Middle East

Dubai, Jan 20: The New Year is clearly lucky for two Indian friends, who won two Infiniti cars – QX60 and G25, and cash of Dh100,000 at the mega Infiniti raffle draw. The duo - Naushad Mavullaparampat and Rajesh Modokandiyil - had pooled in and bought the Dh200 raffle ticket during the Dubai Shopping Festival. They had decided to put down 32-year-old Naushad’s name on the raffle ticket. Both hail

Jeddah, Jan 20: In a heart-warming gesture rarely witnessed, a Saudi businessman in Buraidah celebrated the wedding of his Indonesian driver and, what is more, handed over the keys of his personal car to the groom as a wedding gift that has been applauded by Saudis and expats alike. Rashid Al-Shallash, the businessman, not only footed the wedding bill of Solikin Abu Ahmed, but also paid his salary

Jeddah, Jan 18: Aisha Al-Otaibi, CEO of fashion wear company Danat Valia, recently announced that she is opening an academy specialized in art and fashion design. The college, to be opened in Alkhobar, will be the first in the Kingdom to specialize in these fields and will open its doors to students for the academic year 2015/2016. Al-Otaibi: “We carried out a feasibility study” and reserved “a

Jeddah, Jan 16: The US National Security Agency (NSA) has implanted software in nearly 100,000 computers around the world allowing it to carry out surveillance on those devices and also provide a digital highway for cyber attacks, the New York Times reported on Tuesday. Saudi Arabia is among the countries where such surveillance software has been covertly installed, according to The Times which

Dubai, Jan 16: Little Mohammad Bawazeer needs help urgently. The baby was born prematurely under the most trying circumstances on October 25 after his mother Kauser Nahdi, 21, who was visiting Dubai, slipped and fell on a pavement and subsequently died of complications. Two and a half months later, Mohammad remains in a hospital in Dubai as his father tries desperately to raise money to get him

Jeddah, Jan 15: Jeddawis noted illegal expatriates disappeared from the streets during the first weeks that followed the end of the amnesty period to avoid being deported, but now with the crackdown campaigns receding they are back at their old places in various parts of the city. However, sources from the Ministry of Interior stressed that the campaigns against the violating expatriates were

Dubai, Jan 14: Dubai fired 479,651 shells of fireworks on New Year’s eve, dazzling its way into the record books. Not only did Dubai succeed in breaking the world record in the world’s “Largest Fireworks Display” category, the emirate also managed to smash it by firing roughly 80,000 shells per minute and 1,332 fireworks per second. Revealing the details of the record, Guinness World Records said

Dubai, Jan 13: New traffic signs will be introduced on Dubai roads soon as the Roads and Transport Authority prepares for the launch of the Dubai Tram later this year. Most of the new road signs are related to the tram and railway, while a few are for speed breakers and pedestrian crossings. “Since Dubai Tram will share road space with other vehicles, it is important that we introduce new signs to

Abu Dhabi, Jan 12: The UAE carriers Emirates and Etihad Airways have been rated among the top four airlines in the world in terms of safety and offering in-flight products in a survey conducted among 448 airlines. Top of the list is Qantas which has a fatality free record in the jet era (since 1951), followed by Air New Zealand, Emirates and Etihad Airways. Making up the top ten with seven stars

Dubai, Jan 11: Of the many country pavilions in the Global Village, the India Pavilion stands out in terms of size and variety. It is the largest pavilion at the village. Spread across an area of 11,500 square metres, it is popular with both residents and tourists alike. “The India pavilion presents a kaleidoscopic view of India’s rich tradition and culture not only to multinational visitors but