Tag Archives: entertainment
UAE rulers receive Eid Al Adha well-wishers
UAE rulers receive Eid Al Adha well-wishers (Wam) / 17 October 2013 Their Highnesses Supreme Council Members and Rulers of the Emirates exchanged best wishes on Eid with the well-wishers, crowds of citizens and expatriate residents. SHARJAH, RAS AL KHAIMAH, FUJAIRAH, UMM AL QUWAIN — Their Highnesses Supreme Council Members and Rulers of the Emirates Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi of Sharjah, Shaikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi of Ras Al Khaimah, Shaikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi of Fujairah and Shaikh Saud bin Rashid Al Mu’alla of Umm Al Quwain received crowds of well-wishers in their palaces on Wednesday on the occasion of Eid Al Adha. They exchanged best wishes on Eid with the well-wishers, who included Shaikhs, senior officials, dignitaries, Arab, Islamic and foreign Consuls-General accredited to the UAE, CEOs, Arab and GCC officials and crowds of citizens and expatriate residents. Also among the high-profile well-wishers were Mohammed Ahmed Al Murr, Speaker of the Federal National Council (FNC); Juma Al Majid, Chairman of the Dubai Economic Council; Shaikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC); Abdullah Mohammed Al Othman, Qatari Ambassador to the UAE; and Shaikh Nasser Al Mohammed Al Ahmed Al Sabah, Minister of the Kuwaiti Ruler’s Court. Shaikh Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Crown Prince of Ajman, received Shaikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa, President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), on Wednesday at Al Zaher Palace. Shaikh Al Khalifa called on him to offer best wishes on the advent of Eid Al Adha. Shaikh Salman is in the UAE to attend the FIFA U-17 World Cup UAE 2013, which will kick off at the Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium today. The Ajman Crown Prince also accepted Eid greetings from a number of other well-wishers including Shaikhs, ministers, senior officials, diplomats and dignitaries. Continue reading
Visitors express amazement at ‘Dubai 24 Hours’
Visitors express amazement at ‘Dubai 24 Hours’ Staff Reporter / 17 October 2013 Eid visitors indulge in 24-hour shopping, although spending isn’t as high as expected Spend, shop, then drop Families and visitors have expressed their amazement at ‘Dubai 24 Hours’, the non-stop shopping initiative that is operational at eight leading malls in the emirate as part of the ‘Eid in Dubai — Eid Al Adha’ celebrations. However, although footfalls in shopping malls are on the higher side during ‘Dubai 24 Hours’ people are not buying as much as retailers expected. ‘Dubai 24 Hours’ started at 10am on the first day of Eid Al Adha on October 15 and ends at 10am on the third day of Eid on October 17. The initiative provides shoppers 48 hours of non-stop shopping. Participating malls are — The Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates, Deira City Centre, Mirdif City Centre, Dubai Festival City Mall, Oasis Centre, Arabian Centre and Lamcy Plaza. “Yes it is very crowded. People are walking in and out of malls, but are they aren’t buying as much as we expected,” Fatima N, a sales clerk in The Dubai Mall told Khaleej Times. “I am doing longer shifts and it will only be worth it if there are enough customers. As of yesterday and the day before, the sales were just as usual,” she added. A few other retailers in some of these malls expressed similar views. “I think it depends on the sales at the stores. Some stores look more crowded than the others and I think the hardest brunt is on us storekeepers,” added Jerome Abuago, an employee of a store at Deira City Centre. The eight participating malls are offering extended shopping hours during the other days of the Eid in Dubai celebrations from 10am to 2am, and dining hours are running till 3am. The initiative is organised by the Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), an agency of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), from October 10 to October 19. Several other malls including Mercato, Ibn Battuta Mall, BurJuman, Dubai Outlet Mall, Al Ghurair Centre, Wafi and Times Square Centre are offering extended shopping hours during the ‘Eid in Dubai — Eid Al Adha’ celebrations from 10am till midnight with some of them staying opening into the wee hours of the morning. Official sources have stated that shoppers were unanimous in lauding the non-stop shopping initiative. Some of the shoppers that Khaleej Times spoke to said the night is a good reason and excuse for younger generations to stay out. Fouad Al Arbash from Kuwait is visiting Dubai with his family to celebrate Eid Al Adha. Fouad’s family of five daughters, a wife and grandchildren, visit Dubai frequently. “We were here last Eid and we loved it. The ‘Dubai 24 Hours’ shopping experience is a brilliant idea. It’s great to have enough time to shop, and we wouldn’t mind shopping till the morning. However, we have children so we need to get some rest as tomorrow is yet another busy day for us. We plan to shop till 3am.” “The younger generations are the happiest. Look at them, out till 3am and parents are calm because mall environments are obviously safe. For adults its one in the same, but yes, for shopping we do go to stores that have the best sales,” said Keshav Manichandani, an Indian national and resident of Dubai. Fahad Al Baraz, with his wife and daughter, have also come from Kuwait after hearing the ‘Dubai 24 Hours’ shopping experience is back. “My wife loves to shop and my daughter loves to play. Despite the crowds we do enjoy our time during the ‘Eid in Dubai — Eid Al Adha’ celebrations and all that it offers”. Driving to Dubai from Riyadh, Ibrahim Mohammed Nasser and his family were here from day one of the celebrations, which commenced on October 10. “We always come to Dubai, but it’s the first time we visited the city during Eid Al Adha. The ‘Dubai 24 Hours’ shopping experience is really a great initiative. We come here mainly to shop and dine. Yet, my five children come first, so they get priority in terms of locations. Most of the malls have wonderful places of entertainment, and my children just love it. They know where they want to go, and the longer time they spend the better they feel about their holiday. I love to see them enjoying their time off from school while my wife is busy shopping endlessly”. From Jeddah, Um Nujjoud came to Dubai with her three children and her sister and nephews. “The last time we visited Dubai was eight years ago. When we heard about ‘Eid in Dubai — Eid Al Adha’ celebrations we decided to live the experience. As you can see I am thoroughly enjoying my shopping. I just love the mix of brands at the malls.” Ludmiala Gurbativuk and her daughter Kate were on a shopping spree at the Mall of the Emirates. “We are so tired but we need to shop till we drop because we’re only staying for a week. We love to shop here and we will probably keep on shopping till dawn. This is a great idea and tourists like us need it”. Sayed Nasser, who lives in Dubai with his wife and three boys, said: “It’s an awesome experience, and foremost going out to malls unites us as a family, and the longer the better as we get to spend more time with our boys. Although one tends to spend a lot of money, the shopping experience is worthwhile”. Sharjah-based resident Anith, who was visiting Dubai with and his family, said: “My brother came over from Doha to stay with us. We wanted him to go through the experience of non-stop shopping. We are here to shop and entertain”. news@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Russian official rules out Arafat polonium poisoning
Russian official rules out Arafat polonium poisoning (Reuters) / 15 October 2013 If confirmed, the findings would deal a blow to Palestinian suspicions that Arafat was assassinated by Israel – a theory fuelled by a Swiss lab report last year. The head of a Russian forensics agency said on Tuesday that samples from the body of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat had revealed no traces of radioactive polonium, a Russian news agency reported. However, the government scientific body later denied that it had made any official statement about the research, saying only that it had handed its results to the Russian Foreign Ministry. If confirmed, the findings would deal a blow to Palestinian suspicions that Arafat was assassinated by Israel – a theory fuelled by a Swiss lab report last year which found unusual amounts of the deadly isotope polonium on his clothes. A Palestinian medical team took samples from Arafat’s corpse in the West Bank last year and gave them to Swiss, French and Russian forensic teams in an attempt to determine whether he was murdered with the hard-to-trace radioactive poison. “He could not have been poisoned with polonium. The research conducted by Russian experts found no traces of this substance,” the Russian news agency Interfax quoted Vladimir Uiba, who heads the Federal Medico-Biological Agency (FMBA), as saying. Uiba said experts from the FMBA had conducted a detailed study of Arafat’s remains. The agency later sought to distance itself from the comments. “The FMBA of Russia has made no official statement about the results of research on the remains of Yasser Arafat,” the FMBA’s Press service said. It added that it had completed its tests and given the results to the authorities. The Russian Foreign Ministry declined immediate comment, but state-run news agency RIA cited a source in the ministry as saying it was up to the Palestinian authorities to release any information about the tests. Arafat died aged 75 of an unexplained ailment he developed while confined to his Ramallah headquarters by Israeli tanks at the height of an armed Palestinian uprising in 2004. Palestinians saw the veteran guerrilla as a hero of their national cause. Israel regarded him as a terrorist, though it denied responsibility for his death. A negative result from the samples may not totally preclude a poisoning, as experts warned last year that his partial exhumation might have occurred too late to detect polonium. The Lausanne-based hospital which first found the isotope on Arafat’s clothing said that eight years would be the limit to detecting it on his remains and questioned whether such a late examination would provide conclusive results. A spokesman for the hospital said at the time of the exhumation that findings might be reached by early this year. No explanation has been given for the lengthy delay in presenting the results. Continue reading
