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Ajman , January 2 , 2026 : rivate schools in the Emirate of Ajman will resume classes on Monday following the end of the winter break, with nearly 95,000 male and female students returning to school.

Aisha Sultan Al Shamsi, Executive Director of the Ajman Private Education Affairs Office, affirmed that the winter break provided students and their families with additional time to rest and recharge, as well as opportunities for travel and participation in community and national events that help strengthen a sense of belonging and national identity.

She noted that private schools have completed all preparations to welcome students back, through educational and organisational plans designed to strike a balance between academic achievement and students’ mental well-being.

​V. Nandakumar Honoured as the Retail Professional of the Year at Retail Congress MENA 2025

Dubai, UAE – The Middle East Council of Shopping Centers & Retailers (MECSR) presented its Annual Top Retail Industry Awards at the Retail Congress MENA 2025 in Dubai, recognising outstanding leadership and excellence across the region’s retail sector.

One of the key honours of the evening’s awards, Retail Professional of the Year, was conferred on V. Nandakumar, Director – Global Marketing & Communications, LuLu Group International, in recognition of his long-standing contribution to the Middle East retail industry and his role in shaping contemporary retail marketing, communications, and brand leadership in the region.

The awards ceremony formed part of the MECSR Retail Congress, a flagship industry platform that convenes senior executives, retail groups, mall owners, developers, and solution providers to deliberate on sector trends, transformation, and sustainable growth. The Congress has established itself as one of the region’s most influential forums for recognising leadership and innovation in retail.

Commenting on the recognition, V. Nandakumar said “This recognition is particularly meaningful to me as it comes from the industry and its key stakeholders — peers whose work and leadership I deeply respect. It reflects the collective effort of the teams I have had the privilege to work with over the years. Retail is ultimately about people, and this award belongs to the wider LuLu family that continues to build trust through purpose-led growth.”

The Middle East Council of Shopping Centers & Retailers (MECSR) represents the collective interests of the region’s retail and shopping centre industry, bringing together leading retailers, developers, investors, and service providers. As the regional affiliate of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), MECSR connects the Middle East retail community with global insights, best practices, and international benchmarks, while driving research, advocacy, and knowledge-sharing across the sector.

With over 25 years at LuLu Group International, V. Nandakumar has been closely associated with the Group’s evolution into one of the Middle East’s most trusted and diversified retail organisations. In his current role, he oversees global marketing and communications across LuLu’s portfolio, spanning hypermarkets, shopping malls, hospitality, and allied businesses across the globe.

Over the years, Nandakumar has played a pivotal role in strengthening brand equity, leading large-scale retail and corporate campaigns, and advancing omnichannel and customer engagement strategies. He is widely recognised as one of the region’s leading marketing professionals, having been featured among the Top Marketing Leaders in the Middle East by Forbes Middle East and Khaleej Times, and is a regular speaker at prominent industry conferences and leadership forums.

The MECSR Retail Congress 2025 also recognised and honoured several organisations and leaders for excellence across key categories including Retailer of the Year, Shopping Centre of the Year, Sustainability Initiative of the Year, Retail Innovation, and Customer Experience Excellence, reflecting the depth and diversity of the region’s retail ecosystem.

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Dubai, UAE; December 15, 2025

A global webcast series – Globecast — that aims to promote inward investment to the UAE – One Way Ticket to Dubai – has been unveiled today at a press conference that will see millions of investors, professionals, entrepreneurs and business leaders listen and participate to boost foreign investment into the UAE economy and the real estate sector, which generated Dh3.6 trillion (US$982.28 billion) transactions in the last 7 years – averaging more than US$100 billion worth of sales and mortgage per annum.  

Real estate transactions value exceeded Dh8.4 billion (US$219 billion) in year-to-date this year, that reflects the emirate’s popularity among foreign high-networth individuals.

One Way Ticket to Dubai, the first Globecast series in the Middle East, will be produced and broadcast in eight different languages including English, Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Russian, Farsi and Urdu – to help attract more businessmen, professionals to move in to the UAE as well as attract increased foreign investment (FDI) that jumped 48 percent to US$45.6 billion (Dh167.6 billion) last year.

This surge secured the UAE a spot among the world’s top 10 destinations for FDI. The country’s strong performance was driven by a diverse range of sectors, including wholesale and retail trade, real estate, and finance. 

Inward investment into Dubai remains strong, with the inflow of an estimated Dh40.4 billion ($11 billion) FDI, a 62 percent increase when compared to the corresponding period in the previous year. The number of FDI projects surged by 28.7 percent in H1 2025 to 1,090, creating over 38,000 jobs and showing growth in various investment types like greenfield projects and new forms of investment. Key sectors include financial services, business services, software and IT, consumer products, and food and beverages. 

“One Way Ticket to Dubai represents a revolutionary approach to real estate market communication, the first of its kind globally,” says Binesh Babu Panicker, Founder, Co-Founder of Voxx Bridge Production, and a veteran journalist with 17 years of media experience in the UAE.

“It is a groundbreaking podcast series that sets a new standard for industry communication globally, combining expert analysis with compelling storytelling. It is a carefully-crafted platform to showcase Dubai’s real estate strengths, address misconceptions, and highlight the market’s unique advantages.

“It is also a strategic media initiative to redefine global perceptions of Dubai real estate market through authentic story-telling and insights. More than media content, it is a powerful tool for demonstrating Dubai’s regulatory excellence, market transparency, and global connectivity.”

The total value of investment into equities on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) in 2024 was approximately Dh107 billion (around US$29.1 billion) in total traded value. The market capitalisation of the DFM surged by 32 percent to reach Dh907 billion by the end of 2024.

At the end of 2024, the combined market cap of the Dubai and Abu Dhabi stock markets surpassed Dh3.9 trillion, compared to Dh3.65 trillion at the end of 2023.

Yafea Al Faraj, Real Estate Expert & Advisory Board Member of One Way Ticket to Dubai, says, “A land of opportunities, the UAE is a global magnet that attracts investment and investors. We want to reflect on the country’s unique positioning as the most attractive destination for business, investment, innovation as well as a very good place to live and raise families.

“One Way Ticket to Dubai will create greater awareness among global investors on various aspects of investing and re-settling to the UAE, where we will engage with businesses and high-professionals in meaningful conversation to pinpoint the opportunities from which they can benefit from.”

Global revenue in music, radio and podcasts market is projected to reach US$125.86 billion in 2025, according to Statista, a global market intelligence provider.

“In a global context, the most revenue will be generated the United States, estimated at US$50.46 billion in 2025. Within the Music, Radio & Podcasts market, the number of listeners is anticipated to reach 3.51 billion users by 2030,” it said.

In 2024, the GCC podcast market demonstrates high engagement, particularly in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Approximately 59 percent of adults in Saudi Arabia listen to more than one hour of podcasts per week. Some reports indicate this figure is closer to 60 percent of consumers who listen for an hour or more weekly. The total number of regular listeners in KSA is estimated to be over five million.

In the UAE, approximately 53 percent of adults listen to more than one hour of podcasts per week. Other reports suggest this number is around 57 percent of consumers who listen at least an hour per week. There are an estimated 1.3 million regular podcast listeners in the UAE. 

The Middle East and Africa region has one of the highest proportions of podcast listeners in the world, with these GCC countries being key players. The audience is typically young, educated, and tech-savvy, with a strong preference for local Arabic dialect content. 

One Way Ticket to Dubai is supported by Feesable Technologies, a fintech startup based in Dubai that builds embedded finance and debt capital management solutions. Feesable works with real estate brokers, agencies and developers, providing them with smart technology and financial solutions across the value chain.

Ali Yaakub, Founder & CEO of Feesable, says, “Real estate brokers are travelling the world telling the incredible growth story of this fine city and the region, bringing ever more people, families, businesses, and investors from the world over. We are proud to support this initiative not just because it brings more business to the region, but because it tells the story of the diverse people behind it.”

“Apart from these pain points, we work passionately with real estate brokers, homeowners, and investors on data literacy. I’m a firm believer that information and knowledge should be free and accessible. We’re lucky here to have data freely available from the DLD on Dubai Pulse about real estate market transactions and I’m simply making charts and maps that visualise what’s going on to make this information more accessible and easier to understand.”

One Way Ticket to Dubai is being developed by Voxx Bridge Production, a UAE-based futuristic media production house with a global vision. It is a creative and production-focused venture launching a pioneering concept for global audiences that blends cinematic storytelling, branded campaigns, and high-impact production services.

It’s vision is to set a new standard for emotionally intelligent, globally resonant production that feels both artisanal and scalable. It positions itself in developing premium, emotionally resonant work that bridges editorial insight with commercial storytelling for film, branded content, and experiential media.

Its core strengths include cross-disciplinary teams; editorial-to-production continuity; premium creative direction; operational rigour for scalable rollouts. Its offerings include concept-to-delivery production, branded short films, campaign ideation, editorial-led content strategy, and technical production management.