Author: head dubai

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Nayritta

head dubai March 9, 2020 No Comments

Connecting the Aesthetic Industry and The Experts with You!
Nayri Estepanian, known as Nayritta, is a Lebanese Armenian woman with high ambitions and drive to the future. She loves to explore, be a guide, an intermediate and a connection between the Aesthetic industry and the experts with you.

She had been always searching for ways to help and assist individuals who are looking for tips to take care of their beauty, image and looks.

Her aim is to provide education, motivate and assist in building some individuals’ confidence through introducing different Aesthetic ways and procedures making the content worthwhile for everyone to reach their goal and understand the knowledge behind it before implementing any procedures.

With the instant support and interest from the community, this made Nayri move forward to be more responsible with her journey to explore, educate and provide the right solutions.

Building a credible successful future in this industry is her main Goal!

Entertainment

Why UAE residents love their karak chai

head dubai March 9, 2020 No Comments

There is a reason why the UAE is peppered with the ubiquitous chai shop – some are more hole-in-the-wall than others, but what they lack in compatible design they make up for in experience. Steaming cups of tea with a mix of  milk and water that has been boiled to perfection and flavoured with caffeine-rich tea leaves. (Sugar is added to taste.) This liquor is a blanket of comfort and a gentle nudge into wakefulness.

This type of tea is often called karak, although there are many variations – with ginger or other additional spices – which can also result in a slightly tweaked name. [Ask for ginger or cinnamon tea, for instance, if you’d like to try a specific blend.]

The drink’s roots are in India, where instead of ‘a splash of milk’ or a squeeze of lime as the decoction was originally drunk by the British who introduced it to the country, the water is boiled along with milk until it thickens into a syrupy concoction.

Today this type of tea is drunk in tiny stalls, pop-up and shops often called chai addas.

As a trading hub, the UAE was destined to offer both versions of the drink, and it has. The colloquially called kadak – which means strong – has also revamped its name; here, we call it karak. And with it, it has re-jigged some of its essential ingredients, fresh milk often for taste and consistency is replaced by its evaporated cousin. “In 7,400 tea shops that sell karak, [the tea is] made with Rainbow [evaporated milk],” says Sumeet Mathur, Managing Director, FrieslandCampina Middle East

So how does the thick evaporated milk come to be? “Evaporating 40 per cent of water content from fresh milk and retaining its good fat and protein,” adds Mathur.

In the end know there are 2 glasses of fresh milk in each 170g tin.

You’ll often be able to spot a chai shop meters away, because it’s generally a-buzz with conversation and the sound of sloshing as ribbons of the stuff are poured from up top. [These also make for good Instagram photos.]

Indian Shanawaz Sayed, who hails from Mumbai and was quickly downing a late lunch in a café nearby, called Tea & Chat, says he loves the variety available in the store. “Basically the tea, the ambience, besides that the service is also good here,” says. This talk of ‘ambience’, or environment, comes up often when talking to tea drinkers – for the comfort and company that comes with the tea is often half the fun.

Business

UAE’s NMC Health receives four serious bids to buy it

head dubai March 9, 2020 No Comments

Dubai: There are four interested parties in the fray to acquire NMC Health with the deadline set to end today for submissions. One or two more potential investors could still throw in their bids in the few hours left, according to informed sources.

Among the four bids, one is from Abu Dhabi investment powerhouse Mubadala, another is from Hussain Sajwani of Damac, and a third from GKI, an Italian healthcare focused firm.

As per London Stock Exchange rules, there’s a 28-day window for official bids to be made after a listed company first announces that a bid was made,” said a senior source at a local bank. “It’s been 28 days since NMC announced that it had received bids from KKR and GKI. KKR has since said it’s no longer interested.

“But there are other parties who definitely are – NMC remains the biggest healthcare operator in the UAE; it has regional aspirations and it is profitable.

“The debts of $2 billion are what is going to be an issue; plus the lack of clarity on the exact holdings of its three principal shareholders, including that of the founder Dr. B. R. Shetty.”

LSE requirements

All takeover bids need to be formally submitted to NMC by close of business on March 9. “You never know – a new offer could still be made,” said another source.

Incidentally, NMC Health shares on London Stock Exchange are still in temporary suspension. But outside of the stock exchange, the company’s shares are being actively sought.

In recent days, news came out that a “custody” bank, which was holding NMC shares pledged to it by one of the principal shareholders, had sold some of it.

It is believed that they were sold for 12.5 pounds a share, above the 10 pounds that the shares were quoted on LSE before they were suspended.

Since December, there have been other instances of banks selling off such blocks of shares belonging to Dr. Shetty and former vice-chairman Khaleefa Butti Omair Yousif Ahmed Al Muhairi, and Saeed Mohamed Butti Mohamed Khalfan al-Qebaisi.

It is now believed that the three own less than 10 per cent of shares in NMC from the once lofty holdings of 40 per cent plus.

Politics

Girl, 15, raped after being forced to work in Dubai massage centre

head dubai March 9, 2020 No Comments

Dubai: A man has been accused of forcing a 15-year-old girl to carry out sexual activities at a Dubai massage centre and raping her after offering her a soda mixed with alcohol.

The Dubai Court of First Instance heard on Monday that the Bangladeshi girl testified that her aunt brought her to the UAE last year, before forcing her to work in a massage centre. When she refused to “please customers” after a massage session, her aunt kept her in the house promising to send her back to her country.

“I met the defendant who told my aunt that he fell in love with me. I refused to have an affair with him. He took me to a nightclub and offered me a soda. I didn’t know the drink was mixed with alcohol and I start losing my balance. I don’t remember what happened after that but I woke up in the man’s bedroom,” the victim said in records.

She said she later discovered that the 36-year-old Bangladeshi defendant had sex with her. Her aunt told her the defendant would pay for her studies if she had sex with him.

After one month, her aunt was caught by the police for prostitution work after which the victim was left in the care of the defendant.

“The defendant forced me to work at massage centres and was collecting the money himself. He threatened to keep me without food and water if I refused to comly with his orders and once he even beat me with a belt,” the girl claimed.

In August 2019, the defendant took her to a massage centre where she met a countrywoman and showed her signs of violence on her body.

“She felt sorry for what had happened to me and helped me reach a police station by calling a taxi.”

A 28-year-old Emirati policeman said the victim reported the incident at Al Qusais police station.

Dubai Police arrested the defendant at Al Nahda and he admitted to having an illegal affair with the victim and bringing women from Bangaldesh to work in massage centres.

Dubai Public Prosecution has charged the defendant with human trafficking and raping the victim. It has asked the court to award death penalty to the defendant.

The defendant is in police custody and the next trial is on March 19.

Business

Coronavirus: UAE airlines react to flight suspension to and from Saudi Arabia

head dubai March 9, 2020 No Comments

Dubai: UAE airlines have released statements regarding the temporary suspension of flights between Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

A statement from Etihad said, “Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has suspended temporarily all flights between Abu Dhabi and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in response to a directive from the General Authority for Civil Aviation, Saudi Arabia, to help prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

“The airline operates up to 12 flights per day between Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia. It has cancelled a total of seven flights today between Abu Dhabi and the Saudi cities of Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Medina, and is now advising passengers who were booked to travel today.”

The statement added, “Another four flights which were en-route to Saudi Arabia at the time of the directive were permitted to land. When flights arrived in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam, nationals of Saudi Arabi were permitted to disembark but all other passengers remained on the aircraft, which will return to Abu Dhabi. The fourth flight operated to Medina to repatriate Umrah passengers.

“In addition to the flight suspensions to and from the UAE, Saudi Arabia has also banned Saudi nationals and Saudi residents from travelling to countries including the UAE and on passengers travelling from or transiting through Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon, Syria, Italy, Egypt and Korea.

“Etihad Airways is working closely with regulatory authorities in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia and is continuing to monitor this situation closely.

“For passengers impacted by the flight cancellations, procedures are in place for fare refunds or for flight changes when services resume. Etihad will continue to provide updates on this situation as information becomes available.”

A statement from Emirates read, “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have issued a directive, which takes immediate effect, suspending operations from several countries including the UAE to all airports in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in an effort to control the spread of the COVID-19 virus. This includes all flights to Damman, Jeddah, Medina and Riyadh on 9, 10, and 11 March. As previously updated, operations to Medina have been cancelled up to and including EK809/810 12th March 2020.

“Affected customers due to the cancellations for tickets issued on/before 09th March can opt to; rebook to alternate date of travel till 30th June, travel voucher for ticketed value, or get a refund.

“Customers should contact their travel agent or Emirates office for further support with their rebookings. Customers across the Emirates network holding tickets for final destination Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will not be accepted for boarding at their point of origin until further notice.”

Fly Dubai said, “Following a directive from the Authorities in Saudi Arabia flydubai flights to and from Saudi Arabia have been cancelled until 12 March.

“Passengers who have booked to travel to Saudi Arabia and would like to talk to us about their journey, can telephone our Call Centre on (+971) 600 54 44 45, send an email to letstalk@flydubai.com or send us a private message on Facebook.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused to our passengers’ travel plans.”

Gulf News awaits response from Air Arabia.

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Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia suspends travel to 9 countries, including UAE

head dubai March 9, 2020 No Comments

Saudi Arabia early Monday suspended travel to and from nine countries including the UAE due to coronavirus concerns.

Travel is also suspended to and from Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Italy, South Korea and Syria.

The decision is designed to stop the spread of coronavirus in the kingdom, the official Saudi Press Agency reports.

On Sunday, Saudi Arabia announced the suspension of schools and higher education institutions as of Monday until further notice, the Saudi Press Agency said.

Business Fashion

5 ARAB WOMEN ROCKING THE WORLD

head dubai March 9, 2020 No Comments

Not all heroes wear capes, some of them wear nail polish, skirts and stilettos. Today, 8th of March we want to praise the role of 10 amazing arab women that are breaking the rules and changing stereotypes.

As women we don´t get enough recognition for the amazing things we are doing, challenging the world, beating huge obstacles while taking care of the family and loved ones.

Being a woman is hard. There is a long list of ladies changing the world and making history that deserves recognition and applause. We have created a list of 10 we very much admire and follow from DFN. They are all well known in the region, and we think it is about time, we pay a little tribute to these amazons

5 AMAZING ARAB WOMEN

1. DIALA MAKKI

Speaking of fashion and class is talking about Diala. She has become the voice and bridge between fashion designers and the Arab audience and consumers. Diala has been a strong advocate for realistic beauty and ethics when it comes to social media. She raise her voice every time is necessary. Diala is the perfect example when I say that beauty comes from inside

2. SHAHAD SALMAN

Being a model is hard enough, but being a model with a skin condition makes it a million times harder. The modeling industry can be really hash; on top of that social media can be a monster hard to deal with. Shadah has proven her strength and the importance of the message she is trying to give to the world.

3. HUDA KATTAN

Being a woman entrepreneur is something relatively new in the world. Not often we hear the “boss lady” speech. Executive women, owner business women, you name it. It is a kind of new world for us. Huda has created not only a brand, but has lead and open a path for the generations behind us. What she did is much more than running a business, she changed the business game.

4. GHIZLAN GUENEZ

Representation matters, and is not just a phrase. We all need to be fit in, somewhere, somehow. Ghizlan creating the first online destination for women who want to dress modest in luxury is helping two different groups of women that until now felt there wasnt a place for them to shop and feel they are important.

5. ASEEL ALHAMAD

Pioneers are called crazy until the rest understand the importance of standing up. Oh boy, how much I know about it! Aseel is a woman ahead of her time and she leading the change for many women in Saudi Arabia. There is many ways to do history, she choose to do it from behind the wheels. At DFN you have a fan club!

Sports

Coronavirus: Fans banned from all UAE football matches

head dubai March 5, 2020 No Comments

First of the matches to be played in stadiums without fans will be today.

All UAE football matches will be played behind closed doors until further notice as a precautionary measure against coronavirus.

The UAE Football Association said that it’s constantly following up with the concerned authorities for the latest updates on coronavirus and precautionary measures to be taken.

“The UAE FA prioritises the safety of all the players, technical staff, administrators and the loyal fans of football over any other matter. Therefore, it was decided that all the football competitions in the UAE will be played without the presence of spectators as follows: President’s Cup, First Division League, Second Division League, youth competitions, futsal competitions, beach soccer, women’s competitions, effective immediately and until further notice, in coordination with the concerned authorities,” the UAE Football Association said. “We highly request all the clubs, private academies and football entities to abide by this decision in order to ensure a safe society.”

First of the matches to be played in the stadiums without fans will be today and tomorrow as the Round 18 of the Arabian Gulf League resumes. These matches will be in stadiums of Dubai, Sharjah, Al Ain, Kalba, Abu Dhabi and Khor Fakkan.

Mohammed Abdullah Hazam Al Dhaheri, Secretary General, UAEFA, said workshops have been held to brief clubs about the precautionary measures to be taken at stadiums.

The UAE Pro League, the nation’s professional football league, said it is coordinating with all the relevant authorities with regards to the health situation.

“It was decided to suspend fan attendance in all its competitions until further notice, for the safety of the public,” the UAE Pro League said in a statement.

The next tournament to be played in empty stadiums will be the President’s Cup to be held on Tuesday with three teams from Abu Dhabi and one from Sharjah in action.

Decision on UAE’s World Cup qualifiers

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) officials will meet with the FIFA to discuss the status of the FIFA World Cup 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 Asian qualifiers scheduled for this month and June. Later this month is the UAE national side’s clash with Malaysia for the FIFA World Cup qualifiers. The match is scheduled to be played at Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai, on March 26.

Separately, the AFC Champions League group stage matches involving the UAE clubs to be held this week were postponed. Decision on new dates will be taken at the AFC’s emergency meetings to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Saturday and Sunday. The matches to be played this month and April are likely to be moved to May and June.

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Coronavirus: Saudi Arabia suspends Umrah pilgrimage over Covid-19 fears

head dubai March 5, 2020 No Comments

Saudi Arabia on Wednesday suspended the year-round umrah pilgrimage to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah over coronavirus fears, the interior ministry said.

The Gulf state has decided “to suspend umrah temporarily for citizens and residents in the kingdom”, the ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

The decision comes after Saudi Arabia last week suspended visas for the pilgrimage and barred citizens from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council from entering two of Islam’s holiest cities.

Business

How hotels in the Middle East are coping with coronavirus impact

head dubai March 5, 2020 No Comments

Dubai: Hotels in the UAE are following airlines in asking their staff to go on unpaid leave, as the hospitality sector battles the full impact of the coronavirus on demand.

The move to sanction unpaid leave will impact mostly on middle-level managers rather than the daily operations staff for now, hotel sources say. Several properties in Dubai and Abu Dhabi are already pressing ahead with the move, which would, they believe, help them to drastically cut down on costs. Employees have been told to utilise all outstanding leave-in-lieu days and proceed on unpaid leave. (There are some who do get paid as well.)

That’s not all – other steps being taken by hotels to reduce costs include closing full floors to save on utilities, a temporary freeze on new hires and replacements, and postponing non-essential purchases. The UAE hotel industry had responded with similar steps back in 2001, after the World Trade Center attacks in New York put the brakes on global travel, and during 2009-10, when the economy was hobbled by the financial crisis.

A senior hotel industry executive said that hotels in the mid-tier space are even changing their food and beverage suppliers to minimise costs. For instance, “They are buying Brazilian meat at half the price instead of from the US or Australian meat,” he added.

Lower rung employees such as waiters and contract workers (who are there for banqueting and catering services, gardening and pest control) are not affected by this move. Employees are forced to take up the proposed option of going on leave or face redundancy.

Slash and then some more

At entry level 5-star hotels, rate have been slashed to Dh300 a night to try and convince travellers to book with them. At the luxury end of the hospitality market, properties are finding even rates as low at Dh1,200 a night is not winning them guests. (Some hotels have countered this demand dip by offering “staycation” packages for UAE residents.)

“I recommend hoteliers in regions affected by the coronavirus to offer special discounts to attract bookings and check all options to reduce fixed costs at the earliest,” said Dr. Tassilo Keilmann, CEO of Wellness Heaven Hotel Guide. “Some affected hoteliers have reduced their staff temporarily – if permitted by contracts. Other hoteliers have shut down parts of their hotels to save energy and reduce workload on their service personnel.”

While luxury hotels have not been hugely affected by cancellations caused by the virus outbreak, mid-tier ones that target corporate travellers have been affected. With firms like McKinsey and Ernst & Young have put strictures on corporate travel for their staff, business-related trips have nosedived. This is keenly felt by hotels.

Event cancellations have further compounded the hotel industry’s woes. With travellers from China, Italy and from within the GCC all but disappearing, hotels are among the worst hit. The general sense of caution related to travel and being in public places is weighing on occupancy and average daily rates.