AL AIN // Two white tigers have been gifted to the Al Ain Wildlife Park and Resort (AWPR) by a member of Dubai's ruling family. Sugar and Spice, a female and male, both two years old, were put on display last night.
The gift by Sheikha Latifa Bint Rashid bin Khalifa means AWPR is the only zoo in the GCC to have white tigers on display.
Raised at the Royal Palace in Dubai since they were three months old, the tigers are domesticated and quite tame, according to the veterinarian that cared for them at the palace. A promotional DVD shows the teenaged Royal Family member at home petting them as they nuzzle up to her like any domesticated house cat.
"They are very sociable and tame," said Dr Mohammed Thenayan, who helped to care for the cubs. "They are very used to being around people and were roaming in the palace until the age of four months, but then they got to be quite large.
"At the palace we had a proper enclosure for them with an indoor and outdoor room and a pool. When they reached the age of two, Sheikha Latifa decided that we should donate them to the zoo, as she wanted others to share in the joy."
White tigers exist only in zoos around the world, with none in the wild. They are a colour morph of the tiger, caused by the recessive gene chinchilla albinistic. Contrary to popular belief, they are not albinos and are distinct because of their white coat and blue eyes.
"Wild tigers are in urgent need for protection, preservation and conservation," said Dr Michael Maunder, the chief of conservation at AWPR. "Out of the nine known sub-species, three are extinct with the remaining six being either endangered or critically endangered. The display of these white tigers will promote increased public awareness about the desperate situation of tigers in the wild."
For Sheikha Latifa, who came to see her tigers at AWPR yesterday, the reunion was bittersweet.
"After long consideration I decided to donate Sugar and Spice to Al Ain Wildlife Park and Resort as I know they will take good care of them. I am sad that they are gone as I have had many wonderful memories with them," she said. "But to see them here in an enclosure that resembles the wild and one bigger than the one we had them in at home makes me happy. I am sure they will be happy here."
AWPR was happy to have the rare white tigers in its vast collection of endangered species. Last year the zoo acquired two white lions.
"For the first time, white tigers will be on public display in the UAE and we are excited that the debut happens at our zoo, which has one of the largest collections of big cats worldwide," said Farshid Mehrdadfar, manager of the animal collection department at AWPR.
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The biog
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Age: 40
From: Baghdad, Iraq
Mission: Promote world peace
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$1,000 award for 1,000 days on madrasa portal
Daily cash awards of $1,000 dollars will sweeten the Madrasa e-learning project by tempting more pupils to an education portal to deepen their understanding of math and sciences.
School children are required to watch an educational video each day and answer a question related to it. They then enter into a raffle draw for the $1,000 prize.
“We are targeting everyone who wants to learn. This will be $1,000 for 1,000 days so there will be a winner every day for 1,000 days,” said Sara Al Nuaimi, project manager of the Madrasa e-learning platform that was launched on Tuesday by the Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to reach Arab pupils from kindergarten to grade 12 with educational videos.
“The objective of the Madrasa is to become the number one reference for all Arab students in the world. The 5,000 videos we have online is just the beginning, we have big ambitions. Today in the Arab world there are 50 million students. We want to reach everyone who is willing to learn.”
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Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
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Gulf Men's League final
Dubai Hurricanes 24-12 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
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Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk
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Rating: 4.5/5
Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
Brief scores:
Everton 0
Leicester City 1
Vardy 58'