousands of residents and employees in the huge new developments such as Dubai Marina, JLT, Jumeirah Heights and Jumeirah Islands.

The importance of the station can be gauged from the fact that hundreds of thousands of people are expected to live in around 79 residential, commercial, hotel and retail towers, once fully completed in the JLT - being developed along huge man-made lakes. The average tower height ranges from 35 to 45 storeys.

Using the metro will be the easiest, most convenient and the cheapest mode of transport for residents and visitors to the area as they can save on expensive taxi fares and those driving can avoid Salik toll gates and parking hassle.

The station will also benefit employees and visitors of the Dubai Metals and Commodities Centre (DMCC).

An air-conditioned pedestrian bridge links the station with Dubai Marina across the Shaikh Zayed Road. Residents of Dubai Marina and the Jumeirah Beach Residents (JBR) can use this bridge.

The station will be linked with the Al Sufouh Tram project which also passes through the Marina and also link Jumeirah Beach Residences.

A feeder public bus route number F40 will link the station with different areas of Dubai Marina, providing hassle free transport facilities to the residents. The Red Line of the metro is scheduled to start operation on September 9.

Employment

Sponsor ordered to pay 8 months' unpaid salaries

 

Ras Al Khaimah: The Labour Department Tuesday referred the case of dozens of Arab and Asian workers to the emirate's Labour Court to pass a verdict on the two sponsoring companies, owned by the same man, who have failed to pay salaries for four to eight months.

A total of 18 workers of various nationalities earlier lodged a complaint with the Labour Department. The labourers stressed that they have tried their best to convince their sponsor to pay their salaries amicably, but the sponsor refused.

The labourers took their case to the emirate's authorities which investigated and found the claims to be genuine.

The workers told top officials from the Labour Department that they do not have money to buy food and that if it were not for the Iftar tents they would be going without anything to eat at all.

The workers said they have not been able to transfer money to their families back home and that they have taken their complaints to the management and owner of the companies, but the owner has never tried to resolve the problem.

The Labour Relations Section at the department investigated the case and concluded that the majority of these labourers have not received their salaries for the past eight months and have been living in miserable conditions.

The department officials had summoned the owner of the two companies, but he failed to show up until the department issued him an official warning. He has now vowed to immediately pay all outstanding salaries in a lump sum.

police and court

Indian police arrest 6 over murder of Dubai-based family

 

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad police have made significant progress in uncovering the murder of Indian Engineer K. Prasad, his wife, and two children in a city lodge by arresting six suspects, including a female relative.

The investigations were focused on the possibility of a dispute between Prasad and a female relative over money which he had sent from Dubai for a fixed deposit and also towards the premium of an insurance policy.

According to sources, an amount of Rs1 million (Dh44,450) was at the heart of the dispute.

The police managed to reach the woman in Visakhapatanam after painstakingly going through the records of calls made and received on Prasad's mobile phone.

Though the killers had taken Prasad's cellphone, investigators were able to gather details by using his cellphone number.

The phone records showed that a female relative had made frequent calls to Prasad's phone ever since he arrived in Hyderabad on July 24.

Police also discovered that before the murder, the victims along with two other couples had visited the I-Max theatre in Hyderabad to watch a movie.

Investigators later went through the footage of the movie theatre's closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras and spotted the suspects including the woman, who eye witnesses described as a "fat lady".

Police also identified the two couples from the CCTV footage of Secunderabad railway station where they and Prasad's family had disembarked after leaving their home town Razole in East Godavari district.

At the moment, police are interrogating Prasad's female relative as well as the five other suspects to try establish the motive for killing Prasad and his entire family.

Prasad had been working as an engineer for the last ten years at the Dubai Petroleum Company.

He and his family had returned to Hyderabad to attend the funeral of his mother.

Prasad was scheduled to fly back to Dubai the same night that he and his family were killed at the RAK Royal Lodge in Secunderabad.

dubai police and court

132 residency law violators arrested

WAM
Published: August 25, 2009, 23:03

Dubai: The Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department (DNRD) in one day caught 132 persons of various nationalities for violating the federal law for entry and residency of expatriates.

Major General Mohammad Al Merri, Director of DNRD, said the violators, most of them domestic helpers, were arrested during a series of simultaneous inspection campaigns on four houses in Bur Dubai.

The Investigation and Foreigners' Follow up Section had conducted the raid after receiving reliable tip-off about the whereabouts of those violators, he said.

 

Coconut Water can prevent H1N1...pls take coconut water daily

Young Green Coconut Water can prevent H1N1...
pls take young green coconut water daily.

Former associate professor of ecology at Universiti Malaya has authored several books on complementary therapy called, 'Ecological Healing System'.

Dr Palaniappan said his 33 years of research had shown that high acidity in the body resulted in loss of immunity, thus making people more susceptible to viral diseases like Influenza A (H1N1).

Hence, to prevent acidity, it was essential to consume alkaline food and drinks that could neutralise excess acid in the body.

Dr Palaniappan recommends coconut water, which is alkaline, and therefore could be used as a herbal medicine for the prevention of H1N1.

For example, he said, those who felt feverish and developed a burning sensation while attending to a call of nature because of extreme acidity, could neutralise it by //drinking coconut water, twice a day, for three days//.

He also recommended orange, lemon and pomelo which, despite containing citric acid, were very rich in potassium and therefore, would not disturb the body's immunity.

According to Dr Palaniappan, excessive physical activity like running a marathon should be avoided as it produced acid due to excessive metabolic activity.

Similarly, he said, keeping late nights without adequate sleep and working without proper rest could also increase the body's acidity which in turn, lowered immunity and made the body vulnerable to viral attacks.

Some thing about rice..

 
Eat Less Rice!  

The human body was never meant to consume rice! You see, our genes have hardly changed in more than 30,000 years. However, our food choices and lifestyle have changed dramatically. The caveman would hardly recognise our food or way of life.

Caveman food was never cooked as fire was not yet tamed. Thus, he ate only those foods that you can eat without treatment with or by fire.. He ate fruits, vegetables, fish (sushi anyone?), eggs, nuts and meat. Yes, even meat! You can even eat meat raw if you were starving in the forest. You have the necessary enzymes to digest meat.

However, rice, like wheat and corn, cannot be eaten raw. It must be cooked. Even if you were starving in the desert, you cannot eat rice in the raw form. This is because we do not have the system of enzymes to break rice down. You were never meant to eat rice. To make matters worse, you not only eat rice, but also make it the bulk of your food.

In some parts of Asia , rice forms up to 85% of the plate. Even if you take rice, keep it to a minimum.. Remember, it is only for your tongue - not your body. Actually, rice and other grains like wheat and corn are actually worse than sugar. There are many reasons:

Rice becomes sugar - lots of it!
 
This is a fact that no nutritionist can deny: rice is chemically no different from sugar. One bowl of cooked rice is the caloric equal of 10 teaspoons of sugar. This does not matter whether it is white, brown or herbal rice. Brown rice is richer in fibre, some B vitamins and minerals but it is still the caloric equal of 10 teaspoons of sugar. To get the same 10 teaspoons of sugar, you need to consume lots of kangkong-10 bowls of it.

Rice is digested to become sugar.
 
Rice cannot be digested before it is thoroughly cooked. However, when thoroughly cooked, it becomes sugar and spikes circulating blood sugar within half an hour-almost as quickly as it would if you took a sugar candy. Rice is very low in the 'rainbow of anti-oxidants. '

This complete anti-oxidant rainbow is necessary for the effective and safe utilisation of sugar. Fruits come with a sugar called fructose. However, they are not empty calories as the fruit is packed with a whole host of other nutrients that help its proper assimilation and digestion.

Rice has no fibre.

The fibre of the kangkong fills you up long before your blood sugar spikes. This is because the fibre bulks and fills up your stomach. Since white rice has no fibre, you end up eating lots of 'calorie dense' food before you get filled up. Brown rice has more fibre but still the same amount of sugar.

Rice is tasteless-sugar is sweet.
 
There is only so much that you can eat at one sitting. How many teaspoons of sugar can you eat before you feel like throwing up? Could you imagine eating 10 teaspoons of sugar in one seating?

Rice is always the main part of the meal.
  

While sugar may fill your dessert or sweeten your coffee, it will never be the main part of any meal. You could eat maybe two to three teaspoons of sugar at one meal. However, you could easily eat the equal value of two to three bowls (20-30 teaspoons) of sugar in one meal. I am always amused when I see someone eat sometimes five bowls of rice (equals 50 teaspoons of sugar) and then asks for tea tarik kurang manis!

There is no real 'built in' mechanism for us to prevent overeating of rice:
 
How much kangkong can you eat?
How much fried chicken can you eat?
How much steamed fish can you eat?
Think about that!

In one seating, you cannot take lots of chicken, fish or cucumber, but you can take lots of rice. Eating rice causes you to eat more salt. As rice is tasteless, you tend to consume more salt-another villain when it comes to high blood pressure. You tend to take more curry that has salt to help flavor rice. We also tend to consume more ketchup and soy sauce which are also rich in salt.

Eating rice causes you to drink less water.
 
The more rice you eat, the less water you will drink as there is no mechanism to prevent the overeating of rice. Rice, wheat and corn come hidden in our daily food. As rice is tasteless, it tends to end up in other foods that substitute rice like rice flour, noodles and bread. We tend to eat the hidden forms which still get digested into sugar.
   
Rice, even when cooked, is difficult to digest.
 
Can't eat raw rice? Try eating rice half cooked. Contrary to popular belief, rice is very difficult to digest. It is 'heavy stuff'. If you have problems with digestion, try skipping
 
rice for a few days. You will be amazed at how the problem will just go away.

Rice prevents the absorption of several vitamins and minerals.
 
Rice when taken in bulk will reduce the absorption of vital nutrients like zinc, iron and the B vitamins.

Are you a rice addict? Going rice-less may not be easy but you can go rice-less. Eating less rice could be lot easier than you think. Here are some strategies that you can pursue in your quest to eat less rice:

Eat less rice-cut your rice by half.
 

Barry Sears, author of the Zone Diet, advises 'eating rice like spice'. Instead, increase your fruits and vegetables. Take more lean meats and fish. You can even take more eggs ( If you are a Carnivorus)... I sujest vegitables and nuts. 

Have 'riceless' meals.
 
Take no rice or wheat at say, breakfast. Go for eggs instead( If you are a Carnivorus)... I sujest fruits and nuts. 
.

Go on 'riceless' days.
 
Go 'western' once a week.

Take no rice and breads for one day every week.
 
That can't be too difficult. Appreciate the richness of your food. Go for taste, colours and smells. Make eating a culinary delight. Enjoy your food in the original flavours.

Avoid the salt shaker or ketchup.
 
You will automatically eat less rice.

Eat your fruit dessert before (Yes! No printing error) your meals.

The fibre rich fruits will 'bulk up' in your stomach. Thus, you will eat less rice and more fruits.. 


 


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Tuesday, August 25, 2009

The Burj Dubai’s record as the world’s tallest building could stand for at least five years

The Burj Dubai's record as the world's tallest building could stand for at least five years, according to one of the men who built it.
When quizzed by crazyengineers.com about whether he planned to build something even bigger, chief structural engineer Bill Baker said: "We're working on many projects, primarily in the Middle East and China.
"Some of these are quite tall, and I have no doubt that someone, perhaps our team, will design a building taller than the Burj.
"But, I do think that the Burj will hold the title for a while, at least five years or so."
Developer, Emaar, says the Burj has reached 780m and is now 160 storeys tall. The final height is thought to be 818m, although that has never been confirmed.

David Beckham is report-edly looking to buy an apartment in the Burj Dubai.

Dubai: Football superstar David Beckham is report-edly looking to buy an apartment in the Burj Dubai.
The footballer, who already owns a property on Palm Jumeirah, is planning to buy a dhs26.8 million pad in the luxury tower, the world's tallest building.
According to a British newspaper, Beckham is said to have been approac-hed by developers who have designed an Armani property in the tower.
"Beckham and the Burj Dubai would be the perfect fit," a source is quoted in the newspaper.
"This is the finest building in the world, he is the finest soccer player. I believe he is being sounded out."

CLEANER SPIED ON WOMEN


 

A cleaner at Dubai International Airport has been accused of making a secret tunnel so he could spy on women in the toilet.

The man, who is Indian, has gone on trial at Dubai Court of First Instance accused of spying on three women.

According to police reports, in May a supervisor noticed that the cleaner was staying in the men's bathroom for hours on end. He said he discovered part of the wall was loose and the man had been sneaking into gap between the two bathrooms and peeping through a hole in the ceiling.

The man failed to appear and the trial has been adjourned.

AU NATURAL BEAUTY


Forget fancy creams and expensive potions, green girlies are whipping up their own cosmetics.

For some women a natural shampoo with Castile soap and water, a vinegar and floral water conditioning rinse, and a salt and olive oil body scrub, is all part of the average morning beauty routine.

There is a growing trend these days for toiletries made from ingredients that come from our kitchen cupboards, and, these ingredients are so natural that you could actually eat your body lotion - as it's often made from just rosewater and jojoba oil.

More and more green-minded beauties are throwing out conventional shampoos and soaps in favour of creating their very own homemade cosmetics.

The recession has definitely made everyone think twice before spending flippantly, but the long list of foreign ingredients on many beauty products (hormone-disrupting parabens or skin-irritating sodium lauryl sulfate) has also got many people thinking twice about the cosmetics they buy.

In fact, this recent interest in DIY toiletries encouraged natural beauty enthusiast Richard Phillips in the UK to set up Cosmetics At Home (www.cosmeticsathome.co.uk) - a web site providing lots of recipes for homemade natural cosmetics.

"If you look at the ingredients on a packet of soap, you see nothing but a huge list of stuff you've never heard of," says Phillips.

"When you make your own, you start to experiment with the ingredients and tailor your toiletries to your very own needs."

Opponents to the beauty-DIY regime often argue that buying store products, while potentially nasty for one's health, are still cheaper and more time-efficient than slaving away over a water bath melting shea butter to make a face cream.

But Phillips argues that all it takes is a little interest and practise.

To measure just how easy and worthwhile some of the recipes out there really are, we swapped regular store products for ones we could knock up at home.

Try them out yourself...

Almond and lavender scrub
* 2 tsp sweet almond oil
* 4 tsp almond meal
* 1 tsp cider vinegar
* 1 drop lavender oil
* Distilled water

Method: Mix all the ingredients into a smooth paste, adding distilled water as needed. Massage gently into the skin, then rinse off with lukewarm water.

Verdict: "This is probably the best scrub I have ever used on my face. The almonds left my skin feeling smooth and exfoliated, while the oils left it feeling light and moisturised afterward.

I didn't even need to use lotion, which was a shock - usually scrubs leave my face feeling tight and dry."

Body scrub
* 4 tbsp table salt
* 1 tbsp olive oil

Method: Mix the ingredients together and use as an all-over scrub in the shower.

Verdict: "I have really dry skin that's quite rough on the elbows and feet, so I was amazed at how easily this body scrub smoothed over those areas and left them soft and conditioned. I've since tried the same measurements with sugar and lemon juice instead of salt and oil, which is a nicer and lighter scrub - it's good for a morning wake-me-up if I want to exfoliate."

Relaxing bath soak
* 1 handful of oats
* 2 tbsp dried lavender or camomile
* 1 square of muslin or cheesecloth
* 1 piece of string

Method: Place the oats and lavender or camomile in the muslin, and tie together with the string. Place the soak either under the running tap or into
the bath for a luxurious and nourishing soak.

Verdict: "I loved bath time with this soak. The oats made the water nice and soft, and I was able to use the oats afterward as a face pack. My skin has felt really soft and healthy-looking since!"

Family mourned


This is the first photo to have emerged of a UAE family who were found slaughtered in an Indian hotel room.

A special mourning ceremony was held in India yesterday for Prasad Kadali, his wife Vijayalakshmi and their two children Kavitha and Ketan, who lived in Sharjah.

Vijayalakshmi's brother Vijay Kumar said the family's ashes were scattered into a river that runs through their native village, as is Hindu custom.

"It is hard to forget them. They were nice people and had enjoyed their visit back here. It is shocking what has happened," he said.

Prasad was found lying in a pool of blood on Saturday at the RAK Royal Lodge in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad, after being struck over the head with a heavy object. His wife and children had been strangled to death.

Hyderabad police said yesterday they strongly suspected the involvement of two couples who had checked in to the hotel and were trying to track them down.

"We are not ruling out their involvement in the murder. They have not been seen since the murder took place," Assistant commissioner of police YV Ramana told 7DAYS.

Prasad, who worked at Dubai Petroleum Company, and his family were supposed to have returned to Dubai on Friday having spent a few weeks in their homeland.

But instead of going to the airport they checked out of their plush hotel and moved into the lodge. Police said they were baffled as to why the family would do this as the lodge is a budget property and they were quite wealthy.

The police are investigating whether the deaths are linked to a dispute over property.

 

 

 

Dubai mortgages top dhs8 billion


The value of mortgages issued in Dubai during the second quarter of this year rose by 12.5 per cent on the first quarter, online real estate information com-pany Reidin.com said.

Mortgages topped dhs8 billion during the second quarter of this year compared to dhs7 billion in the first quarter, Reidin, in partnership with the Real Estate Regulatory Auth-ority (RERA) and the Dubai Land Department, said.

Reidin CEO Ahmet Kayhan said the data "establishes a positive trend for the mortgage market" in Dubai.

However, mortgages had fallen by 77.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2009 from the same period in 2008, Reidin's data showed.

The total value of mortgages for the first half of this year was dhs15 billion, down 74.6 per cent from dhs56.7 billion in the first half of 2008.

Chris Green, managing dir-ector of financial advisory firm Independent Finance, told 7DAYS that Reidin's figures were for total mortgages, including big land deals, but he had also seen more mortgages for the 'man on the street'.

"From our perspective, we've definitely seen an improvement in mortgages in general. There has been an increase in mortgages, but not at the rate and pace everyone is hoping for. And the only reason it's not going at that pace is that loan-to-value ratios are still too high and interest rates are still very high," he said.

He added however, that the increase he had seen he would regard as a positive trend. "If I took a guess I would see it as a trend because there's so much effort being put into improving worldwide markets, especially the property markets," he said.

ASK THE LAW

 

What do I need to do to avoid job ban?

 

A reader from Dubai asks: I am currently working for my employer but wish to change jobs and work for another company once I complete one year's service. The other company has asked me if my current company can provide a no-objection certificate (NoC). I consulted with our administration and was told it can provide me with one. What else do I need to avoid being banned?

If the questioner wants to transfer to a new company I advise him to make sure he does not submit his resignation before obtaining the NoC letter in order to transfer his visa. This is in order to avoid the ban stamped by the Ministry of Labour, especially as the employee might submit his resignation and the employer might then refuse to issue an NoC letter. He should complete one year's continuous service for the company; which is fixed by the Ministry of Labour as a minimum period in order to permit the employee to transfer to another employer.

Questions answered by Advocate Mohammad Ebrahim Al Shaiba of Al Bahr Advocates and Legal Consultants.

TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORT

Traffic and Transport

Gulf News Archive

The Dubai Metro is set to become the world's largest automated driverless metro system.

No pets allowed on Dubai Metro, says RTA

Staff Report
Published: August 25, 2009, 08:56

Dubai: The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) said that Dubai Metro passengers will not be allowed to take on board their pets while travelling on any of its trains, the Arabic newspaper Al Emarat Al Youm reported on Tuesday.

The pets will not be allowed in any of the metro stations or trains regardless if they were being held on a leash or transported in cages.

Video: Dubai Metro testing continues

The RTA said its decision was taken as a measure of ensuring the safety and security of metro passengers given that some animals panic and get scared in crowded areas.

In addition, some passengers may not accept travelling with animals on board, according to the newspaper report.


The RTA assured of its future plans of extending the Red Line, which extends from Al Rashidiya area to Jebel Ali Free Zone area, and linking it all the way to Abu Dhabi.

The Green Line will also be expanded with the extension of the line form Dubai medical city to Jaddaf area, the newspaper reported.

DUBAI Police and The Courts

 

Five-member gang held for stealing 32 kilos of gold

Staff Report
Published: August 24, 2009, 23:12

Dubai: Dubai Police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has arrested a five-member gang for allegedly stealing more than 32 kilos of gold worth Dh3.2 million from a jewellery shop where some of the gang members worked.

The shop's legal affairs manager reported to Naif Police Station that some employees committed a breach of trust by stealing the gold. He accused J.R., R.R., and J.S., all Arab nationals, of the theft which was discovered after an inventory was conducted.

The CID set up a team to arrest the suspects, and the first and second suspects were arrested. The second suspect, R.R. confessed that he used to take the gold out of the shop and give it to the fifth suspect, J.S. The third suspect, A.S., a woman, was assigned with taking the gold out of the country, while the fourth suspect, K.M. used to melt the stolen gold and deliver it to the fifth suspect. Police also recovered the stolen gold.

Brigadier Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, Director of the CID, urged shop owners to ask potential employees for certificates of good conduct from their own countries as well as from the UAE, to make sure they have a good record. He commended the department's staff for solving such cases without any delay.

Lieutenant Colonel Ahmad Al Merri, Director of the Criminal Investigation Section, recommended that shop owners carry out a daily inventory of precious items.

Interactive: Ramadan, a time to reflect