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‘Friends of Syria’ meeting in Doha to discuss aid for rebels
‘Friends of Syria’ meeting in Doha to discuss aid for rebels (AFP) / 21 June 2013 Foreign ministers of the “Friends of Syria” group meet in Doha on Saturday to discuss military help and other aid for rebels after an onslaught by government forces who have retaken key areas. The meeting will address in a “concerted, coordinated and complementary manner” the concerns raised by the opposition’s military chief, Salim Idriss, during a “Friends of Syria” meeting in Ankara last Friday, a French diplomat said. The rebels had notably asked for anti-tank and anti-air missiles to fight the regime forces. Western aid for them so far has been confined to non-military equipment like sophisticated communications materiel. The upcoming talks — attended by ministers of Britain, France, the United States, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Egypt — will also discuss a proposed peace meeting between President Bashar Al Assad’s regime and the opposition to end the 27-month conflict which has claimed some 93,000 lives and shows no sign of abating. “We will try in Doha to sum up the situation on the ground and to see how we can aid the opposition coalition and arrive at a political solution,” French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said. The Doha talks will be held against the backdrop of a string of successes by government troops into rebel territory. They have retaken Qusayr in the central Homs province near Lebanon and trying to recapture the key city of Aleppo. It also comes days after a summit of G8 leaders issued a non-committal statement for a peace conference on Syria to be held as soon as possible. The group was deeply divided on key issues, especially owing the intransigence of Russia, Assad’s ally. The G8 also agreed to push for a transitional government in Syria that could include members of Assad’s regime who switched sides. French President Francois Hollande, who will be in Qatar and Jordan over the weekend in a visit that had been planned earlier, will also discuss the Syrian unrest with Qatar’s Amir Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, officials said. Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been the two major Middle Eastern states providing aid to the rebels. United States President Barack Obama has authorised sending small arms to the rebels after confirmation that chemical weapons were being used in the conflict. But he has refused to specify what they will be. Syrian rebels have asked friendly world powers to give them heavier weapons and to impose a no-fly zone over parts under their control to avert a humanitarian disaster. “The regime could use Scud missiles with unconventional warheads to shell liberated areas. So we need a safe haven,” Free Syrian Army spokesman Louay Meqdad said. “It is necessary to establish secure areas and impose no-fly zones in the south or north,” he said. Calling for anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons, he said that “if they do not provide us with arms to protect civilian areas, a humanitarian disaster will occur because regime troops are committing massacres in the areas they are recapturing”. Continue reading
Mom, children reunited after 32 years
Mom, children reunited after 32 years Amira Agarib / 21 June 2013 There were moist eyes all around at Al Ghusais police station on Wednesday when a mother and two of her separated children cried, kissed and rushed into each other’s arms after 32 years. “I waited so long for this and I thought this day would never come,’’ the 55-year old woman said, holding her now grown-up children and showering them with kisses. The woman told her children that she never stopped searching for them even for a minute all these years. ‘‘Sorrow engulfed me all these years and I cannot hold back my emotions and feel like crying my heart out,’’ said the daughter, who is now 36 years old. Their father, a GCC national who passed away two years ago, had been living in Dubai after divorcing the mother. He separated the children from their mom in 1981 and gave them to different families and none of the siblings knew the wherabouts of each other until two year ago. The son was three years old when he was given to a family in the UAE; the older daughter was four and lived with her father’s relatives in Oman, while the third child, who was only one, has not been traced yet. The Dubai Police believe she may be living in one of the Gulf countries. First Corporal Reem Mohammed Al Amiri helped the 35-year-old son and his sister in their quest to find their mother. The daughter, who is now married and has been staying in Oman, often asked her father about the rest of her family, but he refused to provide details and later stopped talking to her, she said. After her father died in 2011, she spoke to her relatives and visited the UAE every month to trace her family. During her search, she received information that her brother lived in the UAE. The brother and sister together searched for their mother and managed to get photographs of her from old files and albums of friends and relatives. First Corporal Reem said when they narrated their story with the photograph, it broke her heart. Last weekend, she stumbled upon a match which fit the description of the mother and called her. ‘‘She was first scared, but calmed down when I told her she could receive some joyous news.’’ The mother has since been married to an Asian and has nine children, the oldest being 30 years old. ‘‘I asked her about her former marriage and she said her former husband had run away with the kids. “When I told her she may get to see them soon, she screamed and held me in a tight embrace and cried.’’ Reem then asked the daughter and son to come to the police station. The rest is a scene out of a lost and found movie. ‘‘I can’t express the joy they felt. I’m glad I could help reunite a family,’’ she said. news@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Rupee nosedive boosts NRI remittance power
Rupee nosedive boosts NRI remittance power Issac John / 21 June 2013 The Indian rupee plunged to an all-time low against a dollar-pegged UAE currency on Thursday, giving Non-Resident Indians a big boon as their remittance power rose sharply by Rs1.6 per dirham in weeks. The rupee fell as low as 59.97 against the dollar, down from its Wednesday close of 58.72 and a May average of 54.9. The dramatic fall was triggered by global investors who pulled out of emerging markets and the US signalled it could start scaling back on its monetary stimulus that has injected billions of dollars into the global financial system. Foreign institutional investors have pulled around $3.75 billion from Indian stocks and bonds in June, according to the Securities and Exchange Board of India. A falling rupee may bring cheers to NRIs but makes life all the more difficult for residents back home by stoking inflation. The rupee has now fallen more than 10 per cent since the start of May, making it one of the worst performing major currencies in Asia. The rupee’s sharp decline also sent Indian stocks and bonds tumbling on Thursday. Indian shares posted their biggest single-day decline in nearly 21 months. Y. Sudhir Kumar Shetty , chief operating officer, Global Operations, UAE Exchange, said the scarcity of the dollar in the market, due to the control on dollar flow, had brought the rupee to its all-time low. “The Indian economy has been going through a tough phase for sometime now. This new development has only added to the woes of the nation’s economy,” said Shetty. “Remittance volume to India, which is already the largest receiver in the world, has definitely gone up. Indian expatriates are exploring every avenue to send as much money as possible,” said Shetty. He predicted that the rupee would continue to be under pressure for some time to come, and its future depends on what measures India would take. Sajith Kumar P.K, director and CEO of IBMC Group & JRG International, said the increase in current account deficit and fiscal deficit is the major domestic factor against the rupee. He said some new steps taken by the India Government could slowly stop further fall of rupee. “However, a massive sell off by foreign institutional investors remains a major threat at present. If US dollar further strengthens, the rupee may touch 60 to 61 per dollar,” said Kumar. Adeeb Ahamed , CEO, LuLu International Exchange, said the volume of rupee remittance had marginally gone up. “We have seen an increase of 10-12 per cent in the volume of remittance and number of walk-ins over the last fortnight. Expats have resorted to borrowing funds from the financial institutions to avail the benefit of rupee fall.” “The depreciating rupee is not the finest news for the domestic market but for NRIs it provides a good opportunity to park their spare funds in India now,” said Alok Anchan , an executive at Rajesh LifeSpaces, a Mumbai-based developer. “Temporary rupee depreciation has made property investments cheaper by over 25 per cent for NRIs over the last 12 months,” said Nishant Singhal , director, Strategy and International Operations at Investors Clinic. Continue reading
