Etihad Airlines launches flights from Abu Dhabi to Moscow and Almaty
Etihad Airways, a capital airline based in Abu Dhabi, is introducing new flights to Moscow and Almaty as part of its extended winter schedule. From December 1 of this year, a flight to Moscow will be added to the list of destinations of Etihad Airways, and from December 2 to Almaty. With the start of flights to these two cities, the number of destinations of the national airline of the United Arab Emirates will reach fifty.
“The new winter Etihad flight schedule will add not only two new cities to the airline’s flight schedule, but also increase the number of flights to the most popular destinations from Abu Dhabi,” said James Hogan, Etihad Airways Executive Director. “With the introduction of new additional routes, we will be able to reach the goal is to serve six million passengers by the end of this year. "
The Etihad Airways network throughout the Middle East region will be strengthened by increasing the number of flights from Abu Dhabi to Damascus from eleven to fourteen per week and to Kuwait from fourteen to nineteen flights per week. In addition, the number of flights to Sydney will be increased to eleven a week and a third flight will be added to London Heathrow Airport.
Emirates Airline will fly to Moscow from Dubai twice a day
Dubai airline Emirates Airline from February 2, 2009 will operate flights between Dubai and Moscow twice a day to cover the ever-growing demand. An additional daily flight number EK 131 will depart from Dubai at 17.40 local time and arrive in Moscow at 22.00. A flight in the opposite direction is planned to be sent from the Russian capital at 23.40 and taken to Dubai at 5.55 the next morning, according to a press release from the airline.
Thanks to the opening of a new flight, the number of passenger seats a week to Moscow and back will be increased by 65% in economy class and doubled in business and first class. Today, the flight between the cities is served by the Boeing 777.
The connection between Dubai and Moscow was opened by Emirates Airlines in 2003, when five flights were made per week. In 2004, due to increased demand, the number of flights was increased to 6 per week, and in 2005 Emirates began flying to Moscow daily.
UAE: expatriate professionals are required to obtain a new identity card before 2009
Professional expatriates registered in the UAE Ministry of Labor as persons with higher education are required to submit documents for a new emirate identity card before the end of this year in order to avoid problems with receiving services in state institutions in the country in the future.
According to Darvish Ahmad Al-Zaruni, Director General of the UAE Identification Department, the category of expatriate professionals includes all foreign citizens working in the country who have a bachelor's degree or higher, as well as consultants, doctors of medicine, engineers, journalists, teachers, and professionals IT and accounting staff.
The deadline for submitting documents for citizens of all countries is December 31 of the current year. Expatriates who do not have time to submit documents will not be able to receive most of the services from the state from January next year, including updating the registration for a car or driver’s license.
It is also planned to suspend the conduct of all banking transactions on the accounts of violators. The corresponding circular prohibiting from January 2009 conducting any kind of transactions for UAE citizens and expatriate professionals who do not present a new identity card before the transaction was issued by the UAE Central Bank two months ago.
To obtain a certificate, you must fill out an electronic form on the website www.emiratesid.ae, print it and register it in any of the 24 EIDA offices in the country. Also, registration forms can be filled in centers providing secretarial services. Information on the location and mode of operation of the centers, as well as answers to any questions, can be obtained by calling 600 523 432.
Air Arabia Airlines launches flights to Kiev
The largest low-cost carrier in the Middle East has opened a new flight to the capital of Ukraine - Kiev. The Sharjah-Kiev route runs three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The plane leaves Sharjah at 13.00 local time and arrives in Ukraine at 16.25. The return flight departs from Ukraine at 16.45 and arrives at the airport of the Emirate of Sharjah at 23.00. According to representatives of Air Arabia, this flight will provide new opportunities for the development of Ukrainian-Emirate cooperation, both in business and tourism.
Recall, Air Arabia, created in February 2003, is the first low-cost airline in the Middle East. The company's flights include routes to Armenia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, countries of Western Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
Emirates banned from wasting water
The federal law establishing the norms, rules and strategy for water consumption in the territory of the United Arab Emirates, as well as sanctions against their violators, is at the final stage of refinement and will be adopted soon.
The federal law, which is planned to be adopted in the first half of next year, will establish fresh water consumption standards in residential and office premises. Most likely, prices for water consumption above the norm will be raised. The basis for the development of the emirate version was taken laws that have been successfully operating in Europe for many years.
According to the Minister of Environment and Water of the UAE, Dr. Rashid Ahmad bin Fahad, there is an urgent need for a legislative act to control water consumption in the country, since the usual way of life in the UAE can no longer be provided with natural resources. He emphasized that, despite the fact that the Emirates are located in a desert territory, where fresh water has always been worth its weight in gold, over the past several decades, a careless attitude towards this valuable natural resource has developed in the country. The economic boom, active construction, and the ever-increasing population of the country complicate the problem.
Uncontrolled, excessive water consumption has led to environmental imbalance and has already created serious problems for future generations.
Today, the Emirates occupy the second place in the world in the consumption of fresh water per capita, and the second place in the consumption of bottled drinking water.
Dubai Introduces New Electronic Salik Payment Service
The e-Government Office of Dubai (Dubai eGovernment) has opened a new type of service that allows you to quickly and conveniently replenish your account balance to pay for the use of the Dubai Salik toll road system.
The new service, called mPay, at the first stage will only work for "Salika" payment. In the future, through the mPay account, it will be possible to pay for other services of state structures of Dubai.
Registration of clients on the mPay portal (// mpay.dubai.ae/userPortal) is free. After registration, the activation code is sent to the email address of the registrant. Next, the activation code must be sent by SMS message to the short number 4488 from the mobile phone number that was specified during registration. After confirming the mobile phone number, the user receives a PIN code, which will then be used by him on the mPay portal.
The new service has become part of the ongoing transfer by the Government of Dubai of customer service to electronic space, which allows providing services to the population faster and more convenient for both parties.
Water and electricity bills in Dubai can be paid from anywhere in the world.
The Dubai Department of Electricity and Water (DEWA) has joined the new mPay electronic payment system, developed by the Dubai Government Electronic Representation.
A cooperation agreement between the department and the electronic representation of the Government of Dubai was signed at the international technology exhibition GITEX Technology Week 2008 in Dubai at the end of October. This means that Dubai residents with an mPay account will be able to pay bills for water and electricity at any time days and from anywhere in the world.
The Dubai Department of Electricity and Water has become the second government agency in the emirate to transfer the experience of its services to electronic space through a service designed specifically for centrally paying for all services of all government offices in Dubai. The first service that became available for mPay was the payment of the Salik Dubai toll road system.
The mPay virtual kiosk operates on the basis of electronic payments with a high degree of protection developed by eGovernment and supports Verified by Visa and Master Card's SecureCode.
Dubai will build the largest solar energy plant in the region
The largest solar energy plant in the region will begin to provide the emirate with environmentally friendly and economically viable type of energy by the end of 2010. The creation of a new company, Solar Technologies FZE, which will deal with the construction and management of the plant, was announced at the opening of the Green Dubai World Forum 2008 in Dubai's Atlantis Hotel.
Sultan Bin Sulayem, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dubai World Holding, told the audience that "a plant with a production capacity of 130 megawatts will be located in the Dubai Technopark." In the second round of the opening, production capacities will be almost doubled. Each of the solar panels will have an area of 5.4 square meters. meter. The total area occupied by solar panels will be more than 1 million square feet. Similar plants under the patronage of Solar Technologies FZE will be created in China, Mexico and Bulgaria, which will allow to bring production capacity to 1 gigawatt by 2015.
Dubai will build a 14-kilometer tram line
The Dubai Roads and Transport Committee is planning to build the first tram line in the UAE and the world with completely closed refrigerated stations along its entire length.
To implement the first phase of the Al Sofouh Tram project, which includes the design and construction of a 9.5 km tram line, a company has already been selected that meets all the requirements and has the necessary experience in implementing such projects. Thus, the first contractor of the project will be a consortium of companies Alstom S. A., Serco Group Ltd., Parsons Corp. and Besix. “The total length of the Al Sofouh tram network will be 14 km with 19 stops,” said Abdul Majid Al Haja, Executive Director of the Railway Agency of the Dubai Committee for Roads and Transport. “The total cost of the project is estimated at four billion dirhams (1.1 billion US dollars). The consortium received a contract worth 3.1 billion dirhams (846 million US dollars). It will be responsible for creating 13 air-conditioned tram stops, a tram depot and 9 , 5 km of tram line. "
Dubai Tramway interchange stations will be located next to the Dubai Metro Red Line in crowded areas such as Mall of the Emirates, Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Lake Towers. The completion of the first phase of the Al Sofouh tram line and its commissioning are scheduled for April 11, 2011. A 14-kilometer tram network will run along areas of the emirate of Dubai such as Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Beach Residence through Dubai Media City and Knowledge Village towards Madinat Jumeirah, Mall of the Emirates and Burj Al Arab, as well as through some other projects that are currently under construction or design.
Arab women in business
Emirate women’s personal investments in the UAE economy amount to 14 billion dirhams (more than $ 380 million). This amount was contributed by 11 thousand local Khadij, Aish and Leil in development projects in the United Arab Emirates.
From these data, published on October 16, 2008 at a women's seminar in Dubai, it follows that each of this number of capital holders has an average of more than one million dirhams of free money (almost 350 thousand dollars). It is not easy to determine the ways of accumulating these capitals, because from the statistics provided at the seminar, it is only known that the emirates make up less than a quarter of the local employed population, numbering, according to the 2006 census, 49 thousand people.
It turns out that almost every fifth working former nomad is a dirham millionaire. At the same time, three out of every four emirates work in the field of education, which is characteristic of all the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, and every fifth - in the field of health.
Emirate women’s personal business activity is 95% concentrated in the trade sector, but a little over a dozen are employed at the counters, as public morality does not welcome this. In the industrial production, the emirates make up only 3%, only two out of a hundred have high professional qualifications that provide good income. However, the level of education of women in the UAE can be envied. The number of students among them has grown over the past 35 years by 10 times. There are 318 women's schools in the country; 95 out of a hundred holders of matriculation certificates go to universities compared to 80 out of 100 young men. 45 emirate women work in the local Foreign Ministry; 10 of them hold diplomatic posts abroad. UAE is not a country of universal literacy. Almost 9 percent of indigenous people of the older generation cannot read and write. The percentage of illiterate women is higher and approaches 12.
For the first time in the history of the region, the UAE is taking the preparatory stage of a beauty contest
The preparatory phase of the final of the Miss Germany 2009 beauty contest this time will be held in the UAE, in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah. The Gulf region is hosting such an event for the first time. According to representatives of the contest organizer, Miss Germany Corporation, a venue for the so-called "preparatory camp", the best hotel in Ras Al Kheimy - Al Hamra Fort and Beach Resort, was announced at a press conference.
All 22 finalists will come to Ras Al Khaimah. In the walls of the hotel from January 28 to February 7 next year, the most beautiful girls in Germany will master the art of choreography, the art of defile, public speaking and acting. Also, stylists, image makers, hairdressers and makeup artists will work with girls. Beauties will be accompanied by a team of 60 people.
Among other things, the girls also have a rich cultural program with an Emirate accent, including desert campsites, hunting and hiking in the mountains. According to Ralph Kelmer, Director of Miss Germany Corporation, Ras Al Khaimah was chosen by chance: “Dubai and Abu Dhabi are well known in Germany, but Ras Al Khaimah is not inferior to them in its atmosphere, natural conditions and unique tourism opportunities. The beautiful sea and magnificent mountains will be a wonderful accompaniment for the preparatory stage of our competition. " Kim Voight, who attended the Miss Germany 2008 press conference, agreed with Ralph Kelmer, saying that she was pleasantly surprised by the beauties of a quiet emirate. “It’s very important for girls to prepare for the competition not only physically, but also emotionally. And here is such a pleasant atmosphere of calm that you forget about stress,” she shared her impressions. The final of the Miss Germany 2009 contest will be held in Germany on February 14, 2009.
Dubai introduces centralized fire warning system
Each public and private building in Dubai will soon be connected to a centralized fire warning system, which will allow sending fire brigades to the scene as soon as possible.
At a press conference in October, Major General Rashid Thani AlMatrushi, director of the Dubai Civil Defense Department, said that "the implementation of the system is the result of many months of work on resolving the fire-fighting problems in Dubai."
The system will monitor all the buildings connected to it around the clock.It will not only be able to immediately inform the central console about the occurrence of a fire or smoke, including in elevators, but also to report malfunctioning of sensors in buildings, which will allow them to be maintained in proper working condition. The central control panel of the system will be located in the Department of Civil Defense.
Connection to the system is mandatory for all commercial buildings, including office buildings, factories, hotels, shopping centers, hospitals and so on. For owners of private residential buildings and villas, connecting to the system is strongly recommended, although not imputed. In the first phase, more than 60,000 buildings in Dubai are expected to be connected to the warning system.
Dubai taxis will charge bribes to travelers to Sharjah
Passengers traveling by taxi Dubai transport companies from Dubai to Sharjah will soon be charged 20 dirhams (US $ 5.5) per boarding. The message came a day after the introduction of a similar fare from Sharjah to Dubai was announced by the Sharjah Transport Agency.
Isa Dossari, executive director of the Public Transport Agency at the Dubai Roads and Transport Committee (RTA), announced plans to introduce a toll on the Dubai-Sharjah route in an interview with the Khaleej Times.
Isa Dossari did not indicate any time frame for the introduction of the collection, saying that the RTA is currently exploring possible options. In the taxi transport companies of Sharjah, a fee of 20 drx (US $ 5.5) will begin to be charged from December 1 of this year. "We are working closely with our colleagues in Sharjah to solve the problems of taxi service that exist in the two emirates and the problems of traveling between the emirates. The general mechanism of the system is not yet ready, but already defined. We have to prepare the counters. The date of introduction of the collection will be announced additionally".
Burj Dubai Lake project fountain will be named Dubai Fountain
The largest developer Emaar Properties PJSC announced the successful completion of the competition for the best name for a world-class fountain with lighting and sound effects, which will be located in the very center of Dubai.
More than 4000 participants of various nationalities took part in the competition for the best name of the fountain, which began on July 1 and ends on September 15, 2008. Anyone had the opportunity to offer one name by submitting it on the official website of Emaar Properties.
The winner was chosen by the panel of judges after considering all the options for the names. Option Dubai Fountain immediately offered 15 participants. The prize of 100,000 dirhams (about US $ 27 322) will be equally divided among all winners.
According to Muhammad Ali Alabbar, chairman of Emaar Properties, the company organized this competition in order to involve as many ordinary members of the society in the city life, thereby strengthening and rallying the spirit of the multinational community existing in the United Arab Emirates.
“The name Dubai Fountain is simple and easy to remember,” added Muhammad Ali Alabbar. “Dubai Fountain is our tribute to the city, which today is the home of people of more than 180 nationalities.” The fountain in the Burj Dubai Lake project will be Dubai's contribution to the collection of the best fountains in the world and will be located in the heart of Downtown Burj Dubai. The total cost of the Burj Dubai Lake project, together with the fountain and its latest filter system, is estimated at 800 million dirhams (US $ 218 million). With a height of over 275 meters, it will be 25% larger than the famous American "singing" Bellagio fountain in Las Vegas.
Powerful, water-spraying nozzles will lift jets of water up to 150 meters. With the help of 6600 light indicators and 50 color spotlights, more than a thousand options for light performances for viewers will be created. The selection of musical accompaniment for water and light shows is also very diverse - from classical to modern Arab and world music masterpieces. The unique fountain will be located next to the world's tallest building Burj Dubai and the new shopping and entertainment center of Dubai - Dubai Mall, which will open its doors on November 4 this year. Recall that the leading mega-project Emaar Properties - Downtown Burj Dubai - is estimated at 73 billion dirhams (US $ 20 billion) and is in greatest demand at the moment in terms of buying both residential and commercial space in Dubai.
Christina Aguilera concert in Abu Dhabi
On Friday, October 26, in Abu Dhabi, the five-star Emirates Palace Hotel hosted a grandiose concert by Christina Aguilera, world pop pop diva. More than 15 thousand fans of the singer’s work gathered in the capital of the UAE from all over the region to hear the voice of their favorite and see her incendiary show.
The concert took place as part of the Back to Basics world tour, the eponymous title has the third album of the singer, which broke all sales records and was unanimously approved by international music critics.
During the concert, the singer performed famous and popular hits - “Candyman”, “Dirrty”, “Ain't No Other Man”, “Lady Marmalade”, “What a Girl Wants”, “Hurt”, “Beautiful”, “Come On Over ”,“ Oh Mother ”,“ Fighter ”,“ Can't Hold Us Down ”,“ The Voice Within & Genie in a Bottle ”and many others. Singer, songwriter, producer, perfumer, winner of numerous Grammy awards, mother and wife, Christina Aguilera, are currently on the list of the richest women in the world.
