Dubai Travel Guide

U.S. Open finalist Andy Murray pulled out of the Dubai Tennis Championships today because of a viral infection.

The Scot has struggled with the infection since the Australian Open, which ended Feb. 1. The fourth-ranked men’s player told reporters during a tournament in Rotterdam two weeks ago he’d been on antibiotics. He was given more antibiotics last night by the tournament doctor following his straight-sets win over Arnaud Clement of France in the second round.

“That didn’t help too much,” Murray said in a televised interview. “Nothing works so far. I am going to take a few days off and may go home tomorrow.”

He was supposed to play Richard Gasquet, another Frenchman, in the next round. Murray is the fourth top-10 player to withdraw from the event. Australian Open champion Rafael Nadal isn’t in Dubai because of a knee injury while second-ranked Roger Federer cited a back injury for his absence.
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Dubai Islamic Bank’s (DIB) total assets as of December 31, 2008, stood at AED84.6 billion, up slightly compared to AED83.7 billion at the end of the same period in 2007.

Customer deposits increased 2% to reach AED66.4 billion in 2008, compared to AED65 billion in 2007.

DIB’s full-year results reflect total impairment provisions of AED521 million, including writedowns on its investment portfolio, and mark-to-market losses on equity investments of AED277 million.

Air India launched the first international commercial flights from Srinagar in Indian Kashmir on Saturday, a move it is hoped will boost tourism in the troubled Himalayan territory.

State-run Air India will operate weekly flights between the insurgency-hit city and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Previously the only international flights out of Srinagar were charter planes to take Kashmiri Muslims to Saudi Arabia during the Haj season.

Kashmir was a major tourist destination before 1989, when a dozen Islamic rebel groups kicked off an insurgency demanding Kashmir’s independence from India or its merger with neighboring Pakistan. The conflict has killed more than 68,000 people, mostly civilians.
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