Hamptons brings ‘Best of British’ property to UAE

Hamptons International, one of the UK’s leading property agencies, has launched an exclusive ‘Best of British’ campaign – an innovative new initiative designed to bring the very best of British property directly to buyers across the UAE.

The ‘Best of British’ initiative utilizes Hamptons International’s global reach, enabling its customers to market their properties directly to an international audience actively looking to buy in the UK. The slowdown of the UK market means that there are now fantastic opportunities for investors who are able to benefit not only from declining house prices, but also the weakness of the Pound against other currencies. ‘Best of British’ builds directly on this opportunity by bringing some of the UK’s best properties to ready buyers in the UAE.

Niki Gifford, Marketing & PR Director, Hamptons International said, “The UK is an incredibly attractive proposition at the moment for overseas investors who are keen to capitalize on the economic conditions and invest in the best for less. Hamptons’ ‘Best of British’ campaign is designed to connect UK customers with ready buyers across the UAE and provide an innovative way to market property during challenging times.” Read more

Emirates Post opens 100th Post Office at Arabian Center

Part of the centenary celebrations of postal services in the UAE

Emirates Post has opened its 100th Post Office at Arabian Center, the new shopping mall in Al Khawaneej, Dubai. The event coincides with the centenary year of postal services in the UAE.
The new post office was officially opened by Mr. Abdulla Al Daboos, President of Emirates Post Group, in the presence of Mr. Ibrahim Bin Karam, CEO of Emirates Post and Mr. Lal Ganwani, Chairman of Lals Group.
“This is a historic moment for Emirates Post. Our network of post offices has touched the magic figure of 100, and this certainly puts us on track to pursue accelerated growth in the months to come, as the UAE continues to witness massive development,” said Mr. Al Daboos. “This also represents a matter of pride for us, because our post offices today are one-stop shops for community services, and we plan to expand the portfolio of services further this year.” Read more

Air Arabia leads world in operational efficiency

1. Carrier recognised by Airbus for achieving highest aircraft utilisation in 2008, with 99.8 per cent operational reliability
2. Named best performer among all global airlines operating Airbus A320 aircraft
3. Reaffirms reliability of LCC’s services

Air Arabia, the first and largest low-cost carrier (LCC) in the Middle East and North Africa, announced today that it has been recognised by Airbus, one of the world’s leading aircraft manufacturers, for achieving the highest level of operational utilisation in the world.

This is for the fourth consecutive year that Air Arabia has maintained the lead among all global airlines operating Airbus A320 aircraft. According to the latest reports from Airbus, Air Arabia achieved the highest aircraft utilisation in 2008, with 99.8 per cent operational reliability. Read more

Indian President presents Padma Shri Award to Sunny Varkey, Founder & Chairman of GEMS Education

1. One of the highest civilian honours in recognition of Sunny Varkey’s outstanding contribution to education and social service
2. Sunny Varkey joins a select list of Global Indians to be conferred the title

The Honourable President of India, Smt. Pratibha Patil, has awarded Mr. Sunny Varkey, Founder & Chairman of GEMS Education, with one of the country’s highest honours, the Padma Shri award, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to Education and Social service. The ceremony was held in the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Mr. Varkey joins a select list of Global Indians to be honoured with the Padma Shri award for his exemplary services in the field of education across the world, and particularly the UAE. With a network of 100 schools world-wide, of which 26 are in the UAE, Mr. Varkey manages one of the largest networks of private schools globally. GEMS Education has contributed significantly to the socio-economic progress of the various countries it operates in. Read more

Dubai Department of Economic Development opens new branch at The Dubai Mall

His Excellency Mr Sami Al Qamzi, Director General of the Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED), officially inaugurated DED’s new branch office in The Dubai Mall, one of the world’s largest shopping and entertainment destinations, in the presence of His Excellency Mr Mohamed Ali Alabbar, Chairman, Emaar Properties, and officials from DED.

The opening of the new branch comes as part of DED’s expansion efforts to provide quality services to customers in convenient locations and ease the pressure on the DED headquarters in Deira. Read more

Qatar Automobiles Company gears up for new showroom at Al Wa’ab City

Al Wa’ab City recently announced the upcoming opening of its new tenant’s showroom, Qatar Automobiles Company (QAC), a division of Nasser Bin Khaled Holding and the country’s exclusive dealer of Mitsubishi Motors and Mitsubishi Fuso Trucks and Buses.

Spanning 4,200 square meters of space, QAC’s state-of-the-art showroom will be located on Salwa Road, an integral part of Al Wa’ab City’s recently enhanced retail and commercial accommodations. Qatar Automobiles Company’s existing showroom will be turned into a used-car facility. Read more

Noor Dubai restores the sight of 11,000 people in Chad

The camp successful treated more than 100 totally blind individuals

Noor Dubai, the UAE-based charity initiative focused on preventing and treating low vision and curable forms of blindness around the world, today announced that it has successfully treated more than 11,000 people in Chad at its free cataract treatment camp in Ndjamena recently. The camp was organized in collaboration with Al Basar International, a Saudi-based NGO focused on the prevention of blindness.

The Noor Dubai and Al Basar teams worked two six-hour shifts daily between March 12 – 26 camp, completing 1000 surgeries with range of 100 surgeries everyday and screening 11000 patient, where they received medication and an additional 3000 were given prescription eyeglasses from Noor Dubai. Read more

Global Investments Roundup

Report: U.K. Financials cutting more jobs; OPEC forecasts $75 barrel; Oil falls with global stocks; Chalco scaling back spending; S&P cuts Ireland’s credit rating; Investors paid cash for 40% of 2nd home purchases in 2008; Grain prices likely to fall; Microsoft settles patent suit Read more

Rental price index should match market factors and changes

In February, RERA indicated that Dubai rental index would be updated and released in April following concerns that it was based on unrealistic rental values. The current index, which has come under criticism for giving an inflated view of rental rates, reflects rent prices at their peak in August 2008, while rental prices had already declined significantly. In some areas rent has fallen by 50 per cent while in other areas 30 or 40 per cent.

However, an updated Dubai rental index, due out in April, may not be based on new rental values in the emirate.

According to Karim Awwad, an official at the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), the authority may just be filling in the averages for the areas and bands that were not covered by the original chart rather than changing any of the data.

“We are not making any changes to the existing figures, we are just going to be updating the areas that were not mentioned in the last index. We will be conducting a new survey in summer of this year,” he said in comments published by AME Info on Tuesday. Read more

Arab summit concludes

The Arab League summit has often served to highlight the deep divisions between its members.

But Arab leaders meeting in Qatar were able to agree on their support for Omar al-Bashir, the Sudanese leader wanted for war crimes in the western Darfur region.

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