Visitors can see more than 3,000 plants and animals at The Green Planet, Dubai's indoor rainforest. In September last year, the biodome welcomed its first predatory plant inhabitants.
Three species of insect-eating plants were added to the venue's flora and fauna collection – the famous Venus flytrap, as well as pitcher and sundew plants. Nearly 700 species of such plants exist throughout the world, on all continents except Antarctica.
Unlike normal plants that use a process known as photosynthesis to produce their nutrition, carnivorous plants consume animals, typically insects, to keep growing. These plants have adapted to thrive in areas where the soil is nutrient-deficient, so they resort to trapping and killing prey.
This makes for an interesting display at the Dubai venue, where biologists often have to hand feed the plants. In the wild, they use different mechanisms to catch prey. In general, they eat at least every week or two, although they can survive for extended periods without eating, although this leads to a much slower rate of growth.
Perhaps the most recognisable among the three species at The Green Planet is the Venus flytrap, which catches its prey with jaw-like clamps. It is known for its fast hunting tactics that involve detecting vibrations generated by the prey's movements with its “trigger hairs”. The pair of jaws quickly shut as soon as it detects movement.
Pitcher plants, on the other hand, are known for their tubelike leaves. They have flowers that resemble the colour of raw meat, and secrete a scent that attracts prey. The deep cavity of the leaf is filled with digestive enzymes, essentially drowning trapped insects with nectar.
Also in the venue's care are sundew plants, among the largest groups of carnivorous plants with at least 194 different species. The name is based on the dewdrops on their leaves, creating a sticky trap for insects who dare to crawl on them.
Although these plants have no specific diet in the wild, the Dubai venue typically feeds them mealworms, which provide all the nutrients they need. Private owners of carnivorous plants also use mealworms to tend to their carnivorous garden because live insects are simply not present in controlled environments.
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
The bio
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Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
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Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
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Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo
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Torque: 300Nm at 1,900rpm
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
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Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
