Louvre Abu Dhabi, the museum of art and civilization, opened

Khaleejtimes
November 9, 2017

Abu Dhabi, Nov 9: The decade-long wait for the Arab world's own Louvre was well worth it. With the night sky reflected in the waters of the Arabian Gulf surrounding the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the museum witnessed its official opening on Wednesday evening.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai; His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces; French President Emmanuel Macron; and Morocco's King Mohammed VI were among those present at the grand opening.

In a tweet ahead of the opening, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed hailed the museum as a global cultural monument. "The Louvre Abu Dhabi brings together unique art icons that reflect humanity's collective genius," he tweeted.

Macron called the museum a "decisive turning point" in ties with the UAE in an interview with Arabic daily Al Ittihad. He also hailed the country, saying: "The UAE is an indispensable cornerstone for the Middle East stability, and our strategic economic partner."

Though the museum is now officially open, the public opening is only on November 11. For four days after, the museum will come alive with a spectacular light show, performances by international artists and "a few surprises".

The museum design by France's Pritzker Prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel conjures up the image of an Arab city as seen through the eyes of a contemporary cinematographer.

The architect said when it came to the design, he did not have to look too far for inspiration, because it lay right here, in the heart of the UAE.

"I believed this museum has to have roots and should translate and define the culture of this country, so I used symbols of the Arabic culture."

Recalling his first helicopter tour of the sandy island, Nouvel said: "I'm a contextual architect, and I can't imagine a programme if it doesn't belong to the culture."

A silver-toned dome with perforated Arabesque patterns appears to float over the white galleries, creating what Nouvel describes as a "rain of light". To reach the ground, each ray of light must cross eight layers of perforations, creating a constantly shifting pattern that mimics the shadows cast by palm trees or the roof of a traditional Arab market.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi is the first of three museums to open on Saadiyat Island, where the UAE plans to launch the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, designed by Frank Gehry, and Norman Foster's Zayed National Museum.

The main focus of the museum is on world history and religions. Among the exhibits are an early copy of the Holy Quran, a Gothic Bible and a Yemenite Torah, facing each other and open at verses carrying the same message.

Jean-Luc Martinez, president of the Louvre in Paris, said the new museum was designed "to open up to others, to understand diversity" in "a multipolar world".

It currently has some 300 pieces on loan, including an 1887 self-portrait by Vincent van Gogh and Leonardo da Vinci's "La Belle Ferronniere".

The museum is displaying more than 235 works of art from the Emirati collection, including Edouard Manet's "The Gypsy" and works by Dutch abstract artist Piet Mondrian and Turkey's Osman Hamdi Bey.

The artworks are guarded by Emirati forces in coordination with French experts.

The museum expects to welcome around 5,000 visitors over the first few days after the public opening on November 11, according to Mohammed Al Mubarak, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Culture and Tourism Authority.

"Because this is an international museum, we're expecting visitors from around the world," Mubarak said during a media tour ahead of Wednesday's inauguration ceremony. "So a museum visitor from China will find something that speaks to her, to her history. A visitor from India will find the same."

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News Network
July 14,2020

Jaipur, Jul 14: In a show of strength, Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot-led Rajasthan Congress camp on Monday released a video showing at least 16 MLAs sitting together.

This comes hours after the Congress held a legislature party meeting. Party leaders said 106 of 122 MLAs attended, a claim contested by the Pilot camp.

The 10-second video was shared late at night on Pilot's official WhatsApp group.

In the video, at least 16 MLAs are seen sitting together in a close circle. Pilot is not seen in the video.

Six other people can be seen in the video but they could not be identified.

Some of the MLAs seen in the video are Indraraj Gurjar, Mukesh Bhakar, Harish Meena.

Tourism Minister Vishvendra Singh tweeted the video with the caption "Family".

Ladnun MLA Mukesh Bhakar tweeted, "...Loyalty in Congress means Ashok Gehlot's slavery. That is not acceptable to us."

Pilot has been upset since he was denied the Rajasthan chief minister's post after the December 2018 assembly elections.

On Sunday, he claimed to have the backing of 30 Congress MLAs and "some independents".

Those close to him disputed Gehlot's claim that his government had a majority, and said this is proven in the assembly and not at the CM's house.

Sources close to him have also ruled out the possibility of Pilot joining the BJP.

In the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly, the Congress has 107 MLAs and the BJP 72. In the past, the ruling party has claimed the support of 13 independents, two MLAs each from the CPM and the Bharatiya Tribal Party, and one from the Rashtriya Lok Dal.

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News Network
February 21,2020

Washington, Feb 21: Days ahead of his India visit, US President Donald Trump on Thursday said the two countries could make a "tremendous" trade deal.

"We're going to India, and we may make a tremendous deal there," Trump said in his commencement address at the Hope for Prisoners Graduation Ceremony in Las Vegas.

Trump, accompanied by First Lady Melania Trump, is scheduled to travel to Ahmedabad, Agra and New Delhi on February 24 and 25.

Ahead of the visit, there have been talks about India and the United States agreeing on a trade package as a precursor to a major trade deal.

During his commencement address, Trump indicated that the talks on this might slowdown if he did not get a good deal.

"Maybe we'll slow down. We'll do it after the election. I think that could happen too. So, we'll see what happens," he said.

"But we're only making deals if they're good deals because we're putting America first. Whether people like it or not, we're putting America first," Trump said.

Bilateral India-US trade in goods and services is about three per cent of the US' world trade.

In a recent report, the Congressional Research Service (CRS) said the trading relationship is more consequential for India -- in 2018 the United States was its second largest goods export market (16.0 per cent share) after the European Union (EU, 17.8 per cent), and third largest goods import supplier (6.3 per cent) after China (14.6 per cent) and the EU 28 (10.2 per cent).

"The Trump Administration takes issue with the US trade deficit with India, and has criticised India for a range of 'unfair' trading practices," the CRS said.

"Indian Prime Minister Modi's first term fell short of many observers' expectations, as India did not move forward with anticipated market opening reforms, and instead increased tariffs and trade restrictions," it said.

"Modi's strong electoral mandate may embolden the Indian government to press ahead with its reform agenda with greater vigour. Slowing economic growth in India raises concerns about its business environment," CRS said.

As per a fact sheet issued by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), trade in goods and services between the two countries from 1999 to 2018 surged from $16 billion to $142 billion.

India is now the United States' eighth-largest trading partner in goods and services and is among the world's largest economies.

India's trade with the United States now resembles, in terms of volume, the US' trade with South Korea ($167 billion in 2018) or France ($129 billion), said Alyssa Ayres from CFR.

"The United States for two years now has set out in stone pretty clearly the things that they wanted to see to try to get an agreement, and it's basically then on India's doorstep on whether they want to take those steps," Rick Rossow, Wadhwani Chair in US-India Policy Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies think-tank told reporters during a conference call.

"The list of US asks has been pretty static all throughout. Not to say that any of these things are easy for India to do, but the United States to my knowledge didn't change the goalposts just because we now consider India to be a middle-income country. The things that we wanted to see happen to get this trade agreement have been pretty static all throughout, no matter how difficult they are," he said in response to a question.

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Khaleej Times
June 7,2020

Dubai, Jun 7: Emirates airline on Sunday confirmed that it extended the period of reduced pay for its staff for another three months as airlines around the world struggle to preserve cash due to the grounding of fleets.

An e-mail has been sent across to Emirates employees about extending the wage cuts till September 30. In some cases, the salary will be reduced by 50 per cent.

Emirates had previously reduced basic wages by 25 to 50 per cent for three months from April, with junior employees exempted.

The Dubai-based world's largest international carrier employs around 60,000 people across its spectrum. While the parent Emirates Group employs over 100,000 workers.

On Thursday, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways confirmed to Khaleej Times that it also extended salary cut of its employees till September 2020.

"Regretfully, Etihad has extended its salary reduction until September 2020, with 25 per cent reduction for junior staff and cabin crew, and 50 per cent for employees at manager level and above. Housing allowance and a number of benefits continue to be paid," the airline's spokesperson said in a statement last week.

In March, Etihad had announced temporary reduction of basic salaries for the month of April to all staff, including executives, between 25 to 50 per cent.

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