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Dubai real estate brokers earn Dh1.8b in commission
Dubai real estate brokers earn Dh1.8b in commission Staff Report / 26 January 2014 Total real estate sales for 2013 accounted for Dh93.2 billion Buoyant property sector helped earned Dubai real estate brokers Dh1.8 billion in commission last year, the Dubai Land Department (DLD) revealed in a statement on Saturday. The figure encompasses the amount of commission earned by property brokers registered in the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera), DLD’s regulatory arm, with the sum representing two per cent of the total value of recorded deals. “We have seen these high commissions because of the increased activity in the real estate market and in other economic sectors across Dubai,” said Yousif Al Hashimi, deputy chief executive officer of Rera. “The impressive figure is mainly due to the optimistic atmosphere among investors, particularly over the past few months period ….. that saw many regulatory initiatives launched by DLD and also witnessed Dubai’s winning bid to host Expo 2020,” he added. A recent report issued by DLD revealed that the total real estate sales for 2013 reached Dh93.2 billion, with transactions comprising all sales operations, such as selling usufruct, registering deferred sales and registering land addition by sale. The figure was calculated from the recorded buying and selling of different types of real estate units, including apartments, hotels and commercial offices in freehold areas. “We are keen to follow the highest standards of quality in order to guarantee the rights of all dealers in the market, as well as ensuring the implementation of transactions in an easy, smooth and accurate way,” said Al Hashimi. “We are able to achieve this by tracking all activities through our comprehensive database, which records all real estate activities across the emirate,” he added. Al Hashimi reiterated that no individual or company is permitted to work in real estate brokerage unless they are officially registered with Rera, pursuant to Regulation No 85 issued in 2006. This mandatory requirement identifies the names of individuals and companies engaged in property brokerage and records the rights and responsibilities of all stakeholders in the market. This stipulation, he said, is essential to ensure maximum transparency and competitiveness within Dubai’s property sector, as well contributing significantly to DLD’s efforts to be the first choice global real estate environment for attracting investment. — abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Heritage Village: Reviving a national legacy
Heritage Village: Reviving a national legacy Sudeshna Sarkar / 27 January 2014 The Heritage Village is a brainchild of the Hamdan bin Mohammed Heritage Center that adds a new dimension to the Global Village. IGNORING A sudden downpour that has created puddles difficult to navigate and a sharp nip in the air, Hanifa Qureshi has come to the Global Village from Abu Dhabi chasing a hope. As her elder daughter Maria pushes her wheelchair, manoeuvring through the crowds and slush, and the younger, Sophia, struggles to keep an umbrella over the heads of all three, the 64-year-old matriarch scans the passing stalls anxiously to check if they are close to their destination. It’s a person rather than a pavilion that the trio is searching for. They want to meet Fatima Essa, one of the top-notch practitioners of traditional herbal medicine. In an initiative that adds value to the festival, Essa is available for chats with visitors, offering health tips. Hanifa Qureshi suffers from severe gout and friends who have consulted Essa with satisfying results have urged her to try out a traditional cure. Fatima Essa sits in a traditional hut in an area known as the Heritage Village. Though the Global Village, Dubai’s unique annual tourism and cultural event, was launched in 1997, the Heritage Village is a new initiative started this year. It is the brainchild of the Hamdan bin Mohammed Heritage Center that was founded by Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai, in April 2013 to promote the Emirati national heritage, especially among the youth. “The Global Village has pavilions representing different countries,” says Sumaya Saeed Khalfan, marketing and corporate communication director at the centre. “We wanted to put up something that would showcase traditional life in the UAE as well as the region. There is a heritage village in Deira; we thought we would build another one at the Global Village. “One of the most important parts of a nation’s heritage is its people. So the Heritage Village brings you people who represent traditional arts and skills. We don’t want visitors to only hear of heritage or traditional lifestyle. We want them to experience it from people who know it firsthand.” The little clusters in the Heritage Village represent different kinds of traditional architecture. They were all built when the event started. Visitors admire the Saffa house, the hardy residence built of stone for mountain areas. A little farther is the Bait Al Sha’ar, the Bedouin shelter made of sheep’s wool. Three authentic Bedouins sit chatting at the shelter and visitors can walk in and share a cuppa with them. Another exhibit is the Kirin tent, built from palm leaves and supported by poles. Once found near the coast, now it could be a permanent exhibit to remind visitors of the resourcefulness of the traditional way of life. Besides the traditional architecture, artefacts and people, Heritage Village is also showcasing the fauna associated with the Arab way of life. Two Arabian horses stand patiently nearby. In the next enclosure a billy goat rears up on its hind legs, trying to cadge treats from passersby. But the most arresting animals are the two camels rigged up in an eye-catching gear. These are no ordinary beasts but celebrities in their own rights. Ghaiman and Dhafar have now become legends, taking part in Yemeni Odysseus Ahmed Al Qasimi’s epic 40,000 km trip to Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia. Al Qasimi has brought them back to Dubai as a thanksgiving gift for Shaikh Hamdan since the Hamdan bin Mohammed Heritage Center sponsored his last trip to Africa. Perhaps the most eloquent tribute to the Emirati’s pride in his country is the replica of the Union House, the history-making site where on December 2, 1971 the treaty to establish the Arab world’s first federation of states, the United Arab Emirates, was signed. “The Union House was the place where the UAE dream came true,” says Khalfan. “We wanted to show people that part of our history.” Though a replica, the “Union House” at the Heritage Village will remain a centre of nationalist activities as long as the Global Village continues. On November 6, the UAE Flag Day was celebrated here, National Day on December 2, and on January 4 the special occasion when His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum became the Ruler of Dubai eight years ago. sudeshna@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
No hint of compromise in Syria peace talks
No hint of compromise in Syria peace talks (AFP) / 23 January 2014 UN leader Ban Ki-moon urged Syrian regime and opposition to finally work together at the table. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon greets UAE Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Montreux on Wednesday. — Reuters Syria’s peace conference moved into a second day on Thursday with the warring sides showing no willingness to compromise as global powers seek to engineer head-to-head talks on ending the bloodshed. The biggest push yet to end the conflict was marked by fiery exchanges on day one on Wednesday as the regime and the opposition clashed over President Bashar Al Assad’s fate at the UN meeting in Switzerland. Expectations are very low for a breakthrough at the conference, but diplomats believe that simply bringing the two sides together for the first time is a mark of some progress and could be an important first step. After a day of formal speeches set to be followed this week by talks involving the two sides, UN leader Ban Ki-moon urged Syria’s regime and opposition to finally work together at the table. “The world wants an urgent end to the conflict,” Ban said in a closing press conference at the talks in the Swiss town of Montreux on Wednesday. “Enough is enough, the time has to come to negotiate.” US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attend the opening speech of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon during peace talks in Montreux. AP But official statements made by the delegations gave no hint of compromise, as the two sides met on the shores of Lake Geneva for the first time since the conflict erupted in March 2011. Branding the opposition “traitors” and foreign agents, Syrian officials insisted Assad would not give up power, while the opposition said he must step down and face trial. “Assad will not go,” Syrian Information Minister Omran Al Zohbi said on the sidelines of the conference. In his speech, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al Moallem surprised observers with a vehement attack on the opposition that went on long beyond the allotted time of less than 10 minutes, forcing Ban to repeatedly ask him to wrap it up. US Secretary of State John Kerry talks to UAE Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Montreux on Wednesday. — AP “They (the opposition) claim to represent the Syrian people. If you want to speak in the name of the Syrian people, you should not be traitors to the Syrian people, agents in the pay of enemies of the Syrian people,” Moallem said. Ahmad Al Jarba, the head of the opposition Syrian National Coalition, called on the regime to “immediately” sign a deal reached at the last peace conference in Geneva in 2012 setting out “the transfer of powers from Assad, including for the army and security, to a transition government”. Al Jarba said that would be “the preamble to Bashar Al Assad’s resignation and his trial alongside all the criminals of his regime”. Leading a series of sharp US accusations against the Syrian regime, Secretary of State John Kerry insisted Assad could not be part of any transitional government. “There is no way, not possible in the imagination, that the man who has led the brutal response to his own people could regain legitimacy to govern,” Kerry said. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Al Moallem leads his delegation during a plenary session of a peace conference on Syria. – AP US officials also slammed the Syrian delegation for its incendiary remarks. “Instead of laying out a positive vision for the future of Syria that is diverse, inclusive and respectful of the rights of all, the Syrian regime chose inflammatory rhetoric,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius accused the regime of lowering the tone of the discussions, saying its delegation was the only one that was “deaf and blind”. “The situation is very difficult, we couldn’t expect a bed of roses,” Fabius said. At his closing press conference, Kerry said Washington was also pursuing “different avenues” to resolve the conflict alongside peace talks, including “augmented support to the opposition”. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned the talks will “not be simple, they will not be quick” but urged both sides to seize a “historic opportunity”. About 40 nations and international bodies were gathered, but no direct talks are expected until possibly Friday — when opposition and regime delegations will meet in Geneva for negotiations that officials have said could last seven to 10 days. The UN Special Representative Lakhdar Brahimi, centre, attends the start of the Syrian peace talks in Montreux, Switzerland. – AP The UN-Arab League envoy for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, told the closing press conference he would meet on Thursday with both sides to discuss the next step in negotiations. “Tomorrow I am going to meet them separately and see how best we can move forward,” Brahimi said. “Do we go straight into one room and start discussing or do we talk a little bit more separately?… I don’t know yet.” Erupting after the regime cracked down on protests inspired by the Arab Spring, the civil war has claimed more than 130,000 lives and forced millions from the homes. Recent months have seen the conflict settle into a brutal stalemate — with the death toll rising but neither camp making decisive gains. With no one ready for serious concessions, world powers will be looking for short-term deals to keep the process moving forward, including on localised ceasefires, freer humanitarian access and prisoner exchanges. Brahimi said he “had indications” from both sides that they were willing discuss these issues. A TV grab from a United Nation’s UNTV broadcast, shows Amhad Al Jarba holding up an image of alleged opposition torture victims, during the Syrian peace talks in Montreux. AFP/UNTV Notably absent from the table was Iran, after Ban reversed a last-minute invitation when the opposition said it would boycott if Tehran took part. There were stark reminders of the conflict’s impact in the run-up to the talks, with continued fighting on the ground and new evidence in a report alleging that Assad’s forces have systematically killed and tortured 11,000 people. The opposition called at the conference for an international inquiry into the allegations. “We have to stop this spiral of violence. We do call for an international inspection to visit places of detention and see the facts of torture that our citizens face every day,” Al Jarba said. For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
