Tag Archives: lifestyle
UAE residents do their bit for Indian flood victims
UAE residents do their bit for Indian flood victims Nivriti Butalia / 29 June 2013 Aid continues to pour in from local communities in the UAE for the victims of floods in the Indian state of Uttrakhand that have washed away hundreds and left thousands stranded. The Uttrakhand Association in Dubai has been working tirelessly to raise funds to send to the worst-affected areas, with Indian Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde saying he expected the death toll to rise over the current 1,000 several days ago. More than 10,000 people remain stranded. Association general secretary Sanjay Singh Thapa said he was in constant touch with people from his hometown. Contact persons Those interested in contributing may contact the following representatives in the UAE: Dinesh Bhatt (055-9272318), Dubai Deepak Dhami (050-2454924), Abu Dhabi Devendra Singh Koranga (050-5103334), UAE Atul Tiwari (055-9029859), UAE Niraj Kumar Joshi (050-6669283), Ras Al Khaimah Sandeep Rautela (050-3506273), Fujairah Navin Singh Kathayat (050-6580214), Sharjah Girish Pant (050-9947548), Al Nahda, Sharjah Jaiprakash Kothari (050-3786112), Al Nahda, Sharjah Kailash Chandra Joshi (0506401142), Al Nahda, Dubai Sanjay Singh Thapa (050-4556736), Al Nahda, Dubai Vivek Bahuguna (055-6587322), International City Anup Jakhmola (056-1148479), JLT and Dubai Marina Capt Anil Agarwal (055-4560236), JLT and Dubai Marina Dharam Singh Rana (050-3501845), Al Ain “Dharchula is one of the worst hit by floods in the Kali river. Thousands of the people lost their homes and their property…it takes lot of time and money to build a good house. This calamity has swept everything; even land doesn’t exist anymore since it has all been washed away by the flood. Hundreds of people are stranded in the villages. At least around 60 villages that are high up in the Himalayas in the vicinity of Mount Panchachuli and Om Parvat and Kailash Manasarovar are cut off from the rest of the world.” From their members in the emirates, the Uttrakhand Association has collected over Dh25,000, with more still coming in. A social worker and mother of two college-going children, Geeta Chandola left Dubai for Delhi on Friday evening and will travel to the affected areas with Dh7,000 that had earlier been collected and handed over to her. She will spend a month in Uttrakhand helping out the victims and distributing clothes and medicines and blankets and footwear. As money pours in, it will be transferred to her Indian bank account and from that fund she will buy what the victims immediately need. In Abu Dhabi, Rahul Dutta, a 29-year-old employee of Emirates Aluminum, has collected Dh1,475 from 10-15 of his colleagues including locals who immediately responded with cash donations to his email plea for relief for flood victims. Uttrakhand Association president Devendra Singh Koranga said money and aid in the form of warm clothing and footwear was coming in every day. On Thursday, the day Khaleej Times printed an article on the subject, he received about 35 calls from people asking how they can help. nivriti@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Obama heads to South Africa with Mandela on his mind
Obama heads to South Africa with Mandela on his mind (Reuters) / 28 June 2013 US President Barack Obama heads to South Africa on Friday hoping to see ailing icon Nelson Mandela, after wrapping up a visit to Senegal that focused on improving food security and promoting democratic institutions. Obama is in the middle of a three-country tour of Africa that the White House hopes will compensate for what some view as years of neglect by the administration of America’s first black president. Before departing Dakar, Obama was scheduled to meet with farmers and local entrepreneurs to discuss new technologies that are helping farmers and their families in West Africa, one of the world’s poorest and most drought-prone regions. But it was Mandela, the 94-year-old former South African president who is clinging to life in a Pretoria hospital, who will dominate the president’s day even before he arrives in Johannesburg. Asked on Thursday whether Obama would be able to pay Mandela a visit, the White House said that was up to the family. “We are going to completely defer to the wishes of the Mandela family and work with the South African government as relates to our visit,” deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told reporters in Senegal. “Whatever the Mandela family deems appropriate, that’s what we’re focused on doing in terms of our interaction with them.” Obama sees Mandela, also known as Madiba, as a hero. Whether they are able to meet or not, officials said his trip would serve largely as a tribute to the anti-apartheid leader. “I’ve had the privilege of meeting Madiba and speaking to him. And he’s a personal hero, but I don’t think I’m unique in that regard,” Obama said on Thursday. “If and when he passes from this place, one thing I think we’ll all know is that his legacy is one that will linger on throughout the ages.” The president arrives in South Africa on Friday evening and has no public events scheduled. He could go to the hospital then. Obama is scheduled to visit Robben Island, where Mandela spent years in prison, later during his trip. On Friday morning, Obama will take part in a “Feed the Future” event on food security. That issue, along with anti-corruption measures and trade opportunities for US companies, are topics the White House wants to highlight on Obama’s tour. Obama, who has been in office since 2009, has only visited Africa once in his presidential tenure: a short trip to Ghana at the beginning of his first term. While acknowledging that Obama has not spent as much time in Africa as people hoped, the administration is eager to highlight what it has done, in part to end unflattering comparisons to accomplishments of predecessors George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Food security and public aid are two of the issues the Obama team believes are success stories. “Africa has seen a steady and consistent increase in our overall resource investment each year that we’ve been in office,” said Raj Shah, head of USAID. “And sustaining that in this political climate has required real trade-offs to be made in other areas, but we’ve done that.” Continue reading
Prayers as Nelson Mandela remains critical
Prayers as Nelson Mandela remains critical (Agencies) / 28 June 2013 South Africans prayed and waited as the condition of ailing anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela continued to be critical, forcing President Jacob Zuma to cancel a trip to neighbouring Mozambique. Zuma had been due to attend a summit in Maputo of the Southern African Development Community to discuss regional infrastructure, but pulled out after visiting the 94-year-old former president in hospital late on Wednesday. But a government statement said Mandela’s condition improved overnight and is now “stable” while still critical. The statement followed a visit by President Zuma — his second in the past 24 hours — to the anti-apartheid hero in a Pretoria hospital, where he is being treated for a lung infection. “He is much better today than he was when I saw him last night. The medical team continues to do a sterling job,” Zuma said in a statement released by his office. US President Barack Obama said Nelson Mandela was a “hero for the world” whose legacy would live on throughout the ages. “He is a personal hero. I think he is a hero for the world, and if and when he passes from this place, one thing I think we all know is that his legacy is one that will linger on throughout the ages,” Obama said in Senegal. Continue reading
