On my clock it was 2:49 AM when I felt the tremors in my room, I was reading my favorite blogs and I felt the bed shaking and then I looked at the mirrors in front of me and they were shaking, although these kind of tremors became more normal during the past few years, yet I still do freak out and panic whenever they happen because I keep wondering if this could be the BIG one.
As usual I quickly went to the USGS website to check what happened but it was still not reported, then I checked twitter where I found couple of people asking the same question I had, DID YOU FEEL IT?
Tremors were felt at around 3:00pm Dubai local time, at first I thought it was only me but I confirmed it with family and friends. It lasted few seconds, but sure felt as minutes. The source is a 6.1 magnitude earthquake in Bandar Abbas in Iran. In Dubai tremors were felt most heavely in tall towers.
A 35-article law includes all procedures concerning a mortgage in Dubai was issued by His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. The goal for issuing a mortgage law is to better regulate the emirate’s booming real estate sector.
According to Marwan Ahmed bin Ghalita, chief executive of Dubai’s Real Estate Regulatory Authority “the law is basically covering the mortgage procedures in Dubai”, this is an effort to protect the rights of lenders and borrowers and to improve transparency. The Mortgage law will come into effect after 60 days from its announcement.
The new law states that mortgage contracts must get registered with the “Land Department” of Dubai. The size of the loan, the repayment period and the value of the property must be specified. The law also states that the mortgages that are taken out on properties in Dubai can only be sold by registered financial institutions and also should be insured.
Full financial documents should be presented by the borrower and lender. “It gives more confidence to the lender and gives more security for banks” Marwan Ahmed bin Ghalita said. Dubai started allowing foreign investors to buy properties in Dubai on a freehold basis in 2002.
Since then the mortgage business grew rapidly. Back in July Standard Chartered warned that the prices of the still under construction real estate will be inflated due to speculators in the market betting on quick gains.
So yesterday we got the news that Britain have issued terrorism attacks warnings for their citizens in UAE. And I know many who just did not take this seriously, saying that USA still did not issue any warning of that sort. As if the USA is any better reliable source. Anyway, so now Washington replies by issuing the same warning of a possibility that there might be a terrorist attack in UAE. Australia is the third country to do the same.
At first and like many people I thought that this is just an attempt by both countries (UK and USA) to affect the economy and tourism in UAE. But after reading what Brown and Bush said yesterday and then how Iran have withdrew 75 Billion Dollars from Europe, all what I can hear is the drums of war.
I just knew few hours ago that the British Embassy in the United Arab Emirates raised the terror alert level from (General) to (High), I heard that some Britons and people from other nationalities are panicking and it looks like most of them are taking this seriously, as we all should, and trying to avoid going to public places. This was posted on the embassy’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office website (www.fco.gov.uk) this Saturday:
“There is a high threat from terrorism. We believe terrorists may be planning to carry out attacks in the UAE, Attacks could be indiscriminate and could happen at any time, including in places frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers such as residential compounds, military, oil, transport and aviation interests,”
The website also states that over a million British visitors travelled to the UAE in 2006, and more than 100,000 British nationals are resident there.
None of the other western countries such as USA have issued any warning of this sort yet.
Tremors were felt at around 3:00pm Dubai local time, at first I thought it was only me but I confirmed it with family and friends. It lasted few seconds, but sure felt as minutes. The source is a 6.1 magnitude earthquake in Bandar Abbas in Iran. In Dubai tremors were felt most heavely in tall towers.
So yesterday we got the news that 
I just knew few hours ago that the British Embassy in the United Arab Emirates raised the terror alert level from (General) to (High), I heard that some Britons and people from other nationalities are panicking and it looks like most of them are taking this seriously, as we all should, and trying to avoid going to public places. This was posted on the embassy’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office website (