Steven Spielberg the Oscar-winning director of films such as Lincoln and Schindler’s List will be the jury president at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, which runs from May 15-26. The American director is no stranger to the festival first appearing there five decades ago. His first film, Sugarland Express won best screenplay at Cannes in 1974 and his international hit E.T had its world premiere at the Croisette in 1982 as the closing-night film.

Spielberg who described his selection as an “honour and a privilege,” said: “My admiration for the steadfast mission of the Festival to champion the international language of movies is second to none.”

Gilles Jacob, the festival president noted his delight that Spielberg had accepted the role saying it was not the first time the position had been offered to him. “But he’s always been shooting a film. So when this year I was told ‘E.T phone home,’ I understood and immediately replied, ‘At last!” Jacob explained.

Thierry Fremaux, the festival’s general delegate said: “Steven was able to make himself available this year to be the new jury president and when meeting him these last few weeks it has been obvious he’s excited about the job.

“Because of his many films and the many causes he holds dear, he’s year-in-year-out the equal of the very greatest Hollywood filmmakers.”

Spielberg’s latest film Lincoln was nominated for 12 awards at the Academy Awards ceremony two weeks ago. The director has previously won Oscars for Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan.

To experience the very best of this year’s international film releases make your way down to the Cannes Film Festival, 15-26 May. For the best in rented apartments, 5-star hotels, and even luxury yachts contact EAS, the local travel agent you can trust. We’ll make your stay as relaxing as possible, organising not only your accommodation needs, but transport and nightly entertainment too. Click on this link for more information.

A new law allowing foreign companies to provide residential mortgage finance is set to revolutionise the residential real estate market in Saudi Arabia.

There is a huge shortage of homes throughout the country due to rapid population expansion, however up until now it has been difficult to secure funding for new construction projects.

The new legislation is expected to transform home financing leading to an explosion in the size of the lending market. The move is a result of increased demand, which has seen 200,000 new homes a year needed. It is predicted that the population of large cities such as Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam could grow between 52 percent to 58 percent by 2025, causing even more demand as children leave home.

“The main issues facing the need for affordable housing in Saudi Arabia are population growth and income levels. But we also have internal issues such as escalating land prices, the preference of Saudis for large, expensive houses and the unwillingness of banks to offer project financing,” Riyadh Al-Thuqafi, CEO of Ewaan Global Residential Company said.

In addition to the new law developers are pushing the government to create a bank dedicated to funding new projects that would help address the shortage. They are also calling for the government to appoint an agency to regulate land prices and for transparency in the system to prevent price manipulation.

There are more than 3,000 construction projects worth $74 billion in the pipeline in the Saudi capital in addition to a planned metro and three main railway lines. It is hoped this new legislation will add thousands more.

For more information on construction projects globally head down to MIPIM 2014, at the Palais des Festivals, Cannes. Here at EAS we can promise you the best hotel rooms, the most sought-after rented apartments and even the odd luxury yacht or two. With our expert knowledge we’ll make sure your stay will be one you don’t forget. Click on this link to fill in our request form.

It seems as time goes by more and more of us around the world are using our mobile devices to view television and films throughout the family home.

The latest research from Motorola Mobility’s Fourth Media Engagement Barometer shows that globally consumers are now watching 25 hours of TV and film programming per week on their mobile devices, up from 15 hours in 2011.

The most notable change is that people are now using their mobile devices in preference to broadcast television. The survey, which asked 9,500 consumers in 17 countries, found that of the 36 percent of respondents who watch video programming in the bedroom, 46 percent view it on a smartphone, 41 percent on a tablet and 36 percent on broadcast TV.

People are even viewing content in more unusual parts of the home with 9 percent of tablet owners and 16 percent of smartphone owners admitting to consuming content in the bathroom, while 10 percent of tablets are used in the kitchen.

In spite of this, the living room is still the centre of home entertainment with 50 percent of people watching broadcast TV here, although in Sweden and the UK the figures were as high as 81 percent and 75 percent.

The research also revealed that consumers are frustrated by the lack of flexibility of mobile devices according to John Burke, senior vice president and general manager at Motorola Mobility. “Increasingly people are using tablets and smartphones to view their content, and they expect this experience to transition seamlessly across their favourite programmes, whenever and wherever they like,” he said. Among those surveyed, 76 percent said they want the capability to move video content between devices automatically.

Another reason people are increasingly using mobile devices to watch TV and films is the ability to record programmes and skip ads. The study reveals that 68 percent of people globally and 75 percent in the US record broadcast TV to skip the ads – a trend that is proving to be an ongoing challenge for the TV networks.

For more information on how mobile viewing habits are changing head down to next year’s Mobile World Congress 2014. For all your accommodation needs in the city look to EAS, your friendly local travel agent. We have rooms in all the best Barcelona hotels and most centrally located apartments. We’ll organise your transportation, nightly entertainment and make sure your stay is as stress free as it is unforgettable. Click on this link to fill in our request form.

This year’s Mobile World Congress proved to be a huge success for both HTC and Samsung who went home with two of the event’s top awards.

The HTC One picked up the Best New Mobile Handset, Device or Tablet at the 18th Annual Global Mobile Awards held last week at the Fira Gran Via in Barcelona.

The Taiwanese smartphone maker beat off competition from the likes of the Sony Xperia Z, LG Optimus G Pro, Nokia 105 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0. Benjamin Ho, chief marketing officer for HTC, said: “We are delighted by the reactions from both consumers and the industry to the new HTC One. It is a device that has been years in the making and is one of which we are incredibly proud.”

Meanwhile the Galaxy S III was named the best smartphone of 2012 beating its main rival the iPhone 5 along with others including Nokia’s Lumia 920 and HTC’s Droid DNA.

It was a disappointing award ceremony for Apple as the American firm also lost out in the Best Tablet category to Google’s Nexus 7.

Other winners on the day included Samsung’s Galaxy Camera, which won Best Mobile Enabled Consumer Electronics Device, Facebook, which took home Best Mobile App for Consumers, and Evernote, which picked up the award for Best Mobile App for Enterprise.

Samsung also picked up the coveted Device Manufacturer of the Year award in addition to winning the Best Mobile Infrastructure and Outstanding Overall Mobile Technology.

To see first hand who wins at next year’s Mobile World Congress book your accommodation for 2014’s event now with EAS. We’ll find you the best hotels and rented apartments right in the heart of the city. Or if you prefer, why not try one of our luxury yachts – the choice is yours. Just click on this link to fill in our request form.