ABU DHABI // Farhan Jahangir awoke yesterday morning to the sound of municipal workers cutting down tree branches behind his home in Al Muroor.
By the afternoon, he had volunteered to help clean up his neighbourhood as part of a beautification drive launched by the city this week.
A main feature of the municipality's plan is a 125-square-metre tent that will travel to different neighbourhoods so people can report problems. It also hopes to attract volunteers for its war against graffiti, wild plants and rubbish.
As curious visitors trickled into the tent on its opening day in Al Muroor yesterday to munch on chocolates, take brochures and learn how to fix up their surroundings, the "Asematy" initiative enlisted its first recruits.
Mr Jahangir, 30, offered to help paint over graffiti. "I read about this programme in the newspaper, and I was interested to go visit myself," said Mr Jahangir, who works in sales.
Like some areas in the capital, urban decay has become a problem in Al Muroor.
The neighbourhood is dotted with sinkholes, alleyways are strewn with rubbish and villas have been defaced with spray paint. An abandoned six-door Mercedes sits on someone's lawn, covered in branches.
"I'm new to this country. This is my third month here from Pakistan, and I wanted to know how can I contribute," Mr Jahangir said. "I've passed this tent a couple of times already and I thought everything's quite nice in this neighbourhood, but we can definitely try to go further to improve things."
Asematy, which means "my capital", was launched on Wednesday, and organised under the patronage of Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, the chairwoman of the UAE General Women's Union.
Over the course of a year, the air-conditioned tent will travel to at least 11 neighbourhoods. It will remain in each area for a month and invite residents to speak with municipal employees about local eyesores. In Al Muroor, it is located across the street from Emirates Private School.
Ali, the municipal employee who welcomed Mr Jahangir to the tent yesterday morning, explained that tree trimmers had been hired to clear overgrowth.
One of the most common problems, Ali told him, was unauthorised gardening or planting of trees that have, over time, grown so erratically they have started to block street signs or obstruct pedestrians.
"For example, maybe someone will say they want to make a garden, so he puts a tree here and here and here, and it looks nice," Ali said, showing Mr Jahangir photos of other unsightly problems such as potholes. "But after some time, this can be damaging."
He added: "In the future, we can have some workshops on how to make a nice garden. We might have some competitions like the most beautiful garden."
Gorge, 54, a consultant from Britain, spoke for half an hour with Ali, and suggested a neighbourhood watch programme to discourage vandalism.
He said graffiti and littering bothered him the most. "And there's a trailer that's just been dumped, abandoned one and a half years ago, it's just rotting away," he said.
Gorge said he was "delighted" with the campaign. "I think if the programme is put across in the right way, everybody - no matter what their background - will want to help out," he said.
"A journey of a thousand kilometres starts with a first step. The municipality's made that first step and now it's time to go forward."
Community engagement is one of the main purposes of Asematy, according to Abdullah al Shamsi, the municipality's acting executive director of infrastructure and assets.
"We want the community to understand their role and how important it is to us," he said. "As you know, the city is becoming bigger and bigger, growth is very fast, so if the community is aware of their infrastructure and co-operates with the municipality, we can build trust and improve our quality of life."
mkwong@thenational.ae
UAE squad
Rohan Mustafa (captain), Ashfaq Ahmed, Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Shaiman Anwar, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammed Naveed, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan
Getting there
The flights
Flydubai operates up to seven flights a week to Helsinki. Return fares to Helsinki from Dubai start from Dh1,545 in Economy and Dh7,560 in Business Class.
The stay
Golden Crown Igloos in Levi offer stays from Dh1,215 per person per night for a superior igloo; www.leviniglut.net
Panorama Hotel in Levi is conveniently located at the top of Levi fell, a short walk from the gondola. Stays start from Dh292 per night based on two people sharing; www. golevi.fi/en/accommodation/hotel-levi-panorama
Arctic Treehouse Hotel in Rovaniemi offers stays from Dh1,379 per night based on two people sharing; www.arctictreehousehotel.com
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
25-MAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Francis Uzoho, Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Daniel Akpeyi
Defenders: Olaoluwa Aina, Abdullahi Shehu, Chidozie Awaziem, William Ekong, Leon Balogun, Kenneth Omeruo, Jamilu Collins, Semi Ajayi
Midfielders: John Obi Mikel, Wilfred Ndidi, Oghenekaro Etebo, John Ogu
Forwards: Ahmed Musa, Victor Osimhen, Moses Simon, Henry Onyekuru, Odion Ighalo, Alexander Iwobi, Samuel Kalu, Paul Onuachu, Kelechi Iheanacho, Samuel Chukwueze
On Standby: Theophilus Afelokhai, Bryan Idowu, Ikouwem Utin, Mikel Agu, Junior Ajayi, Valentine Ozornwafor
The Energy Research Centre
Founded 50 years ago as a nuclear research institute, scientists at the centre believed nuclear would be the “solution for everything”.
Although they still do, they discovered in 1955 that the Netherlands had a lot of natural gas. “We still had the idea that, by 2000, it would all be nuclear,” said Harm Jeeninga, director of business and programme development at the centre.
"In the 1990s, we found out about global warming so we focused on energy savings and tackling the greenhouse gas effect.”
The energy centre’s research focuses on biomass, energy efficiency, the environment, wind and solar, as well as energy engineering and socio-economic research.
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh132,000 (Countryman)
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Brief scores
Barcelona 2
Pique 36', Alena 87'
Villarreal 0
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Company name: Farmin
Date started: March 2019
Founder: Dr Ali Al Hammadi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: AgriTech
Initial investment: None to date
Partners/Incubators: UAE Space Agency/Krypto Labs
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Awar Qalb
Director: Jamal Salem
Starring: Abdulla Zaid, Joma Ali, Neven Madi and Khadija Sleiman
Two stars
Queen
Nicki Minaj
(Young Money/Cash Money)
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 2 (Van Dijk 18', 24')
Brighton 1 (Dunk 79')
Red card: Alisson (Liverpool)
AGL AWARDS
Golden Ball - best Emirati player: Khalfan Mubarak (Al Jazira)
Golden Ball - best foreign player: Igor Coronado (Sharjah)
Golden Glove - best goalkeeper: Adel Al Hosani (Sharjah)
Best Coach - the leader: Abdulaziz Al Anbari (Sharjah)
Fans' Player of the Year: Driss Fetouhi (Dibba)
Golden Boy - best young player: Ali Saleh (Al Wasl)
Best Fans of the Year: Sharjah
Goal of the Year: Michael Ortega (Baniyas)
