Iranians invade America

Uniform-wearing Iranians are in the middle of the US heart land to do battle with America’s finest and to try and learn some of our secrets. Sounds scary but actually it may help promote peace between the two countries.

In a program sponsored by George Bush, Iran’s national basketball team is in Utah to play some pre-Olympic tune-up games against the NBA and others. They are here on official business to learn as much from the NBA games as they can before they move on to Beijing for the Olympic Games in a few weeks.

To help them learn our secrets, they are being allowed to watch NBA teams practice as they get ready for the Rocky Mountain Revue summer series. They will also play the Utah Jazz and the Dallas Mavericks as part of the series of exhibition games. And they will play two other games against NBA Development League players.

Iran Basketball Federation director Mashhoun Raza said "We want to learn some more techniques of the basketball in America to take with us back. America is one of the best basketball teams in the world, so we are here to get some experience from them and play with them and to learn from them (and) get to a higher level."

The Iranians have a pretty good team themselves. They not only qualified for the Olympics for the first time in sixty years in this sport but they are the reigning FIBA Asian basketball champions.

They won’t just be stealing our basketball secrets. They will share some also. The Iranians helped at a free youth basketball clinic with D-League standouts at the Utah Flash's training facility.

And if they get a chance, they will take in some of Utah’s tourist venues. That may be the most interesting event as the Iranian Shi’a Muslims encounter the Utah Mormons.

State Department spokeswoman Darlene Kirk, of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, said this exchange program began in 2006 when President Bush asked her office to "expand our people-to-people contacts with Iranian people." More than 160 Iran citizens from various professions — doctors, lawyers, judges, artists and other national sports teams — have visited the U.S. so far. A group of elite American wrestlers returned the favor by traveling to Iran in 2007. "This is one of the ongoing commitments to build a bridge with the Iranian people through citizen exchanges," Kirk said

The NBA is happy to help. "In an increasingly turbulent world, it is rewarding to bring people together to celebrate teamwork, discipline and respectful competition on the court," said NBA commissioner David Stern in a statement released by the league regarding the Iranians' Utah visit. "In this spirit," Stern continued, "the NBA embraces the opportunity to welcome the Basketball Federation of Iran and the Iranian Olympic team in a demonstration of how something as simple as a game of basketball can promote understanding."

On the court, the Iranians will fight the Americans with all they have. But they will be fighting without their best player, Aidin Bahrami, who was killed in a car accident in December. That said, they still have a 7-foot-5-inch beanpole center, Jaber Rouzbehani. The Iranian team is coached by Rajko Toroman, a native Serbian. He is assisted by Mehran Hatami, former Iranian national team member.

In the run up to the Olympics, the Iranians will have played 28 exhibition games in Italy, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Australia and China, as well as the United States. After a week of intense basketball in the USA, the Iranians will retreat back home to Iran for five days of rest and recuperation before heading to China to get ready for the Olympics. Perhaps they will battle Americans there on the courts one more time.

Thirty sharks arrive at the Dubai Mall

The Dubai Aquarium located at The Dubai Mall now hosts the first batch of thirty Sand Tiger sharks. They were delivered under the supervision of the Oceanis Australia Group in line with international best practices.

Dubai Aquarium, one of the largest indoor aquariums in the world, will open to the public on August 28, 2008. The Dubai Mall is one of the largest shopping and entertainment destinations in the world and will eventually feature over 1,200 retail stores and over 120 restaurants and cafes.

The Sand Tiger sharks form part of the expected population of 33,000 aquatic animals in Dubai Aquarium. Also known as Grey Nurse sharks, Sand Tiger sharks are large bodied animals, reaching up to 11 feet (3.5 metres). They are a docile, non-aggressive species. These sharks can grow up to 30,000 needle-like teeth in their lifetime which they use to grab small prey. They are found in warm or temperate waters throughout the world's oceans, except the eastern Pacific and have a tendency towards shoreline habitats.

The Sand tiger shark is the only shark known to adjust its buoyancy by burping—gulping and expelling air at the surface. This strategy allows the shark to hover nearly motionless in the water column.

Another interesting adaptation gives pups a head start: although several eggs develop at one time, the first two pups to hatch feed on the remaining eggs and embryos while still within the mother. At birth, the surviving one or two pups are already more than 3 feet (1 m) long. It has one of the lowest reproductive rates known among sharks, giving birth to one or two large pups every two years. As a result, population growth and recovery from over-fishing are slow.

The Sand tiger shark is listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) and is a candidate species for the U.S. Endangered Species list.

Sand tiger sharks actually eat very little. At an aquarium, they are generally only fed about two percent of their body weight each week. These sharks are not native to UAE waters.

Mr Yousif Al Ali, General Manager, The Dubai Mall, said, “With the largest viewing panel in the world, Dubai Aquarium is a fascinating attraction that will appeal to visitors. Apart from its leisure aspect, the aquarium will also educate visitors on the fascinating array of aquatic life. The Sand Tiger sharks are among the 85 species to be hosted in the aquarium.”

Mr Paul Hamilton, Curator of Dubai Aquarium said: “Total care was taken in the transportation of the sharks which are now adapting to their new environment. The management of marine species for Dubai Aquarium involves careful logistical planning and we are working with a highly qualified and vastly experienced staff. Sand Tiger sharks are amazing creatures and their arrival to the aquarium marks a major milestone for the project.”

The methodology employed in transporting, housing and maintaining the selected species within Dubai Aquarium comply with all relevant international and regional government permits, including CITES. The planning and setting up of Dubai Aquarium is in accordance with the guidelines of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), and abides by a comprehensive Code of Ethics and Animal Care with respect to the acquisition and display of the selected species.

Other attractions at The Dubai Mall will include the region's first SEGA indoor theme park covering 76,000 sp ft; the world's largest indoor gold souk with 220 retailers; a 440,000 sq ft fashion precinct with 70 flagship stores dedicated to haute couture; the Middle East's first Galeries Lafayette department store; KidZania, a 80,000 sq ft children's 'edu-tainment' centre; a 22-screen Cineplex; an Olympic-size ice rink; and The Grove, an indoor-outdoor streetscape with fully retractable roof.

Saudi Arabia launches a Billion Dollar 'Energy for Poor' Program

Saudi Arabia has launched an initiative to set up a billion dollar OPEC fund to help poorer countries cope with high oil prices. In addition, the Kingdom plans to offer a half billion dollars in soft loans, through the Saudi Development Fund, to countries struggling to make oil purchases at the elevated prices on the world market. Some of the Saudi money would go to finance energy development projects that would make countries less dependent on oil.

King Abdullah personally announced the creation of these efforts to help developing countries cope with high oil prices. King Abdullah also called on the World Bank to set up a conference for donor nations to discuss these initiatives.

Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi recently said that the kingdom is willing to produce more than the 9.7 million barrels of oil a day for the rest of the year if the need arises. He also said that the Kingdom will invest a further $129 billion in the energy sector over the next five years to help increase production capacity. The Minister added that 'the current status of oil markets doesn't please anyone and that things are not in the interest of either consumers or producers'.

The King said that his country's policy, since the establishment of OPEC, has been based on adopting a fair price for petroleum that is beneficial to both the producers and the consumers.

'Starting from this policy, we have been allocating a great part of our income for the assistance development, and in the last few months we have increased our daily production of petroleum from nine million barrels to 9,700,000 barrels and we are ready to meet any additional requirements in the future', the King said.