Dubai News

The 3rd Dubai International Food Safety conference will be held at the Dubai World Trade Centre from Feb.24 to Feb.27, 2008 alongside Gulfood, the largest food exhibition in the Middle East.

Hussain Nasser Lootah, acting director general of Dubai Municipality, launched the official website of the conference on Tuesday.

"By holding a conference of this magnitude, Dubai sets for itself very high standards for food safety with an aim to enhance public health," he said.

Lootah said the conference is expected to attract more than 500 participants. "Last year's conference had attracted a huge gathering from the region, and the conference has now become one of the most important events related to food safety in the Middle East," he said.

Lootah pointed out that the conference aims to provide its participants a rich experience that will help them to be more effective in safeguarding public health.

He said technical and advisory committees of the conference have worked hard to choose programmes that would suite a wide range of audience.

"Regulators, food hygiene and safety officers, academics and anyone involved in food safety and quality will find the presentations and workshops critical to their awareness and professional developments in the field of food safety," said Lootah.

'Hollywood' stars latest draw at Al Ain Zoo WILDLIFE enthusiasts in the country can now take a drive to Al Ain Zoo to see meerkats, the bug and tuber eating member of the mongoose family that became celluloid celebrities after being cast in the Walt Disney blockbuster Lion King.

Inhabitants of Kalahari Desert in Botswana and southern Africa, these insectivores that also eat spiders, plants, roots, eggs, small mammals and centipedes, are now guests at the country's biggest zoo that have been adding members to its growing family.

Majid Al Mansouri, managing director of the zoo said: "The arrival of the meerkat demonstrates our commitment to expanding the range of species existing at the Zoo."

The zoo has seen a growth in number of species from various parts of the world since rapid improvement programme launched in 2006. "With the introduction of various programmes, such us the reintroduction of species into the wild and the successful breeding of endangered animals, the zoo has enabled tourists and wildlife enthusiasts in the region to gain a better understanding of animal life in a desert environment," he added.

Amazing little animals that were immortalised by the character called Timon in the Lion King series, and later the Timon and Pumba movies, meerkats forage in a group with one "sentry" on guard watching for predators while the others search for food. Animal watchers have discovered that they maintain sentinel positions, which usually lasts for up to an hour, and rotated to ensure all individuals within the group, get to feed.

A group of meerkats is called a "mob," "gang" or "clan" and live in colonies averaging 20 to 30 members. Animals in the same group regularly groom each other to strengthen social bonds.

The meerkat is a very active and charismatic animal living as a large family in burrows under the sand. They will often be seen basking in the sun during the day but will soon escape underground at the slight hint of danger.

Mark Craig, director of Al Ain Zoo said: "These meerkats will soon become a favourite with the visitors particularly with children as they are very active and appealing. At the moment they are adjusting to their new surroundings in a new exhibit designed specifically for them and representing their natural habitat of the Kalahari Desert."

Also known as the Suricate, the meerkat is a small mongoose weighing at average of 731 grams for males and 720 grams for females. Its long slender body and limbs and the thin long tail helps it to balance when standing upright.

The meerkat has small black crescent shaped ears that can close when digging to keep sand out. Like cats, meerkats have binocular vision, a large peripheral range, depth perception, and eyes on the front of their faces

Under the supervision of Craig, the zoo will also contribute to nature conservation by being part of conservation actions alongside the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi. In April 2007 the zoo released a number of Arabian Oryx to their natural habitat as part of its reintroduction programme.

The Scimitar Horned Oryx is part of a conservation captive breeding programme and will be part of a reintroduction program to sites in North Africa in the coming years.

Al Ain Zoo recently opened its gates for a longer period to offer day and night experience to visitors. Over the National Day weekend the Zoo will be opened from 9am to 8pm with a special Bird Show performed at 6:30pm each evening. New features include a new restaurant, Arabian exhibit, mixed African Savanna exhibit, Nocturnal House and Bird House.
Man kills self in Deira

AN ELDERLY Indian man was found hanging in an under-construction single storey building behind Mashriq Bank opposite Grand Hyatt Hotel in Deira on Wednesday.

The alleged suicide was committed in the wee hours of Wednesday. Dubai police recovered the body at around 9 am.

The body is yet to be identified.

According to a neighbour, "the deceased looked smart. He was wearing a nice shirt with stripes which was neatly tucked in. He could hardly have been a casual labourer."

Another man who saw the body said it was clearly visible from afar hanging on a small rope. Nobody in the vicinity was familiar with the person.