UAE regulator to ban BlackBerry from October

The UAE’s telecoms regulator has announced that BlackBerry services in the country will be suspended from 11 October this year.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) said that the suspension was due to the failure of ongoing attempts since 2007 to bring BlackBerry services in the country in line with local regulations.

"With no solution available and in the public interest, in order to affect resolution of this issue, as of October 11, 2010, Blackberry Messenger, Blackberry Email and Blackberry Web-browsing services will be suspended until an acceptable solution can be developed and applied," said TRA director general Mohamed Al Ghanim.

"The TRA notes that Blackberry appears to be compliant in similar regulatory environments of other countries, which makes non-compliance in the UAE both disappointing and of great concern."

Telcos Etisalat and du were informed of the TRA’s decision on Sunday. They were also instructed to ensure minimal consumer disruption in the provision of alternative services.

In a statement, the UAE’s biggest telecoms provider, Etisalat, said that it “fully understands the legal and social considerations behind the decision."

The operator also announced that it “will soon be announcing a range of alternative mobility products and services for its BlackBerry products” without providing any further detail.

“All Blackberry services fall within the UAE regulatory framework developed by the TRA since 2007, however because of Blackberry's technical configuration, some Blackberry services operate beyond the enforcement of these regulations,” said a statement issued by the TRA.

“Blackberry data is immediately exported off-shore, where it is managed by a foreign, commercial organization. Blackberry data services are currently the only data services operating in the UAE where this is the case.

“Today's decision is based on the fact that, in their current form, certain Blackberry services allow users to act without any legal accountability, causing judicial, social and national security concerns for the UAE.”

Dubai plans special visa to attract entrepreneurs

Dubai is considering a plan to introduce a special visa system to lure foreign entrepreneurs to the emirate, a news report here has said. The EntrePass scheme would encourage budding start-ups with high commercial value to set up in Dubai, the report said.

In return, entrepreneurs will have their visa application expedited and they will also be provided with guidance from experts at the Mohammad Bin Rashid Establishment (MBRE) for SME Development in starting their businesses, the National newspaper said. "We want Dubai to be the centre for innovative small and medium enterprises [SMEs]," Alexandar Williams, the director of strategy and policy division at MBRE, told the newspaper. He said the future of Dubai rested on nurturing selective foreign entrepreneurs with good ideas, who could use them for development and build business around it.

Bahrain stepped up restrictions on walk-in visas as part of a crackdown on illegal immigrants

In addition to the new rules introduced earlier this year regarding on-the-spot entry permits for expatriates, walk-in visitors to the Kingdom are now also being asked more questions before they are allowed into the country, General Directorate of Nationality, Passports and Residence human and financial resources director Nayef Al Sherooqi told the Gulf Daily News (GDN) paper.

New rules were introduced earlier this year stating expatriate residents from GCC countries were no longer allowed on-the-spot entry permits unless they fell into senior management, professional or business categories, the daily said.Authorities said they were forced to restrict access because of cheats who use such visas to slip into Bahrain and stay on illegally, it added.

"This may have led to some nationals of countries who are allowed visas on arrival being turned away at Bahrain entry points," Al Sherooqi said."There is no change in the nationalities allowed in after getting visas on arrival but we are now asking questions under new rules that were implemented in February,” he told GDN."New rules are being enforced to keep a check on who enters Bahrain, rather than them just walking in."

As per the rules, visitors from 36 countries will be given walk-in visas by showing a return ticket, proof of enough money to cover their stay and a recognised address.

New questions visitors have to answer where they will be staying during their visit and if they have enough funds to support the length of their stay, GDN said,

They were earlier allowed in without those questions being asked, it added.According to Gulf Daily News, the 36 countries include Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brunei, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hong Kong, Iceland, Ireland, Italy and Japan.

Lichtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Russia, San Marino, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, the UK, the US and the Vatican are also included."We are sure we are not rejecting any bona fide visitor," Al Sherooqi told the daily.

National ID card to allow e-payments in future

Governments in the Middle East are working with Singapore-based cashless payment experts Network for Electronic Transfers (NETS) on a project that will see National ID cards used to make electronic payments.

According to Ang Sok Hong, VP of Switching and Internet Business at NETS, the Government of Oman will be the first to take the leap. The country is already implementing a new 'ePurse' service, which was developed with the support of NETS.

ePurse, which will be rolled out in stages, will initially see ID cards equipped with e-payment capabilities used by the Oman Police Force later this year with the aid of special payment terminals.

NETS has been at the forefront of cashless payment in Singapore for twenty five years now and boasts a merchant partner network of more than 15,000 in the island country.

Middle East to provide the "the technical know-how" of building the ePurse system for each Gulf country, along with the necessary cards, payment terminals and back-end structure. Hong admits the company is in discussions with the governments of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan for a similar service, but expects greater traction once Oman goes live with ePurse this year.

According to the deputy head of the Emirates Identity Authority (EIDA), Dr. Ali Al Khouri, a little over 1.8 million Emiratis and residents have registered for National ID cards in the United Arab Emirates so far.

Mohammed bin Rashid endorses bylaws of the federal human resources law

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai has endorsed the bylaws of the federal human resources law.

The move comes within the government's efforts to establish clear standards and effective managerial governmental measures to develop the human resources, clarify duties and rights of employees in the federal government and provide an appropriate work environment for all employees, who number about 80, 000.

The provisions of the new bylaws will be applicable to all staff in the federal agencies covered by the decision. The human resources departments in these federal agencies will implement the law as published in the Official Gazette. The Federal Authority for Human Resources authority could be referred to in case anything hampers the implementation of the new executive regulation.

The new bylaw includes all regulations, details on the rights and functions of employees, employment operations, evaluation, motivation rules, leaves, penal codes and others pertinent to human resources at the federal agencies. Endorsed by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, the new regulation has delegated greater powers to the ministries, federal public institutions, especially in employment and more flexibility in types of employment as per actual needs of these agencies as stated by the executive regulation.

The new regulation also stated importance of periodic evaluation of employees, linking that with promotion and incentives systems to create fair and encouraging environment for work and production. The bylaw explains in detail the leaves, allowances, bonuses and promotions the federal government civil servants are entitled to according to their grades in addition to powers of transfer, secondment and delegation within the federal entities.

The regulation also defines the mechanisms for fixing working hours, official holidays and compensations for weekly offs, as well as mechanisms for investigation of irregularities, complaints and grievances.

The bylaw has been issued as part of the government's drive for the restructuring of procedures and human resources' law in the federal government, and launching of a set of tailored initiatives and systems to meet human requirements and achieve long-term developmental goals. – Emirates News Agency, WAM