The new 2010 Mercedes-Benz S-Class has been launched in Dubai by Gargash Enterprises, the Mercedes-Benz authorized agent in the emirate. Some of the innovative features of the new S-Class include attention assist-drowsiness detection system, adaptive high beam assist and night view assist with special pedestrian detection. It also incorporates the ’splitview technology’, which enables the driver and front seat passenger to view different content on the same screen simultaneously. While the driver is using the map-based navigation system, the co-driver can watch a movie on DVD.

Come January 04 2010, The WORLDS LARGEST man made concrete & steel structure will be opened for WORLD. The date will coincide (not by accident) with the date of accession to power of HH Sheikh Mohammed Ruler of Dubai & Prime Minister of UAE. The 160-plus storey structure is considered the world’s tallest building., under the banner of EMAAR. The leading realtor & developer under the flag ship company of Sheikh Mohammed’s ETA

The area around the Burj is known as Down Town Dubai, on the edge is Dubai Mall or Mall of Dubai housing the famous Dubai Aquarium.

The bush in picture is hazard for pedestrians,

You’ve no doubt by now noticed that the sites got a bit of a re-design and some things got changed around last week. We wanted to highlight two changes to make sure everyone knows what changed.

The first and biggest is COMMENTS! Registration is no longer required to post a comment on any post. Of course if you already have an account you can still login to ensure your comments are attributed to you, but those who don’t can now post a comment without any long term commitment. Also, on the right you can see some of the recent comments so you’ll always know what the active discussions are. This was the most requested thing we’ve heard from people since our last redesign and we’re excited to see where it leads.

The next change is also something that was heavily requested, and that is a change to the ADS on the sites. You’ll immediately notice fewer of them, but what might not be as obvious is those smaller square ones to the right are specific to this city only and are being sold for a flat rate for a period of time rather than a confusing CPM/traffic/network model. Depending on the city, these range from $7-$175 for a full week. If you purchase one, during that time your ad will be the only one in that spot and will show on every page. We set these up both to make it easier for smaller local businesses to get their ads on our site, and also to help us bring in ads that relate better to our local audiences. Also, keeping these sites online is expensive and every little bit helps.

There are a bunch of other things we changed but we’ll leave those to you to investigate and take advantage of. Hope you like it, and we look forward to seeing you in the comments!!

Love,
The folks at MBHQ

The Gems group being highly connected to Rulers’ of UAE. Consder themselves Untouchables & above the law & policies of Govt.

Being leaders in Eduction-Business industry in UAE, Gems group is minting money by using diversified front companies.

recently at a meeting held by group of Parents of Our Own English High School it was revealed that the bus company which has the transportation contract is also under ownership of Directors of Gems group. The bus fee hike has multiplied several folds in past 24 months without any rhyme & reason. Parents are forced to comply or else take a TC. Who the people shall turn to, when the owners are connected to the TOP rulers of UAE.

In this crunch time after the collapse of almost 90% of UAE businesses the only booming business (for a while) is education. As soon as session ends, come Vacations, suffering parents will move OUT & send families back to home countries.

But who will put a tab on Gems Group… it is a million dollar question.

who will protect the parents and implement law & put a check on the schools & its transportation systems / contracts.

In UAE employers make cuts as downturn deepens.

An increasing number of companies in Dubai are announcing layoffs and adjusting their hiring and pay practices as the impact of financial crisis grows in the emirate.

Dubai’s booming economy has, in recent years, created millions of jobs and led to a hiring frenzy in which many employers were struggling to find talent.

In the first quarter of 2008, 306,000 work permits were issued to foreigners.

However, the story began to change in October, when Damac Properties cut 200 jobs, or 2.5% of its workforce.

Other companies quickly followed suit, including Nakheel, which sacked 500 employees, and Shuaa Capital, which cut 21 jobs, or 9% of its manpower.

‘The effects of the global financial crisis were delayed in reaching Dubai but there is no denying they are being felt today,’ says Rabea Ataya, CEO, Bayt.com, the largest job site in the Middle East.

‘The dramatic surge in recruitment activity seen early in 2008 as new sectors, particularly financial services and real estate, competed for top talent to fuel their growth, has abated significantly.’

‘Isolated problem’
Markus Wiesner, Managing director of Mercer Middle East, agrees that the financial crisis has hit certain sectors very hard, but says the problem has been relatively isolated and overall most companies are handling it by recruiting fewer employees or being more conservative on salary increases.

‘In Dubai, we are seeing a moderate slowdown in the growth curve rather than a complete stop or recession as in other countries. We are starting from a very high and aggressive growth level, so while yes, there has been a slowdown, this economy is not in a recession but has settled into a more moderate, or maybe a better word is more reasonable, growth rate right now.’

As the financial crisis has grown Bayt.com has received a dramatic increase in CVs at all career levels. The company has over two million CVs in its database, the bulk of which come from the GCC, Levant and North Africa.

About 20% are from outside the region, with the most noticeable spikes having been in CVs from the US and UK – particularly in the financial services and real estate sectors and amongst fresh graduates, especially MBAs.

In addition to an increase in quantity, there has been a noticeable increase in the quality of CVs, especially from overseas, as hiring activity in world capitals has shrunk.

Moreover, top talent has become more mobile in their job search and more amenable to considering employment opportunities in the GCC, which was already seeing a significant surge in interest from overseas talent even before the financial crisis, Ataya said.

Not surprisingly job listings have dropped noticeably on Bayt, but a main reason for this, Ataya says, is that employers are increasingly using the site’s search functionality to find talent rather than posting an advertisement for a position, which is a trend the company began to witness even before the financial crisis arose.

Companies prune workforce
With a surplus of talent on the market, many employers are ‘upgrading’ and hiring talent at levels they were previously unable to easily find and/or afford in the local markets, Ataya noted.

Wiesner agrees, saying companies have told him they hired many people over the last couple of years ‘just for the sake of recruiting to fill positions’, but in doing so felt they had to compromise on the quality of people they hired. Now these organisations are looking at the downturn as an opportunity to trim staff that may be underperforming, and keep those people that they want to hold on to in the long run, he said.

Companies will differ in their approach to dealing with the financial crisis. Multinational firms in Dubai are unlikely to change their benefit plans because – even though these packages are adjusted to the local market – the plans are relatively standard across the company’s worldwide locations. Instead, these companies are more likely to cut salaries and bonuses.

‘Local companies, on the other hand, might adjust both pay and benefits, but usually the first to go is bonuses, and then – in this region – they are more likely to freeze, rather than cut back, on salaries,’ Wiesner said.

Wait-and-see approach
Many companies say they are still evaluating the situation.

‘A lot of our clients are taking a wait a see and approach. They tell us they see no immediate need to lay off people or cut salaries, but the situation may look different a year from now. We will see over the next 6-12 months the real effect of the downturn, particularly on Dubai and its economy.’

One fact of life that employees should expect is that salaries will remain relatively flat for the time being. ‘Recently we had high inflation – up to 14% – and pay increases that were close to that figure but not 100% keeping up.

‘So what I expect this year is lower inflation and lower pay increases justified by the global financial situation. Again we will hear similar complaints from employees this year because of the situation in terms of the percentage growth versus inflation is similar to what it was last year,’ Wiesner said.

Another trend that employees are likely to see is more pay packages based on performance. ‘We have quite a lot of organisations coming to us looking at more performance-related payment schemes, but I would not say that this is particularly driven by the current economic situation.

‘This is a general cultural change that has been happening here over the past two to three years, where organisations are looking for payment structures with higher bonuses relative to salaries. I think organizations now have a stronger incentive to go down that route,’ he noted.

A person can use a valid UAE licence even after the residence visa is cancelled, Dubai court ruled.
Driving licence valid after visa cancellation

A Former UAE residents can still use a valid driver’s licence while visiting Dubai even after having cancelled their residence visas, according to a recent landmark ruling.

The Dubai Court of Cassation issued a recent ruling which stipulates that a person can continue using his or her UAE-issued driving licence as long as it remains valid and even after having cancelled the residence visa.

“When the authorities terminate a resident’s visa that does not mean that his/her driving licence is unusable as well. A driver’s licence remains valid in UAE as long as it hasn’t expired. The document is considered applicable provided it was issued upon a valid residence visa,” said the landmark ruling which was issued upon a traffic case that surfaced at Dubai courts recently.

The Traffic Court of First Instance recently fined an Arab national Dh1,000 and revoked his driver’s licence for three months for drinking and driving but acquitted him of driving without a licence.

The Public Prosecution appealed the initial verdict before the Dubai Appeals Court which upheld the primary ruling.

The Public Prosecution said in its appeal that article 51 of the Federal Penal Code No 21, 2005, concerning traffic, and its amendments in the law No 12 of 2007, bans the accused from using his driver’s licence (which was issued upon a residence visa earlier before it was annulled and he left the country).

The Dubai Court of Cassation confirmed his acquittal and issued the landmark ruling.

Sama Dubai scraps Bahrain resort deal

A joint venture between Bahrain’s Nass Corporation and South Africa’s Murray & Roberts Holdings said on Tuesday its contract to build a hotel resort for Sama Dubai in Bahrain had been terminated,

The contract covered the luxury Salam resort, a luxury beach-front resort close to the Bahrain Formula 1 track. Sama Dubai, the international real estate arm of state-owned Dubai Holding, did not give a reason for the termination.

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Dubai traffic eases

Peak rush hour traffic Dubai is noticeably less as many people are taking public transport or are carpooling due to the economic downturn, reported Gulf News. Another factor that is said to be easing traffic is the recent completion of interchanges.

Dubai has been hit by two financial crises in the last eight months, which have combined to bring the emirate’s real estate market to a crawl.

As well as the current global credit crisis, Dubai has suffered from its own run on liquidity based around the hype surrounding the dropping of the dollar peg.

Rumours of a possible revaluation caused a number of global investors to speculate on the pegs, bringing billions of dollars into the UAE and, in turn, creating an influx of liquidity and allowing banks to lend at very attractive rates, Ali Al Shihabi, CEO of Rasmala Investment Holdings told delegates at the monthly Dubai Property Society meeting.

When the central banks put an end to speculation by issuing repeated denials, these speculators pulled capital from the region. By July the market was suffering from a major lack of liquidity, causing tightening in lending criteria, and by August, the emirate was undergoing its own mini credit crisis.

The global crisis being felt by countries across the world, has further compounded the problem by causing local markets to plummet and regional investors to question local stock – especially the real estate shares that prop up Dubai’s economy.

Repatriation of capital, Though the market is undeniably slowing, witnessed by the falling trend amongst speculators looking to flip off plan properties, there has been no sign of a halt in buying by end users.

If recent past precedent is any guide then Dubai will be a winner from the current global financial crisis. And remember, in big financial shakeouts there are always winners and losers.

After 9/11 – which at the time looked an absolute disaster for inward investment into the Middle East – Arab investors brought an estimated $1 trillion back to the region from America where it was under threat of seizure. It was this money that first powered up the Dubai property boom.

Similarly the invasion of Iraq in 2003 hardly appeared good for regional confidence at the time. But Dubai gained in the aftermath as a safe haven in a troubled region and from the war’s impact on oil prices that fuelled its trading and service economy.

Capital flight this will be a flight of capital to safety and quality. It could well mean that Dubai property prices have another up leg to come, and that the crisis today is no more than a slowdown in the bull market.

In the meantime, if a fall off in cash flow to under-capitalized developers results in a consolidation of the sector, that will be healthy in the long run.

The losers will be the people who cannot afford their installment payments and who were relying on flipping to cash out before payments became due. Over-stretched speculators both among buyers and sellers will go through a painful consolidation period, unless new capital arrives from overseas very quickly.

Given that their financial distress may be very immediate this is where a shakeout is most likely. However, the market for completed property in many locations is severely undersupplied and will not suffer much – prices for villas are still going up, and even in the middle of last week’s crisis, completed properties were selling in Dubai, although at a slower pace than previously.

Dubai: Authorities have decided to stop issuing driving licences to certain categories of residents to curb the sharp rise in the number of vehicles, Gulf News has learnt.

Residents belonging to up to 100 categories will not be given licences. These include nurses, cooks, carpenters, housemaids, watchmen, tailors, cafeteria waiters, unskilled labourers, gardeners and bakers.

People belonging to other categories, which do not require a university degree, will not be able to open a driving licence file at traffic police departments all over UAE.

A Sharjah Police official told Gulf News that the interior ministry has instructed traffic departments last week to stop opening driving licence files for people belonging to about 100 categories as mentioned in their residence visa.

Not a new legislation

“The move is meant to reduce the huge number of vehicles by limiting the number of professionals allowed to obtain driving licences,” the official said.

The official said the decision was implemented last week and many applications from these categories were turned down.

The police official said that this was not a new law as there used to be restrictions on issuing driving licences.

“The law was then relaxed by the ministry and everyone was allowed to obtain driving licences. But due to a massive increase in the number of vehicles, the ministry has decided to restrict issuing driving licences,” he said.

The official said that those whose residence visa shows that they fall under these categories will not be able to open a driving licence file.

A driving school instructor said the school received the decision last week. She said this would affect the schools as many applications will be rejected.

Akmal, an Indian domestic helper who works for a family in Sharjah, said a driving school and the Sharjah traffic department turned down his application.

Akmal’s sponsor told Gulf News that he tried to open a driving licence file for his domestic help, but it was rejected. “I was told that if the profession in the residence visa is driver and that he came to work as a driver then he can obtain a licence, otherwise there is no way for him,” he said.