ABU DHABI // The capital has been recognised for its greenery, winning the landscaping and environmental awareness categories at a regional urban planning organisation's awards ceremony in Doha.
It took the 2010 Greenery Prize at the Arab Towns Organisation Awards, Abu Dhabi Municipality announced yesterday.
The capital also won the Environmental Awareness category, followed by Dammam, in Saudi Arabia, at Thursday's ceremony.
Khalifa al Mazrouei, the municipality's general manager, described the landscaping award as a "landmark achievement".
Aswan in Egypt and Aqaba in Jordan were second and third, respectively in the category, which awards cities that have demonstrated a commitment to developing green areas in an urban environment.
This year, 13 cities were nominated for the prize.
Dubai's National Falconry Centre was second in the Architectural Projects category, behind Doha's Museum of Islamic Art.
Rashad Bukhash, the Emirati architect and chairman of the Architectural Heritage Department, was second in the Architecture Engineer category.
The municipality is responsible for the maintenance and development of green areas in the city, which, in recent years, has seen the creation of more parks and gardens.
According to the municipality, Abu Dhabi Island has 1,250 hectares of green areas.
zconstantine@thenational.ae
The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
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Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
Mazen Abukhater, principal and actuary at global consultancy Mercer, Middle East, says the company’s Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index - which benchmarks 34 pension schemes across the globe to assess their adequacy, sustainability and integrity - included Saudi Arabia for the first time this year to offer a glimpse into the region.
The index highlighted fundamental issues for all 34 countries, such as a rapid ageing population and a low growth / low interest environment putting pressure on expected returns. It also highlighted the increasing popularity around the world of defined contribution schemes.
“Average life expectancy has been increasing by about three years every 10 years. Someone born in 1947 is expected to live until 85 whereas someone born in 2007 is expected to live to 103,” Mr Abukhater told the Mena Pensions Conference.
“Are our systems equipped to handle these kind of life expectancies in the future? If so many people retire at 60, they are going to be in retirement for 43 years – so we need to adapt our retirement age to our changing life expectancy.”
Saudi Arabia came in the middle of Mercer’s ranking with a score of 58.9. The report said the country's index could be raised by improving the minimum level of support for the poorest aged individuals and increasing the labour force participation rate at older ages as life expectancies rise.
Mr Abukhater said the challenges of an ageing population, increased life expectancy and some individuals relying solely on their government for financial support in their retirement years will put the system under strain.
“To relieve that pressure, governments need to consider whether it is time to switch to a defined contribution scheme so that individuals can supplement their own future with the help of government support,” he said.
Non-oil%20trade
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Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
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Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Profile box
Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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