Trends
UAE: Social trends survey suggests that UAE residents eat out 11 times a week
UAE residents are eating out a whopping 11 times a week according to a new report by LivingSocial and YouGov. The social trends survey suggests Italian and Chinese are the restaurants of choice after local Arabic cuisine and that friends are beating family to the table as our preferred dining companions outside the home. The report commissioned by local commerce company LivingSocial as part of its ongoing efforts to discover and share information about local social trends and behaviour, quizzed 1,131 members on their dining habits. The results provide an insight into the tastes of local residents and a rundown of the nation’s favourite ways to satiate their appetites.
Top 10 Halal-Friendly Airports in OIC and non-OIC Countries
Crescentrating, the Singapore based world leader in Halal-friendly travel, announced the top 10 Halal-Friendly Airports among the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) and non-OIC countries. With the rapid growth of this segment of travellers, travelling not only for Hajj and Umrah, but also for leisure, business and healthcare, more and more airports are beginning to cater to their basic needs. The 2012 ranking was compiled based on the surveys and feedback on Halal-friendly facilities available to Muslim passengers such as availability of Halal food, and prayer and ablution facilities in these airports.
MALAYSIA: Malaysia ranked top Halal-friendly holiday destination amongst 10 OIC countries
Malaysia is ranked as the top Halal Friendly Holiday Destination for 2012 among 10 member states of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Crescentrating.com, a travel portal for Halal-conscious Muslim travellers, said that Malaysia was placed on the top spot because it has much to offer to Muslim travellers. Second was Egypt, followed by Turkey, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan, Brunei and Qatar, according to the survey conducted by the portal. Crescentrating.com said that the rankings were compiled based on the facilities and services provided by those countries to Muslim visitors, such as Halal food, Halal-certified restaurants, availability of mosques and family-friendly attractions. The portal also conducted a survey of Halal Friendly Holiday Destinations in non-OIC countries for 2012.
Food prices may ease this year
Food prices may ease in 2012 due to a slowing global economy, though no drastic drop from high levels is expected, the new director-general of the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation said on Tuesday. Jose Graziano da Silva, the Brazilian who replaced Senegal's Jacques Diouf at the helm of the FAO at the start of 2012, said volatility in food markets was likely to continue and that more people would be a risk of hunger due to economic instability. 'Prices will not be going up as in the sense of the last two to three years but will also not drop down. There may be some reductions but not drastic,' Graziano da Silva told a news conference in Rome. Global food prices measured by the FAO hit a peak in February but have been falling since June as crops have improved and concerns about global economic turmoil have reined in demand growth. High food prices have helped fuel inflation and contributed to civil unrest and the Arab Spring earlier this year.
EGYPT: Egyptian tourism workers reject proposal for Halal tourism
Egyptians in the tourism sector are worried that proposals by Salafi political leaders advocating Halal tourism would hurt a sector that is already in decline following the wave of political protests this year. Several Salafi leaders recently discussed implementing Halal tourism, which would ban alcohol and bikinis on the beach, and conceal statues. Salafi political groups, particularly the Nour Party, fared well in the first round of parliamentary elections. Egyptians working in the tourism sector said the statements made their customers uneasy.
U.S.A: Where Kosher Meets Halal
“Shalom. Salaam,” Dr. Joe M. Regenstein said while greeting an audience at the Jewish Museum of Maryland. It was fitting that Dr. Regenstein used both Hebrew and Arabic to say hello, as he is an individual who straddles the worlds of both Jews and Muslims. Dr. Regenstein, a professor of food science at Cornell University, is head of Cornell’s Kosher and Halal Food Initiative. He is an expert on the rules for fit and proper food in the Jewish and Muslim communities internationally. He was at the museum recently to present a lively talk titled “Everything You Wanted to Know about Kosher and Halal but Were Afraid to Ask.” Dr. Regenstein’s talk at the Jewish Museum was cosponsored by the Baltimore Jewish Council’s Jewish/Muslim Dialogue Group.
Global Natural Gas Consumption Regains Momentum
Driven by surging natural gas consumption in Asia and the United States, global use of the form of fossil fuel rebounded 7.4 percent from its 2009 slump to hit a record 111.9 trillion cubic feet ¬ in 2010, according to a new Vital Signs Online report from the Worldwatch Institute. This increase puts natural gas's share of total energy consumption at 23.8 percent, a reflection of new pipelines and natural gas terminals in many countries. The world's largest incremental increase in natural gas use occurred in the United States, where low prices triggered a 1.3 trillion-cubic-feet increase to 24.1 trillion cubic feet, just over one-fifth of global natural gas consumption. But the Asia Pacific region experienced the strongest growth as a share of 2009 consumption levels, with China, India, South Korea, and Taiwan all experiencing demand growth of over 20 percent. China, which surpassed Japan in 2009 to become Asia's largest natural gas consumer, by and large led the region's growth spurt by consuming 3.9 trillion cubic feet, or 3.4 percent of world usage.
Global Nuclear Generation Capacity Falls
Due to increasing costs of production, a slowed demand for electricity, and fresh memories of disaster in Japan, production of nuclear power fell in 2011, according to the latest Vital Signs Online (VSO) report from the Worldwatch Institute (www.Worldwatch.org). Despite reaching record levels the previous year, global installed nuclear capacity----the potential power generation from all existing plants----declined to 366.5 gigawatts (GW) in 2011, from 375.5 GW at the end of 2010. Not surprisingly, this drop in installed capacity corresponds with a decline in global consumption of nuclear energy. Nuclear's share of world commercial primary energy usage fell to around 5 percent in 2010, having peaked at about 6 percent in 2001 and 2002. Only four countries----the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, and the United Kingdom----increased their share of nuclear power by over 1 percentage point between 2009 and 2010.
MALAYSIA: Muslim PR Practitioners Should Correct Misconception of Islam - Mukhriz
International Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir has urged Muslim public relations (PR) practitioners to play their role in correcting whatever misconception or wrong perception of Islam. He said they should also refute the malicious disinformation and spin which were intended to give a wrong picture of Muslims. "Prejudices, racism and Islamophobia are tangible expressions that do not go away easily. So, effective PR is one method to address these problems and reinstate the truth," he said. His speech was read by the ministry's advisor, Datuk Nik Zainiah Nik Abdul Rahman, at the 1st Global Congress for Muslim Public Relations Practitioners.