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UAE-China Week to Be Held on Annual Basis

A general view of Abu Dhabi. (AFP)
A general view of Abu Dhabi. (AFP)
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UAE-China Week to Be Held on Annual Basis

A general view of Abu Dhabi. (AFP)
A general view of Abu Dhabi. (AFP)

The United Arab Emirates Ministry of Culture and Knowledge Development and the Public Diplomacy and Culture Directorate at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation announced on Saturday that the UAE-China Week will be held on an annual basis, reported the Emirates news agency (WAM).

The events will take place in the UAE and China in celebration of the cultural relations and will highlight features of local heritage of the two countries.

Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, Minister of Culture and Knowledge Development, emphasized the importance of holding periodic cultural and artistic events in the two countries, which will allow the consolidation of partnerships and the development of innovative projects.

This will ultimately promote the cultural exchange between the UAE and China, she added.

"The UAE-China cultural relations have developed after the recent historic visit of the Chinese President Xi Jinping, and we are keen on taking advantage of the results of this visit and the friendly relations between the two countries to highlight our civilization, culture and heritage to our friends in China,” she said.

This is “based on our deep belief that culture is one of the factors that create a civilized dialogue among peoples. It will also encourage Emirati innovators and youth to communicate with their Chinese counterparts to build bridges of cooperation."

The Minister said that the UAE-China Week has created a unique case of cultural intermingling and has become a platform for cultural exchange and a means that allow thought leaders and artists to meet, exchange views and learn about each other cultures and traditions, reported WAM.

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Varieties

UK's Sunniest Spring Yields Unusually Sweet Strawberries

(FILES) A seasonal worker picks strawberries at Hugh Lowe Farms, near Maidstone, Kent on June 21, 2021. (Photo by BEN STANSALL / AFP)
(FILES) A seasonal worker picks strawberries at Hugh Lowe Farms, near Maidstone, Kent on June 21, 2021. (Photo by BEN STANSALL / AFP)
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UK's Sunniest Spring Yields Unusually Sweet Strawberries

(FILES) A seasonal worker picks strawberries at Hugh Lowe Farms, near Maidstone, Kent on June 21, 2021. (Photo by BEN STANSALL / AFP)
(FILES) A seasonal worker picks strawberries at Hugh Lowe Farms, near Maidstone, Kent on June 21, 2021. (Photo by BEN STANSALL / AFP)

British strawberry farmers say this year's record-breaking spring sunshine and warm days have yielded the cream of the crop, with a bigger and sweeter harvest than usual.

Long periods of sun and cool nights provided "perfect" conditions for the strawberry harvest, according to James Miller from WB Chambers Farms.

The dry and pleasant weather also boosted insect pollination, which further improves the quality and shape of the berries, Miller explained, according to AFP.

"They're bigger and sweeter this year than we've seen in previous years," said Miller, the commercial director for one of the country's biggest berry producers.

At one farm near Dartford in Kent, southeast England, rows of strawberry plants drooped with the weight of the gleaming red fruit housed in insulating polytunnels.

As farmhands made their way meticulously down the semi-circular white tunnels, punnets were filled with ripe strawberries -- some the size of small fists.

The weather has resulted in "super berry size and super flavor," said Nick Marston, chairman of British Berry Growers, which represents most of the UK's soft fruit farms.

"I've been in the berry industry for 30 years and this is one of the best springs I've ever seen, in terms of both the weather and also the crop," Marston told AFP.

This year Britain experienced the warmest spring in terms of mean temperatures since records began in 1884, the Met Office announced this week.

It was also the second-sunniest and the driest spring in over a century for England, known for its damp climate.

Southeast England received only 30-50 percent of its average spring rainfall, according to the Met Office, raising fears of drought for many farmers.

Human-induced climate change is driving longer-lasting, more intense and more frequent droughts, heatwaves and other extreme weather events.

To conserve water, the WB Chambers farm in Dartford uses drip irrigation -- which involves water slowly trickling to the roots of the plant through a controlled pipe.

"We've reduced our water usage for growing strawberries quite significantly," Miller told AFP. "So I hope we're in a better place than others."

According to Marston, British producers have already sold nearly 21,600 tons of strawberries -- 5,000 tons more than by the same time last year, when the country experienced an overcast spring.

This is in part due to warmer conditions yielding an earlier crop than usual, with large and juicy strawberries hitting the shelves in April, rather than May.

But it is also due to a rise in demand when the sun comes out, said Miller, with consumers hankering for British summer classics like strawberries and cream.

"The sun is our biggest salesman in the UK," said Miller. "When the sun picks up, then the demand picks up."