Nothing to Crow about
Nothing to Crow about
Nothing To Crow AboutBy Dr Reza Khan /XPRESS4ME
Recently someone suggested the local authority control the population of house crows in Dubai.
Believe it or not when I landed here in 1989 there were virtually no crows.
In 1991, the first pair built a nest in Dubai. At that time Maktoum Bridge had only two lanes on each side and it was a single bridge.
On the Deira side, by the right footpath, there was a eucalyptus tree. A pair of crows built a nest in it and raised two chicks.
My first encounter with the house crow in the UAE was in Dibba coastal area during 1986, when we used to see them resting or roosting on lamp posts and electric wire.
By 1992 we had a few more than 100 house crows in and around Dubai. Now, we possibly have more than 1,000 crows in the city.
Why are their numbers going up? Because we are careless with our waste material.
If no food is available in the streets, parks, market places and farming areas, crows cannot survive in the desert.
The only way to control their population is to manage our own domestic and city refuse in a hygienic manner. Also, the avenue and park trees should be trimmed in such a way that crows cannot build nests.
Jet gets right to fly to Gulf, Middle East from Jan 1
Jet gets right to fly to Gulf, Middle East from Jan 1
14 Sep, 2007, 1323 hrs IST, PTI
NEW DELHI: The government on Friday opened up the lucrative Gulf route to domestic private airlines, with Naresh Goyal-promoted Jet Airways becoming the first to get the nod to fly to the region from January 1 next year.
Hitherto, only Air India and Indian (now merged to form Air India) were allowed to operate on the Middle East and Gulf route.
As per the decision of the government, scheduled Indian private airlines were not permitted to operate international flights to and from Gulf till the end of 2007. The Gulf routes were served only by the Indian public carriers till then, an official statement said.
Jet Airways was granted traffic rights on the Gulf and Middle East routes at a meeting of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation last evening, it said.
Jet has been permitted to carry 3,682 passengers to Kuwait per week from three destinations in India. Of the 3,682 seats, 1,582 would be from the Delhi-Kuwait route while an equal 1,050 on Trivandrum-Kuwait and Kochi-Kuwait routes, the statement said.
Besides, Jet can also fly 3,150 passengers to Oman per week on three routes Kochi-Muscat and Trivandrum-Muscat and Calicut-Muscat.
The airliner has been given permission to connect Calicut and Mumbai to Qatar’s capital city Doha, where it can carry a maximum of 2,100 passengers per week.
Similarly, Jet can operate 2,100 seats to Bahrain, of which 1,050 can be on the Mumbai-Bahrain and 1,050 on Kochi-Bahrain route.
Jet Airways had applied for traffic rights on the India-Gulf, Middle East routes on July 18 this year.
While the government has cleared Jet’s application to operate on a majority of routes, it said the airliner’s application to fly on India-Dubai and India-Abu Dhabi route was still being considered.
“The company had asked for rights on routes to Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Their request for grant of traffic rights on India-Dubai and India -Abu Dhabi routes is under the consideration of the Government,” the statement said.
The total entitlement for Indian carriers on the Gulf routes at present is 85,481 seats per week, of which 21,950 are for Dubai, 7,420 for Abu Dhabi, 10,206 for Sharjah, 8,000 for Kuwait, 10,892 for Qatar, 7,546 for Oman, 10,967 for Bahrain and 8,500 for Saudi Arabia.
The utilisation by Indian carriers of the available Gulf routes is 49,348 seats per week, the statement said.
Touching the heart
Touching the heart
By Saleh Al-Shaibany (Desert Classics) / for Khaleej Times WEEKEND 14 September 2007
I ARRIVED late at a business management seminar. The room was bejewelled with the cream of top business people in the country. I felt small when I entered, but the cloak of journalism that I wore gave me confidence.
As the British lady spoke on the podium, I wondered what these top shots sitting at round tables in a posh hotel could learn from her.
Ten minutes later, I realised why they were all listening intently to her. I recognised half the faces there. They were men and women who were holding senior positions in companies which have fallen behind in their businesses. In other words, they were not making good profits to please their shareholders.
I was not there to pick at people’s faults or even to learn a few management tricks from the expert speakers. I was only there because I had nothing better to do, and so I had decided to please a PR officer managing the event by turning up.
I was about to leave when the lady at the podium said something that made me stop. She asked the delegates to look at the list of words printed on the slides — words like “professionalism,” “eye contact,” “firm hand shake” and “quick decision making” were important to clinch a business deal.
I saw many in that room feverishly making notes, hanging on every word she said. I scanned the list and wondered why she had not included “honesty” and “human element”.
I waited for another 20 minutes for her to start inviting questions. I was the first one to raise my hand. I am not sure what happened. I was sitting right at the back and I thought she was looking in my direction. But instead, she just waited, or I thought she did, until another man demanded attention. I gave her the benefit of the doubt and waited for the next turn.
She ignored me repeatedly until I gave up. The man next to me said maybe I should move to a table in the front. Instead, I moved out of the room and towards the parking space.
The theme of the seminar was right, but the delivery was wrong.
Last week, there was a tribute to Bollywood legend Shashi Kapoor in Muscat. He entered the hall with clasped hands in salutation to show deep respect to his fans. During his long film career, he told the audience, he showed nothing but respect to his elders. That was one of the main reasons that had propelled him to stardom.
In Oman, what “clinches the deal” is the way you hold the coffee cup, the way you decline more coffee by gently shaking the cup. And the way you gladly drink coffee from the same cup the next person has used even when it is not washed.
Europeans who live in the Gulf respect these cultural rituals, though they don’t necessarily accept the so-called “disgusting” ones. Understanding local cultures and heritage pave the way to business agreements in a big way when a local man is the decision maker and has to choose between two people.
I remember, when I started out as a reporter, a senior company executive flatly refused to give me information just because I did not pray in the mosque near my house — the one he worshipped in. For many, it was an absurdity, but it is the way it works here.
Good professionalism provides sound business background, but so does a dagger with a strong stem, but lacking sharpness. You can hold it as a decorative piece, but can’t carve out the choicest meat. A palm on the chest when you apologise might be just a gesture, but it may touch the heart of your potential business partner.
Ramdan Fire works at Abu Dhabi Corniche
In order to mark the beginning of the Holy month of Ramadan, a display of fireworks was organised at the Abu Dhabi Corniche by the Abu Dhabi Tourism authority. Enjoy a few moments of that wonderful event.
http://www.youtube.com/get_player
The Holy month of Ramadan and it’s significance
Ramadan Prayer Timings
Five Pillars of Islam
There are five formal acts of worship which help strengthen a Muslim’s faith and obedience, which are call the “Five Pillars of Islam.” They are, testimony of faith (Shahada), prayer (salah), fasting (sawm), almsgiving (zakat) and pilgrimage (Haj). Testimony of faith is to delcare there is no god but Allah, and Mohammad is the messenger of Allah. Prayer, as a Muslim prays five times a day. Fasting is one month of daytime fasting every year. Almsgiving is when Muslims give a small percentage of their annual savings as charity. Pilgrimage is when worshippers make their way to Makkah.
Why we fast in Islam
Why we fast in Islam
By Najla Al Awadhi, Special to Gulf News Published: September 12, 2007, 23:38
You mean you can’t even drink water?” a friend asked me this question with a bewildered look on her face, she couldn’t believe that fasting during the month of Ramadan meant I would not drink or eat from sunrise to sunset for an entire month.
As my friend stood there looking bewildered, I thought, is it really that hard to believe that Muslims refrain from food and drink during the fast? We fast the whole day knowing that we will be ending our fast with the setting of the sun, and in the context of a world where many live in poverty, where hunger and thirst for many become a way of life, our fasting really is a simple duty. This is the spirit of Ramadan, it is about understanding the feeling of hunger, it is about building empathy, self-restraint and piousness.
For myself, and for all devout Muslims, Ramadan holds such deep teachings; it is not a month about food, or about socialising in the evenings in Ramadan tents, or watching Ramadan shows on TV, Ramadan is about learning compassion, it’s about “cultivating our piety”.
What is Ramadan?
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar (hijri calendar), we consider it to be the most holy and spiritually-beneficial month of the Islamic year. Ramadan is the month when the first verses of the holy Quran were revealed.
Fasting in the month of Ramadan is one of the five pillars of Islam, and all Muslims who are mentally and physically able and that have reached puberty are required to fast during this month.
Those who are sick, travelling, pregnant, menstruating or nursing women, are not required to fast, however, those who are unable to fast for these reasons must make up the days they missed fasting upon recovery or return, or after weaning.
In the month of Ramadan, we begin the fast with the sunrise and end the fast with the sunset, or with the fourth Muslim prayer of the day (maghrib prayer). The fast is ended each evening with a meal called iftar and the last meal we have is in the morning right before dawn which is called suhur.
Spiritual experience
The fast of Ramadan is not about physical deprivation, it is meant to be deeply spiritual experience. In the holy Quran it is stated that the purpose of the fast is to develop a quality which in Arabic we call taqwa.
Taqwa can be defined as, “worshipping God as if you see Him, because if you don’t, He sees you”. Taqwa is about cultivating an awareness that God is always watching. For example, when I fast nobody but God knows if I actually have observed the entire fast or if I secretly cheated. So in order to resist the temptation to cheat during the fast, I must remember that God is always watching and will see any lapse.
This sense of taqwa is carried over into other areas of our lives, hence by fasting we foster a habit of piousness, self-restraint, and an inner-balance. For devout Muslims Ramadan is a month of worship; prayer and recitation of the Quran during this month are pivotal, and it is common practice during this month to provide food/iftar to others especially the poor on a daily basis.
Today is the first day of Ramadan and over a billion people will be observing the fast during this holy month.
Whether you will be fasting or not, I hope that the lessons that Ramadan teaches of taqwa, compassion, piousness and charity will remain with you, and not just during this holy month, but I hope that you will carry these lessons with you every day of your life.
Najla Al Awadhi is a member of the UAE parliament (the Federal National Council), Deputy CEO Dubai Media Incorporated, and General Manager of Dubai One TV.
DNRD will work all day during Ramadan
DNRD will work all day during Ramadan
By Mary Nammour / KHALEEJ TIMES 13 September 2007
DUBAI — The working hours of the Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department (DNRD) during the holy month of Ramadan will be from 9am to 5.30pm while the Follow-up and Investigation Section (FIS) in Jumeirah will receive amnesty seekers from 9am to 2pm and from 9pm to 2am daily. This was announced yesterday by DNRD Director Brigadier Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri.
“Our new work timings have been fixed to cope up with the potential rush that might come up as a result of the shorter working hours during Ramadan. We also want to make sure that processing the applications of amnesty seekers will continue to be as smooth as possible,” Brig Al Marri said.
“DNRD staff will also be working from 9am to 5.30pm at the external branches, including the passport sections at the Jebel Ali Free Zone and the Naturalization and Residency Sections at Bin Souqat Shopping Centre, Abu Hail and Dnata,” he added.
He also noted that the new timings would be applicable to the customer service departments, including the Entry Permit for work, visit and tourist visas, the Residence Sections, the Naturalization and Passport Section, the Establishments Sections, online services and the e-gate for both individuals and establishments.
Visitors found working will face ban for life
Visitors found working will face ban for life
By Ahmed Abdul Aziz and Lana Mahdi/ KHALEEJ TIMES 13 September 2007
ABU DHABI — Expatriates who entered the country on visit visas and are found working in companies will face a life ban, Assistant Under-Secretary in the Ministry of Labour (MoL) Obaid Rashid Al Zahmi stated yesterday.
“The ministry is studying imposing punishments on violators of labour rules and finally decided that visit visa holders, if found working in the country, will face a life ban,” explained Al Zahmi.
The decision was taken after MoL inspectors found that people on visit visas were still working in the country.
During the inspection campaign, which began immediately after the amnesty period ended on September 2, the inspectors found more than 250
companies violating the law by employing visit visa holders.
Al Zahmi pointed out that the companies must abide by the law when they need to import manpower.
“They must apply for the renewable temporary work permit of three-month validity, or get employment visa,” he added. This will protect the labourers’ rights because if they work on a visit visa they cannot demand their dues and rights.
The workers who come on employment visa or temporary work permit can go to the MoL and demanding their rights, including cost of medical treatment in case of an accident.
In another important announcement yesterday, Al Zahmi said the ministry will from January 2008 stop issuing work permits to companies which do not open bank accounts for their employees.
Opening of bank accounts for workers is being made compulsory to ensure protection of workers’ rights, he added.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Director of Naturalisation and Residency Department in Al Ain, Col. Nasir Al Awady Al Minhaly, said that during Ramadan the department will work in two shifts from 9.00am to 2.00pm and 2.00pm to 5.00pm.
Abu Dhabi unveils 2030 growth plan
Abu Dhabi unveils 2030 growth plan
(Wam) 13 September 2007
ABU DHABI — The President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, was briefed on the Abu Dhabi development plan until 2030 at his Bateen Palace here yesterday.
General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, attended the briefing.
Shaikh Khalifa expressed his satisfaction about the development plan of the capital city, Abu Dhabi, and implementation of work projects to develop the country at par with the developed countries of the world. He listened to the detailed briefing about the plans and objectives and how to execute them by Khaldoun Khalifa Mubarak, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Authority.
The move is in response to the need for a well-studied, accurate planning amid huge development and growing population of the Abu Dhabi emirate.
Mubarak said the “plan is based on sustainable development that reflects economic and environmental situation and preservation of the natural environment of coasts and deserts. It also covers transport and communication networks as per international standards and in line with the values and traditions of the UAE”.
He said that the plan has been set for a city that will be inhabited by three million people by year 2030 and with infrastructre that meets such a growth, adding that the plan includes construction of metro and internal train network.
“The interior part of the city will be expanded through road network paralell to the islands to create a new commercial area on Al Sowah and Al Reem Islands,” Mubarak said.
After the briefing, Khalifa issued instructions on provision of all means of comfort, including more parks, convenient transport, preservation of the UAE environment and making the UAE an attractive cultural, commercial and tourist hub.
For smart investors, STP’s the next step
For smart investors, STP’s the next step
10 Sep, 2007, 0443 hrs IST,Barun Chakraborty, TNN
Over the past one month, equity investors across the globe have seen their fortune swing back and forth. Concerns over subprime lending, yen-carry trade and the looming spectre of a US slowdown not only battered global equity markets, but also raised doubts among several retail investors on the course of the markets in the short- to- medium-term.
In India too, investors have had a tough time given the kind of gyrations the markets have been witnessing.
The Sensex has seen several major corrections since it touched its life-high of 15,868 on July 24 this year, and after dropping to 14,000-levels it bounced back to 15,600-levels.
A retail investor is likely to remain confused as to whether it is the right time to enter the markets? Should one expect some more corrections? Unfortunately, no one can predict the course of the market. For a retail investor, timing the entry or exit is a difficult act to follow. The best way to survive a volatile market is to keep investing in equities and stay put with a long-term horizon.
SIP (Systematic Investment Plan)
For mutual fund investors, the systematic investment plans (SIPs) are the best method to stay invested without bothering too much about the market ups and downs. Through regular investing, one gets to invest in the highs as well as the lows. This helps in averaging out the market volatility. The investor keeps investing a certain amount (as small as Rs 50) at regular intervals. As the market soars, even the value of the investment scales new highs. And when the market tanks, the value of the mutual fund units —the net asset value (NAV) — too comes down. This means more units for the same SIP amount.
Apart from inculcating the discipline to invest regularly, the fact that the investor has to stay invested for at least two years in a fund to free his/her investment in one-year SIP from capital gains tax, gives enough time for the money to stay put in the market and appreciate.
STP (Systematic Transfer Plan) Edge
The SIP is the best route to invest with regular cash flows. But what if someone has a huge corpus and plans to invest in equities and at the same time is worried about the prevailing uncertainty in the market? Still, the systematic investment route remains the best vehicle to move ahead.
The gains could be enhanced by opting for a systematic transfer plan (STP) along with the SIP. STP allows one to make periodic transfers from one fund into another.
In an SIP, an investor typically parks the money in a bank savings account and a certain amount is transferred at a regular interval from the savings account to the fund house for buying into a specified equity fund.
In the case of an STP, the lumpsum is invested in a liquid or a floating short-term plan and is transferred at regular interval to a specified equity fund. For example, one has Rs 60,000 to invest in equities, he can put the entire amount in a liquid plan and go for a monthly SIP of Rs 5,000 in an equity plan through a systematic transfer.
However, the limitation of this investment process is its inability to invest in different fund houses. So, if you have an equity fund to invest through the SIP mode, you would have to choose the liquid fund of the same fund house. But with little difference in returns among different liquid funds and its almost risk-free status, STP is still a better bet.
While an investor earns only around 3.5% pa interest on the amount parked in the savings account, a liquid fund gives a higher return of 5-7% pa on the corpus with the same level of liquidity. As these funds invest in safe and liquid debt instruments, the level of risk remains very low.
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