Burj Khalifa

Senior Dubai officials have said the changing of the name of the world's tallest tower to Burj Khalifa reflected the unity of the UAE federation.

Dubai renamed the 200-storey building, previous known as the Burj Dubai, in honour of the ruler of Abu Dhabi - an announcement made at a spectacular opening ceremony on Monday night.

“Sheikh Khalifa is one of the UAE’s symbols,” said Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum, chairman of Dubai’s Supreme Fiscal Committee and an uncle of Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

The world's tallest building

Dubai renames world's tallest tower Burj Khalifa

Dubai has unveiled the world's tallest skyscraper in an extravagant multimedia and fireworks display. The 828-meter tall building was renamed Burj Khalifa on Monday, after the UAE president. (04 January 2010) (The Associated Press)

Burj Dubai

His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice- President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, will inaugurate Burj Dubai on Monday.

The opening of the world's tallest tower — more than 800 metres high — is timed to coincide with the celebrations of the fourth anniversary of Shaikh Mohammad's accession as Ruler of Dubai in 2006.

The completion of the newest landmark in the emirate is aimed at further promoting Dubai as an Emirati and Arab city as a global brand. It is a true reflection of Shaikh Mohammad's words: "Many talk, we achieve."

Two billion viewers

An estimated two billion people around the world are expected to watch live on television the inauguration of the tallest man-made structure.

All preparations for the television coverage are in place using the latest digital High Definition (HD) technology, said Ahmad Al Shaikh, board member and managing director of Dubai Media Incorporated (DMI) and Media Escort to Shaikh Mohammad.

Metro Dubai

Below are some key facts about the Dubai Metro:

Completion: The Metro is scheduled to partially open by September 2009 and be fully completed by 2012.

Stations along the route:
There will be a total of 47 stations (in addition to station on the extension lines).

The Red Line will have 29 stations, including 24 elevated, four underground and one at ground-level. This line is 52.1 km long, including 4.7 km underground.

The Green Line will have 18 stations, including 12 elevated and 6 underground. The Green Line is 22.5 km long, including 7.9 km underground.

There will be two transfer stations — Union Square and the BurJuman Centre. At the transfer stations, Green and Red Lines will cross each other and passengers will be able to change between lines.

Work on metro stations will continue into 2008. All elevated stations on the Red Line will be completed by the beginning of 2008, while the underground stations will be complete by early 2009.

Car parkings for rail users
Car parking facility will be provided to metro users on the concept of "park and ride". There will be two major parking lots on Red Line — one at Rashidiya Station for 3,000 cars and at Jumeirah Islands Station for another 3,000 cars. The biggest parking lot will be built at Al Qusais Station with a capacity of 6,000 cars. It will cater to users coming from Sharjah.

There will be small parking spaces at each station while each station will be linked to other mode of transportation, including taxis, buses and at some stations water transport.

Depot for maintence
There will be three main train depot to park and do maintenance work on trains. The Red Line will have a main depot in Rashidiya and one auxiliary depot at Jebel Ali Free Zone.

On the Green Line, the main depot for train parking and maintenance will be in Al Qusais area.

Extension of lines
Extension of Dubai Metro's Red Line is currently under design. It will be extended from Jebel Ali Free Zone to Dubai-Abu Dhabi border an additional 12 km. The RTA is reviewing a plan to extend the Red Line from Jebel Ali to the under construction Jebel Ali Airport, but is still not finalised.

Extension plans on the Green Line have already been approved and it has already been extended by about 4.9 km from Healthcare City to Al Jaddaf. The Green Line was initially designed for 17.6 km, but now it is 22.5-km long.

Adjacent bus and taxi stations
All main metro stations will have adjacent bus stations as part of the integrated transport system which will include buses, taxis as well as water transport links at stations near the creek. The RTA is planning to introduce an integrated card system, the Smart Card, that will enable passengers to travel on trains, buses and water transport, as well as use the parking areas.

Construction of viaducts for elevated tracks
A viaduct is a bridge, which is placed over piers to make a track for the train. The construction of viaduct spans for the Dubai Metro has started on Shaikh Zayed Road near Interchange 5.5 near Ibn Battuta Mall.

Each of these viaduct spans is being made up with a minimum of eight pre-cast viaduct deck segments, which are manufactured and transported from Jebel Ali casting yard.

Each segment of viaduct, 10 metres wide and four metres in length, is being assembled with other similar sized segments individually to form a complete viaduct span bridging across two supporting piers.

Different spans together when assembled will form the bridge deck upon which the trains will travel. There will be 11,400 pre-cast concrete viaduct deck segments to be used for the Red Line. Each viaduct weighs about 50 tonnes.

Luxurious interior
The interior of the trains is based on a water and air theme and every train will have five compartments. Every train will have three classes – The Golden Class (VIP), the Women and Children's Class and the Silver Class (economy).

The Golden Class will have a luxurious interior with leather seating. The Women and Children's compartments will have plenty of space for strollers and bags to ensure a safe and comfortable journey.

The Silver Class has been finished in a combination of blues and greens. Seating is arranged in a variety of ways giving passengers the choice between admiring views through windows or chatting with friends.

All compartments will have reserved wheelchair spaces for special needs people. There will be a policy of priority seating for elderly, injured, special needs people and pregnant women.

The compartments will be equipped with audio visual devices. Visual and audio announcement facilities will be available to serve people, especially those with special needs.

Clear signage will show the route map of the metro and other directions for passengers. A variety of safety devices, including closed circuit television in all trains will ensure a safe and comfortable journey for all

Newspapers and Magazines Online in Dubai, UAE

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Thousands turn to Islam in Dubai - official figures

MUSLIM CALL: Dubai saw a 71 percent increase in people becoming Muslims last year. (Getty Images)
Almost 3,000 people, the majority of them women, from dozens of nationalities became Muslims in Dubai last year, it was announced on Wednesday.A total of 2,763 individuals - 1,869 of them women - from 72 countries embraced Islam in 2008, an increase of 71 percent over 2007, according to figures released by the Islamic affairs and charitable activities department.Announcing the data Dr Hamad bin Al Sheikh Al Shaibani, director general of the department, said: ''We are delivering our message properly by spreading Islamic culture and instilling national identity through giving greater attention to mosques, holy Quran sciences, Islamic heritage, research fatwa and charity works.”
The Islamic message was being delivered through a moderate school of Islam by highly qualified and conversant individuals using the most advanced methodologies, he added.''We are lending special care to new Muslims, providing them with all they need from audio-visual materials, books, lectures and training programmes in all languages so as to become true Muslims,” Al Shaibani said.

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