Tag Archives: entertainment
No price hikes until end of Ramadan
No price hikes until end of Ramadan Salah Al Deberky / 21 June 2013 Grocery outlets in the country will publish, from next week, a list of more than 60 products consumed during the holy month of Ramadan, with 50 per cent discounts. Products which are most favoured by people during Ramadan have been selected, and will be made available in the markets from June 25, well before the advent of the holy month giving consumers sufficient time to make purchases, said Dr. Hashim Al Nuaimi, Director of the Consumer Protection Department at the Ministry of Economy. “The higher committee for consumer protection has decided to suspend all applications for increasing the prices of commodities, and no decisions will be taken on this count until the end of Ramadan,” Dr. Al Nuaimi said, noting that, the move was part of the ministry’s plan to support stability in prices in the markets during the holy month. As many as 100,000 Ramadan baskets containing a collection of discounted food items will also be made available. The department of consumer protection is in constant contact with sale outlets to be familiarised with all arrangements before the advent of the holy month, he said. The ministry is also keen on implementing Ramadan initiatives like the ration scheme through cooperation with major grocery outlets, he added. The Ministry of Economy, according to him, had contacted charity associations for coupons of the Ramdan ration and they will be distributed before June 25. “The Ministry is keen on developing the scheme which is largely meant for Emiratis, provided the associations supply the coupons with each one valuing between Dh300 and Dh500,” he said. He pointed out to the strong cooperation between the ministry and a number of major grocery outlets like the Abu Dhabi Cooperative Society, Union Coop and Sharjah Coop. The ministry will also coordinate with suppliers to avoid any hikes in prices, and all measures will be taken to maintain the prices during Ramadan, he reiterated. news@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Generous gift from ‘stranger’ could save Sarah-Jean’s life
Generous gift from ‘stranger’ could save Sarah-Jean’s life Sarah Young / 21 June 2013 A generous last-minute gift from a person who wishes to remain anonymous in the UAE will see an Abu-Dhabi girl get the life-saving operation she needs. Sarah-Jean Masinas, 20, who lives in Abu Dhabi, has Acute Myleoid Leukemia (AML), and requires a bone-marrow transplant. After a year of searching for a donor, she finally found a match through a hospital in Sweden — but the operation came with a Dh900,000 price tag, and a time limit. Her parents, who earn Dh7,000 between them a month, have been fundraising for months to find the amount before they meet with the Swedish Embassy on June 23 to seek a visa. Given the aggressive nature of her cancer, and the fact her body cannot take any more chemotherapy, the operation must go ahead in early July when the donor is ready. Her mother, Rosalie Masinas, was overjoyed on Thursday to find out they had reached their target, thanks to a charity auction earlier this week which raised Dh46,000 — and a mysterious auction-goer who pledged to donate any remaining dirhams needed to reach the total. This donation turned out to be a generous Dh61,500, she said. The family had also raised Dh14,000 through the online donation site http://www.youcaring.com/ since a Khaleej Times article about her daughter’s plight was published on June 17, Masinas said. “I was so excited. I don’t know how to describe it, but I’m really, really happy. I just want to thank everyone so much. When they transferred the remaining amount, I was really crying. I was just so relieved. And maybe I will be crying again in the second week of July, if we get the visa and it can go ahead.” Masinas said her daughter had been shocked, and kept asking if it was really true. “She couldn’t believe it, either. She was crying, too.” Sarah-Jean was diagnosed with AML in 2010 when she returned to her home-country of the Philippines to study radiology. She was treated with chemotherapy in the UAE and the illness went into remission, but returned last year and doctors have said a transplant is the only option left. Dubai resident Zeina Naim was the driver behind the The Gramercy’s Charity Auction Night hosted by Virgin Radio’s DJ Kris Fade on Monday evening. “I found out about Sarah’s case just after trying to help a little girl with the same type of Leukemia, called Lea Joven who unfortunately passed away last November. My friends and I read about Sarah-Jean and since we had some knowledge about charities here who may be able to help, like Friends of Cancer Patients in Sharjah, and a bit about hospitals abroad that do bone marrow transplants we reached out to Sarah’s mom, and started our plight to raise money for Sarah.” sarah@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
US-Taleban talks in Qatar not expected on Thursday: source
US-Taleban talks in Qatar not expected on Thursday: source (Reuters) / 20 June 2013 Preliminary Afghan peace talks in Qatar between US and Taleban officials are unlikely to take place on Thursday as originally expected, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. Asked if the meeting would go ahead on Thursday, the source replied: “There is nothing scheduled that I am aware of.” Asked if that meant they would not happen today, the source added: “Yes that’s correct.” Continue reading
