E-commerce giant Amazon rolled out Amazon Home Services – a marketplace for over 70 on-demand professional services – in the UAE on Tuesday.
Users can book services such as home cleaning, mobile repair, pet grooming, car washing, furniture assembly, home disinfection and furniture cleaning directly on Amazon.ae, the company said.
“We have been striving to constantly add more products and services for our customers,” Ronaldo Mouchawar, vice president of Amazon Middle East and North Africa, said.
The UAE is the first market in the Mena region where Amazon Home Services will be rolled out, the company said. It will initially only be available in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah.
Amazon's new offering allows customers to order services from local service providers with the same ease as purchasing products online, Mr Mouchawar said.
Customers can book home service appointments by searching for the desired service using the search bar or by visiting amazon.ae/services. They can also choose the date and time that fits their schedule.
Each service comes with a pre-defined scope of work and upfront pricing, so there will be no hidden fees after the service is completed, Amazon said.
The company said it is following “robust health and safety guidelines” for all Amazon Home Services providers.
“In addition to standard health and safety best practice measures, these guidelines also comply with Covid-19 related recommendations from authorities such as the Ministry of Health and Prevention, the Department of Economic Development in the UAE and the World Health Organisation,” it added.
The company said that the offerings of the UAE home services app Helpbit will also be available through its platform.
Amazon.ae was launched in May last year after it acquired home-grown e-commerce firm Souq for $580 million (Dh2.13 billion) in 2017.
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'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
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