The police in United Arab Emirates (UAE) have warned against wearing vendetta masks while celebrating the 41st national day of the UAE. Any person who wears this mask would face legal questionnaires, as the mask refers to opposition to the government and authorities.

According to the police, wearing this mask or any similar symbol violates the security of the state. It is considered a criminal offense and punishable by law, even for those who don’t know what this mask might refer to.

In a Gulf news website, a Dubai police official said “Using any symbol that insults the country or instigates unrest against its system is not allowed. We urge citizens to celebrate using other symbols such as national flags, slogans or photos that are more appropriate to the happy occasion of National Day.”

The vendetta mask, also called Guy Fawkes mask, was designed to hide Guy Fawkes. Guy Fawkes was the principle of the group that failed to bomb the British House of Lords in London in 1605.  In the end he was captured and hanged in Westminster January 31,1606.

Every November 5, the people in the UK, New Zealand, Canada and South Africa celebrate Guy Fawkes Night for his failure to bomb the British House of Lords.

The advertisements to sell this mask in the UAE have shown up in some online stores featuring number 41 and the UAE flag colors, red, black, green and white. The price of the mask is about $20 USD.  After the police call, most of the advertisers have withdrawn the advertisements from the online sites, especially in the UAE-based web sites and blogs.

Vendetta is a Latin word used in English and other languages which means revenge. This mask was so popular during the Arab spring demonstrations in Tunisia, Yemen, Egypt and Libya revolutions. In these countries, many protesters used to wear these masks to show their maximum discontent on their government while calling to overthrow it.

This year, the UAE is celebrating the 41 anniversary of being united and independent. The UAE is a confederation of 7 sheikhdoms which were united on December 2, 1971. Sometimes they call it union day rather than national day.

The capital of UAE is Abu Dhabi, while Dubai is the commercial capital and the most famous city in the country. The other sheikhdoms are Sharjah, Ajman , Umm al-Quwain , Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah.

Image Courtesey of  Uros Zunic / Shutterstock.com

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The United Arab Emirates (UAE) President, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, issued a new law for electronic crimes that will punish anyone who tries to overthrow the government, hold illegal demonstrations, or affect the dignity of the state by making fun of or taunting the rulers of the emirates.

This law amended the previous law, which was issued in 2006. The former law for electronic crimes stated that anyone who promotes pornography or exposure of the heavenly religions is sentenced to prison.

The new law states that any person who uses the internet to harm the reputation, prestige any of its institutions or its chairman or his deputy or rulers or guardians’ royal family or deputy governors or flag or national anthem or symbols, will be punished. The punishment will be by imprisonment, according to the new law.

Also, the new law states it is illegal for any person who establish, manage or supervise a site on the Internet to call to the overthrowing or change of the regime or government, capture or to disable the provisions of the constitution or laws of the country.

The law also calls for imprisonment for those who use the Internet in the “planning, organization, promotion, or calling for demonstrations or marches without a license from the authorities.”

The UAE, which is one of the richest countries in the world, has not seen any massive protests during the uproar of the Arab Spring. The authorities have arrested, since the beginning of the year, about 60 locals accused of threatening the security of the country according to UAE official resources.

The UAE authorities announced in mid-July that it planned to dismantle a group that claimed to be plotting against security and opposed the constitutions of the Gulf states. On November 4, they group went to trial, a process which is still ongoing.

The Dubai Chief of Police, Dahi Khalfan, accused The Muslim Brotherhood party of attempting to overthrow the Arabian Gulf governments; the cell members who were arrested were charged with conspiring against state security and declaring their allegiance to the party. Most of them were using social media websites such as twitter and Facebook to call for public demonstration in the country.

This law might affect the social media coverage of the events in UAE; channels which played a very important role during the Tunisian, Egyptian, Libyan and Yemeni revolutions. Most of the demonstrations in these countries were mainly organized by Facebook and Twitter  activists. It will definitely affect the right to self-expression in the country because the written thought of people could be considered anti-government by law, thus forcing everything to think twice before saying anything.

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‘Eco Future’ is a yearlong exhibition opened recently in Manarat Al Saadiyat. The exhibition aims to urge the society and especially young generations to live a sustainable life style. It focuses on increasing the awareness of global warming, pollution and the green lifestyle.

Manarat Al Saadiyat literally means “the place of Enlightenment.” It is a 15,400 square meter arts and culture center located in Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

The exhibition is organized by the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority with other governmental organizations such as Masdar, Abu Dhabi Education Council, Urban Planning Council, Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi, the Imperial College London Diabetes Centre, Emirates Wildlife Society and Tourism Development and Investment Company.

The main teaching method in the exhibition is done by lectures, workshops, games, videos, trips with the illustrated paintings and distributed brochures. The exhibition uses interactive cartoon characters, which are taken from the local community of the UAE. The characters Ali, Moza, Yas and Sara are used to attract a younger audience, especially kids between 8 to 12 years old. It includes a large number of interactive games to teach the kids green lifestyle choices from eating and drinking to how to make eco-friendly cars.

The exhibition contains six different areas including Drinking, Eating, Enjoying, Moving, Building and Future City. In each area are environmental oriented artistic workshops. Also, they organize  kayaking trips for both kids and adults.

The 7days newspaper has published some environmental facts taught during the exhibition:

• The UAE’s energy use is seven times the global average.
• The UAE is the world’s largest generator of waste.
• At current rates, the UAE’s fresh water supply will be unusable in 50 years.
• One computer left on all day releases over 680 kg of carbon dioxide a year. It would take 100 to 500 trees to absorb that amount.
• It takes roughly 25 bathtubs of water to grow enough cotton to make a T-shirt.
• One per cent of the earth’s water is fresh. All the rest is salty sea water or frozen ice caps.

The exhibition is open daily from 10am – 8pm from September 27, 2012 to September 26, 2013. The admission to  Manarat Al Saadiyat is free , while the entrance ticket of the exhibition is  for  30 dirhams for adults and 25 dirhams for kids. Families of 4 members can enter the exhibition for 80 dirhams only. The exhibition can be reached by public buses, taxis and cars.

Image Courtesy of  Saadiyat Cultural District

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The Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation (AMAF) in Dubai has announced a plan to convert a mosque to the first eco-friendly mosque in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). According to the Khaleej Times newspaper, the project will cost 25 million UAE dirhams or 6.81 million USD.

The eco-friendly mosque is expected to save about 20 percent of water and power consumption. The normal consumption of water in the mosques is about three liters per person a day while the normal consumption of electricity in the mosques is about  250 kilo watts per square meter a year. Adding to eco-friendly conversion, the mosque would extend to about 9,754.82 square meters (105,000 square feet), making it the largest mosque in Dubai.

After the modifications, the mosque would accommodate about 3,500 worshipers at the same time. The roof of the mosque would be gardened to reduce the sun heat; additionally, it will use the solar energy to heat ablution water. The ablution is an Islamic procedure for washing parts of the body by using water to be prepared for prayer. The recycling plant within the mosque facilities will take the used ablution water for gardening and washroom use. The mosque will be constructed by eco-friendly materials to avoid non-biodegradable waste. It will also use an automatic thermostat to keep cool without wasting energy and will use natural light.

According to the Khaleej Times, Mr. Tayeb Abdulrahman Al Rais, Secretary-General of the AMAF, said: “The construction of the mosque is in line with the UAE leadership’s vision towards the conservation of resources, environment protection, and the adoption of green practices. With the global call for energy conservation, it is essential for developers to take responsibility for creating buildings that comply with green standards. The mosque project complies with best practices in corporate governance, while being transparent and gaining the validation of Awqaf, government and private institutions.”

In the neighboring city, Abu Dhabi’s General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments department approved the plan of an eco-friendly mosque to be built within Saadiyat Island. The design was made by Suhail Mohammed Suleiman, a graduate architecture student at Al-Hosn University. This initiative is not the first in the mosque-building field. In 2008, the Islamic community in Manchester opened Masjid-E-Noor, which was the first partially eco-friendly mosque in the world. The mosque was built with wood from renewable sources.  It also possessed solar panels to generate electricity.

In 2010, the Muslim community in Cambridge opened the first fully operated eco-friendly mosque. The mosque was designed by the award-winning architecture company, Marks Barfield, who designed a lot of projects in the UK and in the world, such as London Eye and Kew Treetop Walk.

Additionally, in 2010, eco-friendly mosques were opened in Buyukeceli village, which is in the Mersin province of Turkey. The mosques were opened by the residents of the village to protest having a nuclear plant there. This action was taken to show the government that there are many renewable sources that generate clean energy and are preferable to a nuclear plant.

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Every day we see new developments in advertising ideas to attract the viewer’s eye.  The more creative the advertising idea, the higher the price to pay.

From that, SkyDive ,the sky diving company in Dubai and Go Fast , the energy drinks manufacturer from Denver state, USA put a new billboard with flying jetpack pilot around it. The billboard is located in the base of  Burj Khalifa, the highest building in the world, located in Dubai’s downtown.  In front of the Billboard, they put some chairs for the  audience to sit while watching the show.

The price for each second of advertising on this billboard is about $500 USD . The total cost of one month of advertising on this billboard would cost about $1.3 billion USD, making it the most expensive billboard in the world.

The Jetpack is a device worn on the back that, when pushed by escaping gasses, allows a man to fly. The Jetpacks were used in 2008 for advertising the Red Bull energy drink, the Go Fast large competitor.

According to Dropzone.com, Mr. Nasser Al Neyadi of Skydive Dubai said, “this is an epic moment, and we are very proud to be part of it. This initiative is another example showcasing Dubai as a world leader in innovation and technology. The billboard came into being with a simple idea that has transformed into an exceptional event to attract a global audience. Our gratitude to our partners, Go Fast and Emaar Properties, without whose support, this would not have been possible.”

Emaar Properties is the master developer in the Emirate of Dubai. It developed Burj Khalifa, Dubai Marina, Dubai’s downtown, Dubai Mall and other leisure attractions.

According to marketing-interactive.com, the Go Fast chief executive, Mr. Troy Widgery said, “we are certain that the brand will be received very well here. We are grateful for the support of Skydive Dubai for our venture in this part of the world. With this billboard, we want the people to know that we will be here soon.” Additionally, according to the same website, the Go Fast energy drink is a Halal friendly product. This would allow the majority of Muslim residents of Dubai and UAE in general to drink this product without worrying of consuming a non halal drink.

Halal means permitted in Arabic which usually refers to the allowed food and drinks according to Islamic thoughts. The Halal food and drinks shouldn’t contain any pork and all it’s products; animals slaughtered not in Islamic way, alcoholic drinks, carnivorous animals, birds of prey and any food polluted with any of these products.

Image Courtesy of  Elinag / Shutterstock.com

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Etihad airway, the national airlines of United Arab Emirates (UAE), has announced its plans to have direct, daily nonstop flights from Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, to São Paulo, Brazil starting in June 2013.

São Paulo would be the first South American Destination in Etihad’s list; the new route would be to São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport, the main international airport in the city.

According to Business Traveler websites, Mr. James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ President and CEO, said “Brazil is a logical next step for us and will mark the sixth continent we serve and our coming of age as a truly global airline.”

Etihad airlines would be the second UAE airline to have direct flights from the country to a Brazilian city; Emirates airlines was the first.

In 2014, Brazil will be the hosting country of the FIFA World Cup. UAE in general, and especially Abu Dhabi, will be the main hub for the football fans and sports journalists from Asia and the Middle East looking for direct flights to Brazil.

Also, São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport would be a great transit point for the connecting traveler to other destinations in Brazil and other Latin American Countries. The airport is connected to all South American airports directly by different airlines.

Abu Dhabi will be a major connecting point to their original homeland for the large Arab community in Brazil and other Latin American countries. Most Arabs in Brazil are originally from Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Iraq.

Additionally, it will ease the travel for students from Middle Eastern and Asian countries between Brazil and their countries for holidays and after graduation. Brazil is considered an attractive education spot for the scholar who is looking for high quality education with low tuition fees and living costs.

The new flights between the two cities will give a push to the growing business between the two countries. Brazil is considered to be the 4th largest trading partner to the UAE, with trade business valued about 2.85 billion US dollars. Officials in the two countries are hoping to expand the trade relation to 10 billion US dollars in the next 5 years.

According to the National, the official UAE English newspaper, Mr. João de Mendonça Lima Neto, the Brazilian ambassador to UAE, stated “We are witnessing significant growth in the bilateral relations between Brazil and the UAE and we are certain that Etihad Airways flights will create new opportunities for government, trade, tourism and cultural exchanges.”

Image Courtesy of   TBSteve

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Liwa Oasis is an oasis in the northern part of the Empty Quarter (Al-Rub’ al Khali in Arabic), which belongs to the western region of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The Empty Quarter is one of the largest deserts in the world. The Liwa Oasis lies about 250 kilometers south to south west of the city of Abu Dhabi, the federal capital of United Arab Emirates (UAE). The oasis consists of about fifty Bedouin villages, the main village being Mezaira’a.

Liwa is a destination for foreign tourists to learn about Bedouin culture and the traditions of the UAE local people. It is also a great place to see large sand dunes. The largest dune is called Moreeb Dune, or Al Moreeb Hill (Tal Moreeb in Arabic); Tal Moreeb literally means the “scary hill” in Arabic.

Every January, the Abu Dhabi Motor Club organizes the international Tal Moreeb Festival where drag racers compete to see who can reach the top of the hill in the shortest amount of time.  In March, Tal Moreeb also hosts the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge, which is a charity competition for 4×4 vehicles, motorcycles, and quad motorbikes. Another important event in Liwa  is the Annual Liwa Dates Festival in July. It is the main dates-related event in the oasis because the main economical source for the oasis villagers is date farming.

If travelers coming from outside the UAE want to gain access to the oasis, they should use an airline that will arrive in Abu Dhabi International Airport, then they should proceed to take a taxi or a public bus to the city of Abu Dhabi.  After this, they can take either a public bus to the oasis, or they can rent a car to drive on their own.

There is a modern road with seven lanes connecting the city of Abu Dhabi with Liwa Oasis and Tel Moreeb. After the rise of tourism in recent years, many of the hotels and guest houses were opened in the oasis, especially in Mezaira’a village. Qasr Al Sarab is the only five-star, luxury hotel for travelers to the oasis. There are many Indian and traditional restaurants available there, and tourism-quality restaurants of different cuisines can be found in hotels and guest houses.

Historically, the oasis is considered the birth place of the House of Al-Nahyan, the ruling family of the Abu Dhabi Emirate, and the House of Al- Maktoum, the ruling family of the Dubai Emirate. In 1793, the Al-Nahyan family moved from the oasis to the city of Abu Dhabi, while the Al-Makoum family moved to Dubai in 1833.

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