Tag Archives: environment
Sharjah rents sizzle; Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah follow
Sharjah rents sizzle; Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah follow Issac John / 6 February 2014 Apartment rents in Sharjah jumped 33 per cent year-on-year while Ajman and Ras Al Khaimah witnessed respective 23 per cent and 18 per cent hikes in 2013. Despite a three-year freeze on hikes, residential rents recorded steep increases in Sharjah in 2013, in line with a general upswing felt across a resurgent UAE leasing market. A two-bedroom apartment at the Corniche now rents for up to Dh70,000. — KT file Apartment rents in Sharjah jumped 33 per cent year-on-year while Ajman and Ras Al Khaimah witnessed respective 23 per cent and 18 per cent hikes in 2013 amid vivid signs of a long-awaited resilience in the property sector, said analysts at Asteco, a real estate consultancy. “Our research shows that the rental law that was created to protect tenants from steep annual rent increases, is being circumvented by some landlords asking for additional fees for maintenance and extra parking spaces, to compensate for the three-year rent freeze stipulated in the rent law,” said John Stevens, managing director Asteco. In March 2013, the Sharjah Municipality warned landlords not to hike rents before the completion of three years in line with the tenancy law. In Sharjah’s popular Al Majaz, Al Qasimia, Al Nahda and Al Wahda areas, residential rents rose nearly 38 per cent in 2013, Asteco said. “Rental rates throughout Sharjah increased, on average, by eight per cent in the last quarter alone. A two-bedroom apartment in Corniche now rents for up to Dh70,000 per annum,” it said in a report. Ras Al Khaimah, Ajman and Fujairah also witnessed a fourth-quarter growth of up to six per cent. While the annual rent for a two-bedroom apartment in Ras Al Khaimah has gone up to Dh50,000 per annum, the cost of a similar property in either Fujairah or Ajman is up to Dh45,000. The steepest increases of 2013 were recorded in Dubai with rents on average surging to between 50 and 60 per cent across all residential apartments and villas. While Dubai’s apartment rents jumped by almost 50 per cent, villa rents rose by 20 per cent, Asteco said. Prices of Dubai property also rose by up to 60 per cent in prime residential developments, but current price level is still 21 per cent lower than 2008 peak, Asteco said. However, in 2014, Dubai is forecast to witness slower growth in residential rental rates with the addition of 25,000 new units. The International Monetary Fund, raising its 2014 economic growth forecast for the UAE to 4.5 per cent, has observed a steep recovery in 2013 in real estate sector, with home prices in Dubai having increased rapidly in some areas. Knight Frank said in its Prime Global Forecast that Dubai’s real estate market would be the world’s top performer in 2014, building on the previous year’s rapid price growth. It predicted a price growth of between 10 and 15 per cent this year in Dubai. In Abu Dhabi, prime residential rents rose on average by 17 per cent during 2013 amid an eight per cent surge in the last quarter, partly driven by the removal of the five per cent annual rent cap. According to Jones Lang LaSalle, property prices in Abu Dhabi rose by up to 25 per cent last year but the significant gains were limited to prime projects. issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
American cyclist Phinney makes history in Dubai
American cyclist Phinney makes history in Dubai Adur Pradeep / 6 February 2014 World champion Tony Martin finishes fourth behind Olympic winner Lasse Norman Hansen BMC Racing Team’s Taylor Phinney of US on his way to victory in Dubai on Wednesday. — KT photo by Rahul Gajjar It was a historic moment for Dubai and Taylor Phinney on Wednesday. The American rode into cycling’s history books by winning the first stage on the inaugural Dubai Tour. Phinney’s stunning time trial helped him being the first ever recipient of the Dubai Tour’s blue jersey. Phinney, a former under-23 world time trial champion, averaged 50.29km/h in the 9.9km time trial to set a winning time of 12’03”, and guided his team BMC Racing one-two with team-mate Britain’s Steve Cummings finishing second. An excited Phinney (@taylorphinney) tweeted: “Hey that feels good! Huge honor to win the first stage here at @TourOfDubai. Thank you BMC for believing in me, and also for the fast bike!!” The first stage, named ‘The Down Town stage’ – the individual time trial – was held within the new city. World champion Tony Martin, who is competing in his first race after surgery in the winter, finished fourth, behind Garmin-Sharp’s Lasse Norman Hansen, winner of the 2012 Olympic omnium gold. Cummings also set an impressive time of 12’17, giving BMC a dream start. World number one Joaquim Rodriguez of Katusha, completed the course in 13’40”. “I thought I was going to beat my record of watts, I reached 490. I knew I was already in good condition as I’d worked well over the winter,” said. “If there’s an event that’s best for me, it’s anything around 12 minutes and below. I haven’t had many opportunities to ride short time trials since I’ve been pro — they seem to be phasing out short time trials and Prologues — so I was really happy when this course came out. It means a lot to win today,” Phinney said. “I’ve been thinking about this race since they came out with the race route weeks ago. I knew there would be some big names here. Specifically, Tony Martin is good in any time trial. especially on a road bike, so I’m overjoyed and relieved that I have won,” the 23-year-old said. While elaborating his strategy for the opening race, he said: “I decided to go early because of the weather report. It looked like the wind was going to build up. I hope it was the same conditions for everyone, but I don’t know. You want everyone to go at the same time, but it’s not easy when there are 125 of you.” Phinney, who claimed second place in an Argentine season warm-up last month, was quite happy with the start he got in Dubai. “After a disappointing 2013, I’ve had a good off-season. I’m fresh mentally and physically but I’ve also been training a lot. The team has a different approach this year: all the riders have individual goals, and I’m a goal-setting-type person, so I like that. Today was a big goal for me. I’m happy with the way my Dubai Tour has started.” But he is also quite aware about the challenges ahead. “The win is a big confidence booster for me. I thought I knew what I was capable of on a course like this, but I exceeded my expectations today. I haven’t won the Dubai Tour yet. There are a lot of variables in this race: wind, climbs on St 3, more wind on St 4. All I can do is take it day by day. There’s some strong competition here, but BMC has a good team, we have also Steve Cummings who is strong and in a good position, so I’m excited. It’s a short race but it’s going to be intense. A lot of things can happen over the next couple of days, we just have to stay calm, we have a good chance.” Mark Cavendish is among the riders taking part in the four-day race, which continues on Thursday with a 122km ride from Dubai to Palm Jumeirah. The second stage will cover a total of 122km, finishing at Palm Jumeirah on Thursday. The second stage, named ‘The Sport Stage’ runs through the area with the most important sports building in Dubai, including Hippodrome, the Olympic pool, the Al Qudra cycling path, the Autodrome and the amazing Golf Club. The third stage, the longest of the race at 162km, will go outside the city and through the desert to finish in Hatta. This stage will be called ‘The Nature Stage’. The fourth and final stage – 124km in length – will cross the old part of the city, passing alongside two of the most iconic Dubai buildings: the Burj Al Arab and the Burj Khalifa. This stage is known as ‘The Old Dubai Stage’. – pradeep@khaleejtimes.com Dubai Tour: On the right track The Dubai Tour first-stage got off to an overwhelming start on Wednesday afternoon. Khaleej Times photographers Juidin Bernarrd and Rahul Gajjar, along with agencies, capture some of the spectacular moments Italian cyclist Eugenio Alafaci, of Trek Factory Racing Team, rides past the Burj Al Khalifa. AFP Peter Velits, of BMC Racing Team negotiates a bend. AFP Evan Huffman, of Team Astana, during the 10 km Dubai Tour at Downtown Dubai. – KT photo by Juidin Bernarrd Fans cheers as Martin Tony of Team Omega Pharma-Quick Step nears the finish point at the DWTC.- KT photo by Rahul Gajjar Kittel Marcel of Giant-Shimano in action. KT photo by Rahul Gajjar A fan with Dinosaurs mask watches a cyclist go past. Ramunas Navardauskas of Team Garmin Sharp pedals on. – KT photo by Juidin Bernarrd Mark Cavendish, former World Champion, in action at Downtown Dubai. KT photo by Juidin Bernarrd For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
United States says Iran ‘not open for business’
United States says Iran ‘not open for business’ (AFP) / 5 February 2014 United States warns the growing number of business delegations traveling to Iran that sweeping sanctions remained in place. US officials declared on Tuesday that Iran is “not open for business” and vowed to scrutinise companies heading to the Islamic republic since it entered a temporary nuclear agreement. Testifying before skeptical lawmakers, President Barack Obama’s administration detailed initial sanctions relief to Iran, including the transfer of $550 million in frozen oil revenues as part of a six-month nuclear agreement. But Wendy Sherman, who is spearheading the diplomacy with Tehran, said that the United States was warning the growing number of business delegations traveling to Iran that sweeping sanctions remained in place. “Tehran is not open for business because our sanctions relief is quite temporary, quite limited and quite targeted,” Sherman, the under secretary of state for political affairs, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “It doesn’t matter whether the countries are friend or foe — if they evade our sanctions, we will sanction them,” she said. Sherman said that Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius about a major French delegation that is visiting Tehran, telling him that the trip — while from the private sector — was “not helpful” in sending the message that “it is not business as usual.” The delegation from the French employers’ union Medef is the largest from Europe since the November nuclear accord and includes representatives from major companies such as Total, Lafarge and Peugeot. Addressing the delegation, Deputy Oil Minister Ali Majedi encouraged foreign companies to return. David Cohen, the Treasury Department official in charge of the sanctions, acknowledged “a slight uptick” in Iran’s economic indicators but said that the United States would “vigorously” enforce sanctions. “The Iranian economy is operating at significantly reduced levels and will continue to massively underperform for the foreseeable future,” Cohen said. The November agreement between Iran and six powers — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States — required Tehran to scale back its nuclear activities in return for the limited sanctions relief. The Obama administration has presented the deal as a way to a peaceful solution to address longstanding concerns with Iran but has said that it is not taking for granted that diplomacy will succeed. Iran insists that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes. The clerical regime has particularly tense relations with Israel, whose Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has criticised the negotiated deal. The US Congress, where support for Israel runs deep, has looked at ramping up sanctions on Iran despite the accord, but Obama has threatened to veto any bid to derail the ongoing diplomacy. Senator Robert Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who has distanced himself from fellow Democrat Obama on Iran, demanded that any final deal with Tehran include the dismantling of “large portions of its nuclear infrastructure.” “We have placed our incredibly effective international sanctions regime on the line without clearly defining the parameters of what we expect in a final agreement,” Menendez said. Senator Jim Risch, a Republican, said that he was “disgusted” by the diplomatic effort. “I hope you will prove me dead wrong, but I don’t think (you) will, given the history of these people,” Risch said of Iran as he criticized its imprisonment of at least two US citizens. But Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat, said that sanctions brought Iran to negotiations, and it was now important to try “aggressive diplomacy.” Sanctions have “crippled the economy, but if anything it has also, by making Iran isolated, accelerated their path to try to develop nuclear technology for whatever purpose,” Kaine said. “So if we’re going to stop that nuclear programme and that quest for nuclear weapons, we have to either do it diplomatically or do it militarily,” he said. Kaine warned that he would support war if Iran pursued a nuclear weapon despite the deal. “We may have to undertake that significant step, but we shouldn’t do it if we leave diplomatic avenues unexplored,” he said. For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
