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KING FAISAL AWARD FOR JUMA AL MAJID
The UAE businessman Juma Al Majid has won this year's $200,000 King Faisal Award for Islamic service. This was announced yesterday by the Director General of the King Faisal Charitable Establishment and Chairman of the King Faisal International Award Authority, Prince Khalid Al Faisal. Prince Khalid said that Juma Al Majid deserved the award for his efforts in spreading Islam and helping the needy. Juma Al Majid has been involved in a number of Islamic and charity activities, including building charitable schools with over 5,500 students schooling for free. He has also established the Arabic and Islamic studies college in Dubai, which offers also for free graduate and post graduate courses for more than 2,000 students. The Juma Al Majid Cultural and Heritage Centre, which offers free services for researchers is another avenue of his services to Islam. This in addition to free scholarships he gives to a large number of students to further their studies abroad. He has also been donating generously to a number of Islamic and cultural centres all over the world. Juma Al Majid has also contributed in establishing a charitable house, which caters for poor families. (The Emirates News Agency, WAM )
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UAE GROUP WINS EGYPTIAN OFFSHORE OIL DRILLING DEAL
Having recently forayed into the oil and gas sector, the UAE-based Mohammed Al Otaiba Group has won a 30-year offshore oil exploration concession in Egypt's Gulf of Suez. The group is also close to signing an oil exploration and development agreement in Kazakhstan. The "North West October" concession entails drilling three oil wells in the Suez Canal with the crude to be purchased by the state-owned Egyp-tian General Petroleum Corp. The group also hopes to gain more concessions in Egypt in the short term. In an interview to Gulf News, Chairman Mohammed Al Otaiba said the agreement with the Egyptian authorities will be signed later this month. Investment will depend on the results of the three wells, but a major investment outlay has been planned. Noting that this is the first UAE company to win a concession in Egypt with 100 per cent ownership, Al Otaiba said the concession signifies a major shift for the group from the service and industry sector. In doing so it has joined an exclusive club comprising mainly international oil companies. "We hope this will inspire others," he said. Al Otaiba is optimistic about prospects of "significant oil discoveries", judging by the 3D seismic work. "Besides, we are close to the market," he said. Weak oil prices failed to dissuade the group from pursuing its bid. "Because of the low oil prices we secured easy and better terms and conditions in the agreement," he said. The group is also discussing prospects for oil exploration and development in Central Asia through its office in Kazakhstan. "We are close to signing an agreement," he said. In view of the difficulty in transporting oil out of Kazakhstan, the group plans to refine it and sell it locally. (The 'Gulf News' )
A nine-year-old UAE student, Abdullah Mohammed Al Otaiba, received a message from the United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan, thanking him for his concern about spreading peace and security worldwide. Kofi Annan said: "As Secretary General of the UN, it is my duty to spread peace and security everywhere to enable people of your generation to live in a world free of conflicts, suffering and poverty". He told Abdullah "your concern for peace is important, indicating that individuals of your generation are dedicated to attain that goal. I congratulate you on this positive attitude and I hope that you will convey my greetings to your fellow students and encourage them to share with you the same concern for peace." The message was signed by Annan and it also included his personal photograph. Abdullah wrote to the UN Secretary General, on December 7, thanking him for his visit to the UAE during the GCC summit, and called upon him to alleviate the sufferings of Iraqi children. (The Emirates News Agency, WAM )
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RESCUE TEAMS RESPONDED TO 714 ACCIDENTS IN 1998
Dubai Police are constantly striving to reduce death and injury caused by sea and land accidents by improving the training of rescue teams, according to Col. Mohammed Eid Al Mansouri, Director of the Transport and Rescue Department. According to department statistics, 714 sea and land accidents took place in Dubai emirate last year, of which 347 occurred on beaches and 367 inland. The figures do not include traffic accidents. April was the most dangerous month at sea when there were 103 accidents. The highest number of land accidents occurred in September when there were 39 accidents. In 1998, sea accidents took 36 lives. There were 40 serious injuries and 241 minor injuries. Fifty-seven people died in land accidents in which 161 people were seriously injured and 576 suffered minor injuries. The department also aided difficult rescue missions throughout the Northern Emirates. A total of 194 difficult land rescues were undertaken involving 13 deaths, 19 serious injuries and 167 minor injuries. Al Mansouri said the department aided 36 difficult sea rescue missions involving 14 deaths, one serious injury and 13 minor injuries. (The 'Gulf News' )
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LOCAL FIRM WINS ABU DHABI AIRPORT FLIGHT DATA CONTRACT
UAE-based Data Processing Co has won a Dh17 million contract from the Abu Dhabi Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) to upgrade the flight information display system at Abu Dhabi International Airport. This is part of the expansion and refurbishment of the airport as it gears up for the new millennium. The other contracts will be awarded in three weeks, DCA officials told Gulf News yesterday. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, chairman of the DCA, and George Hanoosh, general manager of Data Processing Co, signed the contract yesterday. The project, to be completed in 15 months, comprises the flight information display system, signage, automatic telephone enquiries, public address system and ancillary works for all airports belonging to the DCA, Abu Dhabi, said Dr. Abdullah Bilhaif Al Nuaimi, director of engineering and maintenance. The airport has drawn up a $660 million expansion and refurbishment masterplan comprising short- and long-term strategies to put the airport at the forefront of aviation in the new millennium. (The 'Gulf News' )
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JOBS FOR NATIONAL WOMEN IN EDUCATION MINISTRY
As many as 29 UAE national women have been appointed in secretarial positions at the Ministry of Education and Youth, according to a ministerial order issued yesterday. The order signed by Minister of Education and Youth Dr Ali Abdul Aziz Al Sharhan stated that the candidates would be appointed in the current academic year (1998-99) in different educational zones across the country. Ten of them will be posted in Ras Al Khaimah, eight in Sharjah, five in Dubai, four in Ajman and one each in Al Ain and Umm Al Qaiwain. The order asked the candidates to contact the civil service department at the ministry's offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai to complete the appointment formalities. (The 'Khaleej Times')
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ABDULLAH VOWS TO DEFEND ME TITLE IN FEB RALLY
The UAE's Sheikh Abdullah Al Qassimi has vowed to defend his first Middle East title, in the ADNOC FOD UAE International Rally on February 18-19 and has also sent a strong message to other Middle East drivers. Sheikh Abdullah clinched the Middle East Group N crown in the final round of the 1998 regional championship in Dubai last month, resolving a dramatic title battle with the 1996 winner Ron Cremen, of Australia, and ensuring a triumphant first season in the production class after previously competing in Group S and Group A. Now he is urging other drivers across the Middle East to make the switch to conventional rally cars from Group S, the class phased out by the FIA, motorsport's world governing body. The move means Group S vehicles like Land Rovers, Pajeros and Land Cruisers can only compete in rounds of national championship events and not the Middle East series. "I hope by winning Group N in my first full season, I can encourage other drivers to make the transition to more conventional rally cars," said Sheikh Abdullah. "I know some drivers were not happy about Group S being excluded from the Middle East Championship, but you have to move on and I've shown what the rewards can be by making the change." (The 'Emirates News' )
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ARCHAEOLOGY IN THE UAE SEEN IN A NEW LIGHT
Peter Hellyer, co-ordinator of the Abu Dhabi Islands Archaeology Project, ADIAS, lectured to the Emirates Natural History Group, ENHG, in the capital last night on 'Archaeology in the UAE'. Hellyer's talk detailed the findings of the many different teams, both local and foreign, undertaking ongoing studies of the country's archaeology in almost all of the seven different emirates. Some of the ADIAS finds were on display during his talk in the Cultural Foundation, amongst them, extinct Syrian ostrich eggshell fragments once used as containers by nomadic hunters, fish net weights, an assortment of pottery and a plaster cross from the 1300-1400-year old Nestorian monastery examined on the island of Sir Bani Yas. Hellyer's informative lecture, which gave a relatively broad brush coverage to the topic of the UAE's archaeology, provided a fascinating insight into the long history of man's activity and influence in the region, although the story quite clearly did not end there. Hellyer reaffirmed how much had been learnt already, but how this in itself had led to many questions yet to be answered. Slides shown during the presentation were of the earliest writing yet discovered in the UAE, tombs from the Wadi Suq period apparently older even than the pyramids, the sadly out-of-bounds Umm Al Nar tombs and specimens of sulphur from a group of extraordinary mines in Jebel Dhanna in extreme western Abu Dhabi, thought to have been under the control of the Portuguese who used it as a source of gunpowder during the colonial era. Hellyer thanked the various sponsors who have contributed to the work and success of ADIAS for the past seven years. ADIAS, which operates under the patronage of UAE Chief of Staff Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, will be continuing its studies on the islands of Merawah and Balghelam, the inland fort of Mantiqa As Sirra, 30 km east of Medina Zayed and of the desert hinterland during the cool of the winter months, said Hellyer. During the hotter months, outside of the winter fieldwork season, experts will examine the pottery and other finds made this year and work on reports and scientific papers for publication in academic journals, added Hellyer, further noting that some analyses took several months to be completed. Other sponsors are always welcome, he concluded.(The 'Emirates News' )
