Category: Life & Style

Dubai’s real estate market experienced a staggering surge in apartment prices in August 2023, marking the most significant increase in nearly ten years. This surge continues to fuel the city’s transformation into one of the world’s most dynamic and competitive housing markets.

The recent housing boom in Dubai, primarily driven by larger single-family homes until now, is now extending its influence to apartment prices. Apartments constitute approximately 85% of the available housing supply in this bustling Middle East hub for business and tourism.

Prices for apartments rose 20% on average in the year through August, marking the best performance since November 2014, according to real estate adviser CBRE Group Inc. The gains outpaced price increases of 17.3% for single family homes, known locally as villas, said CBRE.

Dubai’s real estate revival comes after enduring a seven-year downturn. This resurgence can be attributed to several factors, including an influx of newcomers. Dubai has become an attractive destination for crypto millionaires, banking professionals relocating from Asia, and wealthy Russians seeking to safeguard their assets. Furthermore, the government has introduced a series of reforms, such as relaxing visa regulations and introducing visas tailored for job seekers and freelancers.

While single-family home prices rebounded strongly from pandemic-induced lows, the recovery for apartment prices had been somewhat slower. On average, apartment prices remain 9.6% below their peak in 2014, whereas larger house prices have surged by 8.7%, as reported by CBRE.

Delhi Metro has increased the operational speed of Metro trains on the Airport Express Line to 120 kmph starting September 18. With this, the total journey from New Delhi station to newly-built Yashobhoomi Dwarka Sector 25 station will take about 21 minutes.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a metro ride to reach the new station at Dwarka Sector-25. The train he travelled in moved at 120 kmph, leading to the formal start of services with enhanced speed on the Airport Express Line. PM Modi on September 18 also inaugurated the first phase of YashoBhoomi, the India International Convention and Expo Centre (IICC) in Dwarka.

Earlier, the travel time between New Delhi and Dwarka Sector 21 was approximately 22 minutes, which now has been reduced to around 19 minutes between these two stations. The approximate travel time between New Delhi and Terminal 3 of the Delhi Airport will be about 15 minutes and 30 seconds. Earlier, it was a little more than 18 minutes.

Delhi Metro had increased the operational speed of its trains on the Airport Express Line from 90 kmph to 100 kmph on March 22 this year, the officials said. The speed of the trains was further increased to 110 kmph on June 22, which was in turn increased to 120 kmph on Sunday.

OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman has become the first person to get Indonesia’s Golden Visa. The ChatGPT creator would now enjoy priority security screening at Indonesian airports, longer stay periods in the country, and easier entry and exit processes, among other perks.

Indonesiahas launched the golden visa program to attract foreign investment. The 10-year visa has been issued to Altman as he has an international reputation and may bring benefits to the country, said the country’s immigration office.

Introduced on September 2 to boost economic development, the new visa allows foreigners who make substantial investments in the country to remain for between five and 10 years. As an individual investor looking to get an Indonesia Golden Visa, one has to start a business in Indonesia by investing US$ 2,500,000 (about Rp. 38 billion) in order to be permitted to stay for 5 years. Meanwhile, a 10-year stay permit requires an investment of US$ 5,000,000 (or roughly Rp 76 billion).

There is also the option of obtaining an Indonesia Golden Visa without starting a business. For foreign investors who do not intend to open a business in Indonesia, there are different requirements.

As wildfires raged across the state of Louisiana in August, a remarkable meteorological phenomenon was captured on camera in Sabine Parish, a firenado. This event occurred amidst the ongoing wildfires in Northwest Louisiana on August 25.

A firenado is short for fire tornado. It is a rare weather occurrence caused by the combination of scorching air from a wildfire and swirling wind gusts moving in different directions.

As statewide fires continued to burn Louisiana, the video footage of Sabine Parish’s wildfires showing a rare weather phenomenon surfaced. Officials of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Department expressed grave concerns about the continuous wildfires and the risks they pose to people. A primary concern of the officials was the rising trend of residents trying to view the fires up close, including sending drones into the affected areas to capture images.

Louisiana, which has been contending with extreme summer heat and drought, saw an unprecedented 441 wildfires in August, officials said. Most of southwest Louisiana has been classified by the US Drought Monitor as being in “exceptional drought.” Though wildfires take place in the state annually, these aren’t typically as frequent or as big as they have been this year.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has set up the General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority (GCGRA) as a federal authority to introduce a world-leading regulatory framework for a national lottery and commercial gaming. Globally respected regulator Kevin Mullally has been appointed as CEO. He has over 30 years of experience in national and international gaming regulation to the GCGRA.

The GCGRA is led by a team of internationally credentialed leaders, all with proven track records and a deep understanding of global best practices in regulating and maintaining an effective, safe, and responsible gaming industry.

The GCGRA will create a socially responsible and well-regulated gaming environment, ensuring that all participants adhere to strict guidelines and comply with the highest standards. It will coordinate regulatory activities, manage licensing nationally and facilitate unlocking the economic potential of commercial gaming responsibly.

In 2022, the UAE’s northern-most emirate Ras al-Khaimah announced a multibillion-dollar deal with Las Vegas-based casino giant Wynn Resorts. Wynn has described the project as involving the subsequent management of an integrated resort. A term born in Singapore, integrated resort refers to a hotel that includes a casino and other amenities.

The global environmental non-profit, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has set up a base in Singapore, in a boost to the country’s ambitions of becoming a green finance hub.

Headquartered in the United States, TNC aims to raise the supply of high-quality carbon credits in the region and unlock more conservation projects in Southeast Asia. These credits are permits that companies or countries can buy to offset their greenhouse gas emissions. For example, a company can buy carbon credits from a forest conservation project in Indonesia. Each credit represents one tonne of emissions.

In a media interview, TNC’s Singapore Country Director Thomas Brzostowski said that many companies and investors in Singapore want access to high-quality credits, but there’s a shortage. He added that only about 16% of global impact investments flow into the Asia-Pacific.

The Southeast Asia Green Economy 2023 report, published in June, said that an estimated $400 billion (S$542 billion) of investments in nature are needed to meet the region’s 2030 climate goals.

Southeast Asia needs to expedite its efforts to make the protection and restoration of nature economically competitive with exploitation, such as logging, and use market-based measures to put a price on nature and its carbon potential, the report said.

TNC has undertaken conservation projects in more than 70 countries and territories. It has protected more than 50 million hectares of land. It recently joined forces with seven other conservation-related organisations to form the South-east Asia Climate and Nature-based Solutions (Scene) Coalition, which aims to drive investments and scale up nature-based solutions in the region.

The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) of the United Arab Emirates ran a back-to-school health awareness campaign from August 17 to 31 to equip parents and students with insights into the significance of adopting healthy lifestyles as they return to school. The campaign emphasises the benefits of physical activity, a balanced diet, regulated sleep patterns, and controlled electronic screen time.

Under the campaign, six community events were held at Lulu Hypermarkets. Additionally, an exclusive awareness session was organised specifically for MoHAP employees. The events involved a series of activities, including healthy cooking workshops for parents and children, guided by expert chefs, where they learned how to prepare nutritious school meals.

Nutritionists provided participants with tips on how to preserve food in school lunch bags during prolonged school hours. They also introduced parents to the 5,210 health concept, which emphasises five daily servings of fruits and vegetables, an hour of physical activity, limiting screen time to less than 2 hours, and avoiding sugary and energy drinks. The events also featured discussions with health educators on packing a balanced school lunch, body mass index (BMI) screenings, health counselling for parents, and engaging quizzes.

The campaign, a synergised effort with governmental and private entities, fell under the ‘Health-Promoting Schools’ initiative launched by the World Health Organisation and UNESCO to holistically enhance the health and well-being of students.

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO), on August 18 praised India for advancing health coverage and schemes. Speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the G20 Health Ministers’ Meeting, held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat from August 17 to 19, he commended India for its steps in advancing Universal Health Coverage and the Ayushman Bharat scheme, which is the world’s largest health assurance initiative.

The WHO Chief also recalled his visit to a Health and Wellness Centre in Gandhinagar and lauded the services being provided to 1,000 households by the centre. He hailed the telemedicine facilities provided in Gujarat and thanked India’s G20 Presidency for the Global Digital Health Initiative, which was launched on August 19.

More than 70 delegates from different countries participated in the G20 Health Ministers’ meeting. Its focus was on three key priorities of the G20 Health Track, including health emergencies prevention, preparedness and response with a focus on antimicrobial resistance and One Health framework; strengthening cooperation in the pharmaceutical sector with a focus on access and availability to safe, effective, quality and affordable medical countermeasures (vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics); and digital health innovations and solutions to aid universal health coverage and improve healthcare service delivery.

Bhutan has emerged as a country with impressive net zero emissions. It has not only curbed its carbon footprints, but has also transformed into a carbon sink, absorbing more carbon dioxide (CO2) than releasing, said a report on August 15.

In addition to Bhutan, Comoros, situated in the Indian Ocean and Gabon in Central Africa have managed to control their carbon emissions. Comoros accomplished the feat by conscientiously managing its agricultural, fishing, and livestock sectors, and implementing rigorous environmental safeguards.

Bhutan is one among the 196 nations that committed to the Paris Agreement during the UN Climate Change Conference focused on restricting global temperature increases to 1.5 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Experts suggest that Bhutan’s population of 8,00,000 and forest coverage of 70% to have played a major role in accomplishing the status of net zero emissions, besides its initiatives towards sustainability. The nation prioritises sustainable organic farming and forestry practices, relies on hydropower, and prudently manages its main economic driver, tourism. It also charges a $200 sustainable development fee per day to tourists. The nation has also embarked on pilot projects that explore sustainable timber construction, showcasing innovative solutions.

Microscopic plastic particles have been traced in the fats and lungs of two-thirds of marine mammals in a recent study on ocean microplastics. The presence of polymer particles and fibers in these animals suggests that microplastics can travel out of the digestive tract and lodge in the tissues of the animals. Plastic particles identified in tissues ranged on average from 198 microns to 537 microns.

Researchers said that these microplastics pose an extra burden in addition to other challenges the marine mammals face, such as climate change, pollution, and noise. While scientists have yet to determine the exact harms these embedded microplastics might cause to these animals, plastics have been implicated by other studies as possible hormone mimics and endocrine disruptors.

The samples in this study were acquired from 32 stranded or subsistence-harvested animals between 2000 and 2021 in Alaska, California and North Carolina. Twelve species are represented in the data, including one bearded seal which also had plastic in its tissues.

The details of the study done by a graduate student at the Duke University Marine Lab will be carried in the October 15 edition of Environmental Pollution.