RIYADH: The UAE could quadruple food production within a decade, Minister of State for Food and Water Security Mariam Al-Mheiri, said in an interview with Asharq Business.
“Realistically, we are looking to increase our domestic production to about 30 to 40 percent of our food needs in the next ten years,” compared to 10 percent now, as the country imports 90 percent of its food,” she said.
“We know very well that relying on global food supplies is not a good thing,” she added.
Rapidly rising global food prices and disrupted supply chains due to the coronavirus pandemic have encouraged Gulf states such as the UAE to grow more crops and keep more livestock.
Al-Mheiri said the plan would require major investment the projected increase of the UAR population which is currently about 10 million.
The country has already made progress in terms of quinoa cultivation and salmon farming, she said.
Al-Mheiri urged all seven emirates in the country to consider what technology companies could offer to boost food production.
The minister also revealed that the UAE was conducting “extensive discussions” about agriculture with Israel, after the normalization of relations between the two countries last year.
“Israel and the UAE enjoy a similar climate in terms of desert and water scarcity,” she explained.
From salmon to quinoa, UAE seeks to quadruple food production
https://arab.news/ghq7u
From salmon to quinoa, UAE seeks to quadruple food production
- UAE and Israel discuss desert cultivation
- Pandemic focuses attention on food security
Global sculptors to transform Riyadh’s landscape
- Artists from 23 countries will shape city’s cultural legacy using local stone
RIYADH: The Riyadh Art program has announced the participating artists for the Tuwaiq International Sculpture Symposium, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The event, scheduled to take place at ROSHN Waterfront, will run from Jan. 15 to Feb. 8, 2025, under the theme “From Then to Now.”
Using stone sourced from the Tuwaiq area, the completed pieces will be displayed around the city from Feb. 12 to 24 as part of the Kingdom’s national public art initiative.
A flagship project of Riyadh Art, launched on March 19, 2019, the Tuwaiq International Sculpture Symposium seeks to foster artistic and cultural exchange through community partnerships, workshops, panel discussions and other activities.
It also aims to integrate artistic practices into Riyadh’s cultural landscape, according to the SPA.
The registration period for the symposium’s sixth edition drew significant global interest, with more than 750 applications submitted from 80 countries.
An independent committee of art and sculpture experts evaluated the submissions, ultimately selecting 30 artists from 23 countries to create public art sculptures using locally sourced stone, further enriching Riyadh’s cultural fabric.
The 2025 symposium will be curated by architect and artist Sebastian Betancur-Montoya and sculpture specialist Manal Al-Harbi.
Betancur-Montoya said: “We celebrate the constant challenges faced by artists this year. These challenges are a major source of inspiration, allowing everyone to create a legacy that bridges the past, present, and future in innovative and humane ways.”
The symposium has had more than 120 local and international artists participate over the past five years. It mirrors Riyadh Art’s public initiative that works to enhance the city’s cultural landscape through art, and which has now housed more than 1,000 public art pieces in neighborhoods, parks and other spaces.
Study reveals rich predator diversity in Saudi Arabia’s habitats
RIYADH: The National Center for Wildlife published a study titled “Predator Diversity and Conservation in Saudi Arabia” in the journal Diversity, documenting 14 predator species across six families in the Kingdom.
Using camera trap technology, the center recorded 4,787 nights of footage from 58 predator habitats, gathering data on species diversity, diet, distribution, threats, and habitat characteristics, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
The red fox was the most frequently observed species, recorded in 15 ecological sites, followed by the striped hyena, seen in 13 sites, with the highest number in the Raidah Protected Area in Asir.
The Arabian wolf was also widespread, while the honey badger was the least frequently observed, SPA reported.
The study confirmed that Saudi Arabia’s habitats, especially in the southwestern regions of Asir, Jazan, the Najran highlands, and the Sarawat Mountains, support diverse predator species. The sand cat and sand fox were also noted in desert ecosystems.
The research highlighted significant threats to predators, including killing, poisoning, trafficking, and habitat loss, according to SPA.
CEO of the National Center for Wildlife Mohammed Ali Qurban emphasized the need for further research to better understand the species’ lives, habitats and genetic traits.
“This will enrich our scientific knowledge, enhance the effectiveness of habitat rehabilitation and conservation plans, and positively impact the protection of biodiversity for these wild animals in their natural habitats,” he said.
Jeju Air flight crashes in South Korea, killing nearly all passengers
- At least 177 people have been confirmed dead, while 2 were rescued
- The crash is one of South Korea’s worst aviation disasters
SEOUL: A passenger plane carrying 181 people belly-landed and crashed at an airport in southwestern South Korea on Sunday morning, killing at least 177 people, officials said.
Jeju Air flight 7C2216 had taken off from Bangkok with 175 passengers and six crew on board. It was landing at Muan International Airport, about 290 km south of Seoul, when it crashed at around 9 a.m.
Footage broadcast by local media showed the Boeing 737-800 skidding across the airstrip, apparently with its landing gear still closed, and colliding head-on with the airport’s concrete fence before bursting into flames. Only the aircraft’s tail was recognizable after the explosion.
“After the plane hit the fence, passengers were flung out of the aircraft. There is almost no possibility of survival,” the National Fire Agency said during a briefing held for the victims’ families.
At least 177 people died in the fire and two people remain missing about 10 hours after the incident, the fire agency said. Emergency workers have rescued two crew members, whom health officials said are conscious and not in life-threatening condition.
Ju Jong-wan, senior official at the Ministry of Land, Traffic and Infrastructure, said the control tower had issued a bird strike warning that was followed by the pilots declaring a mayday shortly afterward, before the aircraft made its ill-fated attempt to belly land at the airport.
“Bird strike and landing gear malfunction are being suggested as possible causes of the accident, but we will need to do a thorough investigation to determine the true cause,” Ju told a press briefing, adding that the ministry is analyzing both black boxes from the crashed airliner.
One of the rescued crew members told fire authorities that a bird strike occurred a few minutes before the plane crashed, causing the engine to smoke up and explode.
A passenger texted a relative to say a bird was stuck in the wing, the News1 agency reported. The person’s final message was: “Should I say my last words?”
The crash is the deadliest aviation accident ever on South Korean soil, more than two decades after an Air China crash that killed 129 people in 2002. It is also the worst aviation accident involving a South Korean airline since a 1997 Korean Air crash in Guam that killed more than 200 people.
The accident appears to have been the first fatal one for Jeju Air, a low-cost South Korean carrier established in 2005 that flies to dozens of Asian countries.
“We sincerely apologize to all those suffering because of the accident at Muan International Airport,” said Jeju Air CEO Kim Yi-bae. “I relay my deepest condolences to the victims who have passed away and to the bereaved families … We will cooperate with the government to determine the cause.”
Boeing, the aircraft’s manufacturer, said in a statement that it is in contact with Jeju Air and is “ready to support them.”
While the US aviation giant has had a turbulent time in recent years, including two 737 Max crashes, analysts have said that the Boeing 737-800 had a strong safety record.
Egypt tests new extension of the Suez Canal
- Two ships used the new extension on Saturday, a statement from the Suez Canal Authority said
- The new extension is set to boost the canal’s capacity by six to eight vessels a day
CAIRO: Egypt has tested a new 10-kilometer extension to the Suez Canal as it tries to minimize the impact of currents on shipping and increase the key waterway’s capacity.
Two ships used the new extension on Saturday, a statement from the Suez Canal Authority said.
Authority chief Osama Rabie said the development in the canal’s southern region will “enhance navigational safety and reduce the effects of water and air currents on passing ships.”
Vessels navigating the waterway have at times run aground, mostly because of strong winds and sandstorms.
In 2021, giant container ship Ever Given became wedged diagonally in the canal, blocking trade for nearly a week and resulting in delays that cost billions of dollars.
The new extension is set to boost the canal’s capacity by six to eight vessels a day, Rabie said, and it will open after new navigational maps are issued.
In 2015, Egypt undertook an $8-billion expansion to the waterway, followed by several smaller development projects.
The Suez Canal has long been a vital source of foreign currency for Egypt that has been undergoing its worst ever economic crisis.
According to the International Monetary Fund, revenue from the canal has been slashed by up to 70 percent since last year because of attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels on shipping in the Red Sea.
Before the attacks pushed companies to change routes, the vital passage accounted for around 10 percent of global maritime trade.
Fatima Al-Banawi celebrates highlights ahead of January’s Joy Awards in Riyadh
DUBAI: After topping off a stellar 2024 by co-hosting the closing ceremony of the star-studded Red Sea Film Festival in December, Saudi director and actress Fatima Al-Banawi took to Instagram this week to share behind-the-scenes snafus that occurred before the event.
The star, who is nominated in the Best Film Director category at the upcoming Joy Awards in Riyadh, shared a carousel of photos taken during and after the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah, including a poignant shot of her grandfather.
“I don’t know where the words came from, but truly behind every grand appearance there are dark nights, dim lights, a sudden illness, and a liver sandwich that drips a sauce on your dress. But what comforts us through all the moments of exhaustion and fatigue are the celebrations that unfold honoring the stories we tell. And above all that, the moment you return home and find your grandfather watching you on the television screen (sic),” she captioned the post.
Al-Banawi made her directorial debut with “Basma” this year and she is nominated for an award at the Joy Awards, set to be held on Jan. 18.
The Best Film Director nominees include Tarek Al-Eryan (“Welad Rizq 3: Elqadia”), Ali Al-Kalthami (“Night Courier”), Fatima Al-Banawi (“Basma”), and Moataz Al-Touni (“Ex Merati”).
“Basma” launched on Netflix in June and Al-Banawi not only directed the movie, but wrote it (and an original song for the soundtrack) and played the title role — a young Saudi woman who returns home to Jeddah after two years away studying in the States to find that her parents have divorced without telling her after struggling to deal with the mental illness of her father, the well-respected Dr. Adly.
“My undergrad is in psychology. My father’s a psychologist. My sister’s a psychologist. I have psychology and sociology in my DNA,” Al-Banawi told Arab News at the time of the film’s release. “We talk about Sigmund Freud over lunch, you know?”
And so, when she sat down to write her first feature, it was natural that she would choose mental health as its focus.
“Dissonance was a word I found when I started working on ‘Basma.’ I wasn’t familiar with this term: to be in a complete state of, not just denial, but not responding in any way — action or awareness — to what (is obvious),” she said. “I felt it around me everywhere; things that were brushed under the carpet for years and years until they piled up and a person or a family could not handle them anymore.”
