Burjuman Mall in Bur Dubai is all set for Vox Cinemas and Carrefour hypermarket.
Expansion work will start in January 2013 and is expected to last for 18 months. Tenants having shops in renovation area have been assigned to temporary locations in the new wing.
Consider this scenario. You visit your kid’s nursery and spot a teacher beating your son in the classroom. What you would do?
Obviously, you will talk with school administartion. But what if they fail to take any action? You may decide to contact the parents you know whose wards are in the same school to discuss the situation. You do that and guess what? You are peanalized and have to cough up Dhs 3,000 as fine.
This is what happened to a Canadain exapt in Dubai.
According to this news report, a mother was convicted of insulting a nursery by sending out an email chain to parents of her son’s classmates claiming their children were in unsafe hands.
The Canadian woman was said to have emailed the parents shortly after she alleged to have spotted a teacher beating her three-year-old son on his head inside the classroom.
The mother claimed when she appeared before the Dubai Misdemeanor Court that she emailed the parents after the nursery failed to take action concerning the alleged incident.
The nursery’s lawyer lodged a civil lawsuit in which he asked the Canadian to pay Dh21,000 in temporary compensation against his client’s financial and moral damages. The court fined the mother Dh3,000 and referred the nursery’s civil lawsuit to the Dubai Civil Court.
According to the charges sheet, prosecutors accused the mother of belittling and offending the nursery and publicly promoting an incident that did not take place.
One of the nursery’s partners complained to Dubai police that the Canadian defamed the nursery and falsely informed the parents that a teacher beat her son on his head.
“I emailed the parents out of conscience. I wanted them to know that no action was taken although I complained to the management. I explained in my email that no disciplinary action was taken. I acted out of fairness. I felt that I was obliged to inform the parents about what happened. My biggest mistake was that I didn’t complain to the police,” the mother told the court earlier.
Her lawyer, on the other hand, argued that his client did not commit a crime. He said the defendant acted objectively and did not have any criminal intention.
“She didn’t offend or defame the school. The beating incident happened and the teacher should have been disciplined,” contended the Canadian’s lawyer.
The email chain [addressed to the parents] read: “… whatever the reason was, and no matter how the children were behaving, it gave [the teacher] no right to touch my child. And, my first reaction was to go and report it to the administration, but to my surprise the administration just covered up for [the teacher]. I have pulled out [my son] from the nursery. This is just to warn you as parents of the children in that class. Your children are not safe with [the teacher]. She struck once. She will strike again! The school said she has been with them for six years and that she had no previous record of abuse… what I saw was not ‘merely patting on the side of the head’. It was violent behavior”.
China Home Life is an annual exhibition featuring wholesalers from China offering products related to home and office.
The 3rd China Home Life Dubai exhibition was held at Dubai World Trade Centre from December 4-6, 2012. There were nearly 1,000 exhibitors, including over 120 Textile and Garment suppliers from China. Other products included furniture, home electronics, kitchen & bathroom, clothing, sports & fitness and stationery.
Here are some pictures from the exhibition:
When moving to Dubai, you’re moving to a part of the world that has a very different culture and customs from the West. Put a foot wrong and you can end up in trouble with the authorities or with the locals, depending on your misdemeanour.
Here are a few things you should know to make sure this doesn’t happen.
The Financial Side
One of the most attractive things for an expat living in Dubai is that there’s no income tax. You may, however, still be liable to pay tax to your country of origin. If you’re planning to stay in Dubai long term, apply for a residency permit and you can avoid this.
Becoming a resident of Dubai means you’ll have to pay council tax. If you own a property and rent it out, you’ll be liable to rental tax.
Naturally, you’ll need to open a bank account in Dubai. To do this, you’ll require a residency permit, a letter of no objection from your employer or sponsor, and a salary certificate. You may want to take out a personal loan for big expenses such as a car or your child’s education (education in Dubai is expensive). The good news is that you don’t have to do all your personal banking with one bank to take out a personal loan in the UAE.
Starting a Business
Dubai is a terrific place to start your business. Set yours up in one of the emirates free zones and you’ll be exempt from paying taxes or customs duties. As part of this drive to encourage international trade, the authorities also lifted foreign businesses’ obligation to share ownership with a UAE national.
One of the other perks is that there are no restrictions on recruitment or sponsorship, making it easier to expand and promote your business.
The Social Side
Fairly conservative dress is best when you’re in in public. Men should avoid wearing shorts, and women shouldn’t wear clothes that display their shoulders or the top halves of their arms. If you’re going to the beach or spending a day by the pool, you may want to walk around in them elsewhere in the area. Keep them to the beach and pool.
Likewise, you should behave conservatively in public. Avoid showing affection to your other half in public, especially if you’re not married. Members of the opposite sex should resist the temptation to flirt with each other.
Needless to say, drunkenness isn’t approved, and if you wish to buy alcohol you must have a licence. This licence is only be valid in the emirate that granted you it.
Other things to watch out for are the use of audio equipment and powerful cameras. You may need a licence for them, so check with a UAE embassy in your country of origin before leaving. One last thing is that if you decide to pay for something by cheque, be sure you have the money in your account to cover it. Not only is a bounced cheque embarrassing: it’s illegal and can land you in prison. Ouch!
As you can see, while you go about your business in Dubai, perfectly innocent things you’d do at home can be misconstrued, frowned upon or even constitute a criminal act crime. Follow these tips to stay on the straight and narrow, and you can enjoy a relaxing expat experience in Dubai.
Click here for more information on do’s and don’ts in Dubai.
Taxi rides in Dubai going to be dearer at least by Dhs 4 per trip, if you are passing through a Salik toll gate. Consider this as a New Year gift by the RTA.
The Salik toll system, when introduced in July 2007, was also applicable to taxis. However, following numerous complaints by commuters who felt cheated, the toll was scrapped for taxis from December 2008. There are currently four Salik gates in Dubai, situated at Al Garhoud Bridge, near Mall of the Emirates on Sheikh Zayed Road, Safa Park and aAl Al Maktoum Bridge.
Taxi operators have been asked to upgrade their meters to a recently introduced system called D8, in order to automate the process of adding Salik fee to taxi fare.
Its time for the residents of Dubai to put their legs to work, or use a Metro. God bless you, if you’re an unsuspecting tourist.
UAE authorities have introduced a multiple entry visa for businessmen, property investors and cruise passengers.
The UAE government issued ministerial decree No 418 of 2012 allowing multiple entry visit visas to the UAE for the first time.
Those eligible for the multiple entry visas include businessmen, property investors and tourists on board cruise ships who will be eligible for multiple entry, news agency WAM reported.
DP World chairman Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem welcomed the move saying it will enhance the growth of cruise tourism at Mina Rashid in Dubai.
From: Arabian Business
UAE residency departments have adopted stricter visa rules, banning tourist, visit and conference visas for workers from certain labour exporting countries.
The Federal Residency Department, which oversees residency departments across the country, has decided to adopt stricter regimes for tourist, visit and conference visas to curb the influx of blue-collar workers from many labor exporting countries into the country,” said the official who wished not to be named.
The new regime bans visit visas for some workers, especially from traditional labor exporting countries to the UAE, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and The Philippines, and sets a university degree as a prerequisite for obtaining a visa, plus other requirements.
Gulf News quotes a senior official saying the rules are implemented to better protect citizens and residents by preventing foreign criminals from coming to the UAE.
Categories banned from obtaining tourist, visit or conference visas include electricians, pipe fitters, masons, farmers, drivers, tailors and cleaners. The requirements include round trip tickets, proofs of a confirmed hotel booking and and enough money to finance the stay.
The move was prompted by the recent arrests of scores of foreigners on tourist, visit and conference visas, who were either engaged in organized crimes, human trafficking or were found unemployed and looking for jobs or begging in the streets, or near hospitals, mosques and malls, according to the source.
Back to School is usually fun. Not for some students with special needs.
An Australian owner of well-known school for children with special needs in Dubai fled UAE with more than Dh1 million in tuition fees, leaving the families of the pupils in shock just days before the start of the new school year.
Parents said they had received text messages and emails from a British institute in Bur Dubai telling them it would not reopen for the new school year after its Australian owner fled the country.
“They said the owner fled with all the fees paid by the pupils over the past few weeks for the new school year…the fees amount to more than Dh1 million,” the Dubai-based Arabic language daily Emirat Alyoum said.
It quoted a student’s father, identified as Abu Mohammed, as saying: ”The escape of the school owner with the fees paid by the pupils caused shock and confusion to the pupils’ families as the new school year has almost started and it is not possible for us now to transfer our children to a new school as such specialized schools are few and most of them should be full by now.”
He said most parents had reported the school owner to Bur Dubai police but added no one expects a quick solution to the problem.
An Emirati agent for the school’s services, identified as HM, confirmed the school owner had fled the UAE with the money.
“The owner sent me an email saying he had fled because he was heavily indebted and that he was wanted in many court cases in financial disputes, including one filed by his wife,” he said. “He told me that he owes large sums to banks and that he decided to disappear to escape trouble.”
The agent told the paper that he himself was a victim and that he was working with the police and the ministries of labour and social affairs to reach a settlement that will satisfy all parties.
Emirat Alyoum said the school has 30 teachers and 53 special needs pupils, who pay Dh80,000 each in annual school fees. Many of them have already made advance payments of more than Dh20,000 for the new school year.
According to Emirates Identity Authority (Eida), all children, aged below 15 years, must register for Emirates ID cards, ahead of the October 1 deadline, or incur penalty of Dh20 per day, up to a maximum of Dh1,000.
However, exception will be given to children whose parents have residence visa up to November or December this year. They can apply for the Emirates ID, when they renew their visa.
The fees for the nationals are Dh100 for five years, plus Dh70 for typing fee and other charges, and for the expats, it is Dh100 for every year, plus Dh70 for typing and other charges.
The children need not be present while registering for the Emirates ID, and the process can be completed by the parent, after going to a typing centre with a coloured passport photograph of the child (with a white background) and the original passport .
According to the Eida, the expired cards must be renewed within 30 days of its expiration.
EIDA is turning out one deadline for another, and then blames expats for being complacent.
Blanketing an area the size of a half-dozen football fields, a large copper-orange glop flowed from a storm water drainage opening and slowly drifted eastward before breaking down in the water later in the day along the Jumeirah beachfront.
Municipal staff was dispatched to the scene of contamination and chemical samples were taken to identify the compounds contained in the oily muck.
Residents living along Jumeirah Beach have seen their fair share over the years of storm sewer discharges into Gulf waters along Dubai’s white sandy beaches as unscrupulous waste haulers have dumped all manner of liquid waste into storm drains rather than paying fees to dispose of the materials at properly licensed facilities.
However, the magnitude of yesterday’s mystery discharge was the largest ever seen in the area by some witnesses.
From: Gulf News