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Dubai: The Ministry of Education is investigating irregularities at a scout camp that it owns in Al Aweer, where investors have been using areas to their own benefit under false contracts.

The camp land was allocated to the ministry by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Finance Minister, in 1996 so that it could be used for the ministry’s camping and scouting activities, on condition that it was to be used as a service and not for profit-making.

A source from the ministry, who wished to remain anonymous, said that former ministry officials had signed two contracts allocating parts of the camp to investors in 2006 and 2007.

The first contract, which was written on April 5, 2006, was a partnership deal between the Ministry of Education, represented by its then Undersecretary of Activities Affairs, and Emirates Hobbies Association, represented by its head.

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The source pointed out that the General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare had said that the activities of the Emirates Hobbies Association had been stopped and its board of directors suspended on December 24, 2005, meaning that the contract was signed four months after its termination.

The second contract, signed on September 30, 2007, was called a cooperation agreement between a "concerned party" from the Ministry of Education — which was not indicated later in the contract — and a "National Service" represented by a Ministry of Education official then and until now.

The source pointed out that it was a strange contract, as it seemed as if the ministry made a deal with itself.

The issue of the camp lands surfaced a few years ago through the reports of the Auditing Bureau, which outlined infringements in the camp, but the Ministry of Education had not taken up the issue.

The ministry took action after the camp’s water consumption bill crossed Dh400,000 for 2010 alone. The ministry had started paying the water consumption bills in 2008, which were previously paid by the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa).

Shock

This, along with the previous Bureau reports, finally led Ali Mehad Al Suweidi, Acting Director-General of the Ministry of Education, to contact Dewa to cut off the water supply to the scout camp.

The ministry source said that the ministry was in a legal position to sue the investors, but ministry officials did not attempt to sue so as not to cause unrest. The source added that any official who intended to do something about the issue was moved.

That was until recently, when the Ministry was shocked to see that one of the investors had raised an urgent proceeding against the Ministry, asking that an expert inspect the place and document its state, and that he — the investor — had spent Dh6 million to bring the place to its current state.

The proceeding also indicated that the Ministry had abandoned the investor and did not sign a contract with him as it had promised him.

Photographs

The other investor that the proceeding referred to, who is an official at the Ministry of Education and is in a leadership position, said that he had indeed evacuated the place, which was found to be untrue as proven by photos.

Photos show that there are new constructions and some areas are being used as horse stables for businessmen and equestrian lessons. The stables were found to be rented out for more than Dh2,000 a month.

The official claimed that he had indeed evacuated the place, but the other partners refused to move.

Recently, it was found there was a third contract between the Ministry of Education represented — again — by the ambiguous "concerned party" and the same "National Service" that was in the 2007 contract, but this time represented by A.S., according to another ministry source.

This contract was to last five years starting October 2007, and according to the source, the investor did not use any of the land but used the water and electricity that the contract indicated would be supplied by the Ministry of Education and in exchange for cleaning the camp.

The investor used the water and electricity to supply a village house that he built outside the camp area.

— With inputs from Gulf News correspondent

Originally Published On: gulfnews.com – Original Article Here

Dubai: The result of the UAE’s exhibition match with Duke University last night at Al Wasl Club didn’t matter, but the experience gained from playing one of the USA’s most successful collegiate basketball sides of all time will prove invaluable for the UAE heading into the forthcoming Asian and GCC Championships.

Technical director of the UAE’s national basketball side Mounir Ben Slimane told Gulf News: "For us it was a great opportunity for our players and it proved to be good exposure for our talent.

"There’s a huge difference in culture and tradition between the two sides but we have to move on and be ready for such experiences."

Penciling September 15-25 down for the FIBA Asian Championships in Wuhan China and October 9-10 for the start of the GCC Championships, Ben Slimane has aims to beat 2009′s 12 out of 16 positioning in Asia and has further aspirations to win the Gulf competition after.

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Having appeared in seven Asian Championships previously, the UAE’s best result was fifth in 1997 and worst 16th in 2007. By 2013 they have an aim to break the top eight again.

"The aim is to get to the second round and look for a better ranking in Asia. We’re seeking tenth position at least," added Ben Slimane.

Tough task

"Whereas with the Gulf competition we have to be competitive, we must compete for the title. We’ve won it three times and the last was 2007 in Dubai. Most of the time we face Qatar in the final so it’s very much between us and them."

Having spent the last few weeks on tour in China and Taipei facing a gruelling 15 games in 17 days and all while fasting through the month of Ramadan, Ben Slimane denies the team is going in overtired, despite the loss of best player Talal Salim to cruciate ligament damage. "It’s been very tough but good, to be honest we’ve had more games than practice so now we need to catch up in Turkey after Eid with our practice camp.," said Ben Slimane.

"We needed the games but now we need to focus on fine tuning, conditioning, fitness and synchronising the team in training.

"We have a mixture of experience with four rookies so it’s been a good opportunity to start rebuilding the team, slowing aiming for a good show in the Gulf and Asia."

Players integral to the cause will be Rashid Nasr, Latif Mohammad, Ali Abbas and Ahmad Ebrahim, according to Ben Slimane, especially after Talal’s injury.

Originally Published On: gulfnews.com – Original Article Here

George Clooney arrives by speedboat in Venice on Tuesday. (Reuters)

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: Aug 30, 2011 19:57
Updated: Aug 30, 2011 20:03

VENICE, Italy: George Clooney’s “The Ides of March” opens a star-studded Venice Film Festival that promises appearances by two other Hollywood actor-directors.

Clooney’s cynical political drama is among 23 films — five from Hollywood — vying for the coveted Golden Lion, which will be awarded Sept. 10.

The jury will be headed by Darren Aronofsky, a two-time Golden Lion winner whose “Black Swan” was launched to huge success after opening in Venice last year.

“The Ides of March” opens the 68th edition of the world’s oldest festival Wednesday. Clooney will be followed on the Lido by other Hollywood actor-directors Madonna and Al Pacino, both premiering biopics out of competition.

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Originally Published On: arabnews.com – Original Article Here

Raleigh: Andy Roddick and John Isner set up a mouth-watering semi-final between two big servers after the Americans won their respective quarter-final matches at the Winston-Salem Open on Thursday.

Top-seeded Roddick crushed seventh seed Juan Monaco of Argentina 6-1 6-4 while fourth seed Isner recovered from a shaky start to beat eighth-seeded Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis 1-6 6-3 6-4.

Roddick enjoys a 3-1 advantage in career meetings with the towering Isner but he predicted a tough encounter in the last four with his six-foot nine-inch compatriot.

Meanwhile, top ranked Caroline Wozniacki cruised into the next round and China’s Li Na had to endure a rain delay before booking her spot in the semi-finals of the New Haven Open on Thursday.

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Wozniacki remained undefeated advancing with a 7-5, 6-3 win over American teenager Christina McHale.

Li scored a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Originally Published On: gulfnews.com – Original Article Here

Dubai: At least 145 Indians imprisoned in Dubai and the northern emirates were pardoned during Ramadan, Indian consular officials disclosed.

"The holy month of Ramadan is a time for reflection and a time for selflessness. Traditionally, the UAE rulers have pardoned some prisoners during this holy month," a consular official said.

An estimated 1.3 million Indians reside in Dubai and the northern emirates.

"As per information available with us, there are 1,001 prisoners in the prisons of Dubai and the northern Emirates. Of these, information collated by us suggests that 145 Indian prisoners have been pardoned during this Ramadan by the Rulers of Dubai and northern Emirates," the official said.

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Nature of crimes

Asked about the nature of the crimes committed by those pardoned, the official said that no one among the pardoned prisoners were facing life sentences or murder charges.

According to the Indian Consulate, there are 567 Indian prisoners in the various jails in Dubai, 249 in Sharjah, 95 in Ajman, 52 in Ras Al Khaimah, 25 in Fujairah and 13 in Umm Al Quwain.

President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan pardoned six Indian prisoners in Sharjah and seven in Fujairah.

As many as 84 prisoners in Dubai, 23 in Sharjah, 12 in Ras Al Khaimah, nine in Ajman and four in Fujairah also won pardons.

Originally Published On: gulfnews.com – Original Article Here

Dubai: The world’s smallest gold-engraved Quran was showcased for the first time at a speci:al function organised at the Burj Al Arab hotel on Monday.

The masterpiece, which is encrusted with diamonds and rubies on the outside and holds two sheets of gold that are slightly smaller than an A4 paper but engraved with all the 602 pages and 114 chapters of the Quran, is the fruit of the collaboration between Raen Khan Zadeh — who has made a name by miniaturising normal text by up to 10 times — and Mohammad Taher Yousufzadeh, managing director of Prima Gold.

Labour of love

The golden Quran also involved the dedicated work and support of no less than 55 individuals from over 10 countries.

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Yousufzadeh said that the unique piece of art is another example of "what man, gifted by God with a unique talent — the ability to portray miniaturised text up to 10 times smaller than the human eye can find legible without the aid of magnification — is capable of doing". The talent is "God given, but what we chose to do with it is what truly sets us apart", he said.

The audience for the event had a chance to see the Quran up close as well as capture a video, which showed glimpses of the effort taken by the artist, Zadeh, to accomplish the feat.

Zadeh said he discovered his talent 12 years ago and started to develop it by working on many "innovative projects especially those related to Islamic art".

Prior to his latest work, Zadeh had inscribed the Basmalah, which consists of four words, on a single strand of hair, made a copy of 16 Quranic verses on a grain of rice, and copied the complete Quran nine times on paper of different sizes. There are now plans for his latest work to be displayed at various museums across the world in the coming years.

Originally Published On: gulfnews.com – Original Article Here

Dubai: An Emirati man who turned himself in and confessed to having consensual sex out of wedlock with his cousin, has married the 21-year-old woman, it has now emerged.

Even as the law prosecutes 27-year-old K.S. and his cousin A.K. for having illicit relations, the man said reporting his own crime was the only way available to him to marry the woman he loved in the face of opposition from her family.

K.S. said his earlier attempts to marry his cousin had ended in failure after his proposals were rebuffed by her family, and especially his aunt — the girl’s mother.

In his statement to the Dubai Public Prosecution, K.S. claimed: "Following several fruitless attempts to convince my aunt to allow us to get married, my only solution was to report to the police that I had consensual sex with my cousin.

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"Then police would have to open up a case against us… which would embarrass my aunt and her family and pressure them to consent to our marriage.

"I was aware that we would face imprisonment, but I was told that if we got married, the case might be dismissed."

K.S said that A.K. had earlier refused his offer of marriage due to pressure from her family. When she denied his proposal at her house one night, he went to the police station at midnight and turned himself in for having consensual sex with her "ten times".

Thereafter, prosecutors accused the Emirati lovers of having sex out of wedlock and referred them to the Court of Misdemeanours.

During prosecution questioning, K.S. claimed he was aware that he and A.K. would face punishment but it was their only way to get married.

Meanwhile, Gulf News has learnt from sources close to the case that K.S. and A.K. indeed got married in a Dubai Sharia Court some time ago.

The duo failed to appear in court last week. A.K.’s mother claimed to the judge that her daughter could not attend as she was in hospital.

Police have charged A.K. and K.S. with having sex illegally. Court records corroborate K.S.’ version of events, saying he loved his cousin and wanted to marry her but her mother continuously rejected his proposals because she considered him inappropriate and a "womaniser".

K.S. also said in his statement that he had consensual sex with his cousin more than ten times in different hotels in Dubai. "She agreed… because we loved each other," he claimed.

Meanwhile, A.K. alleged to prosecutors that she was not a willing participant in the events that transpired.

"He picked me up from the public library. I did not realise that he intended to have sex with me… I agreed to go with him to the hotel because he is my cousin and didn’t suspect him. He said he wanted to discuss the issue of my photos that he had saved on his mobile phone. While we were inside the room, he said, ‘I will marry you against your will’. He undressed and had sex with me," she said.

"I was afraid to tell my family… He continuously threatened me and my family in an attempt to pressure us to get married."

However, she left a telling clue about her feelings when she said: "I repeatedly asked him to convince my mother if we had to get married because I had no say in that."

Records also show K.S. sent a message to his aunt claiming A.K. got pregnant and they used medical pills to abort the two-month-old fetus. He later denied this allegation to police.

Prosecutors said questions revealed the couple had consensual sex. The next hearing is on September 20.

Originally Published On: gulfnews.com – Original Article Here

Edison: Big-hitting Dustin Johnson won a final-round duel with holder Matt Kuchar to win The Barclays on Saturday and the runner-up sounded like it was almost unfair.

"Guys like Dustin Johnson can make golf seem really easy," said Kuchar after finishing two shots behind his fellow American in the weather-shortened 54-hole event at Plainfield Country Club.

"If you could have any one attribute as a golfer you would want to drive it like Dustin Johnson. You would want to hit it that far and that accurate. From there golf gets a whole lot easier," he told reporters.

Johnson’s booming drives on the relatively short course gave him a big edge — he outdrove playing partners Kuchar and Vijay Singh by 80 yards to make birdie at the par-four second — but the winner was more pleased about his short game.

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"The putter has been lacking a little bit," said Johnson who won for the first time in 2011 after four top-four results including runner-up finishes at the British Open and WGC-Cadillac Championship.

"This week I finally rolled in some putts."

Practice paying off

The 27-year-old Ryder Cup player said practice was paying off for him.

"I’ve been working hard on my putting, not necessarily making putts but getting it started on line, because I read the greens very well," said Johnson.

"You can’t control whether the ball goes in, but you can control where you start it. I’ve just been working on starting it where I’m looking."

Five successful birdie putts on the front nine on Saturday, including one from 30 feet, fell in for Johnson as he battled against Kuchar in the opening event of the FedExCup playoffs.

The highlight of the winner’s round was an eagle two at the par-four fourth.

With forward tees making it a 314-yard hole, Johnson belted his tee shot into a greenside bunker and then holed out. He said it was the first time he had been in sand all week.

"I didn’t know what to expect," he said. "But to me it seems like the harder the shots, the better I hit it.

"It wasn’t an easy bunker shot. I hit a pretty good follow through and it came out just right and went in the hole."

The win was Johnson’s fifth on the US Tour, the most by any current players under the age of 30.

Scores

194 – Dustin Johnson 66-63-65

196 – Matt Kuchar 63-65-68

197 – Brandt Snedeker 70-66-61, Vijay Singh (FIJ) 65-64-68

198 – Jonathan Byrd 65-66-67

199 – YE Yang (KOR) 70-66-63, Brian Davis (GBR) 69-66-64, Camilo Villegas (COL) 68-66-65, Justin Rose (GBR) 67-65-67

200 – Nick Watney 67-69-64, Webb Simpson 71-66-63, Charley Hoffman 66-66-68

201 – Gary Woodland 70-66-65, Scott Piercy 72-65-64, Jason Day (AUS) 67-68-66, Padraig Harrington (IRL) 65-67-69, Aaron Baddeley (AUS) 66-66-69.

Originally Published On: gulfnews.com – Original Article Here

Monaco: Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola intends to continue his relentless pursuit of silverware after collecting his 12th trophy in four years following the Spanish side’s 2-0 win over Porto in the European Super Cup on Friday.

Despite only being in the job since 2008, Guardiola has already eclipsed Johan Cruyff’s haul of 11 trophies during his tenure as manager from 1988-96 as Barcelona added the European trophy to the Spanish Super Cup they collected last week.

Guardiola, however, said there would be no sitting back and counting his honours and that he was amazed by the competitiveness of his players, who just craved more and more success.

Since becoming coach he has now won the Champions League twice, three La Liga titles, three Spanish Super Cups, the Copa del Rey, two European Super Cups and the Club World Cup.

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But there was no end in sight to what this team could achieve, he said.

"There are still many ways we can get better and improve. If we think we can’t do that then we’re wrong and we will come up against other people out there who will have motivation to do things better than us," he told reporters.

Special team

He sharply rebuked a question about winning every trophy they were competing for this season, but said his team were a very special one, full of friends who had known each other a long time and went the extra mile when there were problems.

Barcelona won a spirited match with goals from Lionel Messi and substitute Cesc Fabregas against a Porto team that finished with nine men after two late red cards for Rolando and Fredy Guarin. The victory was a satisfactory one for Guardiola, who also won ten major titles as a Barca player between 1990 and 2001.

"I never tire of praising them… they are still as competitive as ever after the Spanish Super Cup and despite it being this early time of the season and the state of the pitch. They are always there for each other.

"We have a lot of young players and they still have this eagerness to win. That keeps impressing me. "To average four titles a year is too much, it’s unthinkable and it’s been possible only because FC Barcelona have put together a generation of players which has made these achievements possible.

"I believe this team with these players can perform just as well as in previous seasons. I didn’t expect to win the Spanish Super Cup and that we could also win this. Then Monday, we have to face up to Villarreal so that’s a tough job."

Quick solution

Asked if the Barcelona "family" was now complete since Fabregas’s return from Arsenal, he said: "It’s a special generation because these are not only huge players they are also friends. It is not easy to build a team but most are friends from a long time ago. That’s a very good thing for us because when there are problems, friends can solve them quickly.

"Cesc is a very, very good player. He has everything it takes to play good football in midfield and arrive in the second position.

"His goal was a very good pass from Leo [Messi] and then a very good piece of control from Cesc, because he controlled the ball quickly and shot very well.

"We have tried to help him reach the best condition as soon as possible and he will help us try to make a very good season."

Fabregas added: "I’ve not played with Messi for some time, but I played with him for five years when we were younger and so trust me… I know him. He sees special passes and sees special goals and he saw me and I took the chance."

Originally Published On: gulfnews.com – Original Article Here

Dubai: Doner Restaurant has achieved a new Guinness World Record for the world’s largest doner, Tarika Vara, official Guinness World Records adjudicator, announced.

The doner sandwich consists of grilled lamb with spices cooked the Turkish way. The doner weighed 468kg with a height of 295cm and a width of 60cm.

The record-breaking doner was distributed among charity organisations in Dubai feeding more than 3,000 people.
 
The event took place at the restaurant on Jumeirah 3 beach road. The representative from Guinness World Records measured the meat and the height of its cooking machine in front of the crowd before announcing the new record for the emirate of Dubai in the world’s most famous book of records.

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Originally Published On: gulfnews.com – Original Article Here