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Dubai to get three more parks, a public square
Dubai to get three more parks, a public square Sajila Saseendran / 5 February 2014 Dubai Municipality announces that it would open new parks in Al Twar 2, Oud Muteena, and Al Mizhar 1 neighbourhoods. The proposed plan of the neighbourhood park at Al Twar 2. — Supplied photo Dubai will get three more neighbourhood parks and a public square by the first quarter of 2015 at a cost of 14.6 million, as part of plans to “convert the city to a real green oasis.” The Dubai Municipality (DM) on Tuesday announced that it would open new parks in Al Twar 2, Oud Muteena, and Al Mizhar 1 neighbourhoods. The public square project is planned in Muhaisnah 3. The four projects would be executed in a total area of 7.46 hectares. The announcement followed approval of the civic body’s projects by Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Finance Minister, and chairman of the Dubai Municipality. Al Twar 2 Neighbourhood Park > To be built in a total area of 2 hectares, the park will have a main building that includes security office, store and public utility services and a plaza that is connected with paved walking tracks with shaded seating arrangement alongside. Children’s play areas will be provided for the age group 2-5 and 6-12 separately. Separate areas for families as well as a 520-metre running track along with the warm-up play area are the other facilities of the park, which will be have a lighting system powered by solar energy. > Oud Al Muteena Neighbourhood Park This residential park is a multi-purpose entertainment spot mainly for women and youths residing in Oud Muteena area. The project which is built in 3.26 hectare area will have family area, main building, walking track, plaza and kids area on one side. On the other side, four play areas for football, another one for volleyball, a 575-metre rubberised running track are also provided. The park is separated from the outer area with a metal wall. Al Mizhar 1 Neighbourhood Park > It is the first of the three garden projects planned in Al Mizhar 1 residential area and is executed as part of the policy to expand the green areas in the emirate as well as within the efforts to increase areas for entertainment, recreation and tourism purposes. The 1.2 hectare project will have different kind of trees and other common facilities including 400-metre long running track around the park. Public Square in Al Muhaisnah 3 > This project will add to the beauty of the area and will be built in an area of one hectare. It will have a family area, shaded benches, service building, paved walkways, children’s play area, and a medium-sized plaza. All the lighting system will be operated using solar energy. Director-General of the DM Hussain Nasser Lootah in a Press statement said special consideration will be given to people of special needs in the project design and all safety measures will be taken into account. He said the projects were in line with Dubai Municipality’s efforts to provide the public enough facilities for entertainment and recreation and as part of its policy to increase green spaces in the city. Lootah said Dubai Municipality plans to convert the city to a real green oasis where people can enjoy good cool breeze and greenery. Play area equipment, shaded seating area, walking-tracks with wooden benches alongside, separate public utility services for ladies, gents and for people with special needs and other facilities would be available in the projects. DM has planned to plant enough trees, bushes, flowers and lawns in the projects to ensure a green environment that relaxes the minds of visitors. According to officials, a decorative lighting system, run by solar power, would entertain visitors at night. sajila@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Authentic Spanish products on offer at the Global Village
Authentic Spanish products on offer at the Global Village Lily B. Libo-on / 4 February 2014 The Spain Pavilion, now in its third year at the Global Village, features charging bulls, camels, falcons, horses and lions in taxidermy for curious visitors and shoppers. An intriguing sight of ‘toros’ (bulls) charging to gorge out its ‘matador’ (bullfighter) beckons visitors to the Spain Pavilion at the Global Village, the Ultimate Family Entertainment Destination. Bullfighting, known globally as ‘corrida de toros’, has always been a popular source of entertainment in Spain, Portugal, southern France and some Hispanic American countries, but never in the Arab world. Spanish hats in the Spain Pavilion at the Global Village. — KT photo by M. Sajjad The Spain Pavilion, now in its third year at the Global Village, features charging bulls, camels, falcons, horses and lions in taxidermy for curious visitors and shoppers — real animals stuffed by taxidermists to be used as home and garden decors. Veronica, one of the exhibitors at the pavilion, says her company, Toro Toro Coe, has been in the taxidermy business for three years. “We have stuffed exotic and wild animals like puma, jaguar, hyenas, zebras, bears, black Bengali tigers, lions and camels. We sell them for as low as Dh15,000 and as high as Dh135,000, depending on the pose of the animals. Charging bulls, which are based on photos of the actual corrida de toros, are more expensive and command prices over Dh100,000.” She says her company has received orders from Emiratis and Arab families for flying falcons and running camels. “Feline animals like wild cats in taxidermy are more expensive.” ‘Abarcas’, Spain’s traditional shoes from Menorca, is a crowd-puller at the pavilion. Saffron from Lamancha, popularly known as Spain’s red gold and hand-made ‘Damascene’ decorative designs, is another popular product. A Swiss couple, Nico and Alina Brust, say they are glad that they can find the products they bought in Spain on a holiday there. “It is amazing. Right here at the Global Village, we can buy the textile and the decors we need. I love the ‘Mojitos’ and again, this refreshing drink is here at the Global Village,” Alina says. Leila Jandali, an exhibitor at the pavilion, says her company, D & D Toledo, has been practicing the Damascene process of designing decors, which originated in Damascus centuries ago, for 200 years. “An expert worker treats nickel with artificial oxidation in 48 hours, then covers the decor with pure gold, inscribe Arabic writings and make them ready for the market.” Elias Vizcaino, from Relaciones Comerciales, who is the organiser of the Spain Pavilion, says that everything Spain has on offer has been brought to the Global Village. “Most of these products are from Madrid, Andalucia, Cataluna, Costa La Mancha, Toledo, Menorca, Granada and Extremadura. From the amazing animal taxidermy and the country’s best olive oil to preserved foods and saffron to the Damascene decors, hand-made wood products, aluminium and silver souvenir items, textiles, scarves, jewellery, football articles…The list is endless,” he says. Football souvenirs from Barcelona are aplenty — scarves, bags, T-shirts, footballs, key chains and mugs. “People like them. They have come over and again to buy our products every edition since 2011-2012, when we first joined the Global Village. Now, they know Spanish products. They shop for our paprika and Spanish cheese. We have good products at affordable prices. We are also glad that we have made a difference to the lives of the residents and tourists in Dubai through our product offerings,” Vizcaino adds. “Tourists from the Middle East are increasingly coming on holidays to the shores of Spain, as one of the biggest mosques in Europe is in the capital city of Madrid. They come and shop. Yet, here in Global Village, they can buy the same genuine, good quality products without flying to Spain. Everything is here in this pavilion,” he says. Spain, which is the second most visited country in the world with more than 50 million tourists annually, has also opened holiday homes for sale to tourists. At the Global Village, real estate developers are offering beach and high-end properties in Cordova, Granada, Andalucia and other cities of Spain as holiday homes. A dream holiday home is just a visit away! lily@khaleejtimes.com Free entry for children on Mondays The Global Village will allow children under the age of 12 to enter for free every Monday during February. The promotion also includes an offer for visitors to redeem Dh10 vouchers for every Dh60 they spend at a selection of popular Global Village’s restaurants. The funfair discount vouchers have been replaced to allow visitors to enjoy the diverse cuisine that is on offer at the Global Village. Participating restaurants will be mentioned on all vouchers. news@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Solutions to combat hunger being discussed at forum
Solutions to combat hunger being discussed at forum Silvia Radan / 4 February 2014 Expert says sustainability and efficiency are two of the main reasons why the world needs artificially made meat. The proverbial food pill may well become a reality in the near future given the advanced technology and innovation in food production. The latest solutions to combat world hunger are being discussed during the three-day Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture (GFIA), taking place in Abu Dhabi until February 5. There isn’t yet a food pill, but there is a ‘lab-burger’. One of the keynote speakers on the opening day on Monday, Dr Mark Post, Professor of Physiology at Maastrict University, presented his project, the world’s first beef burger created in a laboratory. The project became reality last summer, when the first burger was tasted by a London journalist. “She said it had good texture, but the taste could be improved,” revealed Dr. Post. The burger was made from cow cells (no animal had to be sacrificed) from the animal’s skeleton muscles. Altogether, the first ever cultured meat burger required three billion cow cells and Euro 25,000, if commercially produced, the price for the lab-burger would reach $65 per kilogram. The price is still high, but according to Dr. Post that would only be in the initial stage. Sustainability and efficiency are two of the main reasons why the world needs artificially made meat. “Meat production threatens our species! Eighteen per cent of green house gas emissions come from meat farming. If we shift from meat to vegetables, we cut pollution, gain more land and feed a lot more people. One way of doing it is for us all to become vegetarians, but we are a species who loves meat,” explained Dr Post. According to him, lab made meat would reduce the usage of land by 90 per cent, save 70 per cent energy and 90 per cent water. With the world population expected to reach nine billion by 2050, climate change is a serious threat to agriculture, food is becoming a major security issue. Particularly in dry areas, where water scarcity makes food production unreasonable, countries like Saudi Arabia or Qatar have little choice but expensive food imports. “There are a few solutions to food imports,” said Dr Frank Rijsberman, CEO of CGIAR Consortium, a global agricultural research partnership. “First, you can buy farm land somewhere else, but it will take years to get the crops growing. You can store large quantities of food, but that is very expensive. You can buy ready established agri-food lands like I’ve seen in the newspapers countries here do now; or you can invest in agricultural innovation and this is what I recommend for you! UAE should massively invest in food innovation research,” said Dr Rijsberman. Throughout the three-day forum, 160 agricultural innovations are being presented, while the exhibition running alongside has some global 150 stands showing their latest solutions to growing food. silvia@khaleejtimes.com Clean-up drive abu dhabi — Tadweer (Centre of Waste Management – Abu Dhabi) has launched a comprehensive clean-up drive targeting stockyards and farms in Al Wafia, Dharat Al Tayeb and Razeen areas located nearly 45 kilometres east of Abu Dhabi City. The campaign is in line with Tadweer’s strategy of implementing the highest hygienic standards and raising awareness about the need to preserve the environment. The campaign involves the cleaning up of collection sites of animal waste and fallen stock as well as the removal of compost leftovers. More than 50 labours and 20 vehicles were deployed for the clean-up campaign. Mubarak Al Ameri, Waste Collection Projects Department Manager at Tadweer said: “The campaign was launched a week ago and is part of Tadweer’s ongoing efforts to raise hygienic standards in Abu Dhabi’s Eastern Region and contribute to the preservation of desert environment and its development into a vibrant ecosystem.” “The clean-up drive at stockyards and farms comes as part of Tadweer’s effective action plans and ongoing campaigns to provide a clean and healthy environment within the Emirate within the strategic vision of the Abu Dhabi government, and our shared national responsibility to achieve sustainable development.” Al Wafiya, Dharat Al Tayeb and Razeen areas comprise nearly 1,150 stockyards, and throughout the year Tadweer runs various awareness initiatives and clean-up campaigns in the Eastern Region as part of its keenness to protect the health and safety of the public and support the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030 which aims to create a clean and sustainable environment in the emirate. news@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
