Tag Archives: dubai
Four-year-old killed in desert safari accident
Four-year-old killed in desert safari accident Sajila Saseendran and Afkar Abdullah / 20 March 2014 Boy flung out as the 4WD in which the family was enjoying the desert safari turned turtle in the Madam area of Sharjah. A family picnic ended in disaster for an Indian couple when the vehicle in which they were enjoying a desert safari overturned on Tuesday evening, killing their only son instantly. The accident took place in a desert in the Madam area of Sharjah. Sources from the Dibba Hospital, where the boy was rushed to, confirmed that he was brought dead. “The paramedics in the ambulance had tried to revive the child. But, he was already dead,” said one official. The four-year-old boy, Pranav, was sitting on his mother Lakshmi’s lap when the four-wheel drive in which the family was dune-bashing met with the accident, the boy’s uncle told Khaleej Times . Pranav’s father Arun Kumar, a television cameraman who used to work for a prominent sports channel, and his brother Ajith Kumar organised the desert safari since their uncle and family had come over for a visit from India. While the brothers and their families travelled in one vehicle, the rest of the members were taken in another vehicle by the tour operator for dune bashing. “Our car had driven up a dune and it overturned when it was going down. I think the climb down the mound was steeper than what the driver assumed and he lost control,” said Ajith. He said the vehicle turned turtle a couple of times and Pranav was flung out of a side window due to the impact of the crash. He died of a head injury that caused profuse bleeding. All others, including Ajith’s two children, escaped with minor injuries. The Sharjah Police are investigating the case. The family’s friends remembered Pranav as a very smart and happy child. “They had just returned after a visit to India. That child was looking very cute after getting his head shaved in a famous temple,” said a family friend. He said that the boy was to start schooling in two weeks. “He had got admission in Delta School in Sharjah. This was not the first time they went for the desert safari. I think they have gone for it for some four to five times. It’s very tragic that his life was taken away like this,” he added. The shattered parents of the child are being taken care of by relatives and friends in Sharjah. The body of Pranav is likely to be flown to the family’s hometown in Alappuzha in the south Indian state of Kerala. news@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Saudi demands Qatar modify its policies: Report
Saudi demands Qatar modify its policies: Report (AFP, Wam) / 19 March 2014 UAE issues clarification on audience between Qatari Foreign Minister and acting UAE Charge d’Affaires in Doha. Saudi Foreign Minister Saud Al Faisal has warned there will only be rapprochement between Riyadh and Doha when Qatar “modifies” policies at the centre of their spat, a newspaper reported on Tuesday. Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE earlier this month recalled their ambassadors from Qatar after accusing the fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) state of interfering in their internal affairs and of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood. “There will be detente if Qatar modifies the policies that are at the origin of the crisis” with its neighbours, Prince Saud said in a short statement published by pan-Arab newspaper Al Hayat on Tuesday. He added that there will be “no American mediation to put an end to the crisis”. Saudi Arabia at a March 5 meeting of the GCC demanded that Doha shut down the Qatari-owned television station Al Jazeera, an informed source said. Riyadh also called for the closure of two think-tanks based in Qatar, the Brookings Doha Centre and the Arab Centre for Research and Policy Studies. UAE clarifies Meanwhile, Maryam Al Falasi, Director of Media Department, UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, issued a statement on a news story by Qatar News Agency on Monday night about an audience between Qatari Foreign Minister Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah and the acting UAE Charge d’Affaires in Doha on Monday. Al Falasi said the UAE Embassy in Qatar had requested on January 5, 2014, the delivery of a message dated December 12, 2013, from His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai,to the Amir of Qatar, His Highness Shaikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, dealing with the UAE’s winning of the bid to host World Expo 2020 in Dubai. She added that the message was a courtesy the UAE sent to sisterly and friendly countries after the Dubai win of the Expo bid. She also clarified that both the note and meeting had nothing to do with the recent developments which led Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain to withdraw their ambassadors from Doha. For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Minimum speed on highways may be increased to 80kmph
Minimum speed on highways may be increased to 80kmph Amira Agarib / 19 March 2014 It’s part of recommendations made by the Traffic Federal Council for amendments to be made to the Traffic Law. The minimum speed on highways could be increased to 80km per hour from 60km to reduce the number of accidents, according to Major-General Mohammed Saif Al Zafin, Chairman of the Federal Traffic Council and Assistant Commander-in-Chief of the Dubai Police for Operations. He said these changes were part of recommendations made by the Traffic Federal Council for amendments to be made to the Traffic Law. He said changes were required and awaited and there was a possibility that new texts would be added commensurate with the evolution of traffic and security needs. He explained that the council issued a package of recommendations to be submitted to the Supreme Committee of the Policies and Strategies which is headed by Lt-General Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, to take the final decision. “The Minister of Interior has issued clear directives for unifying and standardising traffic procedures in all emirates to avoid differences in regulations or the applications,” said Al Zafin. The council has also recommended to stop issuing licence for vans or light buses used for transportation purposes. Companies will be provided a one-year grace period to address the matter. There is a possibility of allowing vans to transport goods only. Non-availability of security and safety requirements in vans caused many fatal accidents, he said. He explained that there are vehicles that can carry nine people, such as the Toyota Land Cruiser or other similar vehicles that have sufficient safety and security measures instead of the vans that resemble sardine cans and often result in deaths or injuries. The council’s recommendations in its meeting held on Thursday also included unification of traffic files for all drivers in the UAE to link it with Emirates Identity Card that will take the same number as the card so as to make it easier for dealers in any emirate. Al Zafin pointed out that there was no justification for existence of a separate file for each person as long as there is a uniform traffic system applied in the state. He said the most important recommendations included reconsidering the minimum speed for roads, which is normally fixed at 60 kmph on the highways whereas people drove cars at a speed of 140 kmph. “This big difference in speed usually leads to accidents.” The council proposed certain routes for minimum speed and also suggested writing the speed on the road surface until drivers were aware of the speed limit on that track. He stated that it is also necessary to reconsider the rate of minimum speed because there is a difference between heavy vehicles and light vehicles. “Speed can be increased to 80 kilometres per hour on the highways to be on a par with the maximum speed of the trucks to avoid problems caused by differences in speed,” he said. He added that members of the Board of Directors of the traffic departments in UAE agreed to these recommendations which will be coordinated with the relevant authorities in each emirate before implementation. news@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
