Mangalore Cricket club (MCC) celebrated its completion of second successful cricket season by organizing a grand party in Imperial Suite Hotel, Dubai.  The event was graced by the presence of Mr. Jason Gasper & Mr Vineeth Fernandes from Roamworks FZ LLC the official sponsor of the MCC club, Mr Sandeep & Sanjiev Nair from Manuport Logistics and Mr Jaikumar from Silvertech Engineering. Rakshith Nagesh of MCC was the host who kicked of the event with an inspirational speech and also entertained the guests with spot prices,games for kids and family members keeping the party alive throughout
the evening. Jethesh Arhana welcomed the guests, sponsors and well wishers fortheir participation in celebrating this day with the players.

Satish Shetty presented the gathering with a presentation on playerstatistics, the clubs vision, it's values and the outstandingperformance of players in the last two seasons. The club facilitatedits members who achieved the seasonal and career milestones by awarding mementos.

Mohamed Rafeek offered deepest condolences on behalf of the club toone of their youngest member Mohammed Mustafa who met with an roadaccident few months back and had to depart to almighty. The clubpledged to raise funds by contributing individually and also donatewhatever savings they could from the closing ceremony to the family
members of Mohammed Mustafa in their moment of grief.

 The teams new Jersey for the forthcoming season was officially unraveled by Mr Jason Gasper from Roamworks FZ LLC and MCC junior members proudly displayed the kit to the crowd. For motivating and grooming the future generation to develop their interest in the game, return gifts in the form of cricket kit was provided to all to the junior kids of the club.

MCC sponsors showered their support and wished good luck to the team.As a token of appreciation a thanksgiving momento was presented to Roamworks FZ LLC for their untainted association with the club.

MCC thanked everyone for their support and generosity in their buildup to the development of MCC and requested to follow them on their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/unitedmcc

 DJ Duos ( Wilfred Mendonca ) entrained the crowd with lovely Musicthough out  the event and event ended up with energetic dance performance. Thanks to Hadlee D’souza & Hencil Mendonca.

MCC thanked everyone for their support and generosity in their build up to the development of MCC and Robinson Rodrigues presented vote of Thanks.

Dubai: A blood donation camp was organised by Sanghamithra Dubai, UAE on Friday July 24. More than fifty people donated their blood in the camp that was held from 8am to 11am.     The camp was organised at Latheefa hospital in Dubai and was a huge success. People willing to donate blood were asked to register their name with Krishna Ail, Dinakar Ail, Govardhan Salian and Dev Ail.

Members of Sanghamithra have thanked the people who took part in the camp.

Dubai: Dubai’s gold and jewellery trade could do with some timely help from the government to tide over an extremely difficult retail environment that has set in since February, market sources say. Such measures could include — but not be limited to — a freeze on rental increases for the sector.

“If such a freeze could be effected across the board it would be of immense help for the trade,” said Chandra Siroya, Vice-Chairman of the board of directors at Dubai Gold and Jewellery Group and Managing Director of Siroya Jewellers. “Rental increases have been the one constant that the jewellery trade has been subject to every year, with increases of up to 20 per cent.”

The industry grouping also reckons that the branding associating Dubai as the ‘City of Gold’ should be reinvigorated, particularly in exposures outside of the UAE. “If, for instance, Dubai’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing could have the ‘City of Gold’ imprint on all their external communications, it would be such a help to the trade when it comes to promotion and much needed exposure. The Gold and Jewellery Group on its own doesn’t have the kind of budget to effect such a high-visibility campaign ... but key Dubai Government departments can.

“The Government and all the stakeholders in the industry have worked so hard to create the ‘City of Gold’ branding. This is as good a time as any to strengthen the message.”

Indeed, the present is proving tiresome for the jewellery business. Russian buyers are yet to make a return despite the rouble having recently erased some of the steep drops it had suffered against the dollar, and which had erased the high spending Russian tourists from Dubai’s retail market since late last year.

There have been other worrying signs — “The expected volume of business from Indian tourists visiting the UAE during April-May did not materialise,” said Abdul Salam K.P., Treasurer of the Gold and Jewellery Group and Executive Director at Malabar Gold & Diamonds. “Tourist transactions in recent years had averaged well over Dh10,000, but in recent months has dropped appreciably.

“In broad terms, 80 per cent of transactions are now done by domestic shoppers as against the 60:40 split that was there earlier.”

As the overall transaction levels chalk out a lower year-on-year growth, the number of players trying to carve up the market among themselves keep rising. Two new retailers from India — GRT and Bhima Jewellers — made an entry in the first-half, expecting their name recognition in the home market to bolster their prospects here. GRT’s opened a 6,500 square foot facility in Dubai and will also be heading to Abu Dhabi.

“We haven’t experienced too many problems after the launch of our store,” said G.R. Ananthapadmanabhan, Managing Director at GRT. “With only 30 stores in India, we managed a turnover rate compared to other brands who own double the amount of stores. When it comes to gold, our target customer is strongly affected by the trust factor rather than the market scenario.”

Unfortunately for the jewellers, gold prices haven’t seen the bouts of volatility that would push it down to levels that can release any pent-up buying interest from local consumers. By and large, prices have been rangebound in the year-to-date, with the occasional spikes happening when global investors get suitably concerned by the Greek crisis. That’s when gold goes back to being a safe haven asset, albeit for short spells. Then some last minute back room manoeuvre would take place on the Greek talks and the metal would lower itself back to previous pricing levels.

“Gold prices should go up in the longer term on a need-to basis as opposed to just being speculation-driven,” said Cyriac Varghese, General Manager at Sky Jewellery. “The current price levels -at Dh135 a gram — are very reasonable, and there’s a bit of the holiday buying happening now. But those shoppers who do not have a compelling reason, there’s not enough happening by way of an occasion, a generous promotion, or an extremely favourable price levels to make him buy. That explains the current lean period.”

None of which leaves the local jewellery retail sector with any sense of assurance that things are on the mend. This is where some sort of governmental support — direct or otherwise — can put some shine back on the business.
 

Dubai — The Dubai Municipality on Thursday announced that it will begin the construction of the region’s first crocodile park next month.

In one year, crocodiles including the Nile crocodile, will move in to the Dubai, enthralling residents and visitors, especially the children.

The park will be home to hundreds of crocodiles, and the Dubai Crocodile Park will be completed by the end of 2016, the civic body said in a media statement.

The project was announced in April 2012 and in June 2013, the municipality signed a Dh10million deal with a French company to set up the park.

The Memorandum of Understanding with White Oryx Investment LLC authorised the firm to complete the project in 24 months on a build, operate and transfer (BOT) basis.

Khalifa Abdullah Hareb, the director of the Assets Management Department at the municipality, told Khaleej Times the civic body has solved all the hurdles that had caused the delay in starting the project.

“The French company officials will be flying in next month to start the construction,” he said.

The 20,000 square metre Crocodile Park will be built 10km from Dubai Airport near Mushrif Park, and close to the upcoming projects Dubai Safari and the Birds and Pets Market.

It will be accessible from Shaikh Mohammad bin Zayed Road, Tripoli Street and Al Khawaneej.

Modelled after existing crocodile farms in Pierrelatte in France and Djerba in Tunisia, the facility has been designed to be a tourist landmark that will serve as an environmental reserve for the conservation of the aquatic reptiles.

Hareb said the park will adhere to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and enable schools, universities and research centres to conduct studies on crocodiles.

Faridoon Abdul Rahman Mohammed Al Awadi, head of the Investment Section, said the visitors will be charged a reasonable fee for enjoying an exciting tour of the facility, which will look akin to a natural water reservoir in Africa.

The visitors will be able to discover the different stages of crocodiles’ life such as egg laying, hatching, growing, breeding, family life etc and also see the reptiles while relaxing, crawling, swimming and diving.

Dubai: A tropical depression in the Arabian Sea has intensified and has moved closer to the Masira Island of Oman during the last six hours.

“Latest satellite imagery and observations with the weather reports from the main regional centres, indicate that a depression which is slowly deepening toward the north and northwest from its original position in the east side of the Arabian Sea during the last six hours.

The Deep Depression currently located on a latitude of 17.5N and 67.5E has formed about 970km of Masirah Island (Oman), with surface wind speed between 50 – 60km/hour,” a weather alert from the National Centre of Meteorology and Seismology (NCMS) read as of 12.30pm on Monday.

“It would move north-north-westwards and intensify further during next 24 hrs to a tropical storm,” according to NCMS.

The deep depression, referred to as tropical cyclone 01A by weather centres, formed about 1,230km southeast of Masirah Island on Sunday afternoon.

NCMS said it will keep watching the development of this deep depression, and "will update the concerning news of this case at the right time".

Meanwhile, the weather will continue to be hazy and partly cloudy, with rain clouds forming in the eastern parts of the country.

The temperature over the eastern region will be the lowest at around 34 degrees Celsius and will be highest in the western and southern part of Abu Dhabi at between 46 degrees Celcius and 47 degrees Celcius.

A day after a leading retail boss warned that Dubai shopping has become too expensive for tourists, the emirate kept its spot as the second “most important international shopping destination globally” in a major poll.

The 2015 edition of ‘How Global is the Business of Retail?’ by international property advisor CBRE placed Dubai second for the fourth consecutive year, “closely behind” London. CBRE said that Dubai has a presence of 55.7 per cent of international retailers.

The figure was above Shanghai, which scored 53.4 per cent, in third and comfortably ahead traditional shopping favourite New York. The Big Apple had a 46.3 per cent presence of international retailers.

CBRE said that during the course of 2014, Dubai attracted 45 new international brands, with high-profile retailers including Hollister, Cavalli Cafe and McQ Alexander McQueen opening outlets in the emirate.

Nick Maclean, managing director, CBRE Middle East, said: “Dubai continues to remain the clear destination of choice for the majority of the brands looking to enter the region for the first time, frequently using the emirate as a stepping stone to wider regional expansion.”

On Monday, Arabian Business reported the CEO of Lals Group, Jayant Ganwani, as saying that Dubai had become “unaffordable” for a lot of tourists – and that European goods were a lot more expensive in the emirate than Europe.

But retailer globalisation “remained a key theme” in CBRE’s research, with half of the 164 cities attracting at least five new retailers.

Abu Dhabi had 55 new brands, ranking the emirate in third place for new retail entrants during 2014.

Maclean said: “The increased number of new retailer brands entering Abu Dhabi has been driven in part by a significant increase in supply in the capital amidst the opening of a number of new malls, most notably Yas Mall which opened in November 2014.”

A Nepali folk-rock band is heading to Dubai to drum up support for earthquake relief in their disaster-hit nation.

Nepathya – formed in 1990 and famed for its ‘peace tours’ during the civil war in Nepal – promise a poignant performance that will highlight the problems the country is grappling with along with the strength of spirit of its people to overcome the tragedy.

The band’s director of public relations Arpan Sharma, 38, told 7DAYS: “The only purpose of this concert is to create awareness of the situation in Nepal and raise funding. We want to share what people are really going through. The situation is far worse and far more serious than anyone can imagine.”

The gig will also provide a platform for images and footage, captured by some of the band’s members as well as photographers in Nepal, to illustrate the scale of the devastation. But, through the pictures, the musicians will also bring to light heroism and kindness.

“The evening will start on a sombre note, paying tribute to the victims,” Sharma said. “The songs will depict the pain of the people. But above all, they will show the heroism and how everyone has come together to help.”

More importantly, the night will end on a lighter, positive note to inspire hope.

“The tunes are very different,” Sharma said. “They come from the mountains of Nepal. So it’s like traditional folk music fused with rock.”

He added: “The song list includes ‘Jeewan Ho Gham Chaya’ [‘Life is Sun and Shade’]. It’s how life is about pain and happiness… and the sun will come out to shine again and everything will be OK. Another is ‘Naramro Sapana Dekhethe’ – [‘I Saw a Bad Dream’] – it’s about seeing a bad dream, but that it was just a dream, and it will pass.”

Nepathya, who have played sold-out gigs around the world including at London’s Wembley Arena, promise an authentic sound, though Sharma admits the evening will be a difficult one for the group as they have had to leave their homes amidst the on-going aftershocks.

He said: “To be honest, the band wants to come back home as soon as possible. They’re in no mood to perform. Here, we’re looking at entire villages destroyed. They don’t exist anymore. The death toll is 9,000 but we know it’s a lot higher because people are still buried under the rubble. We want to be here to help. But it’s also important that we do this, now more than ever.”

The band has already pledged more than $30,000 (Dhs110,196) from their performance in Melbourne, where they were playing when the quake hit, as well as from their gig in Tokyo, which they dedicated to victims of the disaster.

“The show must go on – so life can move on for the people of Nepal,” Sharma said.

Who doesn’t like to travel business class? Well, Audi just made it even more fun with a revamp of its A6 executive saloon.

The range was launched in the UAE last week, with the 7DAYS Driven team getting the chance to try out some of the models on a road trip across the Northern Emirates.

And we liked what we saw and drove.

The new generation of the A6, which also includes the S6 sports version and RS6 super-estate, has a flatter, wider stance with some subtle changes to the grille and bumper. Overall, it gives the A6 a more distinctive look, something needed in a segment that can be a bit samey.

Inside, the A6 is very Audi, with comfy seats and plenty of tech. However, I was pleased they hadn’t gone overboard with the buttons and switches, something I find irritating in its competitors. The controls have also been spruced up with an aluminium finish.

Under the bonnet is a selection of four engines, three new ones and the current 2.8-litre V6, which the firm has decided to keep in this region.
The entry level is now a 1.8-litre rather than a 2.0-litre. Despite the drop in capacity, the 1.8 is quicker than its predecessor and produces more power. The improvement reflects the firm’s new badging policy, with displacement no longer considered the only measure of performance. So, gone are 1.8, 2.0 or 3.0 marques, replaced by 35, 40 and 50 TFSI. They tried to explain how it works, but it all seemed very complicated.

New features include a coasting mode to save fuel and a stop/start function that switches the engine off when you go below 7kph rather than when you come to a standstill.

I thought that sounded appalling, as if the car had stalled, however the difference is unnoticeable when on the road.

Other features include acoustic glass to cut road noise, headlights that adjust to the light around you and, my favourite, night vision that will spot a camel in the road. We encountered a few ships of the desert, but as it was daytime I couldn’t test out the gadget.
During the briefing there was also much talk of the new infotainment system, which includes a 24-bit display, NVIDIA chip and two USB ports.

Here I apologise as I didn’t spend much time fiddling with it during the drive, particularly when in the fast and furious S6.

You see, the A6 was such a pleasure to drive that radio, iPods, sat nav were unnecessary distractions­.

There was no need to drown out the road noise as it was non-existent and, quite frankly, I was hoping I might get lost as it would mean a bit longer driving the car.

For more details on the Audi A6, visit audi-me.com.