Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, and Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence at Al Marmoom farm. Photo: Wam
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, and Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence at Al Marmoom farm. Photo: Wam
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, and Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence at Al Marmoom farm. Photo: Wam
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court, and Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, C


Giving the UAE green fingers is the key to food security taking root


  • English
  • Arabic

October 08, 2024

It is not every day that one sees some of country’s leading figures lined up, spades in hand, preparing for work on a farm. And yet this was the intriguing image that emerged from the recent launch of a national agriculture drive aimed not only at further securing the UAE’s food supply but at encouraging citizens and residents alike to grow more of their own produce.

Al Marmoom farm in Dubai on Sunday played host to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai. Alongside him were Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Presidential Court Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed as well as the Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed. They and other ministers were coming from a Cabinet meeting where the new project – Plant the Emirates – had been launched.

Plant the Emirates envisages a new National Agriculture Centre and other initiatives to further develop advanced farming technology, improve yields and quality, build links with the private sector and increase the number of farms and agricultural workers in the UAE. Importantly, it will also encourage people to develop green fingers by growing food at home.

Although it is true that agriculture is not new to the Emirates – people have farmed here for generations, often coming up with innovative ways of maximising yields despite low water supply and arid conditions – challenges remain. The UAE’s largely desert environment and the risks posed to supply chains by pandemics or international disruptions are particularly acute. And although the proportion of food that the Emirates imports is declining, the country is not yet self-sufficient.

Therefore, it is vital to get as many people as possible on board with new ways of thinking about food. The major strides in Emirati agriculture that have been made over the decades, including last year’s high-tech wheat-growing project at a 400-hectare farm complex in Sharjah and last month’s large-scale quinoa cultivation trials, will be even more effective if the population plays an active role in growing and producing. The UAE’s rapid urbanisation need not be a barrier to this: one need only consider the success of the allotment system in the UK or rooftop farming in built-up Hong Kong.

The drive to secure and improve food supplies in the UAE is as old as the country itself

Encouraging people to play their part could also change attitudes to consumption. Data last year from the UAE’s first national household food waste survey found that 38 per cent of food prepared went to waste at a cost of $163.3 million and Ne’ma, the UAE’s national food loss and waste initiative, is driving efforts to reduce food waste by 50 per cent by 2030. Building a closer link between people and their food is an important step in improving these figures.

Another important benefit is that of health and developing better eating habits, with fresh produce being instrumental to that drive.

The push to secure and improve food supplies in the UAE is as old as the country itself. Sheikh Mohammed reflected on this when he said the Plant the Emirates project “carries forward the legacy of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the UAE Founding Father, fulfilling his vision to green, cultivate, and nurture the land of the UAE”. That vision is being brought nearer by 21st-century technology and innovation – often presenting credible investment opportunities for domestic and international companies. But for it to really take root, more of us should grow our own.

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.

HOW TO WATCH

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The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm

Transmission: 9-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh117,059

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The candidates

Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive

Ali Azeem, business leader

Tony Booth, professor of education

Lord Browne, former BP chief executive

Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist

Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist

Dr Mark Mann, scientist

Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner

Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister

Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster

 

The specs: 2018 Maxus T60

Price, base / as tested: Dh48,000

Engine: 2.4-litre four-cylinder

Power: 136hp @ 1,600rpm

Torque: 360Nm @ 1,600 rpm

Transmission: Five-speed manual

Fuel consumption, combined: 9.1L / 100km

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

TYPES%20OF%20ONLINE%20GIG%20WORK
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDesign%2C%20multimedia%20and%20creative%20work%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELogo%20design%2C%20website%20design%2C%20visualisations%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBusiness%20and%20professional%20management%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELegal%20or%20management%20consulting%2C%20architecture%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBusiness%20and%20professional%20support%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EResearch%20support%2C%20proofreading%2C%20bookkeeping%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESales%20and%20marketing%20support%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESearch%20engine%20optimisation%2C%20social%20media%20marketing%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EData%20entry%2C%20administrative%2C%20and%20clerical%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EData%20entry%20tasks%2C%20virtual%20assistants%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIT%2C%20software%20development%20and%20tech%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EData%20analyst%2C%20back-end%20or%20front-end%20developers%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWriting%20and%20translation%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EContent%20writing%2C%20ghost%20writing%2C%20translation%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EOnline%20microtasks%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EImage%20tagging%2C%20surveys%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cem%3ESource%3A%20World%20Bank%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
In numbers: China in Dubai

The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Sinopharm vaccine explained

The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades. 

“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.

"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."

This is then injected into the body.

"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.

"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."

The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.

Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.

“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.

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How to report a beggar

Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)

Dubai – Call 800243

Sharjah – Call 065632222

Ras Al Khaimah - Call 072053372

Ajman – Call 067401616

Umm Al Quwain – Call 999

Fujairah - Call 092051100 or 092224411

QUALIFYING RESULTS

1. Max Verstappen, Netherlands, Red Bull Racing Honda, 1 minute, 35.246 seconds.
2. Valtteri Bottas, Finland, Mercedes, 1:35.271.
3. Lewis Hamilton, Great Britain, Mercedes, 1:35.332.
4. Lando Norris, Great Britain, McLaren Renault, 1:35.497.
5. Alexander Albon, Thailand, Red Bull Racing Honda, 1:35.571.
6. Carlos Sainz Jr, Spain, McLaren Renault, 1:35.815.
7. Daniil Kvyat, Russia, Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda, 1:35.963.
8. Lance Stroll, Canada, Racing Point BWT Mercedes, 1:36.046.
9. Charles Leclerc, Monaco, Ferrari, 1:36.065.
10. Pierre Gasly, France, Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda, 1:36.242.

Eliminated after second session

11. Esteban Ocon, France, Renault, 1:36.359.
12. Daniel Ricciardo, Australia, Renault, 1:36.406.
13. Sebastian Vettel, Germany, Ferrari, 1:36.631.
14. Antonio Giovinazzi, Italy, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:38.248.

Eliminated after first session

15. Antonio Giovinazzi, Italy, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:37.075.
16. Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:37.555.
17. Kevin Magnussen, Denmark, Haas Ferrari, 1:37.863.
18. George Russell, Great Britain, Williams Mercedes, 1:38.045.
19. Pietro Fittipaldi, Brazil, Haas Ferrari, 1:38.173.
20. Nicholas Latifi, Canada, Williams Mercedes, 1:38.443.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MEDIEVIL%20(1998)
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Squad

Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas) 

Score

Third Test, Day 2

New Zealand 274
Pakistan 139-3 (61 ov)

Pakistan trail by 135 runs with 7 wickets remaining in the innings

COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Haltia.ai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202023%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Arto%20Bendiken%20and%20Talal%20Thabet%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20AI%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2041%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20About%20%241.7%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Self%2C%20family%20and%20friends%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company%C2%A0profile
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Motori Profile

Date started: March 2020

Co-founder/CEO: Ahmed Eissa

Based: UAE, Abu Dhabi

Sector: Insurance Sector

Size: 50 full-time employees (Inside and Outside UAE)

Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing 

Investors: Safe City Group

Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now

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Difference between fractional ownership and timeshare

Although similar in its appearance, the concept of a fractional title deed is unlike that of a timeshare, which usually involves multiple investors buying “time” in a property whereby the owner has the right to occupation for a specified period of time in any year, as opposed to the actual real estate, said John Peacock, Head of Indirect Tax and Conveyancing, BSA Ahmad Bin Hezeem & Associates, a law firm.

THE BIO

Ms Al Ameri likes the variety of her job, and the daily environmental challenges she is presented with.

Regular contact with wildlife is the most appealing part of her role at the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi.

She loves to explore new destinations and lives by her motto of being a voice in the world, and not an echo.

She is the youngest of three children, and has a brother and sister.

Her favourite book, Moby Dick by Herman Melville helped inspire her towards a career exploring  the natural world.

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

Bharatanatyam

A ancient classical dance from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Intricate footwork and expressions are used to denote spiritual stories and ideas.

Britain's travel restrictions
  • A negative test 2 days before flying
  • Complete passenger locator form
  • Book a post-arrival PCR test
  • Double-vaccinated must self-isolate
  • 11 countries on red list quarantine

     
Updated: October 08, 2024, 1:29 PM`