Residents of a high-rise in Dubai are feeling the heat after the air conditioning in their homes was turned off due to a row over unpaid management fees.
Tenants and owners at Preatoni Tower in JLT said they have gone months without air conditioning.
Some have bought portable AC units and fans, but have complained to management as summer approaches. The building management said tenants would not receive cooling services until service fees were paid by unit owners.
Alex Nikolenko, a landlord, said he was up to date with his service charges – but that the whole block has to suffer due to those who haven't paid.
It's a shame because it's a good building and everything else is perfect but we need AC, especially in the hot summer months
“Considering that we are approaching the summer months and the temperature already hitting 35-40 degrees outside, it’s not a matter of money anymore, it’s a matter of health and safety," said the 36-year-old Russian, a technical manager.
“The bigger picture here is that if the building will stay without the AC, the tenants will be within their rights to stop their lease contracts and will leave the building.
"This will create a chain reaction, as owners will have no income to pay for the service charges. In the current economic situation, it will basically kill the building and all investments made by the apartment owners."
One tenant said she was contemplating leaving due to the dispute.
“I am going to have consider moving if this continues. It’s just ridiculous,” said Amabel Joy Marasigan, 36, who said her AC was cut off in October, a month after she moved into the property and has not been turned on again since.
“We were told by building management it was going to be fixed soon, but we are still without it.
"All of my neighbours that I have spoken to are also without AC."
She said many of the residents at the 46-storey building, which was previously known as Dubai Star, have been given portable AC units or fans by their landlords until the situation is resolved.
"I am just going to have to see how bad the temperatures get, but it is going to be really difficult to stay there throughout the summer," said Ms Marasigan, who works in digital marketing.
“It’s a shame because it’s a good building and everything else is perfect, but we need AC – especially in the hot summer months.”
Another resident said her AC had been cut off two weeks after moving in at the beginning of March.
“I was told it would be back on by the end of April, but there’s still no sign of it,” said beauty therapist Yin Moe Aye, 45, from Myanmar.
Hotel accountant Naing Oo said his AC was turned off in the middle of February and he has been using a fan to keep the temperature down since then.
“Everyone in the building is facing the same issue,” said the 37-year-old from Myanmar.
“There are a lot of problems and the residents are the ones being punished.”
A spokesman for the building's owners' association management company, Stratum, said it had been very clear the issue was in the hands of the owners and they had been told they needed to pay their outstanding bills.
He added the AC would not be turned on again until those bills were settled.
"If you are not paying your bill you will not get a service," the spokesman said.
Building developer Preatoni Real Estate also had its AC disconnected by cooling services provider Empower, as it is located in the same building, said Preatoni relationship manager Nazli Saidi.
“We have addressed the local authorities, urging them to help in resolving the issue which is causing us, as a developer and tenant of the building, as well as all the unit owners, great damages,” she said.
“We have been requested by the local authorities to have minimum involvement in the matter, since as per law 6/2019, Rera [Real Estate Regulatory Agency] and the OA [owners association] handle the management of the buildings without direct involvement of the developer.”
The National has also contacted Empower for a statement.
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Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Hidden killer
Sepsis arises when the body tries to fight an infection but damages its own tissue and organs in the process.
The World Health Organisation estimates it affects about 30 million people each year and that about six million die.
Of those about three million are newborns and 1.2 are young children.
Patients with septic shock must often have limbs amputated if clots in their limbs prevent blood flow, causing the limbs to die.
Campaigners say the condition is often diagnosed far too late by medical professionals and that many patients wait too long to seek treatment, confusing the symptoms with flu.
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The specs
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Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh117,059
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
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Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Sunday's fixtures
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RESULT
Everton 2 Huddersfield Town 0
Everton: Sigurdsson (47'), Calvert-Lewin (73')
Man of the Match: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton)
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
England v South Africa Test series:
First Test: at Lord's, England won by 211 runs
Second Test: at Trent Bridge, South Africa won by 340 runs
Third Test: at The Oval, July 27-31
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Romeo Akbar Walter
Rating: 2/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Robby Grewal
Cast: John Abraham, Mouni Roy, Jackie Shroff and Sikandar Kher
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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
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- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
The stats
Ship name: MSC Bellissima
Ship class: Meraviglia Class
Delivery date: February 27, 2019
Gross tonnage: 171,598 GT
Passenger capacity: 5,686
Crew members: 1,536
Number of cabins: 2,217
Length: 315.3 metres
Maximum speed: 22.7 knots (42kph)
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 374hp at 5,500-6,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm from 1,900-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.5L/100km
Price: from Dh285,000
On sale: from January 2022
Dolittle
Director: Stephen Gaghan
Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Michael Sheen
One-and-a-half out of five stars
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
