Tag Archives: horoscope
The world’s most expensive coffee beans
The world’s most expensive coffee beans Amanda Fisher (amanda@khaleejtimes.com) / 30 September 2013 With heart disease accounting for almost a third of all deaths in the country, a frappucino with more than a quarter fewer calories could be in order. Just days after World Heart Day, which fell on Sunday, coffee franchise Icons will launch in Dubai next week, with big plans to expand throughout the country and region — and fast. The founder and CEO Elena Weber, who at 27 may be one of the youngest such title holders in the world, is positioning the latest coffee shop cartel, which is already worth about Dh5 million, as a ‘healthy Starbucks’. “It’s a big thing, especially here in the region because of the diabetes issue, so we hope we can make a healthy change … it’s so surprising when you see even children here are getting diabetes…. I wanted to open the first outlet in Germany, but because (my backers) only do big things, they said ‘It’s perfect for the situation here’.” While obesity and diabetes were a global epidemic, Weber said because GCC rates were rising significantly there was room for the business to grow rapidly. Diabetes, which at $6.6 billion accounts for 40 per cent of the country’s overall health bill, links directly to heart disease. Weber got German pastry chef Stefan Kopetz, who has worked with the German national football team and supermodel Heidi Klum, on board early to create cakes and pastries from mother nature’s sugar, calorie-free stevia – also the super ingredient used in sweetening the shop’s coffees and drinks. “It took us a whole six months, but it’s not easy to bake with stevia. Because it’s 300 times sweeter than sugar, you need to (supplement) it with some bulkier materials.” They will also serve low-fat sandwiches and salads, using products that are organic and fairly traded where possible. However, prices would be comparable to Starbucks, Weber said. The coffee shop had frappuccinos with just 150 calories, compared with Starbucks’ 750, and hot chocolates with 120 calories, compared to 500, she said. “You will not taste any difference, it’s just as sweet … with normal sweeteners, they are so unhealthy, they’re full of chemicals … it’s totally unhealthy, it has bad effects on your bones, it has bad effects on your health in the long term. You don’t feel it tomorrow, but consumption over the years has really bad effects.” Weber said she and her team had spent about two years priming Icons for a fast uptake, and already had 10 franchises set to launch next year, with hopes to expand internationally within the same timeframe. But the operation had humble origins, with a twist of fate when the part-time model was looking for an overseas internship during her business administration and marketing degree at university in hometown Munich. Her mum found a story about another young German model working in the UAE, while looking at a magazine featuring her daughter. “I just had this intuition and contacted her and what happened? One week later I was in Dubai.” Weber found herself working under major UAE investment company Orix, where she made good contacts who she turned to years later after conceiving the coffee shop idea while doing a volunteering stint in Argentina, where she discovered stevia. “I think you always have to give back to people, and things happen for a reason. We support education and the farms where we are growing (coffee beans). We want to do something good for people, not only with the products we have that are sugar free, but…we also want to enhance life around here.” The flagship Icons store will open at the Souk Al Bahar on October 7. Continue reading
India, Pakistan leaders reach no concrete agreements
India, Pakistan leaders reach no concrete agreements (Reuters) / 30 September 2013 Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, agreed on Sunday to work to restore a cross-border ceasefire after a spate of shootings in order to improve strained ties, officials said. Singh and Sharif met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, amid heightened tension between the nuclear-armed neighbours over the Kashmir region, sparked by series of fatal clashes on their de facto Himalayan border. India emerged from the meeting of more than an hour calling the talks “useful” while Pakistan called the atmosphere “very positive.” They both expressed a desire to improve ties but agreed that “peace and tranquillity across the LOC (Line of Control) is a precondition,” Indian national security adviser Shivshankar Menon told reporters in New York. “We need to address the issues that we face today and then we hope to move it forward,” he said. Pakistan’s Secretary for Foreign Affairs Jalil Abbas Jilani told reporters the New York meeting set the stage for future cooperation even though they did not reach specific agreements. “The most significant aspect of the meeting was that the leaders expressed their commitment to … better relations between the two countries,” he told reporters at a separate New York briefing. “Both sides wish to see a better India-Pakistan relationship than we have today,” said Menon. A series of fatal clashes along the so-called Line of Control dividing Kashmir between India and Pakistan have killed at least eight soldiers from both countries in less than two months. The South Asia Terrorism Portal, a website that tracks the violence, says this year’s toll is 44 members of the security forces, up from 17 for all of last year. In their speeches to the U.N. General Assembly, both leaders said they wanted to improve relations between their countries, which have fought three wars since becoming independent from Britain in 1947, two of them over Kashmir. The two prime ministers agreed to instruct military officials to work together to develop a mechanism to stop ceasefire violations, Menom and Jalil said. The two leaders accepted invitations to visit each other’s countries, but no dates were set, Menon added. Continue reading
City to turn pink for cancer awareness
City to turn pink for cancer awareness Staff Reporter / 29 September 2013 It’s that time of the year when you begin to see people sporting pink ribbons. World over, as in the UAE, October is the month for breast cancer awareness. One of the leading cancer types — second only to lung cancer as the most common cause of cancer related deaths in women — regular self-examination, early detection, and diagnosis is critical to fighting the illness. Pink Caravan, a UAE breast cancer awareness initiative launched in 2011 by Friends of Cancer Patients, will commemorate their anniversary celebrations with a line-up of activities this October. Corporate houses are going all out to honour the month. Galleries Lafayette is hosting a pink Buffet in aid of Pink Caravan. The pink pony campaign by Ralph Lauren will raise funds through the sale of limited edition tee shirts priced between Dh325 to Dh750, with one quarter of the proceeds going to Pink Caravan. Secretary-General for the Friends of Cancer Patients charitable society and Head of the Pink Caravan’s Medical and Awareness committee, Dr Sawsan Al Madhi said: “It is fantastic that fashion firms and retailers have embraced the notion of a pink October by creating special items to raise funds for cancer education and treatment. Ralph Lauren’s Pink Pony Campaign, in particular, has significantly increased breast cancer awareness and contributed towards many successful research projects around the world.” The Friends of Cancer Patients (FoCP) charitable society has revealed that women with advanced breast cancer (ABC) feel left out of the breast cancer movement. The results of the largest every global study, ‘Count Us, Know Us, Join Us’, gives a voice to the 250,000 women living with advanced breast cancer around the world. Based on testimony from 1,273 women in 12 countries, the survey shows two-thirds of women with ABC feel that no one understands what they are going through. Advocates for the cause, the Burj Al Arab will — much like in past years — each day in October between 7.30pm and 8.30pm show its support for the breast cancer awareness campaign by lighting its sail pink and adorning it with the symbolic pink ribbon. All afternoon teas at the hotel will include pink pastries including Ispahan macaroons filled with rose cream, pink choux, pink apple mousse cake, pink New York cheesecake, strawberry and pistachio tarts and pink-glazed traditional French mille feuilles. An estimated 1,00,000 pink roses will be flown in to further raise awareness. The hotel’s team of 12 florists have developed pink floral displays. All guests chauffeured to the hotel will be presented with pink roses and all women who dine at any of the hotel’s restaurants will be presented a single pink rose. For the staff at the hotel, Burj Al Arab will work with Pink Caravan to provide free voluntary medical examinations for the 1,600 staff as well as guidance on self-examination. All colleagues will also wear the iconic pink ribbons throughout the month. – news@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
