Tag Archives: georgia
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
Dubai to have sustainable residential city for Emiratis
Dubai to have sustainable residential city for Emiratis Sajila Saseendran / 4 March 2014 Civic body to implement Dh20 billion projects Shaikh Mohammed, Shaikh Hamdan and Shaikh Maktoum attend the briefing on the Dubai Municipality’s new projects on Monday. — Wam Dubai has announced a new residential city for Emiratis which will be self-sufficient in terms of resources, transport and energy, said to be the first of its kind in the world. The ‘Dubai Smart Sustainable City’ was one of many Dubai Municipality projects worth Dh20 billion that were approved by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Monday. An estimated 160,000 people will live in this self-reliant city that will come up near Al Aweer Roundabout, by the time Dubai hosts the World Expo in 2020. Shaikh Mohammed was briefed about this ambitious project of the Dubai Municipality during his visit to the municipality headquarters. The Director-General of the Municipality, Hussain Nasser Lootah, and senior officials briefed Shaikh Mohammed on various projects aimed at providing the essence of good life for citizens and residents, and quality facilities and smart services to the public in all areas of the emirate. Shaikh Mohammed in discussion with members of the Unesco’s World Heritage Committee in the presence of Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Shaikh Maktoum bin Mohammed and Hussain Nasser Lootah when they visited the municipality on Monday. The delegation is visiting the UAE to get first-hand knowledge about the Dubai Creek as a natural and cultural heritage site. — Wam Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and Shaikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, also attended the briefing. The most important of the new plans was the project titled ‘Dubai Smart Sustainable City’ which will be spread across a total area of 14,000 hectares and will be built in the shape of a desert flower. Surrounded by a green belt, the city will provide 20,000 plots for Emiratis. The roofs of the homes and buildings will be covered with solar panels which will provide 200 megawatts of electricity. The city will also recycle over 40,000 cubic metres of waste water. In line with the directives of Shaikh Mohammed, work on the project will commence immediately and is expected to be completed in 2020, the state news agency Wam reported. Dawood Al Hajri, the director of the Planning Department, presented the project which is aimed at bolstering Dubai’s ambition to become one of the top-10 sustainable cities by 2020. In September 2013, the Dubai Municipality had formed a high-level sustainability committee under the chairmanship of Assistant Director-General for Engineering and Planning Sector Abdullah Raffia to implement the green building regulations and other sustainable projects in the emirate. An artist’s impression of the proposed Dubai Boats Market. — Wam The Director of the Projects Department, Mohamed Al Mashroom, presented the Dubai Boats Market that is considered the first of its kind in the Middle East. Proposed to be located at Al Barsha South, covering 35 acres with a 10 hectares man-made lake for boats, the project will be an attraction for water sports enthusiasts once completed. It will contribute in converting Dubai to a global hub for manufacturing and selling of boats and fishing equipment and attract investments to the industry. Shaikh Mohammed also watched a presentation on the Palm Park project by Engineer Fatima Al Muhairi. Containing over 150 types of palm trees grown in the UAE, the project aims to be an educational, cultural and heritage project from which the current generation of the UAE can learn about the nation’s heritage and culture. The park will include a plaza for various activities, a lake, seating areas for families and playgrounds for children. Shaikh Mohammed was also briefed about other prestigious projects like digital address for Dubai and electronic system for food imports. Expressing his satisfaction with the projects, Shaikh Mohammed gave the green light for their implementation. He also praised the exemplary efforts of the municipality teams to make Dubai a smart and sustainable city. On the sidelines of the visit, Shaikh Mohammed also met a delegation of ambassadors and representatives of member countries of the Unesco World Heritage Committee who are on a visit to the UAE to acquaint themselves with Dubai Creek, which is nominated to be registered in the World Heritage list. sajila@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
