Tag Archives: technology
An ‘illegal’ basejump in Dubai
Australian Chris “Douggs” McDougall — who describes himself as a professional base jumper and adventure sports enthusiast on his Facebook page — holds several basejumping and skydiving records, and has previously performed in Dubai. The video, posted on YouTube and McDougall’s Facebook page about a week ago, has attracted almost 10,000 views. It is described as episode 10 of McDougall’s ‘Base Dreams 2013’ series. The video shows McDougall and a female companion in an apartment, just before 6.30am, dressed in jumping gear, prior to high-voltage footage of the pair jumping off the roof balcony. “Half past six in the morning and we’re gonna jump off our penthouse suite. Pretty cool,” McDougall says with a laugh, at the start of the video. The final scene of the video shows not more than 15 minutes has elapsed between leaving and re-entering the apartment. An industry source said the jump was illegal as McDougall did not have permission from any authority in Dubai. There were specific places designated for such jumps, but it was necessary for those wanting to jump from other buildings to get permission from both the building owner and police, the source said. He discouraged anyone else from following suit. Dubai Police CID Investigation Section Director Ahmad Al Marri said police were unaware of the jump. It is not clear from which building McDougall jumped, though other media reported it was 30 storeys. McDougall told news website 7 Days he did not believe the manoeuvre was “technically illegal” since he was staying in the building. However, various commentators have referenced the illegality of the act, including Vivek Raigaga who said: “this was illegal wasn’t it hahaha”. amanda@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Malayalees celebrate Thiruvonam today
Malayalees celebrate Thiruvonam today Staff Reporter / 16 September 2013 Expatriates from Kerala, who form the largest group of Indians in the UAE, are celebrating their most important festival, Thiruvonam, today. Thiruvonam is the main day of the 10-day harvest festival of Onam that is celebrated by people of all religions in the south Indian state known as ‘God’s Own Country’. Onam marks the mythological homecoming of King Mahabali, during whose reign Kerala was believed to have witnessed its golden era. People of Kerala welcome the king in a symbolic way by arranging flower carpets and with traditional dances and games so as to show they are as content as people in his time. The expatriate Malayalee community’s Onam celebrations also include floral decorations done on the ground called pookkalam as well as life-sized statues of elephants, traditional drum beats, dances and games and more importantly, mass vegetarian feasts called Onasadya . Though it is custom to make the traditional vegetarian feast at home, thousands are having their Onasadya from restaurants since Thiruvonam falls on a working day here this year. Several Malayalees are also taking a day off from work to celebrate the day with family and friends. For those who could not do so, it is going to be an evening of celebrations. Malayalees in the UAE, irrespective of their religions, will continue to celebrate Thiruvonam during the weekends over the coming months, often clubbing their Eid get-together with it. Cultural processions with traditional art forms and dances, pookkalam competitions and mass vegetarian feasts where thousands sit together to have Onasadya served on banana leaves are part of their celebrations. The Onasadya usually features more than a dozen dishes and traditional sweets. Malayalees are particular about buying fresh vegetables that come from India for this meal. Hence, thousands of tonnes of vegetables and fruits are imported from Kerala to the Gulf countries for Onam celebrations. Like in the past, the last-minute purchase of fresh items used for the sadya saw huge demand for these items in the Fruit and Vegetable Market at Al Aweer and several supermarkets and hypermarkets in Dubai this weekend. While families and groups of bachelors prepare the feast at homes, thousands of Malayalees depend on hotels and restaurants for their Onam meals. Several office-goers have geared up to order Onasadya from their favourite outlets today. According to the Dubai Municipality, about 40 per cent of the food establishments in Dubai are run by Malayalees. Most of these eateries are offering special Onasadya with up to 25 dishes. Some of them even fly in veteran cooks from Kerala to prepare their Onasadya which gets sold like hot cakes. One outlet has partnered with a popular radio station to host Onasadya aboard a dhow in Dubai Creek while another one is hosting a cooking contest in traditional Onam recipes. Santhosh Menon, general secretary of Akgma, a residential association of Malayalees in Al Khail, said they distributed Onam kits comprising some essential items to about 500 families during the weekend. Arabian Center in partnership with LuLu Hypermarket celebrated Onam in the cultural way by organising various activities like Kathakali, Shinkkarimelam, Puli Kali, Theyyam, Pookkalam Contest, Mohiniyattam, etc on Saturday. Many other shopping centres have Onam-themed counters and special discounts for the occasion. Readymade textile shops are also cashing in on the festival with some of them making special door delivery of Onam dresses to expatriates’ relatives back home. sajila@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
UAE, Russia in $5 billion investment deal
UAE, Russia in $5 billion investment deal (Wam) / 13 September 2013 The UAE on Thursday signed an accord to invest five billion dollars in Russian infrastructure projects. Gen. Shaikh Mohammed shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence, outside Moscow, on Thursday. — Wam A memorandum of intent to establish a partnership between the Department of Finance (DoF) in Abu Dhabi and the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) for investment in Russian infrastructure projects was signed at the Kremlin on the sidelines of a meeting between General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Gen Shaikh Mohammed and Putin discussed bilateral relations, expansion and diversification of economic partnerships and investment opportunities. The discussions took place as Putin received Gen Shaikh Mohammed at Novo-Ogaryovo, the state residence of the Russian President. Putin welcomed the UAE leader and expressed his pleasure at meeting him and discussing matters of common interest. Gen Shaikh Mohammed conveyed to Putin greetings from the UAE President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and his best wishes for further progress and prosperity for the people of Russia. The meeting, which was attended by Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, also discussed developments in the Arab Gulf region and the Middle East. Following the meeting, Putin held a lunch banquet in honour of Gen Shaikh Mohammed and his accompanying delegation. The investment accord was signed by Hamad Mohammed Al Hur Al Suwaidi, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Finance Department, and RDIF chief executive Kirill Dmitriev. Speaking on the occasion, Al Suwaidi said: “The signing of the memorandum and our commitment to an investment of up to five billion dollars reflect our confidence of returns that can be derived from this investment. We expect a very fruitful partnership through the exchange of expertise with the RDIF.” The investment project aims to open new avenues for joint cooperation that would contribute to the strengthening of bilateral relations. The structure and governance of the joint project and other conditions will be concluded before the end of the year. Continue reading
