Tag Archives: education
About Dubai: There’s a garden out there
About Dubai: There’s a garden out there Staff Reporter / 29 June 2013 It’s a 10,000-square-foot oasis, right on Shaikh Zayed Road, close to the First Gulf Bank metro station. Not new to lovers of greenery — or bird houses or ornamental fountains or even barbecue grills — Dubai Garden Center is a one-stop-shop for anyone looking to renovate or adorn their balconies and gardens. In fact, it offers even more. Under a green canopy that blocks out some of the sun’s rays, there is everything from a potting shed, a carpentry workshop, a tree area, furniture for the home and outdoors and even a second-hand bookshop. Ideal to spend a Saturday morning browsing, the place offers a lot in terms of broadening horizons and increasing knowledge and awareness of plant names, gardening tools and even, unexpectedly, fishing equipment. As you walk into the garden area, the first thing you spot is a range of wood fire ovens, branded under Jamie Oliver. An entire section inside stocks his brand of ingredients, products and recipe books. The wood fire oven though – Valoriani Ovens from Italy – cost a small fortune: Dh65,000. Much more affordable are the other garden bric-a-brac. Figurines of laughing Buddhas in different poses — sleeping, curled up, reclining and, of course, laughing. The baby sleeping Buddha is Dh239, while a primitive statue of a cross-legged figure baring its teeth and wearing a skull and bones necklace is Dh495. Many of the wares carry a tag that reads “Take me to your home”. Wood masks surrounded by creepers of Jasmine are for Dh195. A dog house comes for Dh1,695. Terracota Lions cost Dh250 each and wheelbarrows double that price, Dh500. If you have money to spend, every corner at Garden Center is a little piece of paradise with the bougainvillea in full bloom and the purple scraggly creepers, a species of spiderwort called Tradescantia pallida for an easy Dh12. Little containers of Crassula come for Dh12. Even amateur gardeners, looking to start from somewhere, should come here to see their options and learn more about the delights and wonders of the soil. Near the potting shed, there are endless varieties of garden accessories available, lots of material to decorate flower pots with, from mulched wood chips to shiny pebbles. There is an enclosed air-conditioned space that stocks further supplies. There are books and DVDs on how to grow roses and flowers of the British Isles, also in the gardens of South Africa. Aficionados can spend hours browsing these aisles. A section on fishing has niche products like neon-coloured bait and fishing reels with “corrosion-resistant ball bearings”. There is a cafe that offers wi-fi and carrot cake and, provided you stay away from the arugula and feta pasta salad and the spinach and mushroom quiche, their deserts are quite nice. Roseleaf Cafe at this Dubai Garden Centre may just be the only place in Dubai that has fans. Ceiling fans, made mostly redundant in the rest of Dubai, are a delight to see — though air-conditioned, the presence of these fans is a throwback to a simpler time. For more, email them at garden-centre@desertgroup.ae. The centre is open from 8am to 10pm everyday. nivriti@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Obama heads to South Africa with Mandela on his mind
Obama heads to South Africa with Mandela on his mind (Reuters) / 28 June 2013 US President Barack Obama heads to South Africa on Friday hoping to see ailing icon Nelson Mandela, after wrapping up a visit to Senegal that focused on improving food security and promoting democratic institutions. Obama is in the middle of a three-country tour of Africa that the White House hopes will compensate for what some view as years of neglect by the administration of America’s first black president. Before departing Dakar, Obama was scheduled to meet with farmers and local entrepreneurs to discuss new technologies that are helping farmers and their families in West Africa, one of the world’s poorest and most drought-prone regions. But it was Mandela, the 94-year-old former South African president who is clinging to life in a Pretoria hospital, who will dominate the president’s day even before he arrives in Johannesburg. Asked on Thursday whether Obama would be able to pay Mandela a visit, the White House said that was up to the family. “We are going to completely defer to the wishes of the Mandela family and work with the South African government as relates to our visit,” deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters in Senegal. “Whatever the Mandela family deems appropriate, that’s what we’re focused on doing in terms of our interaction with them.” Obama sees Mandela, also known as Madiba, as a hero. Whether they are able to meet or not, officials said his trip would serve largely as a tribute to the anti-apartheid leader. “I’ve had the privilege of meeting Madiba and speaking to him. And he’s a personal hero, but I don’t think I’m unique in that regard,” Obama said on Thursday. “If and when he passes from this place, one thing I think we’ll all know is that his legacy is one that will linger on throughout the ages.” The president arrives in South Africa on Friday evening and has no public events scheduled. He could go to the hospital then. Obama is scheduled to visit Robben Island, where Mandela spent years in prison, later during his trip. On Friday morning, Obama will take part in a “Feed the Future” event on food security. That issue, along with anti-corruption measures and trade opportunities for US companies, are topics the White House wants to highlight on Obama’s tour. Obama, who has been in office since 2009, has only visited Africa once in his presidential tenure: a short trip to Ghana at the beginning of his first term. While acknowledging that Obama has not spent as much time in Africa as people hoped, the administration is eager to highlight what it has done, in part to end unflattering comparisons to accomplishments of predecessors George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Food security and public aid are two of the issues the Obama team believes are success stories. “Africa has seen a steady and consistent increase in our overall resource investment each year that we’ve been in office,” said Raj Shah, head of USAID. “And sustaining that in this political climate has required real trade-offs to be made in other areas, but we’ve done that.” Continue reading
Public decency drive to continue during Ramadan
Public decency drive to continue during Ramadan Afkar Abdullah / 28 June 2013 The Sharjah Police will continue the public decency awareness campaign to curb objectionable practices and behaviour like wearing of skimpy outfits and eve-teasing during the holy month of Ramadan. The police would target youth who indulge in eve-teasing in shopping centres and malls, a top officer said. The police would not tolerate those who indulge in activities that threaten the society or any other act that violates the culture, tradition and religion of the emirates. Police patrols would be deployed around shopping centres and commercial and residential areas in all parts of Sharjah. “The visitors and residents of Sharjah should respect the emirate’s rules and its society,” he said. He said the decency campaign had achieved its goals in Sharjah during the last two years, as the number of such crimes dropped. “The initiatives taken by the Sharjah Police in educating the public about this particular law had played a great role in ensuring safety and peace in the emirate for all residents. He said that some diplomatic missions in Dubai have joined the emirate’s police to encourage expatriate residents from their countries to strictly abide by all laws and regulations pertaining to the dress code, decency and public conduct. afkarali@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
