Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Presidential Affairs, toured the Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Centre for Marine Research on Wednesday.

The centre is being built as part of President Sheikh Khalifa’s initiatives to protect fisheries and keep the marine environment free from pollution.

The Dh75 million centre is being built with a grant from the President.

Ras Al Khaimah Municipality has denied responsibility for the control of potable water dispensers in streets and residential areas.

The municipality attributed this to the lack of legislation on the matter, adding that the owners of these dispensers are unknown, reported Al Ittihad, the Arabic language sister paper of The National.

Coral reefs in the Arabian Gulf and Sea of Oman are recovering from recent natural and man-made disasters at a healthy rate.

But speakers at the New York University Abu Dhabi Coral Reef Conference said on Monday that more research into the subject was still needed.

The Ministry of Environment and Water and NYUAD recently spent three weeks mapping their locations, to determine the state of coral reefs in the region.

A rare species of dragonfly found in the UAE’s Hajjar Mountains and a small type of gecko living on Yemeni islands may have the Mohammed bin Zayed Wildlife Fund to thank for their survival.

Research projects on the two creatures are among more than 1,000 around the world that have been supported by the fund since its establishment in 2009.