Dubai: Booking a taxi in Dubai is now as easy as shaking a mobile phone after the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) launched the Smart Taxi app on Tuesday. The new mobile application that went live on the Android platform on Tuesday allows a person to open the app and just shake the phone to

Ras Al Khaimah: Authorities have seized 20 glasses from a store after an Emirati woman claimed they were offensive to Islam. The woman took photos of the items to show to the Department of Economic Development. “The department is investigating how these anti-Islamic glasses found their way int

Abu Dhabi: A passenger ferry service between Abu Dhabi and other Gulf cities may become a reality soon, providing a relaxing and entertaining travel option to the residents of Gulf countries, a top official told Gulf News. Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC), which manages nine non-oil and gas ports

Dubai: In a massive expansion of the dedicated bus and taxi lanes network in Dubai, 30km of bus and taxi lanes will be added to some of the busiest areas in the city next year, Gulf News has learned. The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has earmarked 10 routes inside Central Business Distric

Testing of the first line of the multibillion-riyal high-speed Haramain railway system will start in six months, according to local media on Friday. The testing will take place on the line between Madinah and King Abdullah Economic City in Rabigh. Khalid Al-Suwaiket, president of the Saudi Railway

Manama: Shops in the Eastern Province city of Dammam in Saudi Arabia have been warned of a zero-tolerance policy if they fail to comply with strict restrictions on the sale of energy drinks. In March, the Saudi government banned the sale of energy drinks at all cafeterias, eateries and food out

Sharjah: Car rental agencies have been warned against holding the passports or ID cards of their customers, and if they do so, they will be fined or referred to the Public Prosecution. The warning was issued by the Consumer Protection section at Sharjah Economic Development Department after rec

Abu Dhabi: Two Dubai residents have complained that their credit cards were hacked to make unauthorised online payments to Abu Dhabi Police. The Indian expatriates – both working for the same group of companies – claimed Dh9,525 and Dh20,400 was siphoned off their credit cards in two incidents

There is a 10 percent increase in the number of Umrah pilgrims this year, compared to 2013, despite the fears caused by the MERS coronavirus, said Osama Felali, chairman of the Haj and Umrah Committee. He said Saudi Arabia had not restricted Umrah pilgrims arriving from different countries becaus

June 10, 2014 | Correspondent | Bhatkallys News Dubai: A Nawayati mushaira program was organized here in Al Ras, Dubai by BMJD  in which various poets from Bhatkal, Murudeshwar, and Manki charmed the audience with their recital of Nawayati poems. The poets included Syed Mohiuddin, Faizan Bafqi, F

DOHA: A committee set up to assess the feasibility of a unified tourist visa for the GCC countries has said the proposal is excellent and would immensely boost tourism in the region. Recommendations of the experts' committee will be tabled at the next GCC leaders' summit in Doha, for review and r

Dubai: Major General Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, Assistant Chief for Criminal Investigation Affairs, on Thursday launched an anti-begging campaign under the title ‘Battle Begging’. The campaign includes a comprehensive awareness programme to continue after Eid Al Fitr under the supervision and

DUBAI: Saudi Arabia, facing a dearth of trained female nurses, has recruited 2,100 nurses, including 1,800 from India, to work in various government hospitals across the gulf nation. Hired on one year renewable contract, the nurses arriving from India and the Philippines would assume their duties

Dubai: Hassled motorists will be relieved that the long-standing petrol shortage in Sharjah, resulting from the closure of dozens of petrol stations since early 2012, could soon be a thing of the past. A senior official in Adnoc has told Gulf News that petrol stations purchased by the company i

JEDDAH: A visit visa can be converted into a permanent residency permit for a close family member of an expatriate worker under special conditions, a senior Passport Department official said during a phone-in service with Arab News readers on Wednesday. “Yes, this is possible,” said Col. Mohammed

Dubai: Saudi Arabia will test camels in the kingdom for Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (Mers), its agriculture minister was quoted as saying, a day after a Saudi study reinforced a long-suspected link between the animals and human cases of the deadly virus. There have been 691 confirmed cases o

Dubai: A pilot project is currently under way at two bus stops in Dubai, where the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is taping solar energy to power the air conditioners and lighting, Gulf News can confirm. The trial began in February this year at two bus stops near Al Jafliya Metro station,

Dubai: A Pakistani woman is battling for her life after falling off a moving car on the busy Shaikh Zayed Road. Heena Kashif Khan, 31, was seated next to her husband, who was driving her to work when she fell out of the vehicle. The two-seater pickup truck was travelling at around 110 km/h when