The Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment (DEPE) has announced the dates for the 17th edition of the globally renowned event - Dubai Shopping Festival. The 32-day festival will be held from January 5 to February 5, 2012.
Attracting millions of visitors each year, the festival showcases the region's best in shopping, winning, and family entertainment.
'Dubai at its best' is the marketing slogan for the 2012 edition of DSF and symbolises the best of what Dubai has to offer for residents and visitors. More than 6,000 retail outlets are expected to offer spectacular discounts throughout the festival in addition to chances of winning prizes ranging from luxury cars and gold to cash each day of the event. It is interesting to note that around Dh1.4bn worth of prizes has been given away since the first DSF in 1996.
In addition to the shopping and prizes, hundreds of events await residents and visitors. From international concerts, musicals, and shows to sport, outdoor, and fashion events, Dubai Shopping Festival caters to every age segment.
"Dubai Shopping Festival is renowned as a global event that attracts visitors from across the world making Dubai a meeting point for diverse cultures. DSF celebrates its seventeenth edition in 2012 with 32 days of intense shopping, entertainment, and chances to win prizes worth millions of dirhams. Apart from being the anchor in Dubai's annual events calendar, DSF is a celebration of Dubai at its best," said the DEPE Media Centre in a statement.
Launched in 1996 under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to position Dubai as a leading tourist destination, DSF attracts people of over 200 nationalities, reflecting its famous slogan 'One World, One Family, One Festival'.
Source: www.emirates247.ae
Monday, November 21, 2011
Arroyo to have her say
Ex-Philippine leader Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will get fair hearing according to current president Benigno Aquino
Former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, under guard in a Manila hospital after being arrested on charges of electoral sabotage, will be given a chance to defend herself in court, Philippine President Benigno Aquino vowed.
Aquino, who swept to power last year on a platform of tackling corruption, including a vow to pursue allegations of fraud against Arroyo, also said those guilty had to be held accountable or it would encourage others to commit crimes.
“She will have a fair chance to defend herself in court. That is the right of every Filipino. It is but fitting that the process for all Filipinos be equal,” he said. Arroyo, president from 2001-2010, has consistently denied the allegations against her.
Arroyo was arrested at a Manila hospital on Friday. She had been there since Tuesday night, when the government stopped her from boarding a flight at the airport. Arroyo says she needs to travel for treatment on a spine condition, but the government believes she wants to evade investigation and possible prosecution by authorities. The former president was wearing a neck brace when police took her mugshot and fingerprints in the hospital on Saturday.
Arroyo’s legal team have said the charges were trumped up and they will question a lower court’s jurisdiction to handle the electoral sabotage charges when they appear before the Pasay City regional trial court. The alleged vote-rigging happened in the restive southern Muslim province of Maguindanao. The charges carry a life sentence.
Arroyo also faces allegations of fraud over a 2004 presidential election and corruption in her administration, which the government says it is still investigating. Meanwhile, Philippine officials say it’s business as usual in the country and there is no army unrest despite Arroyo’s dramatic arrest.
Defence Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said yesterday that there was no sign of unrest within the 120,000-strong military since Arroyo’s arrest. The ex-president once had strong ties to the army.
Source: wwww.7days.ae
No Emirates ID? No traffic services across UAE
Persons dealing with the traffic police must produce their national ID card under new regulations that linked the ID to all traffic police departments across the UAE, a senior police officer was reported on Sunday as saying.
Persons who do not hold the ID card will be denied all services offered by the traffic police and this should prompt all nationals and residents to register with the national ID, said Brigadier Gaith Al Zaabi, director general of the traffic coordination division at the ministry of interior.
“All traffic and vehicle licensing departments through the UAE are now enforcing a mandatory rule stipulating those who seek to benefit from their services to produce an ID card,” he said, quoted by the Arabic language daily Alkhaleej.
“Those who do not have an ID card can still benefit from these services by registering for the ID and producing a receipt showing they have registered…without the ID or the receipt, the traffic and licensing departments have been instructed not to receive any paper or application.”
Zaabi did not elaborate on the services but traffic police sources said they include car registration and renewal of the present vehicles, issuing and renewal of driving licences, replacement of number plates and other facilities.
Authorities have already linked the ID to immigration and residence departments and this means expatriates can not issue or renew a visa without that card.
Source: www.emirates247.ae
Persons who do not hold the ID card will be denied all services offered by the traffic police and this should prompt all nationals and residents to register with the national ID, said Brigadier Gaith Al Zaabi, director general of the traffic coordination division at the ministry of interior.
“All traffic and vehicle licensing departments through the UAE are now enforcing a mandatory rule stipulating those who seek to benefit from their services to produce an ID card,” he said, quoted by the Arabic language daily Alkhaleej.
“Those who do not have an ID card can still benefit from these services by registering for the ID and producing a receipt showing they have registered…without the ID or the receipt, the traffic and licensing departments have been instructed not to receive any paper or application.”
Zaabi did not elaborate on the services but traffic police sources said they include car registration and renewal of the present vehicles, issuing and renewal of driving licences, replacement of number plates and other facilities.
Authorities have already linked the ID to immigration and residence departments and this means expatriates can not issue or renew a visa without that card.
Source: www.emirates247.ae
No new UAE taxes in 2012
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have delayed the application of the planned value-added tax (VAT) indefinitely and the UAE won’t impose any new tax this year or next year, Sharjah-based Al Khaleej daily reported last week citing an official of the UAE’s Ministry of Finance.
Younis Haji Khouri, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance, told the Arabic daily that after consultations among the various parties concerned in the six-member economic bloc, the GCC states have decided to defer the application of VAT until every member is ready with the internal systems and specialized staff required to implement such a tax.
Khouri added that while the GCC as a bloc was keen to unify its taxation standards and procedures, that wouldn’t impede the individual nations’ right to study and identify other types of indirect taxes to be applied independently.
He also stressed that the UAE would not impose any new tax in the country this year or the next, as the Ministry had not submitted any bills or proposals for a new tax in the State during 2012.
The Ministry of Finance has, in cooperation with other concerned authorities, prepared a three-year study on the dimensions of the application of VAT on the UAE society economically and socially, he said, and the report includes the potential scope of VAT, which, when implemented, would include goods and services.
New bank account number deadline set for March
The UAE this week began enforcing an international bank account number for all clients but they can still receive funds on old accounts until March, a central bank official was reported on Monday as saying.IBAN, consisting of 23 digits, was enforced on November 19 and the country’s 51 banks are required to provide this new number to all their clients before the end of March, said Rashid Al Fandi, head of the banking operations.
Quoted by the semi official daily Alittihad, Fandi said the introduction of the more protected account number would not delay salaries in the UAE before the end of the deadline, adding that clients should begin receiving the new numbers now.
“The central bank has given clients until the end of March to receive their new account numbers and provide them to their employers,” he said.
“After the end of the deadline, all banking operations will be compatible with the new account system and no dealings will be accepted for the old number.”
Fandi assured the public that despite the enforcement of the new system on November 19, salaries and all other remittances would still be sent to the old account numbers until the expiry of the deadline at the end of March.
“After that date, the old number will no loner be in use and any money transfer could be much delayed if sent to the old number,” he said.
In a statement last month, the central bank said the introduction of the IBAN is a strategic initiative that will further align the UAE banking system with the standards applied in other global banking systems.
“The adoption of IBAN is a step in the right direction towards increasing the efficiency of electronic payments in the UAE, while further strengthening the country's status as a global financial centre.”
The UAE has the largest banking system in the Middle East, with the combined assets of the 51 banks standing at nearly Dh1,672 billion at the end of September. UAE banks also have the largest capital and deposits in the region, at nearly Dh262 billion and Dh1,067 billion respectively.
Source: www.emirates247.ae
Fake cell phone users in UAE to face disconnection from Jan 1
Is your mobile fake? If so, it’s time to change the handset as the Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRA) has joined hands with UAE telecoms to disconnect service to duplicate handsets from January 1, 2012.
Both etisalat and du have said its services to such handsets would be suspended. In a new campaign to raise awareness and discourage the use of fake mobile phones in the UAE, TRA has also threatened to fine dealers involved in such trade.
According to Article 74 of the UAE Telecommunications Law anyone found manufacturing or supplying telecommunications apparatus that does not comply with the regulations, to be used within the state, can be penalised with a fine of anything between Dh50,000 and Dh1,000,000.
The decision could see an end to several dozen mobile phone dealers specifically operating out of the Dragon Mart in Dubai. Most of them sell counterfeit phones of popular models including Nokia, Blackberry and Samsung.
A fake BlackBerry Bold can be obtained for just Dh600, while a Samsung model with Wifi and all applications preloaded is being sold anywhere between Dh400 to Dh800.
Mobile users have also been warned of health risks following the use of handsets that have been released into the market without proper tests and checks.
According to the TRA, fake phones are especially prone to battery leaks or explosions, releasing highly corrosive or poisonous chemicals. The low quality assembly also means radiation levels go unchecked, the batteries tend to drain faster, and signal reception is usually much weaker.
TRA Director-General Mohamed Nasser Al Ghanim said issues of counterfeiting and piracy have a tremendous impact on the economy and intellectual property rights.
“Fake mobile phones are also low quality devices that have been manufactured without the proper tests and checks. In addition to performance issues, the use of such devices could have a significant impact on personal health and safety,” he said.
Those involved in the sale of fake mobile phones will be given a notice and a fine, while in some cases licenses could be withheld as a consequence of regulations not being met.
Both etisalat and du customers have been urged to SMS their International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) of their mobile phones to a specially created short code ‘8877’. The IMEI code will be displayed on most mobile handsets by dialing *#06#.
Customers using a counterfeit device with a fake IMEI number will receive an SMS message notifying them of the same, and all telecom services, including calls, texts and internet will be disconnected.
Source: www.emirates247.com
Dh500 fine for throwing chewing gum on Abu Dhabi’s streets
Dh500 fine for throwing chewing gum on Abu Dhabi’s streets
Municipality launches clean-up; Dh100 for spitting, Dh200 for throwing cigarette butts
Spitting, throwing cigarette butts or any waste, or spitting gum on public streets of Abu Dhabi will now draw a maximum fine of Dh500, the Abu Dhabi Municipality has said.
According to a municipality statement in Al Khaleej: “The offending person will be accountable and the fine will start at Dh100 for spitting, Dh500 for throwing chewing gum, Dh200 for throwing cigarette butts, and Dh500 for waste like water bottles, cans or paper waste.”
The municipality added that an awareness campaign with the slogan ‘Keep the city of Abu Dhabi clean" will be launched soon and thousands of brochures will be distributed.
The municipality said these brochures will be printed in Arabic, English, Urdu and Hindi.
Source: wwww.emirates247.com
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