Entertainment
DM wants to wipe out ‘dirty’ buildings before Expo
DM wants to wipe out ‘dirty’ buildings before Expo 2020 Staff Reporter / 25 March 2014 Building Department of the Dubai Municipality intensifies inspections, urges owners to beautify/repair structures. Dusty and dull-looking buildings in Dubai are likely to be a thing of the past soon as owners are being asked to go for a makeover in a new campaign aimed at beautifying the emirate in the run-up to Expo 2020. New or old buildings located along the Metro lines and on key roads are mainly targeted in the beautification drive launched by the Building Department of the Dubai Municipality. The department has intensified inspections of buildings to check whether they are up to the mark according to Dubai’s global status as part of efforts to maintain the aesthetic beauty and positive image of the city, and in preparation for the upcoming Expo 2020, the civic body said on Monday. Khalid Mohammed Salah, director of the department, said the campaign, fielding all manpower at the department including engineers and inspectors, would be focusing on all buildings in the emirate in general and on those in key areas in particular. Jaber Ahmed Al Ali, head of the Building Inspection Section, said the department has issued notices to many building owners to carry out necessary maintenance or painting works or cleaning of the building façades. He said inspections had been intensified in the buildings situated on both sides of Red and Green Lines of Dubai Metro. The department’s efforts have seen positive results as many owners responded spontaneously to act according to civic body’s instructions. The official pointed out that the civic body has high concerns over buildings which are poorly constructed or abandoned midway of construction as they are considered black marks in a city which is advancing to newer heights. According to him, the inspectors at the civic body are routinely inspecting such buildings including the abandoned ones and duly issuing notices to the owners. Al Ali also urged the public to support the municipality’s efforts to make Dubai a beautiful city ahead of Expo 2020 by notifying about bad practices to its call centre 800900 and by doing modifications and necessary beautifications in their buildings. sajila@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Malaysia says jet crashed in sea; bad weather halts search
Malaysia says jet crashed in sea; bad weather halts search (Reuters) / 25 March 2014 Theories range from a hijacking to sabotage or a possible suicide by one of the pilots, but investigators have not ruled out technical problems. Bad weather and rough seas on Tuesday forced the suspension of the search for any wreckage of a missing Malaysian jetliner that officials are now sure crashed in the remote Indian Ocean with the loss of all 239 people on board. Citing groundbreaking satellite-data analysis by British firm Inmarsat, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Monday that Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which vanished more than two weeks ago while flying to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur, had crashed thousands of miles away in the southern Indian Ocean. Recovery of wreckage of the Boeing 777 could unlock clues about why the plane had diverted so far off course. Theories range from a hijacking to sabotage or a possible suicide by one of the pilots, but investigators have not ruled out technical problems. An international air and sea search in the area on Monday spotted several floating objects that might be parts of the plane and an Australian navy ship was close to finding possible debris, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said.( Click here for full text of official statement from Malaysia Airlines ) But the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said gale-force winds, heavy rain and low cloud meant planes could not fly safely to the zone on Tuesday, and waves of 6 metres (20ft) or more forced the navy ship from the area. “AMSA has consulted with the Bureau of Meteorology and weather conditions are expected to improve in the search area in the evening and over the next few days. Search operations are expected to resume tomorrow, if weather conditions permit,” AMSA said in a statement. The search site is far from commercial flight paths about 2,500 km (1,550 miles) southwest of Perth, a region of deep, frigid seas known as the Roaring 40s where storm-force winds and huge waves are commonplace. “This is a remote location, far from any possible landing sites,” Malaysia’s Najib said. “It is therefore, with deep sadness and regret, that I must inform you that, according to this new data, Flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.” SMS TEXT Some relatives of those on board first received the news that the search for survivors was over in a Malaysia Airlines SMS message which said: “We have to assume beyond all reasonable doubt that MH370 has been lost and none of those on board survived.” There were hysterical scenes at the Beijing hotel where many of the relatives of those on board were staying. Most of the passengers on the flight, from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, were Chinese. A group reportedly representing families issued a statement describing the Malaysian airline, government and military as “executioners” who constantly tried to delay and deceive them. “We will take every possible means to pursue the unforgivable crimes and responsibility of all three,” said the statement on the microblog of the Malaysia Airlines MH370 Family Committee. Malaysia Airlines said in a statement that it would make arrangements to fly relatives to Australia once it had approval from the investigating authorities. Abbott said he expected the families to travel to Australia soon. “They will find a welcoming country that is more than willing to embrace them in this difficult time,” he told reporters. COSTLY DIFFICULT INVESTIGATION Najib’s announcement opens the way for what will be one of the most costly and difficult air crash investigations ever. Normally, an official investigation can only begin once a crash site has been identified. That would give Malaysia power to coordinate and sift evidence. Malaysia has faced heavy criticism over the progress of the search and its informal investigation, especially from China which had more than 150 citizens on board the plane. Chinese Deputy Foreign Minister Xie Hangsheng immediately demanded Malaysia hand over all relevant satellite-data analysis showing how Malaysia had reached its conclusion about the fate of the jet. Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss said the Malaysian statement moved the search to a new phase. “It moves it to a stage where we are now investigating an accident, a loss of an aircraft and some new decisions will have to be taken now about the direction of future operations,” Truss told reporters. “Malaysia needs to take control under the Chicago convention of those investigations.” The United States said it was sending an undersea Navy drone to Australia, in addition to a high-tech black box detector, to help in the search. A vendor stands next to newspapers carrying headlines of the missing Malaysia Airlines, flight MH370, as he waits for customers in Shah Alam, outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Tuesday, March 25, 2014. – AP The so-called black boxes – the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder – record what happens during flight. Black boxes carry locator beacons but they fade out after 30 days. Flight MH370 vanished from civilian radar screens less than an hour after taking off on March 8. No confirmed debris from the plane has been found since. Investigators believe someone on the flight may have shut off the plane’s communications systems. Partial military radar tracking showed it turning west and re-crossing the Malay Peninsula, apparently under the control of a skilled pilot. Najib said Inmarsat had been performing further calculations on data gleaned from faint pings picked up by satellite that initially only narrowed the search area to two massive arcs. The Inmarsat analysis had narrowed the search area “but it’s still a big area that they have to search”, said Stephen Wood, CEO of All Source Analysis, a satellite analytic firm. For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Full-throttle photography 14,000 feet above the ground
Full-throttle photography 14,000 feet above the ground 25 March 2014 With an office 14,000 feet above the ground, Juan Mayer sits down with Kelly Clarke to talk about the stomach-churning chill and thrills of being a skydive photographer and his dreams of breaking a world record in Dubai. The dreaded nine-to-five slog is part and parcel of a typical working day for most people around the world, but for Juan Mayer, his daily ascent via a small propeller plane to his office in the sky makes his working day far from typical. With a penchant for photography from a young age, Argentina-born Mayer decided to turn things up a notch 13 years ago, and with his Nikon camera in tow, left his job in the army and took to the skies to become a skydive photographer. Now, with 9,000 jumps under his belt — reaching world record heights of 24,000ft in the process — Mayer reminisces with Khaleej Times on the heart-thumping moments before throwing himself out of the plane for his first solo jump. “It was terrible. Seriously terrible. My only motivation at the time was the photography, so that’s what kept me going.” The initial fear didn’t keep him from his dreams, and after becoming hypnotised by his first few dives, Mayer says he knew he wanted to pave out a career in mid-air photography. “Skydiving is a beautiful thing. When you are up there, you are alone and free. It’s a challenging environment for a photographer, but an extraordinary one.” With the vision of being a high-flying photographer firmly in his sights while living in Argentina, Mayer says he had to “suck it up” and make a few hundred jumps before officially getting on the payroll. “I had to make a minimum of 200 jumps before doing it professionally, but the money made it difficult to start skydiving,” he says, with each jump setting him back $30. Tapping into his inner entrepreneurship, Mayer managed to get the majority of his costs covered by persuading people to dig deep and pay for his jumps in return for some free-of-charge, mid-air shots. And it was a bold move which proved successful. “I couldn’t keep forking out after the first year, so this worked well for me. It was a win-win situation for me and them. ” From Brazil to Venezuela, and New Zealand to the USA, Mayer’s passion for adrenalin-pumping photography has seen him stack up the air miles over the years, with most of the world’s continents checked off his list. Back in Dubai Now the official photographer for Skydive Dubai, Mayer and his team returned to a warm welcome in Dubai back in October 2013 after bagging a gold medal at the 15th Asiania Parachuting Championships at the China International Open. Since moving to Dubai more than two years ago, Mayer’s photography has seen him bag awards all over the world, including several accolades for his videography work, but he says he has his sights set on breaking a record right here in Dubai. “The current world record is 400 people in free fall, but sometime this year, we’re hoping to break this record by having more than 500 people in free fall.” With no date set in stone for the record-breaking challenge, Mayer says he is hopeful it will happen at Skydive Dubai’s desert base later this year, with about 10 photographers tasked with the job of snap-shooting history in the making. Hoping to take the lead when the day finally comes, Mayer says he can’t wait to be a part of the epic milestone. “This is my main aim at the moment, so I just hope it happens soon.” Completing a staggering 24 jumps in one day while working out in the USA a few years ago, Mayer says a typical day in Dubai sees him leaping from the plane’s door about 10 times, all “depending on mother nature’s mood”. And when asked if he ever gets bored of the job, it’s clear, after 13 years that the fervour still rages within him. “When I train on-ground for too long, I definitely get grumpy if I don’t jump for a few days,” he says. Mayer’s two-year stint in Dubai has seen him add about 2,000 jumps to his ever-growing resume, and with only 60 seconds to get that perfect picture during free fall, he says the job can often be tricky, and the outcome disappointing. “People will look at my shots and like them, but I won’t be happy with them. You have such a short time space to capture that image, so it doesn’t always happen. But when it does, the sense of satisfaction is immense.” So what is his favourite shot? Mayer says capturing the expressions on people’s face, mid-air, always raises a few smiles and really sets the scene when it comes to skydiving pictures, but in terms of a favourite, the answer is simple: “For me, my favourite shot is the one I take tomorrow.” So after giving up a secure job in the Special Forces and switching to a daredevil day job, is the passionate photographer risking it all in pursuit of that crowning moment? The answer, according to the “photographer first, skydiver second”, is no. “Believe it or not, skydiving is actually safer than driving a car.” kelly@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
