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ETISALAT INTERNET ROAMING SERVICE FROM TODAY
The Emirates Telecommunications Corporation, ETISALAT, is launching today its value-added Internet roaming service. The service allows Internet dial-up customers to travel anywhere in the world and yet access their home Internet Service Provider, ISP, read and retrieve e-mail messages and browse, at the cost of a local call. It has been made possible through the Global Roaming Internet Centre, GRIC, which is a world wide alliance of ISPs, of Emirates Internet is a member. The advantages of the service are inexpensive international direct dialing rates, direct log-in from laptop or notebook or desktop, dispensing with multiple accounts, availability of 500 ISPs in over 70 countries and direct Internet access billing to home account. Emirates Internet customers roaming in other countries will be charged 30 fils per minute usage and one-time service charge of Dh10 during the month in which the roaming service is used, billed to the local Internet bill. International Internet users roaming in the UAE will incur a charge of 30 fils per minute charged to the telephone number from which the call is made.(The 'Khaleej Times')
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DUBAI GOLD IMPORTS DIP IN FEBRUARY
Dubai gold imports in February dropped to 23.2 tonnes in February from 51.7 tonnes in the same month a year earlier, figures issued yesterday. But the figures, issued by the Dubai Customs Department and carried by the official UAE News Agency, WAM, showed that imports were slightly higher than the 23.1 tonnes imported in January. The figures showed that Switzerland, with 12.9 tonnes, was the biggest supplier of gold to Dubai in February, while South Africa came a distant second with about 3.8 tonnes. Gold trade in Dubai has been hard hit by a change in Indian trade regulations allowing some banks and other institutions to import gold directly. Abu 80 per cent of Dubai's gold imports are re-exported to Indian. Gold traders have said they expect their sales to be boosted by the 28-day Dubai Shopping Festival, which opened March 18. (The 'Gulf News')
The Board of Directors of Federal Environment Agency, FEA, on Sunday approved the national emergency plan, which has been prepared to deal with oil spills and other marine pollution disasters, in Abu Dhabi. The Board of Directors met under the chairmanship of Hamad Abdul Rahman Al Midfa, Minister of Health. Dr. Salem Al Dhaheri, Director General of the FEA, said after the meeting that it has been recommended in the meeting to submit the approved emergency plan to the cabinet for further procedures. He said that the plan, which has been prepared by the marine environment section of the National Environment Strategy and Environment Work Project, aims to determine the proper and immediate action to be taken and to co-ordinate with the concerned departments in the wake of marine pollution. ( The 'Gulf Today')
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UAE TO AMEND ITS COPYRIGHT LAW SOON
Adoption of the amended UAE copyright law is not expected to take very long, said a senior official at the Ministry of Information. The UAE is in the process of amending its copyright law of 1992 by studying which products that currently pass muster might actually constitute an infringement of international patent norms. While the amendment still has to refer to various state authorities, including the ministries of justice, commerce and industry, it 'might take very long' to be instituted, according to Habib Al Redha, Assistant Under Secretary at the Ministry of Information. He stressed that the UAE had been vigorously combating piracy ever since September 1992, when Law No.21 - the copyright law - was enacted. "We have proof that our efforts have resulted in a big drop in pirated goods in the country. We will continue our activities to further cut piracy levels , while efforts are also on that the legislative front to plug possible loopholes." " The process is underway and, while it has to be approved by many official bodies, it might not take very long to be implemented," he said. ( The 'Gulf News')
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OFFSETS PROGRAMME IN UAE TAKING NEW DIRECTION
In a departure from the conventional path of setting up joint ventures with defence contractors in the local economy, offsets programmes may in the future, be created in the country of the defence contractors. The concept of offsets is undergoing changes with such programmes looking at new means of generating wealth in the local economy and concurrently preparing local economies to face the challenges of globalisation. New ventures can be created in the country of the contractor (or anywhere) to maximise production or to take advantage of the abundance of natural resources or skilled labour, Dr. Abdulazziz A. Jazzar, President and CEO, International Systems Engineering, Saudi Arabia said at the recently held Offsets and Business Development '99 seminar. While stressing that offset is essentially a joint programme with defence contractors, Faris Yebhouni, a Senior Project Manager, UAE Offsets Group said the UOG is more an economic development agency to create a dynamic economy through market driven activities and to expand the private sector. "The UOG is output-based and depends on profitability, "he state. He said the UOG future progarmme will also lay emphasis on developing the small and medium enterprises in the country. Towards this end, the UOG is working with the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The UOG's recent announcement of the Dolphin Regional Gas Network, a $8-10 billion project to build a regional gas network from Qatar to UAE and Oman is a non-conventional offset project without the participation of any defence contractor yet. ( The 'Gulf News')
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EMIRATISATION: FINANCIAL BACKING FOR PRIVATE FIRMS
The government will provide financial support to private sector firms to encourage them to employ UAE nationals, said Khalid Ali Al Bustani, Assistant Under Secretary for Information Systems and Administration, Ministry of Finance and Industry. A large number of locals are reluctant to join government service or private firms due to the absence of a proper social security system, he said. Following the approval of the UAE Central Bank at the beginning of the year, the UAE Social Security Authority, will be officially formed in May for the government sector and in September for the private sector. The new social security programme is expected to cover a large number of nationals both in the government and the private sector, Bustani said. The plan envisages a monthly contribution of five per cent from the employee and 15 per cent from the employers towards pension. The capital collected along with a corpus of Dh500 million provided by the government will be invested in a number of profitable projects, he said. The Authority will examine all the available investment options and decide on the best projects worthy of investment The official also pointed out that the scheme would benefit ageing employees, handicapped persons and badly sick or retired employees. ( The 'Khaleej Times')
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DH146.7M DEALS BY LAND TRANSPORT CUSTOMS CENTRE IN FEB.
The Land Transport Customs Centre handled 5,793 dealings last month worth Dh146.7 million. The deals included over 2,000 cargo permits and 1,400 exported goods, a Press release from Dubai Customs said. The Centre has also handled 1,134 inspection reports on 718 re-exported items, 128 in-transit goods, 128 in-transit motor vehicles and 33 for incoming vehicles. According to Abdul Razzaq Al Faqaieh, Director of the Land Transport Customs Centre at Dubai Ports and Customs Department, the value of re-exports which weighed 20.2 million kg worth Dh43.4 million, re-exports weighing 7.7 million kg valued Dh3.3 million, he said. Citing figures released by the Centre, Al Faqaieh said the total number of 33 cars which arrived to Dubai on transit valued Dh872,000, cargo-laden vehicles in transit numbered 86, and empty vehicles totaled 35. The number of car dealings, imported and in transit stood at 145, while those which include goods and cars stood at 2,431, according to the release. A total of 2,236 cars and tracks left Dubai last month, of which 780 left to Oman, 443 to Saudi Arabia, 2948 to Qatar, 186 to Jordan, 179 to Kuwait, 104 to Turkey, 102 to Egypt, 52 to Yemen, 29 to Lebanon, 20 to Bulgaria, 19 to Bahrain, 16 to Syria, four to Libya, two to Romania, and one each to Macedonia and Sudan. (The 'Khaleej Times')
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UAE AD SPEND GROWS ONLY 1 PC TO $192.5 MILLION
The UAE saw only a one per cent growth in the advertising spend between February 1998 and January 1999 over the previous corresponding 12-month period. According to the latest data released by the Pan Arab Research Centre (Parc) in Dubai, the total ad spend in the UAE increased to $192.56 million between February 1998 and January 1999 (current period)compared to $190.42 million in the previous corresponding 12-month period of February 1997 to January 1998 (previous period). The last three months of the current period saw a decline in the ad spend by three per cent, five per cent and eight per cent respectively in the country. There were also two other bad months in April and May when advertising spend dropped 15 per cent and 22 per cent respectively. All the other seven months, however, saw growth ranging between two and 18 per cent. Among the largest spenders during the current period were the services and the clothing, jewellery and personal accessories segments or chapters as the Parc data indicated. These two chapters contributed $58.68 million and $47.30 million respectively, while the toiletries hygiene personal care chapter came third with an ad spend of $25.32 million and vehicles, accessories and supplies came fourth with $24.50 million. The food, beverages and tobacco chapter spent $14.11 million. Among the top advertisers or brands were Al Massa, which had an ad expenditure of $2.30 million during the current period, while Etisalat came a close second with an ad spend of $2.22 million and MashreqBank a close third with $2.20 million. The overall media split for the current period showed that newspapers continued to be the favourite destination for the advertisers as this segment had market share of 55 per cent compared to 17 per cent each of television and magazine and five per cent each of radio and outdoor. ( The 'Khaleej Times')
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GULF'S EARLIEST DATE STONES FOUND ON DALMA
The earliest evidence ever recovered in the Arabian peninsula for the consumption of dates has been identified on the island of Dalma, in Abu Dhabi's Western Region, a spokesman for the Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey , ADIAS announced yesterday. Radiocarbon dating of two burnt stones from a site on the island have produced results suggesting that one date stone can be dated to 4670 (+/-130)BC, and the other to 5110 (+/-160)BC, that is about 6,500 - 7000 years ago. The dating was carried out at the University of Arizona in the United States, working in collaboration with the Scottish Universities Research and Reactor Centre radiocarbon laboratory at the University of Glasgow, in Scotland. Both dates stones, together with impressions of date stones on fragments of mudbrick, were recovered during excavations on the site in the compound of the Abu Dhabi Women's Association branch on Dalma, where ADIAS has been working for several years. Last season's work by ADIAS on Dalma was organised with the support of Minister of Information and Culture HH Sheikh Abdulla bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Other finds from the 7,000 year site include at least two round house-like structures with surviving post-holes and floors, one of which is at least 7 metres in diameter. There are also small quantities of imported painted pottery from the 'Ubaid' culture of southern Mesopotamia. Large quantities of what appear to be locally made gypsum plaster vessels were also found, of a type not known anywhere else in the Middle East, along with many thousands of flint flakes and a good number of stone tools ( including awls, arrowheads and tile knives); other finds included ornamental beads, and huge quantities of food debris in the form of marine shells and animal and fish bones. Two Dalma date stones represent the oldest radiometrically dated evidence yet available for the consumption of dates within the Gulf region, as well as probably some of the earliest evidence of date palm found anywhere in the whole of the Middle East. The previous earliest evidence for date palm remains in the United Arab Emirates were date palm imprints excavated from Hili site 8 in Al Ain, which have been dated to around 3,000 BC. The Dalma date stones are at least 1,500 years, and perhaps 2,000 years older. "This new discovery and the dating of the Dalma date stones is of great interest" according to Mark Beech, the ADIAS environmental archaeology specialist, "particularly as their age range falls within the late 6th - early 5th millennia BC, around 7,000 years ago. This is around 1,000 years earlier than any previous evidence from the region. "The two Dalma date stones represent some of the earliest remains of date consumption found within the entire Middle East. Although it cannot be determined if they represent wild or cultivated dates, they certainly confirm that dates were being consumed at this early time," Beech said. The new discovery further underlines the importance of the Dalma site, according to the ADIAS Academic Director, Dr. Geoffrey King, of London University's School of Oriental and African Studies. The Dalma site is the oldest settlement yet identified in the Emirates," King said. "The archaeological evidence from Dalma shows that 7,000 years ago, the people of Dalma were already importing pottery by sea from Mesopotamia, the earliest confirmed evidence of the maritime traditions of the people of the UAE. They were making vessels of gypsum of a type not known anywhere else in the region, and were already keeping domestic animals. This latest discovery, the earliest evidence yet to be found for the eating of dates in the whole of Arabia, makes the site still more important than we had realised." "In a very real sense, the Dalma site represents the dawn of the Emirates," King said. The Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeological Survey was established on the instructions of President His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan to undertake archaeological investigations on the islands and coast of Abu Dhabi. Operating under the patronage of HH Lt-General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, it has identified major sites on a number of islands besides Dalma, including Sir Bani Yas, North and South Yasat and Merawah. (The Emirates News Agency, WAM)
