From Foreign Waters

The United Arab Emirates was a part in the recently concluded Global Green Growth meeting where it highlighted the importance of sustainable living and green growth. This was the ninth session of the assembly while the thirteenth session of the council of the GGG group.  The Emirati nation was represented by Eng Aisha Al Abdooli, director of Green Development at the Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, MOCCAE. The session was headed by Ban ki-moon, president and chair of GGGI’s assembly and council. The session saw participation by various officials of different governments, international organisations and various businesses from about 30 countries.  The process lasted for two weeks where the delegates could share their experience and knowledge in the field and also discuss key initiatives that were aimed at sustainable recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.  While addressing the members, Ban ki-moon said, “This year, the one development that has affected us all is the COVID-19

In a latest development, UAE’s martyr’s office has decided to launch a nationwide campaign to ensure that family members of the servicemen killed in the country in the line of duty, receive Covid-19 vaccine.  The news was confirmed by the Martyrs' Families Affairs Office who will also be overseeing the execution of this initiative in partnership with the emirate's Department of Health. The Executive Director of the office, Sheikh Khalifa bin Tahnoon, said that through this project, the United Arab Emirates aims to serve the people who have lost their loved ones in the line of duty. While talking about this initiative he also appreciated the efforts made by the United Arab Emirate’s health sector in controlling the coronavirus pandemic. The families who have been promised of help also thanked the office for its continued assistance. The coronavirus vaccine is going through phase three of trial in the Emirate and the latest person to have received the vaccine the Cabinet Minister

More than a thousand school buses have been inspected for possible danger for coronavirus by the Dubai’s road and Transport authority. The schools in the country have already opened and this calls for special measures by the authority. In this procedure of inspecting the school buses, 56 breaches were found where the authorities felt that the bus did not follow safety regulations. Though among these buses that had issues with the hardware such as seat, interior or exterior and other such things were also included.  According to the National, one of the transport officials said that these inspections will carry out through the year as they ensure safety of the pupils. This is after in August, the officials had a workshop with the school authorities and the bus managers to adhere to certain guidelines during the run of this pandemic.  These safety measures include, regular temperature check, carrying capacity of the bus reduced to 50 percent, sanitisation of buses before and after use an

Dubai may be known for its skyscrapers but it's not something that is going to come in limelight this time. It is coming up with one of the most powerful and old resources to generate power, a coal power plant which will stand tall in the midst of the deserted land.  It is a $3.4 billion project called Hassyan plant in Dubai. The official announcement about the contribution was only made recently after it was revealed that the peninsula will also be building a nuclear power plant and has also been promoting its solar power plant named after Dubai’s ruler.  Dubai has been advancing vigorously in sustainable development goals especially when it comes to carbon footprints. The Emirate has planned to contribute the lowest in the carbon footprint in the world till 2050. Although, it will be a task to achieve this feat hand in hand to building a coal plant, which will have a huge impact in increasing the pollution level in the city, but it also to be noted that till now, the country has

An initiative to build Abu Dhabi’s largest solar photovoltaic has been taken by a renewable energy company called Masdar and the Emirates leading curator of experiences, Miral,. This will be one of its kind projects that will be created at Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi on Yas Island. As per reports, the deal has been signed aiming at providing nearly 16,000 solar modules all over the theme park’s roof area of 36,000 square meter. This will fetch 40 percent of its annual demand, which is a staggering difference from before. From what has been understood of the agreement, Masdar will be supplying a full turnkey solution for a seven megawatt peak project which will include design, procurement and other aspects involving the set-up of the plant such as- construction, operation and maintenance of the plant.  The project will reportedly take a year to complete and estimated time is scheduled in the fourth quarter of next year. With this, Abu Dhabi is set to become the largest solar powered th

The United Arab Emirates adheres to all the necessary norms and precautions while preparing for a 10-day long festival of Navratri. The community groups and Indian expats have maintained that all the celebrations will be ‘strictly at home.’ Usually, this time of the year brings a lot of celebrations and gatherings and a large population in the UAE loves to enjoy dandiya, a traditional dance performance originated in the Indian state of Gujarat. But given the current circumstances, there are ‘absolutely no festivities at the Hindu temple at Bur Dubai.  Gopal Kokani, general manager of the Bur Dubai Hindu Temple, said: "We are strictly adhering to the guidelines issued by the Community Development Authority. We have 30 minutes of prayer every morning and 30 minutes in the evening." The temple is known to host large gatherings each year during Navratri.  He added that the norms are being abided by June 1 of this year and everyone in the country who comes to the temple has adjust

According to a circular issued this month, the airlines have been asked by the Dubai airport to repatriate passengers who would come or visit the United Arab Emirates without a return ticket.  The decision was taken after it was found that on Wednesday and Thursday, many passengers from the South Asian countries got stranded in the Dubai airport after they were unable to fulfill the entry requirements.  As it was reported by the Khaleez times, the circular said, “Passengers with visit and tourist visas arriving (in) Dubai without a return ticket will be not be permitted entry, and it is the sole responsibility of the airline to arrange and cover the cost of a ticket/ flight to return their passenger to the country of origin." It was reported that the majority of the passengers among the south asian nations were from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal and Afghanistan. Yesterday a report claimed that according to the diplomatic institutions of India and Pakistan, as many as 300 pass

To promote safe and responsible space ventures and corporations, it has become a part of seven other signatories who have signed Nasa's Artemis Accords for the same purpose.  The UAE Space Agency (UAESA) officially became a part of the cluster during the 71st International Astronautical Congress (IAC), running between October 12 and 14, 2020. This initiative is unique in the sense that it will include the first women and next man to land on the surface of the moon till 2024.  The United Arab Emirates is planning for a one of its kind mission by the end of this decade where a human will be a part of mars mission. By signing the documents to join NASA’s initiative, UAE can now be an international partner to all the countries who are planning or have already executed the strenuous mission.  The whole event was held through a virtual set-up hosted by NASA and  Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Technology and Chair of the UAE Space Agency was present while representing the

Abu Dhabi-based Khalifa University has developed a new portable testing kit which can detect coronavirus in about 35 minutes. The team of researchers, who worked on it, applied a low cost detection technique called loop-mediated isothermal amplification (Lamp) technique to ascertain the infection. The makers claimed that the kit, which is slightly bigger than a smart phone, could be used for testing about 16 different samples. The changing of the colour detects the disease and the kit, which is under clinical validation, has proven to be as accurate as a PCR nasal swab test. Dr Anas Alazzam, associate professor in mechanical engineering at Khalifa University and key supervisor of the kit, said, “Polymerase chain reaction or PCR testing is lengthy and requires bulky equipment. It uses a thermal cycling approach to start the RNA replication process, which needs to be converted to DNA and detect the virus.” He added, “Lamp, on the other hand, uses a single temperature approach to get the

The coronavirus pandemic has left hundreds of thousands of people stressed out for various reasons. Many are troubled by the job losses while others have struggled to keep up their work and feed their families in half the payment.  This has taken a toll on the health of these workers and more than the physical aspect, it has affected mental health. One such worker is 31-year-old Mohammed Afia , who has been working in half payment since May, according to a story in Khaleej Times. He has been stressed out because since May he is unable to send enough money to home, time and again bothering him.  There is another worker who panicked when he got to know that a lot of his friends had lost jobs and was worried that he might also lose the job. A 27-year-old Adam Swamad, a Cameroonian supervisor in a cleaning company, said that apart from the fear of losing his job, he is scared of contracting the dreaded virus as well.  As the reports state, both the workers are attending counseling sessions

On Tuesday, the foreign ministers of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel met for the first time following the agreement between the two nations, signed last month, aiming at normalising their ties. Berlin hosted the foreigner ministers meet, bringing together former foes on one table after about four decades. The historic deal between the two opposing nations was brokered by US President Donald Trump, giving them the option of settling their difference in a peaceful manner. Besides UAE, Bahrain also signed a similar agreement with Israel on September 15. UAE foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed thanked his German counterpart Heiko Maas for hosting the meeting with Israeli foreign minister whom he referred as “my new friend Gabi Ashkenazi”. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed said, “Three decades ago, the German people united Berlin to make history, and today we are gathered together in the hope of making history.” He added, “In the UAE we are looking forward to opening more new horiz

Despite a recent increase in the number of coronavirus cases in the country, UAE has a good handle on the situation because of improving treatment techniques. For five straight days, UAE registered more than 1000 cases of COVID-19 each day. It only dropped on Monday when 932 cases were recorded, in addition to three deaths. The total number of cases so far is inching towards the 100,000 mark and there have been 429 deaths. The spike in cases comes at the time when the society has been opening up further, with entry permits now being issued and entertainment options now open.  The country is responding to this by expanding testing in order to detect cases early and treat them accordingly. Each day, more than 100,000 tests are being processed. More 80,000 people have also recovered, including 1,287 in the previous 24 hours, according to the Ministry of Health and Prevention. The recovery rate is, in fact, at record high levels and the chance of survival upon contraction of the disease is

The United Arab Emirates capital, Abu Dhabi plans for a more inclusive society for the disabled. The emirate looks at the word as a part of this initiative of making the society more acceptable and comfortable for people with disabilities.  Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed spoke to the members of the host town committees of the special olympic world games of Abu Dhabi as reported by the national. The crown prince of Abu Dhabi, who is also the Deputy Supreme Commander of armed forces, announced the strategy for people’s determination last month.  The initiative has been taken to ensure equal opportunities and rights across several important sectors in the Emirati capital.  Hamad Ali Al Dhaheri, undersecretary of Abu Dhabi's Department of Community Development, said that as many as 30 initiatives will be supported under this programme and will be supported by 28 federal governments and local bodies.  He added that these 30 initiatives will be implemented in a span of five years and will aim

Post covid times have seen parents in the United Arab Emirates shifting their children to more affordable schools. As per a report by the National, admissions in affordable schools have increased as parents are trying to cut down on the educational spending.  Teachers of some schools also asserted that because of a lot of admission requirements, they are oversubscribed with waiting lists.  One of the schools in the UAE, the Winchester school said that they admitted double the number of children this year when compared to previous years. Jebel Ali from the school said that last year 350 students took admissions while this year the number has increased to 750. Fees at the school range from Dh13,800 for foundation stage to Dh30,800 for year 13. The principal of the school , Meenakshi Dahiya said that though every year we have a long waiting list but this year it is longer.  “We have more than 4,200 pupils at our school of which more than 700 pupils have joined this year. We did not get ma

There’s something controversial about what I read today. It’s about a war hero, European affairs scholar, Army Lieutenant Colonel, Alexander Vindman who had lofty visions of representing the United States. But he was paused by a call he received between President Trump and Ukraine's President, Volodymyr Zelensky. Colonel Vindman appeared before Congress about the Ukraine case a little over a year after taking a position at the White House, and was a key witness in the impeachment inquiry into Mr. Trump. If we will look at it, retired now, alleging White House bullying, Colonel Vindman informs Kara Swisher that he doesn't regret testifying. But what in the first place drew him to the White House? When so many people haven't, why did he speak up? What do you think, folks?  Source: https://nyti.ms/36iRl5D

The Minister of the Foriegn affairs  and International cooperation officially announced the United Arab Emirates candidacy for two year term on the UN Security Council in 2022-23.  Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed made the announcement at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. “My country will follow the same steps and principles upon which it was founded to maintain international peace and security in cooperation with the members of the council,” he said while addressing the UN General Assembly.  A total of ten non-permanent members panel will be set up serving overlapping two years under the five member states on the security council elected by the UN General Assembly. It will be the second time that the gulf nation will be serving on the council after the 1986-87 run.  Al Nahayan assured that the UAE will work towards solving important issues, confronting states with the motive to settle and approach issues with determination according to a report in the WAM.  Recent m