Visit Visa on Arrival can be Extended for One Month

Posted on September 16, 2008

Visit Visa on Arrival can be Extended for One Month
Staff reporter KHALEEJ TIMES 15 September 2008

Dubai — Expats from 33 countries who receive visit visa on arrival at any UAE airport, can now stay in the country for a period of one month extendable by another month on payment of a fee of Dh610, a DNRD official said.

The DNRD on Sunday clarified that under the new visit visa rule which came into effect on July 29, all foreign nationals from the 33 countries that are exempted from applying for visas prior to entry into the UAE can stay in the country for one month with a further extension of another month.

Nationals of the 33 countries are provided visas upon entry at the airport, he noted. A national of these 33 countries, including UK, USA, and Australia, can extend his one- month visa by paying a fee of Dh610.

“Earlier, these nationals could stay in the UAE for a period of two months. But now the duration of the visit visa for British and other foreign expatriates of these countries has been reduced from two to one month.”

The official addressed the concerns raised by some residents seeking visit visa for their British relatives. “I used to know that the visit visa for British nationals lasts for two months.

“But, I was surprised to learn recently that it is valid for one month only,” said a resident who was inquiring about his British daughter’s visa status.

Paid Parking in Abu Dhabi Likely Soon

Posted on September 16, 2008

Paid Parking in Abu Dhabi Likely Soon
Adel Arafah for KHALEEJ TIMES 16 September 2008

abu dhabi -— Paid parking system is likely to be implemented in the emirate of Abu Dhabi soon.

The Municipal Affairs Department of Abu Dhabi has submitted its report on paid car parking system to the emirate’s Executive Council for approval and implementation.

Abu Dhabi Municipality has already signed a contract with an international company for installing and operating the new car parking machines in the capital, Engineer Jumaa Mubarak Al Junaibi, Director General of Abu Dhabi Municipality told Khaleej Times.

The implementation of the system will be gradual and will be done in phases, he said.

Elaborating further, he said the paid car parking machines would be initially installed in specific areas, including Tourist Club, Al Khalidiya, Madinat Zayed, Airport Road and Al Muroor Road. The system can be easily used by motorists, who can pay the charges through their mobile phones, credit cards, pre-paid car park cards, bank notes and coins.

The charges will vary according to the locations, but the normal charges have been fixed at Dh1 per hour, Al Junaibi noted.

Abu Dhabi Municipality will monitor the collection of charges and issuing of tickets against violators.

Smart Radars to Catch Errant Drivers

Posted on September 16, 2008

Smart Radars to Catch Errant Drivers
Amira Agarib for KHALEEJ TIMES 16 September 2008

dubai — New sophisticated mobile radars will be introduced on Dubai roads soon after Eid Al Fitr, according to a senior police official.

These radars will be mounted on police vehicles to monitor speed limits, Major Saif Muhair, Deputy Director of General Department of Traffic, told Khaleej Times on Monday. It is for the first time that these radars, equipped with advanced technogly, will be introduced in this region. Maj Saif said that the new ‘smart radar’ could be fixed on any vehicle and would be able to detect all speed violations.

He said that the smart radar would be on trial for one month after which it would be deployed on all Dubai roads. These new smart radars differ from other such monitoring equipment, he said.

Order Lunchboxes Online, Get Them in Classrooms

Posted on September 16, 2008

Order Lunchboxes Online, Get Them in Classrooms
Preeti Kannan for KHALEEJ TIMES 16 September 2008

Dubai — A number of parents have started ordering their children’s lunchboxes online and choosing menus that are healthy and nutritious for their wards.

Nearly 400 parents in Dubai choose from a range of sandwiches, salads, snacks and drinks from lunchboxes.ae, which delivers the meals right up to the classrooms every morning.

The online initiative, launched in December last year, provides parents and pupils over 180 menu options everyday to make their own “balanced, wholesome” meals, in a bid to combat obesity and diabetes among children in the UAE. The lunchboxes are then delivered to students’ classrooms by 8am, usually even before the child reaches school.

Sharon Ogden, whose four children have been selecting their lunch menu for nearly a year, says the service is hassle-free, cost-effective and her children like choosing their own menu. “There is so much variety and it is convenient knowing there is a good mix of food available for them everyday. My four-year-old girl loves the fresh salads and the sliced fruits they send, making it easy for her to eat them. It saves me a lot of time in the mornings and it is like a surprise for the children when they open their lunchboxes everyday,” says the mother, whose children study at the Royal Dubai School. The online service enables parents to register their details, logon once a week with their child and then create healthy lunchboxes. The child can pick a salad or a sandwich with two fillings, a drink, fresh fruits and two snacks to keep them going throughout the day. If children order foods like mini pizzas more than twice a week, parents are notified immidiately by text messages. Parents also say that children do not waste food anymore since they enjoy the meals they opt for. “They (delivery people) never fail to reach the school on time and that is very advantageous. Having three children at home and making snacks for them everyday can be very difficult. Besides, it is not very expensive,” says Patrice Thomas, a parent, whose children study at King’s College, Dubai.Lester Owencroft, Managing Director of lunchboxes.ae, notes that they launched the service after realising that parents were under constant pressure thinking how to create tasty, healthy lunches for their kids.

“We interviewed 800 parents who said they spend a lot of time thinking how to motivate their kids to eat. So we decided to launch this community initiative. Our menus are reviewed by a nutritionist and we encourage parents and pupils to tell us what they want,” says Owencroft. “We provide a fully balanced meal so that we can try to reduce the cases of obesity and diabetes among children.lunchboxes.ae also brought down its prices recently to encourage more parents to use the service.

He adds that their priorities are also to provide lunchboxes to local schools. Due to the increasing demand from parents in Dubai and Sharjah, the online culinary service plans to add another 12 schools by the end of next year and hope to cater to more than 1,000 children by the end of this academic year.