Business Bytes

In the UAE, vehicles are driven on the right hand side – the same as in the United States and France for example.

You must have a Residence Visa before you can apply for a driver’s license. Therefore you will not be able to drive for up to one month. Only those entering the UAE on a Visit Visa can rent a car or those holding a driver’s license issued by a GCC country (مجلس التعاون الخليجي). If your spouse has entered the UAE on a Visit Visa, he or she can rent a car using an international driver’s license or a temporary UAE driver’s license.

If you take a flight to Dubai, you will be surprised to see the "Pink Taxi" company.

...Dubai:  Dubai is looking for more female taxi drivers as the highly successful Pink Taxi fleet is set to double to 50 in the next few months, a senior official said....

A short introduction is necessary:

 The company has a fleet of 3,504 cabs, of which 24 are Pink Taxis, which they plan to double.

A Pink Taxi is driven by a woman. Passengers are either female or families. This kind of cabs are popular among women. Some women aren't comfortable when alone in a taxi driven by a man.

So, the problem is solved and the business is successful too.

This idea was introduced in  2007: The Roads and Transport Authority has announced that families can now use Dubai’s fleet of pink taxis. The taxis operate 7 days a week from 6am until 2am.

Drivers are rather proud of their status and respected by all other male drivers. Passengers are happy & comfortable as well, especially when a female is driven by another woman without any worry (due to cultural factors).

Women drivers seem overall,  to be happy in their job.

....The drivers come from a dozen nationalities who work from 6am to 2am in two shifts. They are covered by a health insurance and an honouring programme. They also get 30-day annual leave, a one-day weekly off and a basic pay of Dh1,500, a month, but may earn up to Dh4,000 on commissions....

Of course, the uniform is mainly pink: pink watch and a pink pair of shoes and socks, too, to match the uniform.

The dangers of asbestos are well know, so what are the illnesses that an result from its use and more so why and what was it used for in the first place?

Asbestos is as well known for the health issues it causes; however it’s used for an array of other things and has been for thousands of years.

Originally, asbestos was used in Finland up to 4,500 years ago, as strengtheners for earthenware. However, the mined substance has come more to the fore in recent times. Asbestos mining really began in the 1850s in America, where it was used as insulation for buildings and later in many other forms of building materials.

Asbestos was being used as a fire proof material, in blocks and in a huge array of other construction related products by the middle of the 20th century and so was widespread in places of work and homes.

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In more recent times the material was used in brake pads in cars, though this ended in the 1990s.

Asbestos related illness and deaths are well documented; the first was as far back as 1906. However years of asbestos use have meant it has caused or is related to hundreds of thousands of deaths.

Asbestos has been banned in the European Union and Japan. It has also been banned in the USA since 2004 but mining stopped in 1983.

So, what are the dangers of asbestos use and how does it make people ill?

Asbestos becomes an issue when the fibres of the product are inhaled over a period of time, this can result in working in an asbestos filed environment, where the material was used to build with. Asbestos exposure causes a huge array of sicknesses. It does so as the fibres get tangles around the persons’ chromosomes and causes one of many sicknesses. Asbestos claims have risen during the past decade.

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This causes issues such as pleural thickening and causes lung problems in the person. Asbestos poisoning can also lead to diffused pleural thickening. Research has found that 80 per cent of asbestos poison is linked to the workplace.

Coping with asbestos related diseases can be difficult and is a worrying time for you and your family. (Access-Legal from Shoosmiths)

Asbestos also causes an array of respiratory problems. Over 100,000 thousand people will die due to asbestos related issues they suffered from working on the New Hampshire ship industry in the United States.

Asbestos is so turned into poisonous and hazardous waste and is usually disposed of in dedicated landfill sites.

The law provides remedies for people who have suffered Asbestos exposure. Asbestos has caused problems for hundreds of thousands and there are grievance procedures for people who wish to put in a personal injury claim.

In America there are statute limitations in the time period you have to put your asbestos claim in for, so it best done as quickly as possible.

Asbestos exposure is a terrible thing if it results in any type of illness and should be dealt with through law.

Apple's iCloud is about storing your files - music, photos, apps...eyc - in a cloud which is accessible from any devices.

When you update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to iOS 5, your favorite Apple apps become seamlessly integrated with iCloud. Just like that. So all your content and information is available and up to date, no matter which device you’re using.

Clever tool similar to MobileMe.

“iCloud will be Apple’s sequel to MobileMe, a paid online service for synchronizing personal information, such as your calendars, address books, e-mail and photos, across multiple devices. Tech observers agree that MobileMe has been one of Apple’s most embarrassingly flawed products, thanks to its extremely buggy launch and limited functionality."

Everything is in fact backed up online and accessible instantly...a great point, in case you forget your iPad when going to a meeting in a different office, building, country.

But of course, just revealed and already critised by some - saying it is not safe to use?!

In the wake of recent data scares, people are understandably wary of floating all their personal data and documents into the ether.

This isn’t Apple’s first venture into the cloud.

The New Yorker added:

....But how do you know that these companies are going to keep your e-mail, photographs, dissertation research, financial records, or notes on an article about the next Wikileaks from other corporations or from hackers or from governments?....