Church throws halal barbie - Local News - Gold Coast, QLD, Australia

Church throws halal barbie - Local News - Gold Coast, QLD, Australia

AFTER months of disharmony over a proposed Islamic school on the Gold Coast, the Dream Centre Christian Church at Carrara will throw some halal sausages on the barbie and invite their new Islamic neighbours over.
Invitations have been sent out to the Muslim community and civic leaders to attend an Aussie Barbecue Day on Sunday, March 29, in a bid to rebuild bridges.
Tensions flared in Carrara earlier this year as residents and church members rallied against an application for an Islamic school at 19 Chisholm Road, close to the church and the Croatian club.
The Dream Centre joined the campaign, citing social planning concerns, but the Gold Coast City Council silenced critics by approving the controversial school.
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Dream Centre pastor Rod Gilchrist yesterday said the church had opposed the development but denied the barbecue invitation was a policy backflip.
"It was never an issue of not wanting to be friends," he said.
"We just felt the proximity of the school to a church and the Croatian club was not smart from a social planning perspective."
He said the church respected the council's decision and was now ready to move forward.
"It's not so much a backflip -- we accept the approval and now we want to work on living co-operatively side by side," he said.
"We are neighbours now and while we can't unscramble the egg, why not make a metaphorical omelette?"

Atelier des Parfums To Participate In MIHAS 2009 :: Bernama.com

Atelier des Parfums To Participate In MIHAS 2009 :: Bernama.com
KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 (Bernama) -- Atelier des Parfums, a renowned French perfume company, will participate in the Sixth Malaysia International Halal Showcase 2009 (MIHAS 2009) from May 6-10.The company also hopes that its presence at the event will help promote Malaysia as a global hub for "halal" fragrances and the cosmetic business.Its vice president Hermann J. Portner said : "We are looking at using Kuala Lumpur as the hub from which to conduct our business, not only for the region but globally."Being an Islamic country, Malaysia has great advantages in enabling us to penetrate the vast Islamic market," he told Bernama here.Portner and his partner, Olivier R. Funel, who is the company's president are here for discussions with the Malaysian External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) officials on the plan to participate in MIHAS 2009.He expressed gratitude to Matrade officials for giving a clear picture of the investment climate in Malaysia and assistance in enabling the company to participate in MIHAS 2009.In a show of commitment on plans to expand its halal products, Portner said a company, Alpha-Experts Sdn Bhd was established in Malaysia last year."We are also in the midst of looking for potential joint-venture partners to manufacture fragrances and cosmetics in Malaysia," he said.MIHAS is fast becoming the world's premier showcase of halal products and services.In conjunction with MIHAS 2009, the Halal Industry Development Corp is organising the "The World Halal Research 2009" conference from May 7-8.The conference is aimed at providing a platform for scientists, researchers, scholars and academicians to discuss and exchange ideas on new research findings, emerging technologies, trends as well as issues and challenges in the global halal industry.Meanwhile, Funel a trained biologist, said:"We have been producing the perfume base for most of the major international brands since the beginning of the century."Now Atelier des Parfums is moving into the next phase of its development by distributing high quality bases with a competitive pricing for all perfume and cosmetics companies."This will enable them to launch products by offering the same quality as the big brands but at a fraction of the price."According to Funel, all the perfume bases for the Malaysian and Islamic markets will have halal certification.Funnel also said that Atelier des Parfums is keen to find a distribution partner not just for Malaysia but also the Asean region and the Middle East.

Gulfnews: Cashing in on demand for lifestyle drugs

Gulfnews: Cashing in on demand for lifestyle drugs

In previous generations the bald, the overweight, the impotent or even simply the cosmetically challenged, generally put up and shut up. Now there are a plethora of answers to many of life's age-old problems in the form of 'lifestyle drugs'.

While most of the lifestyle drugs we see on pharmacy shelves in the UAE are produced by big multinational pharmaceutical companies, local producers are working hard to claim their share of the market.


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These treatments for non-life-threatening ailments are available in pharmacies across the UAE and the region and although sales figures are hard to come by, many within the industry believe there is strong potential for future growth, particularly for local producers.

"The current trends indicate that there is potentially high demand for lifestyle drugs in the region," market researchers RNCOS told Gulf News. Dr Ali Saeed Hussain, director of the pharmaceuticals services department at the department of health, agreed. "The movement and purchase [of lifestyle drugs] is higher than before," said Dr Hussain.

An obvious choice for many pharmaceutical companies is weight-loss pills, and growing levels of obesity within the region are bolstering demand. RNCOS's Saudi Arabian healthcare market forecast to 2012 found that 68 per cent of males over the age of 15 are likely to be obese or overweight by 2015, and 63 per cent of women.

"The UAE is also facing high symptoms of obesity," added the analysts. "Increasing levels of obesity and growing health awareness among the region's population is particularly pushing up the demand for dietary supplements in the Middle East, especially in the Gulf nations. Major growth will be seen in sports, energy and weight-loss categories."

In the UAE the two biggest players in the weight-loss pills market are Xenical, produced by Swiss giants Roche, and Reductil, made by US-based Abbott Laboratories. Although Reductil holds a larger share of the market, both products are battling it out on pharmacy shelves for supremacy in an area where weight problems are severe.

"There is good trust with Xenical because it is a Roche product," claims Ali Habash, general line manager for Roche in the UAE.

Local pharmaceutical companies are also diving into the fray, in an attempt to gain some market share.

"We have a product that will be launched very soon," said Mohammad Abdul Wahab, product manager at Dubai-based company Global Pharma. "This is to reduce fat and carbohydrate absorption. This market is growing very fast."

The new treatment, called Lyner, is to be made available within a week.

Xeincal's advocates however claim there is no locally-produced drug that will threaten their market share yet. "There are no generics for Xenical," said Habash. "It's a brand."

He also pointed out that many of the smaller, locally or regionally produced products are herbal based, and are therefore looked upon less favourably by pharmacists due to the lack of research that has been done on them.