Tag Archives: careers
Sharjah Transport denies cab fare hike reports
Sharjah Transport denies cab fare hike reports Ahmed Shaaban (ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com) / 8 July 2013 Sharjah Transport on Sunday denied reports that cab fares had been hiked in the emirate and the taxi meter calibration changed. Abdulaziz Al Jarwan, Assistant Director-General for Operations at the corporation, told Khaleej Times that taxi meters started ticking at Dh3 for all trips inside and outside the emirate. “Passengers are only charged Dh20 extra for cab trips to Dubai,” he said. All cabbies had been instructed to add the Dh20 additional charge for outside trips only at the end of the trip. This was because some passengers had complained that cabbies added the extra Dh20 at the beginning of the trip itself and those passengers who changed their mind on the way and did not cross the border ended up fighting with the cabbies. All passengers might now change their mind at any time of the cab trip. “All cabbies have been strictly ordered to add the extra Dh20 only at the end of the trip.” Besides Dh20, the Salik fee was added if the cab passed through any of the toll gates in Dubai. “Cab meters start ticking at Dh3 from 6am to 10.59pm and Dh4 from 11pm to 5.59am.” Al Jarwan said the poster stuck in all taxis displayed these facts. “All passengers are urged to keep in touch with the Sharjah Transport office round the clock at 600525252 to submit their comments, complaints and suggestions on the services being provided.” Continue reading
$90 million to breathe new life into QE2
$90 million to breathe new life into QE2 Muaz Shabandri (muaz@khaleejtimes.com) / 8 July 2013 Dubai’s plan to build a majestic floating hotel from the retired ocean liner Queen Elizabeth 2 (QE2) finally seems to have hit the right note with a change of ownership and new project completion dates. The cruise liner will now be owned by QE2 Shipping, a Dubai Government entity which will oversee the project’s development and take over operations from Istithmar, the private equity arm of Dubai World. Plans to restore the massive ocean liner are expected to be complete by late 2014 as a private group of investors will finance the project estimated at a cost of $90 million (Dh330 million). Refusing media speculation questioning the ship’s future, a senior official from the company confirmed the project would continue as planned and restoration would start soon. “We received many emails speculating the future of QE2. We will not respond or react to any speculation nor reveal our plans to any third party,” said Khamis Juma Buamim, Chairman of QE2 Shipping and QE2 Holding Limited. He refused media reports speculating a possible sale of the cruise liner as he said: “There is no need to sell the QE2. We are not scrapping or destroying it. The ship is ours and we will take care of it. We will deliver an iconic project for the world to romance and relish.” A consortium of ‘big investors’ are expected to fund the ship’s transformation as part of a 15-year renewable deal under the QE2 Holdings Limited. Details about the investors were not released at a press briefing hosted at Dubai Maritime City. Currently, the ship is undergoing repair works at the Drydocks World in Dubai. So far, seven of the ship’s nine engines have been restored and technical teams from the Drydocks World are working on bringing the vessel back into class to enable her sail on her own steam to the Far East. “This is going to be an iconic concept in the global market. There is huge potential in Asia and the Far East and many countries would like to host such a ship,” said Khamis. Unveiling plans for the future he noted that the original design had been slightly modified to increase capacity to a 400-room all suite hotel on board the liner. “Requests for proposals have already been sent to design houses and the intention is that submitted designs will be placed on the website where public opinion will be invited against set criteria to choose the best design,” he added. Once technical works are completed by mid-August, a major sail-off party will be hosted in Dubai on October 18 to bid farewell to the QE2. It is expected to reach Singapore on November 1 where it will be berthed for three days before proceeding to Hong Kong and finally reach a shipyard in China where the transformation will be completed. Restoration works are expected to take between 8 to 12 months. Once complete, the ship will be maintained at an annual cost of $2.5 million. The final destination of the floating hotel has not yet been decided. “We are in discussions with different governments and negotiations are ongoing to decide the location,” the official said. Special memorabilia from the ship’s interior have been removed and shipped in air-conditioned containers to Singapore where they will be stored at a secured warehouse. These memorabilia will be reassembled after renovation works have been completed. Continue reading
Egypt’s new president asserts authority
Egypt’s new president asserts authority (AP) / 7 July 2013 Egypt’s new president moved to assert his authority and regain control of the streets Saturday even as his opponents declared his powers illegitimate and issued blood oaths to reinstate Mohammed Mursi, whose ouster by the military has led to duelling protests and deadly street battles between rival sides. But underscoring the sharp divisions facing the untested leader, Adly Mansour, his office said pro-reform leader Mohamed El Baradei had been named as interim prime minister but later backtracked on the decision saying consultations were continuing. Mansour’s administration, meanwhile, has begun trying to dismantle Mursi’s legacy. He replaced Mursi’s intelligence chief and the presidential palace’s chief of staff. Prosecutors, meanwhile, ordered four detained stalwarts of Mursi’s Brotherhood held for 15 days pending an investigation into the shooting deaths of eight protesters last week. No major violence was reported between supporters and opponents of Mursi as the two sides sought to regroup after a night of fierce clashes that turned downtown Cairo into a battlefield. Clashes were also fierce in the port city of Alexandria, where thousands from both sides fought each other with automatic rifles, firebombs and clubs. Friday’s violence left 36 dead, taking to at least 75 the number of people killed since the unrest began on June 30, when millions of protesters took to the streets on the anniversary of Mursi’s inauguration as Egypt’s first democratically elected president. Mursi, a U.S.-trained engineer who was widely accused by critics of monopolizing power for himself and the Brotherhood as well as his failure to implement democratic and economic reforms, remained under detention in an undisclosed location. “El-Sissi is a traitor,” declared an English language banner bearing an image of the army’s chief and hoisted by Mursi’s supporters. Setting up another showdown, the youth opposition group behind the series of mass protests that led to Mursi’s ouster called on Egyptians to take to the streets on Sunday to show support for the new order. Mansour, 67, the former chief justice of the country’s Supreme Constitutional Court who was installed by the military as an interim leader, is little-known in international circles and the choice of El Baradei would have given his administration a prominent global face to make its case to Washington and other Western allies trying to reassess policies. But news of El Baradei’s appointment, which was reported by the state news agency MENA and others, proved divisive. The 71-year-old Nobel laureate was an inspiring figure to the youth groups behind the 2011 revolution that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak as well as the uprising against Mursi. His appointment as prime minister would cement Mansour’s support among the young anti-Mursi protesters. Mansour’s spokesman Ahmed el Musalamani denied that the appointment of the former U.N. nuclear negotiator was ever certain. However, reporters gathered at the presidential palace ahead of his news conference were told earlier that the president would arrive shortly to announce it. The dispute over El Baradei underlines the fragmentation of Egypt’s politics as the country continues to be roiled by bout after bout of unrest and violence since Mubarak’s ouster. The 2011 uprising opened the way for the political rise of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was long suppressed by Mubarak’s Western-backed regime, and Mursi was elected last year by a narrow margin. The fundamentalist movement swiftly rejected El Baradei’s appointment. The Brotherhood has vowed to boycott the political process, saying the military manoeuvre was a coup that overturned a democratically elected government. “Now it’s clear that the Mubarak regime has the upper hand,” Brotherhood spokesman Ahmed Aref alleged. “We cannot accept the strategy of arm twisting; we cannot accept the authority being snatched by force,” he told The AP. The group’s powerful deputy Khairat el-Shater, former leader Mahdi Akef, Rashad Bayoumi and Saad el-Ketatni have been accused of inciting violence against protesters in Cairo. The silver-haired new president, meanwhile, insisted national reconciliation was his top priority. Continue reading
