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Throw litter from cars and pay through your nose
Throw litter from cars and pay through your nose Staff Reporter / 25 March 2014 The Dubai Municipality has enabled the public along with officials to report littering and other cleanliness-related offences through the iDubai app. Irresponsible drivers beware! Hundreds of municipal officials and thousands of residents with sound civic sense are watching if you or passengers in your vehicle are throwing out cigarette butts or any other waste. With just a click on a smart app, they can book you for the offence that attracts Dh500 in fines. The Dubai Municipality, which has enabled the public along with officials to report littering and other cleanliness-related offences through the iDubai app, has intensified monitoring the wrong practices of drivers and passengers. “Some of drivers are not bothered about littering or spitting on the road while driving,” said Director Abdul Majeed Al Saifaie. “This phenomenon is more common among drivers of commercial vehicles than private and family vehicles. Hundreds of municipality officials are assigned to report this type of violations in additions to thousands of people who can voluntarily report any cleanliness issues via iDubai app from their smart phones” he said in a media statement issued on Monday. “As all of us are happy to join the ‘Smart Government’ initiative of His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and the Ruler of Dubai. This is a golden chance for all to contribute in keeping our city clean,” he said. “Hence, everyone should be careful. The driver will be responsible for anything thrown out of his car. A fine starting from Dh500 will be charged for each offence. It is the duty of parents and teachers to educate children about the healthy and eco-friendly practices,” he explained. “We recommend everyone to keep a small waste bag inside the vehicle to put small waste during the drive and properly dispose it after parking the car,’ he further said. Cigarette butts, paper wraps, tissue paper and bottles are generally the items thrown out of cars. “We want to make Dubai one of the most comfortable places to live and do business. Everyone, regardless of their nationality, should learn best practices and cooperate with the civic body to keep our city clean and beautiful and thus protect the environment,” he added. sajila@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Egyptian court sentences 529 Mursi supporters to death
Egyptian court sentences 529 Mursi supporters to death (Reuters) / 25 March 2014 Most of the defendants were detained and charged with carrying out attacks during clashes which erupted in the southern province of Minya after the forced dispersal of protest camps on August 14. An Egyptian court sentenced 529 members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood to death for murder and other offences on Monday. Family members stood outside the courthouse screaming after the verdict — the biggest mass death sentence handed out in Egypt’s modern history, defence lawyers said. State television reported the sentences without comment. A government spokesman did not immediately respond to calls. Several government officials said they could not comment on judicial matters. Most of the defendants at Monday’s hearing were detained and charged with carrying out attacks during clashes which erupted in the southern province of Minya after the forced dispersal of two Muslim Brotherhood protest camps in Cairo on August 14. Militants have also stepped up assaults on the police and army since Mursi’s ouster, killing hundreds and carrying out high profile operations against senior interior ministry officials. “The court has decided to sentence to death 529 defendants, and 16 were acquitted,” defence lawyer Ahmed El Sharif said. The condemned men can appeal against the ruling. The charges against the group, on trial in Minya since Saturday, include violence, inciting murder, storming a police station, attacking persons and damaging public and private property. “This is the quickest case and the number sentenced to death is the largest in the history of the judiciary,” said lawyer Nabil Abdel Salam, who defends some Brotherhood leaders including Mursi. On Tuesday, the Muslim Brotherhood’s Supreme Guide, Mohamed Badie, and 682 others will face trial on charges of incitement to kill. Only 123 of the defendants were in court. The rest were either released, out on bail or on the run. The government has declared the Brotherhood a “terrorist” group. Mursi, Mubarak’s successor as president, and other top Brotherhood leaders are on trial on a range of charges and accuse the military of staging a coup and undermining democracy. The army says it was acting on behalf of the Egyptian people, who took to the streets in their millions to call for Mursi’s resignation. For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Full-throttle photography 14,000 feet above the ground
Full-throttle photography 14,000 feet above the ground 25 March 2014 With an office 14,000 feet above the ground, Juan Mayer sits down with Kelly Clarke to talk about the stomach-churning chill and thrills of being a skydive photographer and his dreams of breaking a world record in Dubai. The dreaded nine-to-five slog is part and parcel of a typical working day for most people around the world, but for Juan Mayer, his daily ascent via a small propeller plane to his office in the sky makes his working day far from typical. With a penchant for photography from a young age, Argentina-born Mayer decided to turn things up a notch 13 years ago, and with his Nikon camera in tow, left his job in the army and took to the skies to become a skydive photographer. Now, with 9,000 jumps under his belt — reaching world record heights of 24,000ft in the process — Mayer reminisces with Khaleej Times on the heart-thumping moments before throwing himself out of the plane for his first solo jump. “It was terrible. Seriously terrible. My only motivation at the time was the photography, so that’s what kept me going.” The initial fear didn’t keep him from his dreams, and after becoming hypnotised by his first few dives, Mayer says he knew he wanted to pave out a career in mid-air photography. “Skydiving is a beautiful thing. When you are up there, you are alone and free. It’s a challenging environment for a photographer, but an extraordinary one.” With the vision of being a high-flying photographer firmly in his sights while living in Argentina, Mayer says he had to “suck it up” and make a few hundred jumps before officially getting on the payroll. “I had to make a minimum of 200 jumps before doing it professionally, but the money made it difficult to start skydiving,” he says, with each jump setting him back $30. Tapping into his inner entrepreneurship, Mayer managed to get the majority of his costs covered by persuading people to dig deep and pay for his jumps in return for some free-of-charge, mid-air shots. And it was a bold move which proved successful. “I couldn’t keep forking out after the first year, so this worked well for me. It was a win-win situation for me and them. ” From Brazil to Venezuela, and New Zealand to the USA, Mayer’s passion for adrenalin-pumping photography has seen him stack up the air miles over the years, with most of the world’s continents checked off his list. Back in Dubai Now the official photographer for Skydive Dubai, Mayer and his team returned to a warm welcome in Dubai back in October 2013 after bagging a gold medal at the 15th Asiania Parachuting Championships at the China International Open. Since moving to Dubai more than two years ago, Mayer’s photography has seen him bag awards all over the world, including several accolades for his videography work, but he says he has his sights set on breaking a record right here in Dubai. “The current world record is 400 people in free fall, but sometime this year, we’re hoping to break this record by having more than 500 people in free fall.” With no date set in stone for the record-breaking challenge, Mayer says he is hopeful it will happen at Skydive Dubai’s desert base later this year, with about 10 photographers tasked with the job of snap-shooting history in the making. Hoping to take the lead when the day finally comes, Mayer says he can’t wait to be a part of the epic milestone. “This is my main aim at the moment, so I just hope it happens soon.” Completing a staggering 24 jumps in one day while working out in the USA a few years ago, Mayer says a typical day in Dubai sees him leaping from the plane’s door about 10 times, all “depending on mother nature’s mood”. And when asked if he ever gets bored of the job, it’s clear, after 13 years that the fervour still rages within him. “When I train on-ground for too long, I definitely get grumpy if I don’t jump for a few days,” he says. Mayer’s two-year stint in Dubai has seen him add about 2,000 jumps to his ever-growing resume, and with only 60 seconds to get that perfect picture during free fall, he says the job can often be tricky, and the outcome disappointing. “People will look at my shots and like them, but I won’t be happy with them. You have such a short time space to capture that image, so it doesn’t always happen. But when it does, the sense of satisfaction is immense.” So what is his favourite shot? Mayer says capturing the expressions on people’s face, mid-air, always raises a few smiles and really sets the scene when it comes to skydiving pictures, but in terms of a favourite, the answer is simple: “For me, my favourite shot is the one I take tomorrow.” So after giving up a secure job in the Special Forces and switching to a daredevil day job, is the passionate photographer risking it all in pursuit of that crowning moment? The answer, according to the “photographer first, skydiver second”, is no. “Believe it or not, skydiving is actually safer than driving a car.” kelly@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
