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Khalifa orders aid as quake rattles Pak regions again
Khalifa orders aid as quake rattles Pak regions again (Wam, AFP) / 29 September 2013 The President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has directed emergency items such as food and medical aid be delivered to the earthquake stricken regions of Pakistan, after an earthquake left more than 500 dead. Thousands remain wounded — many without access to aid — since last week’s quake at 7.8 Richter Scale. The directive was followed up by General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Shaikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the UAE Red Crescent Authority, to ensure emergency assistance is provided to people affected. The RCA office in Pakistan is currently engaged in providing tents blankets, food and medical items to the victims of the earthquake. Meanwhile, a powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit southwest Pakistan on Saturday, killing at least 22 people in a region already devastated by a tremor which left more than 300 people dead this week, local officials said. “The death toll is increasing. Rescue workers have so far recovered 22 dead bodies,” Hari Fal, the top government official in Khuzdar town said, adding that more than 50 people have been wounded. Officials fear the toll in Saturday’s quake in Awaran, the poorest district in the southwest province of Balochistan, could still rise further. The new quake struck the remote district at a depth of 14km at 12.34pm according to the US Geological Survey. Continue reading
Syria vows to abide by UN resolution
Syria vows to abide by UN resolution (AP) / 29 September 2013 Syria’s prime minister said Damascus will fully cooperate with UN inspectors charged with destroying the country’s chemical weapons stockpile. Wael Al Halqi’s comments on Saturday come a day after the UN Security Council voted unanimously to purge Syria of its chemical weapons programme. Al Halqi said in an interview with Lebanon’s Al Manar TV that Syria “welcomed the resolution” and “will fulfill its international duties.” He also said the government “will facilitate the work of the inspectors.” The UN resolution passed on Friday allows the start of a mission to rid Syria’s regime of its estimated 1,000-tonne chemical arsenal by mid-2014. It also calls for consequences if Syria fails to comply, but those will depend on the council passing another resolution in the event of non-compliance. Meanwhile, Syrian rebels including members of an Al Qaeda-linked group captured a military post on the border with Jordan on Saturday after four days of fighting, an activist group said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 26 soldiers were killed in the battle as well as a number of rebels, including seven foreign fighters. The post served in the past as the customs office on the border with Jordan. It was turned into an army post years ago. The post is on the outskirts of the southern city of Daraa where the uprising against President Bashar Assad’s regime began in March 2011. The uprising later turned into a civil war that killed more than 100,000 people, according to the UN. Rebels control multiple areas along the borders with Jordan, Iraq, Turkey and Lebanon as well as the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Also on Saturday some UN inspectors left their hotel in Damascus in one vehicle to an unknown location. The UN said on Friday its team of weapons experts currently in Syria will investigate seven sites of alleged chemical attacks in the country, four more than previously known. The announcement came hours before the UN Security Council voted unanimously to secure and destroy Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile. The team initially visited Syria last month to investigate three alleged chemical attacks this year. But just days into the visit, the rebel-held Damascus suburb of Ghouta was hit by a chemical strike, and the inspectors turned their attention to that case. The inquiry determined that the nerve agent sarin was used in the August 21 attack, but it did not assess who was behind it. The UN team of investigators expects to finalise its activities in the country by Monday, a UN statement said. Continue reading
UAE, Mexico to sign treaty on protecting investments
UAE, Mexico to sign treaty on protecting investments (Wam) / 28 September 2013 Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan continued meeting with his counterparts from other countries taking part in the 68th session of the United Nations’ General Assembly. Shaikh Abdullah met Mexican Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Meade; Singaporean Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam; Kazakh counterpart Erlan Idrissov; South Korean minister Yun Byung-se; and Colombian minister Maria Angela Holguin. Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed, other GCC foreign ministers, US Secretary of State John Kerry and US Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel during the third ministerial meeting of the US-GCC Strategic Cooperation Forum in New York on Thursday. The two sides reached a consensus on ways to bolster stability and security throughout the Middle East and deepen the close relations. The GCC ministers condemned the horrific chemical weapons attack in Syrian on August 21. — Wam He discussed with them the UAE’s relations with their respective countries, ways to strengthen them and the regional and international issues. He and the Mexican minister agreed to sign an agreement to encourage protection of investments between the two countries. With Shanmugam, he discussed the positions of the two countries regarding the political issues of mutual interest, including the Syrian standoff, Palestinian issue and developments in Egypt. He and South Korean minister also discussed the ways to activate the strategic economic, investment, scientific and technological partnerships between the two countries, including the exchange of expertise in the areas of renewable energy, trade and medicine. The UAE Foreign Minister thanked Ambassador Nusseibeh, on behalf of the members of the mission, for their strenuous efforts to strengthen the role of the UAE in the UN. Shaikh Abdullah also held talks with the President of Mongolia, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, at the UN. During the meeting, Shaikh Abdullah conveyed the regards of the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to Elbegdorj and his wishes to the Mongolian leadership and people. On his part, President Elbegdorj asked Shaikh Abdullah to convey his regards to the UAE President. He stressed the interest of his country in strengthening the bilateral relations in all fields. Shaikh Abdullah visited the residence of the UAE Permanent Mission to the UN in New York. He was received by UAE Permanent Representative to the UN Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, members of the UAE diplomatic corps to the UN and the UAE delegation members and local staff at the mission. Continue reading
