Tag Archives: georgia
Grade 12 toppers get laptops, Dh100,000
Grade 12 toppers get laptops, Dh100,000 (Wam) / 11 July 2013 The Ministry of Education distributed a laptop and Dh100,000 each to Grade 12 toppers in the 2012-13 academic year here on Thursday. The donation was announced by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. In a ceremony held under the patronage of Shaikh Mohammed, the outstanding students of all streams were honoured. Humaid Mohammed Obaid Al Qattami, Minister of Education, extended his congratulations to the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE Vice-President, Their Highnesses Members of the Supreme Council and Rulers of the Emirates, on the advent of the holy month of Ramadan. Al Qattami thanked Shaikh Mohammed for his annual donation and sponsorship of the distinguished students to further motivate them, noting that the holding of the annual honorary ceremony had become a tradition. On their part, the students expressed their gratitude to Shaikh Mohammed for his directives to honour the outstanding students. They also thanked Al Qattami, directors of schools, teachers and parents for their valuable contribution to their academic achievement. Continue reading
India rape verdict to be given July 25
India rape verdict to be given July 25 (AP) / 11 July 2013 An Indian juvenile court will hand down a verdict later this month in the fatal December gang rape of a young woman on a New Delhi bus, a defence lawyer said Thursday. The verdict would be the first handed down in the rape case, which led to furious street protests in India and sparked major reforms to the nation’s antiquated sexual assault laws. Lawyer Rajesh Tiwari told reporters outside the court that his client would learn his fate July 25. The defendant was 17 at the time of the attack and is being tried as a minor on charges including murder and rape. He faces a maximum sentence of three years at a reform centre. Court rules forbid the publication of his name even though he has since turned 18. The defendant was one of six people accused of tricking a young woman and her male companion into boarding an off-duty bus Dec. 16. Police say the men then raped and brutalized the woman and savagely beat the man before dumping them on the roadside. The woman died from her injuries two weeks later in a Singapore hospital. Four of the other defendants are being tried in a special fast-track court in New Delhi and face the death penalty. The sixth accused was found dead in his jail cell in March. The attack set off furious protests across India about the treatment of women in the country and led to a swift overhaul of sexual assault laws. Continue reading
Nearly six million die from smoking every year: WHO
Nearly six million die from smoking every year: WHO (AFP) / 11 July 2013 Despite public health campaigns, smoking remains the leading avoidable cause of death worldwide, killing almost six million people a year, mostly in low- and middle-income countries, the World Health Organization said Wednesday. If current trends hold, the number of deaths blamed on tobacco use will rise to eight million a year in 2030, the WHO said in a briefing unveiled at a conference in Panama. About 80 percent of tobacco-related deaths forecast for 2030 are expected in low- and middle-income countries, the report added. “If we do not close ranks and ban tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, adolescents and young adults will continue to be lured into tobacco consumption by an ever-more aggressive tobacco industry,” said WHO Director-General Dr Margaret Chan. “Every country has the responsibility to protect its population from tobacco-related illness, disability and death.” Among the dead this year, five million were tobacco users or former users, while more than 600,000 died from second-hand smoke, according to the WHO. Tobacco use is believed to have caused the deaths of 100 million people in the 20 th century. Barring dramatic change, the tally for this century could soar to one billion people, the WHO warned. “We know that only complete bans on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship are effective,” Dr. Douglas Bettcher, the Director of the WHO’s Prevention of Noncommunicable Diseases department, told the Panama conference. “Countries that introduced complete bans together with other tobacco control measures have been able to cut tobacco use significantly within only a few years,” he said. The report noted that 2.3 billion people from 92 countries benefit from some form of smoking restrictions, more than double the number who did five years ago. However, that figure still represents just a third of the world’s population, it said. Continue reading
