New faces of Delma Island tourism

ABU DHABI // Just a few months ago, Yasmeen Al Hammadi had never sat on a bicycle or paddled a kayak.

Now she is leading tourists on winding bike tours, mountain hikes and wildlife safari excursions, pointing out little-known facts about the giraffes and cheetahs living on the small islands off the country's south-west coast. She tells curious visitors stories about the days of pearl diving and describes local traditions.

She is among the first group to graduate from a diploma course on Delma Island developed specifically for grooming Emiratis there to take over Abu Dhabi's burgeoning tourism industry.

Four of the first five graduates of an 11-month programme by the Desert Islands Education Centre (DIEC) have begun working at the government-owned luxury resort on Sir Bani Yas Island, while one will work full-time as an administrator for the education centre on Delma.

A decade after 9/11: Enduring lessons for the Arab world

     Let me tell you about the most influential book to be published since 9/11, at least according to me. It's actually not a book but a report - a United Nations report written by a committee. I'm talking about the Arab Development Report published in 2002.

     After 9/11, in the midst of the discussion of what was happening in the Arab world, why it was the source of this terrorism, the UN Development Program's head, Mark Malloch Brown, commissioned a study of the Arab world looking at political, economic and social issues. But he insisted it be researched and written by Arabs so there was no accusation of an outsider's bias or neocolonialism. The result was a brutally frank document that was a sensation. It was downloaded off the internet 1 million times.

Syria unrest
Arrests in Hama as tanks move into Idlib

     Friday's protest in Hama was one of the largest in three months of demonstrations.

Syrian troops are raiding houses and arresting people in the central city of Hama, reports say, after massive anti-government protests there on Friday.

Residents had set tyres on fire and blocked roads to delay the movement of troops, who were arriving in busloads and "firing randomly", residents said.

Meanwhile, tanks that were surrounding Hama have moved towards villages in the north, sparking fears of clashes there.

Dubai for Tourism

     Dubai is a unique destination that is both a dynamic business centre and a tourist paradise, offering more attractions, shopping, fine dining and quality hotels. From the timeless tranquillity of the desert to the lively bustle of the souk, Dubai offers a kaleidoscope of attractions for visitors.

The Rights of Women guaranteed by Islam
Part Two

The Right of Women not to be Forced

      Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: Barira's husband was a slave called Mughith, as if I am seeing him now, going behind Barira and weeping with his tears flowing down his beard. The Prophet said to 'Abbas, "O 'Abbas ! are you not astonished at the love of Mughith for Barira and the hatred of Barira for Mughith?" The Prophet then said to Barira, "Why don't you return to him?" She said, "O Allah's Apostle! Do you order me to do so?" He said, "No, I only intercede for him." She said, "I am not in need of him." (Bukhari: Volume 7, Book 63, Number 206)