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Longest bridal veil at Sharjah wedding show
Longest bridal veil at Sharjah wedding show Lily B. Libo-on / 6 March 2014 Fashion shows, bridal couture, hairstyling main attractions World’s longest bridal veil measuring 5-km in length, weighing about 7kg, and embellished with crystals and pearls at its first 5 metres, was unveiled at the ninth edition of Perfect Wedding Show, which opened on Wednesday at the Expo Centre Sharjah. The veil by Rozana Hospitality broke the four-year Guinness Book of World Records held by Sandra Mechleb of Lebanon, who wore a 3.358-km long bridal veil when she married Chady Abi Younis in Arnaoon, Lebanon on October 18, 2009. World’s longest bridal veil on display at the Perfect Wedding Show in Sharjah. — Supplied photo This year’s Perfect Wedding Show, which is open daily from 3pm to 10pm, is also presenting a mega prize of a fully paid ‘royal wedding package’ comprising a five-star ballroom for the winning couple and their guests, a bridal beauty package, Kosha decoration and a honeymoon trip to Istanbul. To participate in the royal wedding package, the couples due to get married are urged to register at the website of the Perfect Wedding Show 2014 at www.sharjahweddingshow.com and they will be automatically entered in a raffle draw to be done on Saturday (March 8), the last day of the event. Shaikha Aisha bint Mohammed Al Qasimi opened the four-day Perfect Wedding Show, which features a wide range of perfumes, ouds, cosmetics, jewellery, gifts and accessories, health and beauty products, cards and stationery, and related materials and accessories for weddings apart from designers, couturiers, décor specialists, wedding planners and caterers. A play area is also available for children under 12 years since they won’t be allowed inside the exhibition halls. The fair is also organising a 45-minute fashion show that will be performed daily and will feature local, regional and international design houses and designers, including Fouad Sarkis, Dar Mona Al Mansouri, Dar Sara, Amato and Emirati designer, Aisha Al Muhairi. The Perfect Wedding Show has a special section for Egyptian furnishings sponsored by the Egyptian Trade Centre, special bridal couture shows, cultural parades, live demonstrations of hair-styling and make-up and dance performances. “The increasing popularity of the show can be attributed to the emergence of the UAE as a leading wedding destination, lavish wedding ceremonies and engagements taking place here,” said Saif Mohammed Al Midfa, CEO, Expo Centre Sharjah. National Bureau of Statistics shows that the number of marriages registered in the UAE has gone up from 6,475 in 1995 to 14,934 in 2012. But, this figure excludes the multiple wedding receptions and other related functions that are taking place in UAE. Al Midfa said that even though the number of marriages has remained stagnant for a few years, wedding planners are doing a brisk business due to the rising demand for wedding receptions and related functions. “This is because though several expatriates prefer to tie the knot in their home country, however, they hold their engagements and receptions here since they work and live in UAE,” he added. With the industry observers putting a tag of $80,000 as average wedding expense and close to 15,000 weddings taking place annually, the wedding sector here could be conservatively be valued at $1.2 billion. lily@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Dubai Municipality helps two schools get parks
Dubai Municipality helps two schools get parks Staff Reporter / 6 March 2014 Two schools in Dubai have got their own parks, thanks to a novel initiative of the Dubai Municipality that came as part of the civic body’s 34th Plantation Week celebrations. Dubai Municipality officials at the opening of a campus park on Wednesday. — Supplied photo Senior officials from the municipality on Wednesday inaugurated the campus parks in Al Wasl School campus and Al Maktoum School campus. These parks will be maintained by students, who are now being roped in by the municipality as young green champions. Officials said the opening of school parks is in line with the strategic vision of the municipality to expand the green areas in the city by ensuring active participation of the student community. Al Wasl and Al Maktoum schools are the first ones to get their campus parks out of the four shortlisted schools selected for implementing the park project.The ceremony at Al Wasl School was attended by top officials of the civic body including Assistant Director-Generals Mohammed Abdul Kareem Julfar and Salah Amiri, as well as representatives of the school management and teachers. Meanwhile, the park at Al Maktoum School was opened by Assistant Director-General Obeid Al Shamsy in the presence of Taleb Abdul Kareem Julfar, director public parks and horticulture department. Earlier, the Public Parks and Horticulture Department’s officials had visited several schools in Dubai to introduce the concept of school parks project as part of DM’s Plantation Week activities. After continuous communication with the managements, 12 schools, which were found to be complying with the criteria, were finally nominated for the project. The technical team assigned with selecting apt schools, shortlisted four out of 12 schools to carry out the projects, following which DM invited private companies to sponsor the students’ parks. Four companies were later given the chance to sponsor each school selected for implementing the project. Selected schools have to appoint a teacher who would be taking care of the project. Enough space for park project, irrigation facilities, outside and inside teams for irrigation works, special students team for planting and maintaining plants are some of the other requirements for campus parks. DM also organised a workshop on floral arts on the third day of activities of the Plantation Week. Various activities would be organised in Mushrif Park today. news@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain recall envoys from Qatar
UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain recall envoys from Qatar Mustafa Al Zarooni / 6 March 2014 Qatar, while expressing regret for the decision, said it would not resort to tit-for-tat action by withdrawing its envoys to the countries. The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain on Tuesday accused Qatar of interfering in their internal affairs and pulled out their ambassadors from Doha. Qatar, while expressing regret for the decision by its fellow Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members, said it would not resort to tit-for-tat action by withdrawing its envoys to the countries. Earlier, in a joint statement, the three countries said they had “exerted massive efforts to contact Qatar on all levels to agree on a unified policy… to ensure non-interference, directly or indirectly, in the internal affairs of any member state”. Doha was asked not to support “any party that threatens the security and stability of the GCC countries whether organisations, or individuals, either through direct security work or by political influence, and not to support the hostile media”. Qatar’s Amir His Highness Shaikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani had made the commitment during a mini-summit in Riyadh last year with Kuwait’s Amir and the Saudi monarch. Kuwait’s Amir His Highness Shaikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, now recuperating from surgery in the US, tried to calm tensions between the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, and Shaikh Tamim back then. Responding to the diplomatic action by the three countries, Doha said it was linked to “differences over issues outside the Gulf Cooperation Council”, meaning policies on Egypt, and its support of the Muslim Brotherhood. The decision by the UAE, Saudi and Bahrain follows a UAE Federal Court verdict on Monday jailing Qatari national Mahmud Al Jidah to seven years for links to the Muslim Brotherhood. Dr Abdul Khaleq Abdullah, Professor of Political Science at UAE University, said the diplomatic action was unprecedented and added that the “ball was now in Qatar’s court”. “Part of actions which Qatar should take to prevent the situation from getting worse is to silence Yousouf Al Qaradawi, who attacked the UAE from a mosque in Doha while delivering a sermon. Qatar should abandon the Muslim Brotherhood card, and change the editorial policy of Al Jazeera,” he said. On why the Sultanate of Oman and Kuwait did not withdraw their envoys from Doha, he said, “Oman has taken its own stand while Kuwait can play the role of a mediator as it has good relations with all GCC states.” Moanis Al Mardi, Chairman of the Bahrain Journalists Association, said Qatar had gone so far, and relations had reached tipping point. “The Kingdom of Bahrain has endured much and Al Jazeera was making the situation worse with its unfair reporting. Qatari ties with the GCC were deep and Doha should work towards a common goal,” Al Mardi said. “It should review its policies on the Brotherhood, failing which economic ties with the GCC could be snapped.” malzarooni@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
