Big thanks to HP for the great support to Climb for Cancer Project – and for hosting a fab Iftar at Mazina in The Address, Dubai Marina titled, “An evening of giving with HP techies.”

Nizar Fakhoury, the brain behind the project receives the AED10,000 donation from HP.

I’m thankful to Nizar for giving me the opportunity to use my skills for a good cause.

More photos here: Official HP and Me | My Facebook Album

Khaleej Times reported:

A cargo plane crashed on a busy highway in Dubai on Friday, setting some cars on fire, Al Arabiya television reported.

A cargo plane crashed on a busy highway in Dubai on Friday, setting some cars on fire, Dubai police said.

Col. Omer Al shamsi, Deputy Director of Operations Room of Dubai Police said the cargo plane belonging to UPS crashed 2 minutes after taking off from Dubai International Airport. The plane crashed near the Military Campus on Emirates Road and all the crewmen are reported died.

source

I really can’t believe it. Now, I’ve won something again but this time, not for me. It’s for a very very good cause. I nominated the Climb for Cancer Project to HP and Me Facebook Contest and we’ve won AED 10,000 to add to the funds for treatment of 2 cancer-stricken kids. It’s just almost 2 weeks to go before the most dedicated climbers begin their mission to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro to continue to raise funds for the 2 kids. What a great surprise this is, HP. Thank you so much for the generous support.

From Climb for Cancer website:
“On September 10th, 2010, six climbers will be traveling to Tanzania to climb the world’s tallest freestanding mountain, Mt. Kilimanjaro. At 5,895 meters above sea level, Mt. Kilimanjaro holds the record as Africa’s highest peak. The purpose of our climb is to raise money for children suffering from cancer. In particular, we would like to help two underprivileged pediatric patients currently being treated at the King Hussein Cancer Center in Amman, Jordan.“

And… we’re going to an Iftar at Mazina in The Address, Dubai Marina for the awarding. Awesome!

Aramex, the global logistics and transportation solutions provider, today announced the launch of “Support Pakistan”, a disaster relief campaign in the UAE. In partnership with Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC), its subsidiary Emirates Petroleum Products Company (EPPCO) and Volunteers in Dubai (V.I.D), Aramex will collect donations and extend logistics support to deliver aid to areas of Pakistan affected by the country’s devastating floods, described by the United Nations as the “greatest humanitarian crisis in recent history.”

ENOC/EPPCO is partnering with Aramex to support this initiative by providing collection points at major service stations across the UAE from August 26 to September 5, 2010. New clothes, blankets, tinned and packed foods, kerosene stoves and lamps, torches and any type of corrugated sheet (plastic, fiber or steel) for temporary roofing are all welcome at Aramex collection points.

Saeed Abdullah Khoory, ENOC Group Chief Executive said, “We are delighted to provide support to the Aramex “Support Pakistan” campaign, which complements our corporate social responsibility program and strong tradition of partnering in humanitarian initiatives across the world. Through collective action, each member of society can contribute towards lessening the suffering of the people of Pakistan.”
“Support Pakistan” is also being carried out in partnership with Volunteer in Dubai (V.I.D.), an initiative aimed at supporting a wide range of activities by matching individual and corporate volunteers with those most in need of their support.

“With approximately 20 million people affected by these floods, there is an urgent need to extend support to the people of Pakistan. In line with its commitment to support communities in such difficult times, Aramex will use its logistics expertise and network to facilitate the collection and transportation of aid to the people of Pakistan,” said Raji Hattar, Aramex Chief Sustainability Officer.

Traditionally, Aramex’s logistics network has helped people in disaster-afflicted areas around the world, including in Pakistan, where the company earlier supplied aid to those affected by the country’s 2005 earthquake. More recently, Aramex initiated the “Deliver Hope to Gaza” relief campaign in 2008 and 2009.

For a full list of drop-off locations, donations accepted, and ways to volunteer please visit: www.aramex.org or call +971 600 544000.

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Rumors have been flying around that Mission Impossible 4 starring Tom Cruise, could be filmed in the futuristic emirate of Dubai. Emirates 24/7 website reported that some excutives of Paramount Pictures are indeed in Dubai to meet with authorities (from Dubai Studio City) to discuss filming parts of the highly touted movie. In fact, some Paramount staff are already scouting for ideal locations to shoot.

So far, only 2 notable Hollywood movies were successful in filming in Dubai. These are “Syriana” and “The Kingdom”. Last year, the ban on ‘Sex and the City’ shooting in Dubai has created a ripple of debate. The literal word “Sex” in the title was the rumored cause of the ban. 

Other films that initially planned to shoot in Dubai but were unsuccessful, “Body of Lies” and “The A-Team.”

We’ll keep an eye on this rumor if it will ever become a fact.

Hard Rock Café Dubai will re-open as a new 26,500 square-foot restaurant at the Intercontinental Hotel end, Dubai Creek side of the DFC with a large indoor music stage and enough room to comfortably host 300 patrons, Gulf News reported.

The new Hard Rock Cafe Dubai (artist’ rendition above) will be the largest Hard Rock Café outside of North America which will also feature the largest Hard Rock Shop in the world. Hard Rock International will build the tallest ornamental guitar in the world reaching a height of 118 feet, fronting Dubai Festival City. Iconic!

From The Sun website:

Tessa Meager, 28, was wearing a kaftan and white shorts while shopping with 10 year old, daughter Helen at Dubai Mall when a local woman stopped her, pointed to her clothes, began screaming “Respect!” and called security staff.

The distraught mum – on holiday – was then arrested by police in front of the bewildered girl. And she was subjected to a three-day ordeal during which she learned the woman claimed she had stripped naked in the plush Dubai Mall.
Mature law student Tessa was charged with “outraging public decency” following a police interrogation she did not understand.

She was finally brought before a prosecutor on Wednesday for another hour-long grilling conducted entirely in Arabic.

But the charge was dropped when CCTV pictures from the mall exposed the Arab woman’s claims as a pack of lies.

Tessa, of Morden, South London, said: “This woman took exception to me and I have no idea why.

“She started shouting at me. She was pointing at my clothes screaming, ‘Respect!’

“I tried to explain I had just been swimming. I showed her the top of the bikini I had on under my kaftan but this seemed to annoy her even more.

“She said I was disrespecting her faith.

“I don’t know why I was targeted. About 95 per cent of the people in the mall were wearing less than me.

“I’m amazed she was believed by the police.

“She told them I took everything off and was standing in the mall with no clothes on.”

Read more at The Sun website