Category: Life & Style

UAE’s first used battery recycling centre will open in Ras Al Khaimah with help from an investment of a whopping Dh62.4 million by Royal Gulf Industries.

Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ) has welcomed the recycling company to its industrial ecosystem. The automotive battery recycling centre will be built on approximately 110,000 ft2 of land at Al Ghail Industrial Zone and more than 150 people will be employed in its facility. The centre is likely to be ready by the end of the year.

The aim of the company is to recycle up to 35,000 metric tonnes of used lead acid batteries annually, and this in turn will produce 21,500 tonnes of lead ingots and 2,400 metric tonnes of plastic granules. These materials will then be exported in large qualities to India, Japan, Korea, China and Europe for the manufacturing of new lead acid batteries and cases.

“We are very excited to start our journey in the UAE, where we will be fully recycling battery waste in an environment-friendly way. We aim to collect waste batteries not just from the UAE, but also import from around the world to make Ras Al Khaimah a hub for recycling,” said Hanuman Mal Nakhat, Chairman of Royal Gulf Industries.

“RAKEZ has supported us every step of the way in turning this massive project into a reality. Our customer experience so far has been excellent as we have received support not just for our company registration, but also for developing our business in the UAE,” he added.

On Tuesday, The inaugural African Regional Roundtable on Climate Initiatives began in Adis Ababa, Ethiopia, and discussions are focused on developing a new, sustainable economic framework.

Among the participants at the meeting are African finance and trade ministers as well as Vera Songwe, the UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).

She said ”Africa COP is not just a COP where we go and meet and talk, but that it has to be a club that delivers. We’re looking at this COP being really the clarion call, the wake-up post-COVID recovery. We’re all going to be in a different economic setting. Unfortunately, that is not where we are”.

The ministers spoke on the African Trade Exchange Platform and emphasized the need for fertilizers in Africa, particularly in light of the significant impact COVID, the crisis in Ukraine, and rising food prices have had on the region.

Africa regional climate finance and investment forum organizers plan to catalyze climate finance and investment flows towards building climate resilience in Africa through the three-day forum titled “Towards COP27: African regional climate initiatives to finance climate action and the SDGs”.

On Tuesday, UN agencies, civil society groups, governments, and international partners announced a new Global Alliance for ending AIDS in children by 2030. An announcement was made at the landmark International AIDS Conference, which is coming to end in Montreal, Canada.

Speaking at the conference, Limpho Nteko of Lesotho shared her journey from a surprise HIV diagnosis to pioneering a mothers-to-mothers program to combat gestational transmission of HIV.  Despite being pregnant when diagnosed, Ms. Nteko stressed the importance of community leadership in the fight against HIV.

She said, “To succeed, we need a healthy, informed generation of young people who feel free to talk about HIV, and to get the service and support they need to protect themselves and their children from HIV.”

The alliance will have four pillars of collective actions including: optimizing treatment continuity and closing the treatment gap between mothers living with HIV and nursing teenage girls. Adolescent girls and women who are nursing and expecting should be protected from and tested for new HIV infections. Encourage accessible testing, effective treatment, and all-encompassing care for newborns, kids, and teenagers who have been exposed to or are infected with HIV. The social and institutional obstacles that prevent access to services, as well as gender equality.

A rare pure pink diamond, believed to be the largest found in three centuries, has been excavated by miners in Angola.

A 170-carat pink diamond–named the Lulo Rose — was dug out at the Lulo mine in the country’s northeast, which is plentiful in diamond and is among the largest pink diamonds ever discovered the Lucapa Diamond Company remarked in a statement to investors.

The “historic” discovery of the Type IIa diamond, one of the most uncommon and purest forms of natural stones, was reacted by pleasure by the Angolan government, which is also the mine’s partner.

“This record and spectacular pink diamond recovered from Lulo continues to showcase Angola as an important player on the world stage,” Angola’s Mineral Resources Minister Diamantino Azevedo stated.

The diamond is likely to be sold at a phenomenal price at an international tender.

In spite of the fact that the Lulo Rose would have to be cut and polished to understand its true value, in a process that can see a stone get reduced to half its original weight, similar pink diamonds have been sold for dazzling prices.

The costliest diamond ever sold is the 59.6 carat Pink Star, which was sold at an auction in Hong Kong in 2017 for 71.2 million US dollars.

Dubai developers are attracting more Indian by holding property expos in India to enlighten buyers regarding the new rules and benefits of investing in Dubai’s property market. According to Real estate experts, the recent changes to the UAE’s golden visa regulations have increased the demand for upscale homes since an increasing number of Indians are purchasing second homes in Dubai and other emirates.

Rich Indians are now more inclined to adopt a longer-term strategy and invest in real estate in Dubai as a result of the most recent revisions to the golden visa regulations. The minimum investment required by the emirate to qualify for the golden visa has been lowered from AED 5 million to AED 2 million.

Data show that in the first half of 2022, real estate sales in Dubai increased by 60% year over year to over 43,000 units, representing an increase of 87% in real estate valued at AED 115 billion. The five-year visa now has a 10-year validity period.

Director of international business India Sotheby’s International Realty, Akash Puri said, “Buying a house is the simplest way of investing and securing a golden visa. Dubai also has no capital gains tax, which makes investment in real estate a compelling proposition”.

The European Medicines Agency said on Friday that the smallpox vaccine developed by Bavarian Nordic should also be used against monkeypox, as the breakout of the once-rare disease continues to affect people across the continent.

The European Union drug regulator said its suggestion was based on animal studies that testify that the vaccine protects primate animals from monkeypox. It is now the decision of the EU’s executive arm to formally approve the vaccine based on the EMA’s suggestion.

“To confirm the effectiveness of the vaccine against monkeypox, the company will collect data from an observational study that will be carried out during the ongoing monkeypox outbreak in Europe,” the EMA said. It further said that the vaccine’s safety profile was “favorable” and the pros of its use during the ongoing monkeypox outburst were far greater than the risks, with very mild-to-moderate side effects.

The vaccine, known as Imvanex in Europe and Jynneos in the United States, was already authorised for use against monkeypox by American drug regulators.

Over 15,000 monkeypox cases have been reported worldwide, out of which nearly 70% are in Europe, with over 30 countries across Europe affected.

Authorities in several countries, such as Britain, Germany, and the U.S., have provided the vaccine to health workers and those at high risk of being infected by the disease.

The United Kingdom records the highest temperature ever at 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). Heatwaves left Heathrow Airpot in west London in scorching conditions and fueled fierce wildlife and taxed emergency services by recording the UK’s warmest night with 40.2C.

The last all-time high temperature recorded in the UK was 38.7C in Cambridge 2019. The Met Office meteorology agency said, “For the first time ever 40 Celsius has provisionally been exceeded in the UK with the temperature still climbing in many places”.

According to the Met Office, the heatwave will cause temperatures to rise and worsen more frequently in the coming years. As a result of the high temperatures, England has been placed on red alert for extreme heat. Some rail lines have been closed from Kings Cross Station as a precaution and some schools have been closed. Grant Shapps, Transport Minister, acknowledged that roads and runways are melting, and rails are buckled as a result.

In 15 departments, weather officials raised their highest level of red alert. According to the European Commission, 46 percent of EU territory is suffering from drought warning levels. The drought was already negatively affecting crops. Eleven percent of the crop was at an alert level.

On Tuesday, a $23.5 million project was launched to uncover the long-term impacts of climate change on Singapore. The program will tackle issues from sea level rise to food security, and assist in guiding policies.

Along with studying gradual sea-level rise, the new research program will also investigate worst-case scenarios where extreme weather events can push up the tides further, resulting in larger floods.

As part of the Climate Impact Science Research Programme helmed by the National Environment Agency’s (NEA) Centre for Climate Research Singapore (CCRS), the program will focus on five key areas, including sea-level rise, water resource and flood management, biodiversity and food security, human health and energy, and cross-cutting research to bridge science and policy.

The director of CCRS Dr. Dale Barker said that the new program will build on and complement existing climate change research. A $10 million National Sea Level Programme will also address knowledge gaps related to recent and past sea-level changes that were launched in 2019.

During his remarks at the third World Climate Research Programme Conference, held from July 12 to 16, he stated that the new program will result in practical solutions guiding possible adaptation measures.

Karnataka’s Sini Shetty was crowned as the Femina Miss Indian 2022 at the grand finale of VLCC Femina Miss India at the JIO World Convention Center, Mumbai. The first runner-up at the event was Rubal Shekhawat from Rajasthan and the second runner-up was Shinata Chauhan hailing from Uttar Pradesh.

Shetty was born in Mumbai in 2001 holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and financing and currently pursuing a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

21-year-old will be representing the 71st Miss World Pageant. The new batch of beauty queens was announced by the Miss India Instagram account to its 388k followers which read, “Congratulations, Let’s pop the champagne! We have seen the passion with which they have worked for these titles and must say that they deserve every bit of this”. The page praised the pageant winners for their powerful voice and the platform which can help them change the world.

Shetty won the heart of the organizers with her magnetism, endurance, charm, and beauty for which the organizers feel positive about her winning and making the country proud on the Miss World stage. The post read, “World- here she comes”.

Neha Dhupia, Dino Morea, Malaika Arora, and former cricketer Mithali Raj were on the Femina Miss India 2022 jury. Other panelists included Rahul Khanna, Rohit Gandhi, and Shiamak Davar.

Indian Ambassador to UAE Sunjay Sudhir and CEO of Emirates Post, postal operator for the UAE, launched a hard copy of the India-UAE Joint Commemorative Stamp, in celebration of 50 years of diplomatic relations between both countries. Indian Embassy in UAE tweeted “Amb @sunjaysudhir and @EmiratesPostUAECEO launched the physical copy of the India-UAE Joint Commemorative Stamp, celebrating 75 Years of India’s independence, UAE Year of the 50th and 50 Years of India-UAE diplomatic relations.”

In February, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan released the Joint Commemorative Stamp, commemorating the 75th anniversary of India’s independence and observing the 50th year of UAE’s foundation. Both countries issued a joint vision, “Advancing the India and UAE Comprehensive Strategic Partnership: New Frontiers, New Milestone”, after a joint summit between the two leaders.

The Statement set- up a strategic plan for a future-oriented partnership between India and UAE and pinpoints the main areas and consequences. The mutual aim is to promote new trade and boost investment and innovation in various sectors, such as economy, energy, climate changes, innovative technologies, skills and education, food security, healthcare, and defense and security.

India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have shared diplomatic relations since 1972. The strong bilateral ties between both countries have been further strengthened with frequent diplomatic visits and agreements.