Homes r Us, one of the fastest growing home furniture and furnishings brand in the Middle East, adds to its kitty its latest store in the UAE. The furniture brand has announced the opening of its ninth store at the Ibn Battuta Mall in Dubai.

The Homes r Us store at Ibn Battuta Mall is all set to be one of the flagship stores at the mall. Located at the India Court, it will have access both from inside the mall and outside where there is ample parking space close to the entrance. Ibn Battuta Mall is also served by a Dubai Metro station just outside, which makes it very convenient for customers from all over Dubai to visit the place.

Commenting on the new store, Mr. Viraf Raimalwala, COO, Homes r Us, said: “We are happy to announce the opening of our store at the Ibn Battuta Mall which is a prestigious and landmark mall located on Sheikh Zayed Road. This store is our ninth in the UAE, marking a major milestone in our expansion strategy for the region. Driven by our highly popular product offering and affordable pricing, we have been able to expand rapidly and make our presence felt everywhere. This is our fourth store in Dubai and is aimed at meeting the rising demand for our products in the emirate.”

“With this latest addition, we now have two stores on Sheikh Zayed Road, one at each end, catering to a wide cross section of customers who live in the surrounding areas. The new store will cater to customers from both Dubai and Abu Dhabi, especially to those residing in the new developments on both sides of Sheikh Zayed Road and Jebel Ali areas,”

he further added.

With clearly segregated departments for each part of home furnishing, Homes r Us aims to offer an easy and delightful shopping experience with every visit. The brand has established a strong presence in the UAE as a one-stop-shop for every home interior need.

The new Homes r Us store will house a wide-ranging collection of modern and eclectic home interior furnishings to suit every lifestyle need. Housed in a modern, purpose-built store with the latest modular Italian fittings, the store will cater to the varied needs of the modern-day homemaker. There will be a vast collection of sofa sets and bedroom sets in ethnic, classic and modern designs to suit the tastes of the multi-faceted populace of Dubai.

Apart from high quality furniture, Homes r Us also provides a wide range of home accessories, from elegant lamps to artistic rugs, fine bed and bath linen and classy dinner sets. Enough to fulfill the dream of any aspiring homemaker!

With an extensive assortment of stylishly crafted, top quality ensembles and accessories, Homes r Us offers the perfect blend of functionality and fashionable living. The brand is popular for its chic designs that are a mélange of the classic and the contemporary.

Since the launch of its first outlet in 2003, Homes r Us soon established itself as one of the leading home furniture and furnishings brand in the Middle East. In fact, the brand has become so much a part of homemakers’ lives across the region that it is perhaps the first name that occurs to them when they think of home furnishing.

Think Home, Think Homes r Us.

Belrimaitha Club saw the final of Ramadan Football Tournament organized by the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) featuring participation of all RTA agencies & sector over a week. The events were played in teams divided in two groups, each group comprises 4 teams.

Dubai Taxi Corporation team emerged as the winner having defeated Corporate Technical Support Services Sector in the final in penalty shootout (4/2) after the prescribed match time ended in a draw. RTA Security team finished second after defeating Corporate Administrative Support Services Sector (2/1).

Commenting on the Tournament, Acting Director of Administrative Corporate Support Services Sector Yousef Jawad Al Rida, said: “This Tournament is part of the sports activities organized by RTA Events Committees during the holy month of Ramadan with the aim of creating fun for RTA employees in a way compatible with the spirit and vibrant activities marking the month, particularly in the evening and after Taraweeh prayers”.

“The event was co-sponsored by Al Marai Company and Leader Sport Company. The first company distributed 150 juice cans daily to the public throughout the days of the Tournament, and the second company provided sports shirts to the participating teams along with trophies and medals to the first four finishers,” continued Jawad.

He thanked both companies for their substantial contributions which were instrumental for the success of the Tournament, and also reflected the corporate responsibilities of both companies towards various segments of the community.

Dubai Metro. The route from Noor Islamic Bank to Al Rigga.

Source:  www.youtube.com

This month, the United States has withdrawn its combat troops after a seven-year Iraq campaign. It follows an earlier withdrawal – the withdrawal of the promise to leave a stable, free and democratic Iraq.

Nearly a decade after the US invasion, with an unemployment rate of about 40 per cent and thousands of refugees driven from the country in search of a safer, better life, the rhetoric of a free Iraq has given way to the necessity of a stable Iraq – one which provides opportunities for the 30 million people who remain.

Their future lies not in the shifting promises of the bickering political leadership or the vagaries of aid disbursement, but in the certainty of employment and economic progress.

The hope is that the major investments that have taken place, particularly in the energy sector, will have knock-on effects to the rest of the economy. Private foreign investors are keen to capitalise upon Iraq’s potential – and contribute to its rebuilding. Over $63 billion poured into the oil, gas and real estate sectors between 2003 and last year. As of 2009, the UAE was the leading foreign investor in Iraq, contributing more than $31 billion.

More than 83 per cent of investment has been allocated to so-called mega-projects. Less is said of the small businesses that have been stifled since economic sanctions in the 1990s. The family-run store, normally the backbone of the community economy, has to be revived or else their sons will return to the street.

As much as anything else, security relies on a basic quality of life. “Electricity is worse than ever,” Sheikh Ahmad al Kinani, a Shiite in west Baghdad, told The National yesterday. “Children and elderly are dying from the heat.” Indeed, even after years in power, the US-backed Iraqi government has been unable to provide stable services of water, electricity and other necessities. That must change.

The fuel of this redevelopment is, not surprisingly, oil. Given the country’s possession of the second largest reserves – and the hope of relatively stable oil prices – the economic trajectory should be positive. Plans to increase the country’s output capacity fourfold by 2017 are perhaps overambitious, but confidence is the key to growth.

The country’s boosters have predicted an urban Metro in Baghdad within 10 years. They are paid for such rosy assessments. Iraq, and particularly her cities, are recovering from one of the most ravaging periods in modern Middle Eastern history. The country has the resources to again become a pillar of the region, but it is a long road ahead.

H.E. Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of Roads & Transport Authority (RTA), has recently inspected Al Khawaneej Bus Depot which was inaugurated by the RTA in early August to serve 16 public transport routes shuttling over several districts across Dubai Emirate; including 5 Dubai Metro stations feeder service.

During his tour, Al Tayer was accompanied by the CEO of Public Transport Agency Essa Abdul-Rahman Al Dosari in addition to other directors & managers of the Agency.

Al Tayer stated: “Al Khawaneej Bus Depot is considered a milestone in broadening and upgrading public transport network in Dubai Emirate; as it serves a plenty of Dubai Metro stations feeder routes, and passes across a number of districts throughout the Emirate”.

“The inauguration of this depot aims to widen and improve public bus transport, meet the requirements of passengers using this type of public transport, encourage more passengers to use the Dubai Metro, and enhance the integration of public transport network in Dubai Emirate,” said Al Tayer.

He continued: “The inauguration of this station culminates elaborate studies and site surveys undertaken by the RTA to assess the requirements of public bus riders, link the metro stations with public transport routes in Dubai, and address the transportation needs of all districts in the vicinity of the metro stations.

“The opening of Al Khawaneej Bus Depot also aims to distribute the bus routes according to districts close to the bus depots to ensure better utilization of the existing resources, enhance the efficiency and reduce the operational cost so long as the Depot is in close proximity to the starting points of the bus routes. It is anticipated that the operation of this Depot will cut the operational costs by as much as 1.5 million dirham per annum,” added Al Tayer.

“It took the RTA 15 months to complete this vital project at a cost of 121 million dirham. The facility has a capacity to house 284 buses and comprises a waiting yard, an air-conditioned maintenance workshop providing all types of preventive & regular bus maintenance (including maintenance of engines, electrical systems, and air-conditioning systems), a fully fledged painting workshop, a refueling station and a washing bay,” said Al Tayer in a final remark.

Worth-mentioning that the five metro stations feeder routes principally serve Al Rashidiya Station as Route (F3) starts off Al Rashidiya Metro Station (4), and passes across several districts including Mirdiff Interchange, Mirdiff Private School (1), and Mirdiff Uptown Center (1). Route (F4) starts off Al Rashidiya Metro Station (5) and passes across Imam Abu Haneefa Mosque at Mirdiff, Mirdiff City Center, Al Rashidiya and other districts. Route (F5) starts off Al Rashidiya Metro Station (5) and passes across Muhaisnah (1), Al Mizher, and Al Arabi Center, whereas Route (F6) starts off Lulu Village, Muhaisnah (4), Head Office of Public Transport Agency, and Al Kawakeb School. Route (F10) starts off Al Rashidiya Metro Station (2) and passes through several districts including the entry leading to Al Warqaa (1), the Grand Mosque at Al Warqaa, and Al Jahiz Boys School at Rashidiya among others.

The Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) will start writing-off vehicles whose registration had expired two or more years ago, effective October 2010. The decision is prompted by the need to maintain the safety of road users in Dubai Emirate as well as realizing RTA vision of providing Safe & Smooth Transport for All.

Commenting on the move, the Director of RTA Licensing Agency Ahmed Hashim Bahrozyan stated that RTA would embark on writing-off and removing vehicles whose licenses had expired two or more years back from Dubai roads as of next October in order to maintain the safety and security of road users in the Emirate.

“Failure to have a vehicle constantly used fully checked-up for two years or more renders it an unsafe means of mobility and accordingly pose a danger to the driver, passengers and goods on board, besides constituting a serious hazard to other road users in the Emirate,” stated Bahrozyan.

“By taking this course of action, RTA is targeting a big chunk of motorists who do not bother to renew their vehicles registration which had expired long ago; which means that they do not appreciate the importance of renewing their vehicle registration. Through pursuing this erroneous attitude they are exposing their lives as well as other peoples’ lives to danger, and rendering their vehicles liable to damage as the years pass by, due to the lacking maintenance & repair of faults which keep mounting up,” he continued.

“Ensuring the safety of these vehicles as well as the public ranks among RTA priorities and strategies and it has accordingly kept in place all measures that will be required to run the testing of vehicle whose registration had expired in the Emirate. RTA calls on all owners of vehicles with expired licenses to report to RTA licensing service centers or RTA website to renew their vehicles registration, improve the soundness and safety of their vehicles, and contribute to their own safety as well as the safety of others,” added the CEO of the Licensing Agency.

“Vehicle licensing service is being made available at different geographical zones across the Emirate 24-hours a day in addition to RTA website to save the time & effort of vehicle owners. RTA has also enhanced its e-services such that the owners of new vehicles, which do not need testing or those which have been tested, can surf RTA website to renew their vehicles registration online,” said Bahrozyan in a final remark.

Worth-mentioning that RTA has linked more than 44 insurance companies with the traffic system such that the details of the insurance certificate and the vehicle will be available online. The array of RTA licensing e-services provided include inquiry about any vehicle, renew vehicle registration, inquiry about driving license, renew driving license, review offences and pay fees, and inquiry about distinguished number plates.

The opening of some of the final eight Red Line stations for the Dubai Metro will reportedly be delayed.

Opening of some of the Metro's Red Line stations will be delayed past October. (FILE)

Low projected numbers of potential users and a lack of development surrounding some of the stations has led to a decision by the Roads and Transport Authority to delay the works, according to a report in The National.

DUBAI // Transport chiefs have delayed the opening of some of the final eight Red Line stations on the Dubai Metro.

The Sharaf DG Metro Red Line station in Dubai. Paulo Vecina / The National

The delay has been caused by low projected numbers of probable users and a lack of development around some stations, said Ramadan Mohammed, the director of rail operations at the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). Earlier, the RTA had said that the stations would be open this autumn.

“We will open some stations by the end of the year, in the fourth quarter,” Mr Mohammed said. “Some stations we may keep closed longer. All eight will not be opened at the same time. It will depend on the ridership figures we get. We are constantly getting data.”

The stations that will remain closed have been identified based on a lack of expansion in the communities around them. A final decision on the short-listed stations could come soon, Mr Mohammed said. He did not specify a date.

The RTA’s marketing and communications director said in May that all 29 of the line’s stations would be in full operation by October.

Those that have not yet opened are Business Bay, First Gulf Bank, Sharaf DG, Nakheel, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Energy Station, Jebel Ali Industrial and Jebel Ali. Of those, only Sharaf DG and Jumeirah Lakes Towers are near residential areas.

Eleven additional Red Line stations have opened this year after the initial “soft” launch with 10 stops in September last year. At 52km, the Dh29 billion system will be the world’s longest driverless rail system when complete. Its total number of passengers since it began service passed the 23 million mark in July.

News that the Red Line will not be fully operational this year disappointed some commuters who were looking forward to having open stations closer to home. Tanya Rehmani, a 23-year-old Pakistani who lives near the Sharaf DG station, was surprised that the entire Red Line would not be running this year.

“It cannot be so. They had given a deadline,” she said. “We should trust them that they will open.”

Ms Rehmani’s family bought an apartment near the station in March, believing it would open soon.

She now takes a taxi to the nearby Mall of the Emirates station to get to work in a downtown trading company.

Other commuters wondered which stations would go into service first, given that the opening of the remaining stations rested on the pace of development around them.

“They may start whatever, whichever stations, but I hope Business Bay is one of them,” said Sami Kher, the owner of an electronics shop near the unopened stop. “Every time a station opens we hope it was this one close to us. It will mean more customers, more business.”

Those expectations seemed valid considering Metro passenger numbers, which were averaging 120,000 a day on weekdays and 130,000 a day on weekends, Mr Mohammed said. Those figures will probably continue to rise once the Green Line opens.

While the Green Line opening is on track for August next year, the initial number of its stations also hinges on anticipated usage, Mr Mohammed said. There are 20 stations planned on the line, including where it intersects with the Red Line at the Burjuman and Union Square stops.

“All the Green Line stations will be ready but it depends on ridership,” Mr Mohammed said. “If you look at Jadaff station there is no development, there is no construction around it for opening this station.”

See the latest interactive maps and features for the metro at www.thenational.ae/metro<;br>
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Only some of the final eight stations on the Dubai Metro Red Line will be opened this year, despite a previous promise that the network would be fully up and running by October, the National has reported.

IRST STOP: Delay to opening the remaining stations is due to a lack of development in the area, the RTA said. (Getty Images)

The newspaper quoted a senior official at the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) as saying that the delay was due to low projected numbers of probable users and a lack of development around some stations.

“We will open some stations by the end of the year, in the fourth quarter. Some stations we may keep closed longer. All eight will not be opened at the same time. It will depend on the ridership figures we get. We are constantly getting data,” said Ramadan Mohammed, RTA director of rail operations.

The stations that are not yet open are Business Bay, First Gulf Bank, Sharaf DG, Nakheel, Jumeirah Lakes Towers, Energy Station, Jebel Ali Industrial and Jebel Ali. Only Sharaf DG and Jumeirah Lakes Towers are near residential areas.

Mohammed also told the paper that a final decision on which stations would remain closed in the near term could come soon, although no date was specified.

The Red Line currently has 21 working stations on its route.

Mohammed also said that the Green Line was still on track for launch in August next year, although the 20 stations on the branch will also be subject to review if their neighbourhoods are not sufficiently developed.

All the Green Line stations will be ready but it depends on ridership. If you look at Jadaf station there is no development, there is no construction around it for opening this station,” the official added.

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