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Recognising art and creativity

April 10, 2012

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Dubai, April 10: The Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Patrons of the Arts Awards, honoured 47 organisations and individuals for their contributions towards the city’s cultural scene at a prestigious event held on Sunday at the Jumeirah Zabeel Saray Hotel, in the presence of members of the royal family.


In its third edition, the ceremony opened with a delightful musical performance titled ‘Music of Dubai’ by The Fridge, and an artistic sand drawing projected at the back of the theatre inspired by the heritage of the UAE.


The awards included four categories: Distinguished Patrons of the Arts, Patrons of the Arts, Supporters of the Arts, and Friends of the Arts. Their financial or in-kind contributions have reached over Dh165 million and shows an impressive 24 per cent increase from January to December 2011 compared to 2010.


Saeed Al Naboodah, Acting Director General, Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, said: “Patronage for the Emirate’s cultural scene has grown rapidly over the last few years, underlining the impressive achievements recorded by Dubai in launching and hosting diverse cultural initiatives. The third cycle has seen increased support from government departments and organisations, in addition to a vast pool of new patrons, reinforcing interest in extending patronage to culture and the arts.”


“Today, Dubai has firmly positioned itself as a destination for culture and arts as a result of sustained support from the patrons, the unsung heroes, who highlight the artistic potential in the city. The Dubai Culture and Arts Authority is privileged to honour these individuals and organisations who contribute to further consolidating the city’s status as the region’s cultural hub,” he added.


Forty-four per cent of those honoured in the third cycle are new patrons, with a 17.5 per cent overall increase in patrons, underscoring an increased interest among organisations and individuals in driving the arts sector. Fifteen per cent of the patrons comprised Government departments and organisations, a 75 per cent increase compared with the first cycle.


Visual arts accounted for 50 per cent, followed by a remarkable increase in patronage for film, which accounts for 42 per cent of total contributions. Performing arts and literature accounted for a four per cent of this year’s patronage, each.


The ‘Distinguished Patrons of the Arts’ honourees are: Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council; the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD); Jumeirah Group; Emirates Airline; Dr Farhad Farjam and Abraaj Capital.


Honourees of the ‘Patrons of the Arts’ are: Shaikha Manal bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, President of the Dubai Women Establishment, and wife of Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Presidential Affairs; Shaikha Lateefa bint Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum; Dubai Police; Dubai Duty Free; Al Serkal Family; Barjeel Art Foundation; Mr. Ramin Salsali; AGMC – BMW; Dubai Pearl and Van Cleef & Arpels.


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News Network
April 26,2020

Abu Dhabi, Apr 26: Indian Ambassador to the UAE Pavan Kapoor says he is appalled after the bodies of three Indians flown back to India were returned to Abu Dhabi on Friday.

The three deceased Indian nationals had died of non-coronavirus causes and were flown to Delhi on Thursday but were promptly returned by authorities there.

“We are appalled at what has happened,” Kapoor told Gulf News. “We do not know if the bodies were returned because of coronavirus-related restrictions, but we are obviously not sending the remains of people [who have passed away from COVID-19],” he added.

“[As we understand], it happened because of new protocols at the airport and we are trying to sort it out,” he said.

Sent back a few hours later

“The remains were not offloaded from the plane, and were sent back a few hours later,” Kapoor explained.

The deceased were Kamlesh Bhatt, who passed away on April 17, and Sanjeev Kumar and Jagsir Singh who both died on April 13.

According to reports in Indian media, Kamlesh Bhat was 23 years old, and hailed from Tehri Garhwal district. He allegedly died of cardiac arrest. Along with the remains Kumar and Singh, Bhatt’s body was initially repatriated on an Etihad Airways flight, then sent back, even though his relatives had been on their way to collect them.

Kapoor explained the procedure through which remains are normally returned to family members back home, saying that the worker’s employer typically makes arrangements with cargo companies to repatriate bodies on cargo aircraft.

The employer applies for a No Objection Certificate from the Indian Embassy, which is granted once the Embassy ensures that all local formalities have been completed. The cargo company then applies for airport clearance, and the airline obtains approvals from the receiving airport.

“If airport protocols have changed, it means cargo companies have to be more careful about the clearance they’re getting,” Kapoor advised.

Additional costs
The ambassador added there may eventually be additional costs to repatriate the bodies but that it is first necessary to sort out the concerns.

The global coronavirus outbreak has spawned difficulties in repatriating mortal remains as a result of the travel restrictions imposed by countries. Remains of people dying from COVID-19 are not being sent back, but the caution surrounding the handling of bodies often affects the repatriation of those who succumb to other causes.

As Gulf News reported, Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan reached out to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday for intervention in bringing back the bodies of Keralites who have died in the Gulf from non-COVID-19 causes.

“I would like to draw your attention to the grievances received from Non-resident Keralites Associations (NRKs) in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries on the delay caused in bringing home the mortal remains of NRKs who had expired due to reasons other than the COVID-19 infection,” read the letter by the CM.

“It is learnt that a ‘clearance certificate’ from the Indian Embassies is required to process the application of bringing home the mortal remains of the dead. The Embassies are [further] insisting on the production of a no-objection certificate from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), New Delhi. To enable to bring back the bodies of the NRIs whose deaths occurred due to reasons other than COVID-19 infection, without necessary procedural hassles, I request your kind intervention,” Vijayan has requested.

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Agencies
July 28,2020

Dubai, Jul 28: Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB) (ADCB.AD) is letting go hundreds of employees, sources said, the latest in a round of lay-offs by regional banks as pressure mounts to cut costs amid lower oil prices and the coronavirus crisis.

The UAE’s third-biggest lender is laying off 400 employees, two sources familiar with the matter said, after it had committed to not cutting staff because of the crisis.

In a statement, a spokesman said ADCB had pursued efficiency over the last decade by managing out its lowest underachievers after regular reviews, while ensuring talent was deployed in high-growth areas, such as digital banking.

“A certain number of redundancies are therefore expected every year in the normal course of business,” the bank spokesman added.

The sources said the cuts would involve ADCB’s consumer business and several in top management were among those being let go. One source said the bank was looking to close 20 branches.

In March, ADCB had declared, “No employee will be made redundant during 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

UAE banks have been hit by government measures to rein in the spread of the virus, forcing many businesses to shut temporarily.

Last week, Dubai’s largest bank, Emirates NBD, reported a slump of 58% in profits. In June, sources told Reuters the bank started a new round of hundreds of lay-offs.

In May, ADCB reported a fall of 84% in first-quarter net profit as it took impairments of $292 million on debt exposure to troubled hospital operator NMC Health and payments group Finablr.

It was a major lender, with an exposure of about $981 million, to NMC Health, which went into administration this year after months of turmoil following questions over financial reporting.

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KT
April 14,2020

Dubai, Apr 14: Saudi Arabia reported 435 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 5369, the Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday.

According to the ministry of health the number of recoveries today are 84 cases, making total of recoveries in the kingdom 889.

The ministry also confirmed 8 deaths bringing the total number of deaths in the kingdom to 73.

Saudi Arabia imposed a 24-hour curfew and lockdown on the cities of Riyadh, Tabuk, Dammam, Dhahran and Hofuf and throughout the governorates of Jeddah, Taif, Qatif and Khobar. This week the curfew was extended until further notice.

Containment efforts
Saudi authorities are racing to contain an outbreak of coronavirus in the Islamic holy city of Mecca.

The total number of coronavirus cases reported in Mecca, home to 2 million people, reached 1,050 on Monday compared to 1,422 in the capital of Riyadh, a city more than three times the size. Mecca’s large number of undocumented immigrants and cramped housing for migrant workers have made it more difficult to slow the infection rate.

Saudi Arabia has reported one of the lowest rates of infection in the region, with around 5,000 cases in a population of over 30 million.

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