ABU DHABI // An initiative to register falconry with the UN as a form of cultural heritage is closer to taking flight with Abu Dhabi gaining the support of four other Arab states.
The participating countries agreed to submit their bids in a single file to Unesco, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation on Aug 31.
"Our leadership has found it is best for us to submit one file involving all interested Arab countries to register falconry with Unesco," said Dr Sami al Masri, deputy head of the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (Adach), which is spearheading the initiative.
The announcement came as five Arab countries, including the UAE, prepared to finalise their bids during all-day workshops on Wednesday at the Shangri-La Hotel.
The other participating countries were Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Morocco and Syria.
About 65 nations practise training birds of prey for hunting game.
"This is the first such initiative from the region, and it will be the largest joint submission file" to the Unesco heritage panel, said Dr Awadh Saleh, international organisations affairs expert at Adach.
The Unesco Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage aims to preserve traditional craftsmanship, ancient languages, social practices, rituals and festivities and traditional performing arts.
Signatories pledge to look after a particular aspect of heritage, whether through laws, grants or favourable treatment of practitioners, experts said.
Before the presentation to the UN, the International Festival of Falconry will give a chance for the UAE to show its falconry heritage to the rest of the world.
The event, to be held on July 11-12 at Englefield Estate near Reading, in southern England, is organised by the UK Hawk Board, and the Emirates Falconers' Club is a major sponsor. Each of the 50 nations taking part will have its own camp, showcasing unique facets of falconry and hunting.
The UAE's will feature displays of camels, Arabian horses, and the traditional hunting hounds, salukis.
The club is looking for volunteers to explain the country's heritage and traditions to an expected 10,000 to 20,000 visitors.
Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoun, the chairman of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, will be there with other high-level delegates from the UAE. About 500 schoolchildren from Abu Dhabi are also scheduled to visit the exhibits and learn about the differences between Arabian and European falconry.
The International Fund for Houbara Conservation, set up by the Abu Dhabi Government to protect the prized houbara bustard through a captive breeding programme, will be another focus of the festival.
People in the UAE have been hunting with falcons for generations. With the arrival of oil wealth in the 1960s an 1970s, hunting evolved from a necessity to a hobby. But the rapid rise in population and new wealth meant hunting started to harm the environment.
Previously, hunters would trap wild falcons in autumn and release them in spring. But the availability of air conditioning made it possible to keep the birds in captivity.
Conservationists also have criticised wealthy Gulf falconers for fuelling the illegal trade in endangered species.
The saker, peregrine and gyr falcons are the three species most popular with hunters. According to the Red List of Endangered Species, drawn up by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the saker's future is in jeopardy, with about 4,000 birds trapped each year in Saudi Arabia, and 500 to 1,000 in each of the other Gulf states.
In the UAE there are virtually no wild falcons left, although countries such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia are still using wild birds, many of them trapped illegally. Some governments, such as that of Mongolia, have instituted a legal quota.
In 1995 Sheikh Zayed, the founding president of the UAE, started a falcon-release programme in which birds belonging to members of the royal family and those confiscated from smugglers were released in Pakistan. Between 80 and 100 birds are freed every year through the programme.
relass@thenational.ae
MEDIEVIL%20(1998)
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Indoor Cricket World Cup Dubai 2017
Venue Insportz, Dubai; Admission Free
Day 1 fixtures (Saturday)
Men 1.45pm, Malaysia v Australia (Court 1); Singapore v India (Court 2); UAE v New Zealand (Court 3); South Africa v Sri Lanka (Court 4)
Women Noon, New Zealand v South Africa (Court 3); England v UAE (Court 4); 5.15pm, Australia v UAE (Court 3); England v New Zealand (Court 4)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Planes grounded by coronavirus
British Airways: Cancels all direct flights to and from mainland China
Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific: Cutting capacity to/from mainland China by 50 per cent from Jan. 30
Chicago-based United Airlines: Reducing flights to Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong
Ai Seoul: Suspended all flights to China
Finnair: Suspending flights to Nanjing and Beijing Daxing until the end of March
Indonesia's Lion Air: Suspending all flights to China from February
South Korea's Asiana Airlines, Jeju Air and Jin Air: Suspend all flights
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
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Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
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A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
Paris Can Wait
Dir: Eleanor Coppola
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Diane Lane, Arnaud Viard
Two stars
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
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Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
The biog
Nickname: Mama Nadia to children, staff and parents
Education: Bachelors degree in English Literature with Social work from UAE University
As a child: Kept sweets on the window sill for workers, set aside money to pay for education of needy families
Holidays: Spends most of her days off at Senses often with her family who describe the centre as part of their life too
Name: Brendalle Belaza
From: Crossing Rubber, Philippines
Arrived in the UAE: 2007
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi: NYUAD campus
Favourite photography style: Street photography
Favourite book: Harry Potter
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
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The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
Tributes from the UAE's personal finance community
• Sebastien Aguilar, who heads SimplyFI.org, a non-profit community where people learn to invest Bogleheads’ style
“It is thanks to Jack Bogle’s work that this community exists and thanks to his work that many investors now get the full benefits of long term, buy and hold stock market investing.
Compared to the industry, investing using the common sense approach of a Boglehead saves a lot in costs and guarantees higher returns than the average actively managed fund over the long term.
From a personal perspective, learning how to invest using Bogle’s approach was a turning point in my life. I quickly realised there was no point chasing returns and paying expensive advisers or platforms. Once money is taken care off, you can work on what truly matters, such as family, relationships or other projects. I owe Jack Bogle for that.”
• Sam Instone, director of financial advisory firm AES International
"Thought to have saved investors over a trillion dollars, Jack Bogle’s ideas truly changed the way the world invests. Shaped by his own personal experiences, his philosophy and basic rules for investors challenged the status quo of a self-interested global industry and eventually prevailed. Loathed by many big companies and commission-driven salespeople, he has transformed the way well-informed investors and professional advisers make decisions."
• Demos Kyprianou, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"Jack Bogle for me was a rebel, a revolutionary who changed the industry and gave the little guy like me, a chance. He was also a mentor who inspired me to take the leap and take control of my own finances."
• Steve Cronin, founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com
"Obsessed with reducing fees, Jack Bogle structured Vanguard to be owned by its clients – that way the priority would be fee minimisation for clients rather than profit maximisation for the company.
His real gift to us has been the ability to invest in the stock market (buy and hold for the long term) rather than be forced to speculate (try to make profits in the shorter term) or even worse have others speculate on our behalf.
Bogle has given countless investors the ability to get on with their life while growing their wealth in the background as fast as possible. The Financial Independence movement would barely exist without this."
• Zach Holz, who blogs about financial independence at The Happiest Teacher
"Jack Bogle was one of the greatest forces for wealth democratisation the world has ever seen. He allowed people a way to be free from the parasitical "financial advisers" whose only real concern are the fat fees they get from selling you over-complicated "products" that have caused millions of people all around the world real harm.”
• Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"In an industry that’s synonymous with greed, Jack Bogle was a lone wolf, swimming against the tide. When others were incentivised to enrich themselves, he stood by the ‘fiduciary’ standard – something that is badly needed in the financial industry of the UAE."
Company%20profile
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Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (c), Chamani Senevirathne (vc), Subha Srinivasan, NIsha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Esha Oza, Ishani Senevirathne, Heena Hotchandani, Keveesha Kumari, Judith Cleetus, Chavi Bhatt, Namita D’Souza.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
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FORSPOKEN
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat