Abu Dhabi's much-awaited National Aquarium is set to open on Friday, it was announced at a press conference on Tuesday.
The new aquarium is based in Al Qana, a new waterfront destination in the capital, and is home to 46,000 creatures and 300 species spread across 10 zones. It will be the biggest aquarium in the Middle East when it opens and the wildlife that live there will be cared for by a team of 80 sea-life experts and specialists.
General manager Paul Hamilton said the National Aquarium "honours the heritage of the UAE".
"We definitely nailed it. It’s better than any other in the Middle East."
Ticket prices start at Dh105 per person and there are four tiers of ticketing including general admission (Dh105), beyond the glass (Dh130), bu tinah dhow (Dh150) and VIP ticket (200).
The family attraction, being developed by the Department of Municipalities and Transport in Abu Dhabi and Al Barakah International Investment, is also set to house the Middle East's largest collection of sharks and rays, as well as Super Snake, a 14-year-old female reticulated python.
The reticulated python is the longest snake breed in the world, regularly reaching more than 6.25 metres long, with the largest yet recorded to be 10 metres (about the size of a school bus). And at seven metres, Super Snake will be one of the largest on display in the world.
Sharks, rays and conservation
The new attraction will be home to the UAE's only scalloped hammerhead sharks and bull sharks, as well as sand tiger sharks, lemon sharks, zebra sharks, blacktip reef sharks, eagle rays, shovelnose rays (or guitarfish), cownose rays and freshwater rays, among others.
Guests will be able experience shark encounter, during which they will hand-feed sharks as large as two metres long. There will also be live feeding demonstrations with sharks and rays.
Rehabilitation and conservation will be a primary focus of The National Aquarium. In July 2020, the aquarium signed a five-year partnership with The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, “with the aim to help create the largest and most innovative rehabilitation schemes of its kind to protect and rehabilitate wildlife in the emirate of Abu Dhabi".
Al Qana: Abu Dhabi's new waterfront destination
The waterfront destination spans 2.4 kilometres and is set to be complete by the end of 2021.
The entertainment and dining hub is home to restaurants and cafes and children's recreation centres, as well as the aquarium, which will be its main attraction.
Located on the Khor Al Maqta waterway, Al Qana is spread across seven zones.
Visitors will have access to restaurants spanning the waterfront, offering a prime view of Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.
It also features scenic walkways, while entertainment options include cinemas, a children's area, an outdoor skatepark and landscaped community spaces.
Al Qana also has a yacht marina, an e-sports and gaming zone, a wellness hub and virtual-reality park.
Tickets start at Dh105. For more information, visit thenationalaquarium.ae
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UAE megaprojects 2021
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Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
T20 World Cup Qualifier, Muscat
UAE FIXTURES
Friday February 18: v Ireland
Saturday February 19: v Germany
Monday February 21: v Philippines
Tuesday February 22: semi-finals
Thursday February 24: final
More on Quran memorisation:
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
The biog
Mission to Seafarers is one of the largest port-based welfare operators in the world.
It provided services to around 200 ports across 50 countries.
They also provide port chaplains to help them deliver professional welfare services.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The%20Color%20Purple
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBlitz%20Bazawule%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFantasia%20Barrino%2C%20Taraji%20P%20Henson%2C%20Danielle%20Brooks%2C%20Colman%20Domingo%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
TEAMS
EUROPE:
Justin Rose, Francesco Molinari, Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Alex Noren, Thorbjorn Olesen, Paul Casey, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Henrik Stenson
USA:
Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson, Jordan Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Webb Simpson, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Bryson DeChambeau ( 1 TBC)
At a glance
Fixtures All matches start at 9.30am, at ICC Academy, Dubai. Admission is free
Thursday UAE v Ireland; Saturday UAE v Ireland; Jan 21 UAE v Scotland; Jan 23 UAE v Scotland
UAE squad Rohan Mustafa (c), 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