Weather won't come in way of Olympics in UAE Weather is not a disqualifying factor for holding a future Olympic Games in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Jacques Rogge has said. 'Dubai is examining whether it has the capability of organising the Olympic Games. A study is going on and the IOC is helping that study,' Rogge said here Friday. 'Many countries would like to organise the Olympic Games. The IOC has no automatic rotation. We always look first at the quality of the bid. If we can go for the first time to a region, we are happy, like with Rio, but Rio was a decision based on quality,' he said. The IOC president hoped that preparations for the next edition of the Games in London are on track. 'We were given an excellent presentation by London 2012.

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The 13th Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) is all set to begin on June 27. The festival will run for 52 days, the Dubai Events and Promotions Establishment (Depe) said yesterday. The Depe is an agency under the Department of Economic Development.
DEPE has extensive plan to present a plethora of activities focused on shopping, family entertainment, winning and lifestyle. "We are looking forward to elevate the benefits of our summer extravaganza towards all stakeholders and attract more tourists from the region and the world during our 13th edition this year," said Laila Suhail, Chief Executive Officer of the Depe.
The event had significantly contributed to position Dubai as a leading summer destination. Depe team is looking forward for next week's Arabian Travel Market. Participating under the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing umbrella, the Depe will promote DSS at the event.

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Emaar Properties, Arab world’s largest listed developer on Thursday announced that’s its net profit is more than triple. Its net profit soared 221 per cent in the first quarter of 2010. The profit in revenue has come in from hospitality and retail business. The net profit in the first quarter tripled to Dh760 million from Dh302 million in the first quarter of 2009, surpassing even the predictions of the analyst in the first quarter. No impairments have been reported for the quarter. Emaar’s first quarter revenue of Dh2.886 billion was 87 per cent higher than the first-quarter 2009 revenue of Dh1.54 billion, a company statement said.

Retail industry had a sluggish last year but the first quarter of this year observes recovery with positive approach from consumers. Retail players are now moving ahead in confidence with reasonable growth compared to last year. Sales figures are soaring, giving the retail sector the much needed boost.
"The first quarter of 2010 was very healthy for us compared to 2009, and we had an increase in sales by over 22 per cent compared to the same period last year," Jimmy Patel, General Manager, Jacky's Electronics told. "We, as retailers, feel confident moving forward now compared to 2009. I believe that the UAE is now slowly but surely recovering from the global financial turmoil and it is critical that retailers, together with the mall developers, work more closely to create opportunities and continue with their offerings to the consumers who is now more in a 'will buy' mindset than the earlier one of 'no buy' where the emphasis was on saving than spending," he said.

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Past four days of heavy rains has claimed the life of fifty people and injuring 385 in Saudi Arabia. Heavy rains and flooding have created havoc in Saudi. Around 250 people were rescued following flash flood in Bisha, Asir, on Saturday. Director of the Traffic General Administration, Major General Sulaiman Bin Abdul Rahman Al-Ajlan, have warned motorists to drive carefully after 4,596 traffic accidents were recorded due to the wet weather.
The air wing of the Civil Defense had received 2,100 distress calls from stranded people. Since Wednesday, heavy rains have disrupted normal like in Riyagh, Hail and Najran causing heavy flooding.

Meteorological department predicts that conditions at sea could be rough on Friday due to light moderate showers this weekend. Similar shower was witnessed on different parts of the UAE on Wednesday. Weather forecast predicts rain in Qatar, the Arabian Gulf and along its edge with clouds moving over UAE, the western and coastal areas of the country. The meteorological department recorded partly cloudy to cloudy conditions for the entire country on Wednesday.

Light, sporadic rain was felt in different area in Al Ain, along with the Western region and UAE islands in the Arabian Gulf. Winds blowing at up to 50 kilometers per hour generated five- to six-feet-high waves off the Gulf coast and the conditions are expected to prevail through the weekend. According to the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology, partly cloudy to cloudy weather will continue today and tomorrow, with chances of light rain. Wind speeds are expected to be moderate. But some open areas may see dusty conditions. This could reduce visibility, particularly in the interior areas. Conditions at sea will be moderate to rough tomorrow.

Coastal areas yesterday saw a low of 22 degree celsius and high of 33°C; interior areas a low of 20°C and high of 41°C; and mountainous areas a low of 16°C and high of 30°C.

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Dubai Export Development Corporation (EDC) announced raise in direct exports from the emirate in 2009. The exports registered Dh52.4 billion, getting a boost of 22.9 per cent from 2008. On the other hand, imports and re-exports declined by 27.9 per cent and 8.6 per cent respectively. The direct exports worth Dh52.4 billion were sent to 27 countries. EDC is an agency of the Dubai Department of Economic Development, Government of Dubai and it published the report in Dubai Export Monitor 2010.
EDC's target products like sugar, cocoa, precious stones and aluminium showed increase in the value of exports by nearly 50 per cent. Dubai exports to 12 out of 27 countries also increased. Dubai’s exports and re-exports increased to Brazil, France, Saudi Arabia and Qatar have increased from 2008 to 2009. Top countries by value of exports from Dubai were India, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan between 2000 and 2009.

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The third edition of Gulf Film Festival will be held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Majid Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture). It will be a huge event and the opening ceremony on April 8 will be a testimony to that. The curtain raiser ceremony would showcase vivid varieties of 194 contemporary films from 41 Countries over the next seven days at Dubai Festival City. The red carpet event of the opening ceremony will be graced by big and famous celebrities from the region.

Among the 194 films being screened at Gulf Film Festival 81 will be World Premieres, 11 International Premieres, 33 Middle East Premieres, 17 GCC Premieres and nine UAE Premieres, bringing a glittering experience for the cine goers. GFF 2010 will screen 128 short fiction films, 28 short documentaries, 8 features, 5 feature documentaries and 25 animation films.
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Giorgio Armani’s first regional hotel will soon become the newest addition in Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower. This will be Armani’s first hotel in the Middle East. The opening will be on April 21.
160 luxury rooms designed by world class designer Giorgio Armani along with Emaar Properties is what makes it stand apart. The viewing deck of Burj Khalifa re-opened on Saturday after a temporary closure. It lured in hundreds who had made a advance booking for Dh100 and for immediate access people shelled out Dh400.
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The financial performance of UAE corporate entities will strengthen this year as the economy emerges from the downturn and profitability, which eluded key sectors last year, returns on the back of gross domestic product (GDP) growth. According to Minister of Economy Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, economic growth will more than double this year to 3.2 per cent as oil prices strengthen and business activity increases. The government is taking steps to ensure growth, including an update of the company’s law to allow non-locals to hold a higher stake in their businesses and a draft law to protect the interests of foreign investors.

UAE banks will improve their performance this year after a 21 per cent drop in aggregate profits last year as the incidence of non-performing loans eases, analysts said. The other sector that was negatively affected in 2009, real estate and construction, is expected to begin the process of normalisation, but will likely take longer to return to profitability, they said. Net earnings at real estate companies in the UAE saw an aggregate erosion of almost 75 per cent last year, according to data collated by Kuwait-based Global Investment House.