Tag Archives: horoscope
75,000 down, 925,000 children to go…
75,000 down, 925,000 children to go… Amanda Fisher / 14 July 2013 At least 75,000 needy children will get new clothes, just two days into a campaign to clothe one million deprived children around the world, launched by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. Days after Thursday’s campaign launch, du announced on Saturday it would donate Dh3 million to the campaign, which would need to raise Dh40 million to clothe all one million of the world’s neediest children in a Dh40 outfit. Du Brand and Communications Executive Vice-President Hala Badri said the telecom provider, which is chanelling the donations alongside etisalat as the campaign is SMS run, was bracing for a wave of new donations as a result of its generous pledge. “We hope so, we like to lead by example and we really hope we see a lot of people enocouraged to follow suit as well. “As soon as there’s an announcement people rush to give, so we also hope that by our anouncement we encourage other people and other companies to give as well.” Badri said she was unsure whether rival etisalat intended to make a similar donation. “This is something we came up with independently. I’m sure a lot of companies, regardlesss of whether it’s etisalat or not, whenever there is a call from our leadership a lot of businesses always answer this, there is a lot of goodwill (in residents).” Both etisalat and du were partnering with Shaikh Mohammed in order to achieve the campaign’s goals. “It’s only natural because we’re both telecom operators…we have access to more than 6.6 million customers so from an operators point of view we can reach them very fast.” Badri said while there were many worthy causes searching for money in the country, she hoped people would make the effort to give to this one. “I know there are a lot of campaigns running but…when I first saw this campaign I thought if I had to wake up in the morning and tell my kids they wouldn’t have new clothes for Eid that would be the most difficult thing to do.” Du was also running an internal fundraising campaign at their office, though it was not clear how much had been raised yet, she said. “Previously we’ve raised anything between Dh50,000 to Dh150,000 which is quite a signicant amount from around 1,900 employees.” Badri said it was too early to know how much had been raised through the SMS donation campaign yet, though she expected the residents’ generosity would exceed the Dh40 million mark “knowing the culture of the UAE”. In order to donate, etisalat and du users just need to send the word “dress” to a short code which determines the amount donated. Texts sent to 7040 will contribute Dh40 to the campaign, while people can donate any multiple of 40 by just texting the amount prefixed by a 7. And those who do can expect courtesy in store, with a thank you message being sent straight back. – amanda@khaleejtimes.com CODES To donate Dh40, and dress one child, send an SMS to 7040 To donate Dh80, and dress two children, send an SMS to 7080 To donate Dh160, and dress four children, send an SMS to 7160 To donate Dh240, and dress six children, send an SMS to 7240 To donate Dh400, and dress 10 children, send an SMS to 7400 Continue reading
Malala celebrates birthday with UN address
Malala celebrates birthday with UN address (Reuters) / 12 July 2013 In her first speech since the Taleban in Pakistan tried to kill her for advocating education for girls, Malala Yousafzai celebrated her 16th birthday on Friday at the United Nations, appealing for compulsory free schooling for all children. Wearing a pink head scarf, Yousafzai told U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and nearly 1,000 students from around the world attending a Youth Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York that education was the only way to improve lives. “Let us pick up our books and pens. They are our most powerful weapons. One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world. Education is the only solution,” she said. Yousafzai was shot in the head at close range by gunmen in October as she left school in Pakistan’s Swat Valley, northwest of the country’s capital Islamabad, after campaigning against the Islamist Taleban efforts to deny women education. She presented Ban with a petition signed by nearly 4 million people in support of 57 million children who are not able to go to school and demanding that world leaders fund new teachers, schools and books and end child labor, marriage and trafficking. U.N. Special Envoy for Global Education, former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, said Friday’s event was not just a celebration of Malala’s birthday and her recovery, but of her vision. “Her dream that nothing, no political indifference, no government inaction, no intimidation, no threats, no assassin’s bullets should ever deny the right of every single child … to be able to go to school,” said Brown. Pakistan has 5 million children out of school, a number only surpassed by Nigeria, which has more than 10 million children out of school, according to U.N. cultural agency UNESCO. Most of those are girls. Islamist gunmen killed 27 students and a teacher on Saturday in a boarding school in northeast Nigeria. It was the deadliest of at least three attacks on schools in Nigeria since the military launched an offensive in May to try to crush Islamist insurgent group Boko Haram, whose nickname translates as “Western education is sinful” in the northern Hausa language. The Taleban claimed responsibility for the assassination attempt on Yousafzai, calling her efforts pro-Western. Two of her classmates were also wounded. Yousafzai was treated in Britain, where doctors mended parts of her skull with a titanium plate. Unable to safely return to Pakistan, she started at a school in Birmingham in March. Tehreek-e-Taleban Pakistan (TTP), formed in 2007, is an umbrella group uniting various militant factions operating in Pakistan’s volatile northwestern tribal areas along the porous border with Afghanistan. Under Taleban rule in neighboring Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, women were forced to cover up and were banned from voting, most work and leaving their homes unless accompanied by a husband or male relative. Continue reading
Shaikh Mohammed receives Rulers, CPs and Shaikhs
Shaikh Mohammed receives Rulers, CPs and Shaikhs (Wam) / 11 July 2013 His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, received Their Highnesses Members of the Supreme Council and Rulers of the Emirates and Crown Princes at Zabeel Palace here on Thursday. RAMADAN GREETINGS: His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, received Their Highnesses Members of the Supreme Council and Rulers of the Emirates and Crown Princes at Zaabeel Palace in Dubai on Thursday. Shaikh Mohammed and his guests exchanged greetings on the advent of the holy month of Ramadan. Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai; Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance; Shaikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai; other Shaikhs and senior officials were also present on the occasion. — Wam They performed Maghreb prayer, led by His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi of Sharjah, as imam. They asked Allah in their prayers to protect the leadership from harm and sustain the UAE’s stability and national cohesion. Present were Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai; Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE Minister of Finance; and Shaikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai. Shaikh Mohammed and his guests exchanged greetings on the advent of the holy month of Ramadan. Shaikh Mohammed also hosted an Iftar banquet in honour of the guests. Besides Shaikh Sultan, the event was attended by Their Highnesses Members of the Supreme Council and Rulers Shaikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi of Ras Al Khaimah; Shaikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi of Fujairah; Shaikh Saud bin Rashid Al Mu’alla of Umm Al Quwain; Shaikh Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi of Ajman; Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah; Shaikh Mohammed bin Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Crown Prince of Ras Al Khaimah; Shaikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Crown Prince of Fujairah; Shaikh Rashid bin Saud bin Rashid Al Mu’alla, Crown Prince of Umm Al Quwain; Shaikh Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Crown Prince of Ajman; and other Shaikhs. The UAE Vice-President also received Mohammed Ahmed Al Murr, Speaker of the Federal National Council; Shaikh Surour bin Mohammed Al Nahyan; Shaikh Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan, National Security Advisor; Lt-General Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior; Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs; Shaikh Hamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chief of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince’s Court; Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister; and Shaikh Omar bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation. Among those present also were Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Aviation Authority and Chairman of Emirates airline and Group; Shaikh Majid bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Culture and Arts Authority; Shaikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum; and a number of Shaikhs. Continue reading
