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Showcasing flavours of India at Global Village

January 11, 2014

Global_Village

Dubai, Jan 11: Of the many country pavilions in the Global Village, the India Pavilion stands out in terms of size and variety. It is the largest pavilion at the village. Spread across an area of 11,500 square metres, it is popular with both residents and tourists alike.

“The India pavilion presents a kaleidoscopic view of India’s rich tradition and culture not only to multinational visitors but also to fellow Indians,” says Sunil Bhatia, CEO of India Pavilion, E4 Entertainment, a leading events and exhibitions company in Dubai, is the organiser of the pavilion.

“More than trade participation, the pavilion provides a cultural window. It has become one of the biggest retail exhibitions involved in the promotion of Indian culture, tourism, trade and small-scale industries such as handicrafts and handlooms,” adds Bhatia.

The theme state of India this year is Gujarat and the facade of the pavilion is the replica of the Lakshmi Vilas Palace of Vadodara in Gujarat. As you walk inside, you notice a wide variety of Indian products on display at the various stalls. Handicrafts and handloom products from various states in India dominate.

For the home, you have a choice of wrought iron and wooden furniture, cane and bamboo products, cushion covers, wall hangings, rugs, decorative items, clay/terracotta items, home accessories and furnishing, cotton, silk and designer bedspreads, kitchenware, cutlery and mats.

There are table covers, runners, accessories, handmade and machine-made carpets, candle holders, flower vases, paintings, wood and leather jewellery boxes, lamp shades, picture frames, marble and metal decorative items, coir and jute handicrafts, wood carving, coconut shell work, bidri craft, blue pottery, foot mats, silk painting, canvas, jute and leather bags, pouches and clutches.

There are different types of fabrics and fashion accessories for women. You have a choice of chaniya choli/lehenga choli (bridal wear), salwar suits, saris, tops, kurtis and skirts made of crochets. There is a selection of matching Jaipuri and Punjabi jutties. Besides fashion jewellery, there is a selection of real gold and diamond jewellery.

India is fast emerging as a medical excellence centre and attracts international travellers in large numbers. The allure is endless… be it ayurveda, yoga, meditation, rejuvenating spas, or high-tech healing. At the India Pavilion, there is a selection of ayurvedic and herbal products, Indian spices and packed ethnic foodstuff. Hair accessories and hair treatment products, healthcare products, gems, zodiac stones and vastu-related items also stoke the interest of curious visitors.

Performers at the pavilion continue to charm visitors. The India Pavilion is the only one that has its own stage with a seating capacity of 800. There are cultural programmes six days a week, held in the evening, for two to three hours during which performers from various states of India showcase traditional, cultural and Bollywood dances. Street performers and puppeteers from Rajasthan add to the attraction.

“The puppet show from Rajasthan is a big hit. Tribes of Rajasthan have been performing this art from ancient times and it has become an eternal part of Rajasthani culture and tradition. Demo artists have been specially flown down from India and show live demonstrations of their craft at a specially constructed ‘Handicrafts Hut’ and their skill at henna design is a real crowd-puller at the pavilion,” says Bhatia.

Children, especially the little ones, can experience the miniature merry-go-rounds specially brought in from India to ensure that kids here do not miss out on traditional fun.

Bhatia adds: “The success of earlier editions has encouraged us to increase not only the size of the pavilion but also the space between stalls. This will enable visitors to enjoy more walking space and reduce congestion in the pavilion, considering the favourable results it has achieved.

“Keeping in mind the past sales records, exhibitors will find the extensive promotion, immense popularity and convenient location ideal for the promotion of Indian products, particularly those interested in entering the market for the first time. The Global Village is an attractive retail location and known to have the highest sales of any shopping venue during the Dubai Shopping Festival.”

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News Network
February 24,2020

Dubai, Feb 24: Kuwait and Bahrain confirmed on Monday their first novel coronavirus cases, the countries' health ministries announced, adding all had come from Iran.

Kuwait reported three infections and Bahrain one in citizens who had returned home from the Islamic republic.

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Agencies
May 31,2020

Riyadh, May 31: Over 90,000 mosques in Saudi Arabia reopened their doors to worshippers on Sunday morning after over a two-month closure as part of an ease in the curfew restrictions to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The worshipers were allowed to enter the mosques, except the mosques in Makkah, from Fajr prayers today morning (Shawwal 8) with a limit of 40 per cent capacity.

The reopening of mosques was be undertaken in accordance with the guidance of Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dr Abdullatif Al Asheikh, and in line with advice issued by the Senior Council of Ulemas.

The ministry has embarked on a vigorous media campaign to urge all worshippers to abide by preventive measures for their own safety to curb the spread of Covid-19.Among the instructions are doing ablution at home, hand-washing and using sanitisers before going out to the mosque and after coming back home.

On Saturday, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman has approved opening the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah in stages to the public.

The elderly and those with chronic diseases are advised to perform their prayers at home. Reading and reciting the Holy Quran online is advised, too, from one's own mobile phone or at least reading from a privately owned copy of the Holy Quran.

Bringing one's prayer mat to perform prayers in mosques is highly recommended as well as keeping a two-metre distance between one another prayer.

Accompanying children under the age of 15 to the mosques is prohibited. Putting on a face mask and avoiding shaking hands and other contact is also recommended.

Meanwhile, the ministry managed, during the closure of mosques, to undertaking a massive cleaning, sanitising and maintenance drive in all mosques Kingdom-wide, according to world-class standards and best known practices. This included sanitising over 10 million mosques, 43 million copies of several sizes and volumes of the Quran, more than 600,000 Holy Quran cupboards, in addition to repairing and maintaining about 176,000

water closets, annexed to mosques.

 

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Agencies
August 2,2020

Dubai, Aug 2: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced on Saturday that it has started operations in the first of four reactors at the Barakah nuclear power station - the first nuclear power plant in the Arab world.

Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), which is building and operating the plant with Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) said in a press release that its subsidiary Nawah Energy Company "has successfully started up Unit 1 of the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant, located in the Al Dhafrah Region of Abu Dhabi".

That signals that Unit 1, which had fuel rods loaded in March, has achieved "criticality" - a sustained fission chain reaction.

"The start-up of Unit 1 marks the first time that the reactor safely produces heat, which is used to create steam, turning a turbine to generate electricity," said ENEC.

Barakah, which was originally scheduled to open in 2017, has been dogged by delays and is billions of dollars over budget. It has also raised myriad concerns among nuclear energy veterans who are concerned about the potential risks Barakah could visit upon the Arabian Peninsula, from an environmental catastrophe to a nuclear arms race.

Paul Dorfman, an honorary senior research fellow at the Energy Institute, University College London and founder and chair of the Nuclear Consulting Group, has criticised the Barakah reactors' "cheap and cheerful" design that he says cuts corners on safety.

Dorfman authored a report (PDF) last year detailing key safety features Barakah's reactors lack, such as a "core catcher" to literally stop the core of a reactor from breaching the containment building in the event of a meltdown. The reactors are also missing so-called Generation III Defence-In-Depth reinforcements to the containment building to shield against a radiological release resulting from a missile or fighter jet attack.

Both of these engineering features are standard on new reactors built in Europe, says Dorfman.

There have been at least 13 aerial attacks on nuclear facilities in the Middle East - more than any other region on earth.

The vulnerability of critical infrastructure in the Arabian Peninsula was further laid bare last year after Saudi Arabia's oil facilities at Abqaiq and Khurais were attacked by 18 drones and seven cruise missiles - an assault that temporarily knocked out more than half of the kingdom's oil production.

On Saturday, Dorfman reiterated his concern that there is no regional protocol in place to determine liability should an accident or incident at Barakah result in radioactive contamination spreading from the UAE to its neighbours. 

"Given Barakah has started up, because of all the well-rehearsed nuclear safety and security problems, it may be critically important that the Gulf states collectively evolve a Nuclear Accident Liability Convention, so that if anything does go wrong, victim states may have some sort of redress," Dorfman told Al Jazeera. 

The UAE has substantial oil and gas reserves, but it has made huge investments in developing alternative energy sources, including nuclear and solar.

Experts though have questioned why the UAE - which is bathed in sunlight and wind - has pushed ahead with nuclear energy - a far more expensive and riskier option than renewable energy sources.

When the UAE first announced Barakah in 2009, nuclear power was cheaper than solar and wind. But by 2012 - when the Emirates started breaking ground to build the reactors - solar and wind costs had plummeted dramatically.

Between 2009 and 2019, utility-scale average solar photovoltaic costs fell 89 percent and wind fell 43 percent, while nuclear jumped 26 percent, according to an analysis by the financial advisory and asset manager Lazard.

There are also concerns about the potential for Barakah to foment nuclear proliferation in the Middle East - a region rife with geopolitical fault lines and well-documented history of nuclear secrecy.

The UAE has sought to distance itself from the region's bad behaviour by agreeing not to enrich its own uranium or reprocess spent fuel. It has also signed up to the United Nation's nuclear watchdog's Additional Protocol, significantly enhancing inspection capabilities, and secured a 123 Agreement with the United States that allows bilateral civilian nuclear cooperation.

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