Entertainment
Premature twins battling for life, await financial assistance
Premature twins battling for life, await financial assistance Lily B. Libo-on / 19 August 2013 Premature twin boys, Aadi and Arnav, born to an Indian father and a Filipina mother, are fighting for their lives in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) of the Dubai Hospital and are in dire need of financial assistance from kind-hearted individuals. Their mother, Andrea Rivera, married to Gaurav Rawat, an Indian, was scheduled to give birth on November 26 this year but they were born prematurely on August 2, just six-and-a-half months into Andrea’s pregnancy at Mediclinic City Hospital, after she suffered from profuse bleeding. Both the parents are working here in Dubai, but their health insurance cards could only pay the Mediclinic City Hospital for 11 days of incubation at the rate of Dh10,000 per child per day, since the birth of their twin sons. They could no longer use the same health insurance cards to pay for the hospitalisation of their twin sons in Dubai Hospital, where the twins were shifted on August 11 for another two-month incubation. “We have been asked to make a down payment of Dh40,000, which I took as a cash advance from my company. Dubai Hospital is charging us Dh3,900 daily for each baby in the NICU. But, still we decided to shift our twins to this government hospital. In Mediclinic City Hospital, we were daily being charged Dh3,500 a baby for the incubator alone, in addition to Dh1,400 for the ventilator, and then every time the doctor came to check on them, we had to pay for professional fees plus prescribed medicines that totalled our bill for 11 days to be Dh220,00,” Andrea said. She said that Dr Laila Matar Al Muhairi, head of NICU at Dubai Hospital, told her that Arnav, the younger twin, still has an open pipe in his heart, which needs to be closed either by medication or if, after some time, through operating on him. “With operation, we have to raise Dh800,000 to Dh1,000,000. Of this, some Dh450,000 more or less will go for the NICU. Our health insurance card can no longer cover this payment, so we are asking kind-hearted individuals to help us save our twins,” Andrea said. “They are our first babies, and we want to do the best for them. My husband and I are both earning but even if we merge our monthly income, we may not be able to raise the said amount for their hospital bills,” she added. “We humbly beg for your generous and kind assistance to help our twin babies. This is not an easy step for both of us, but we set our pride aside for their welfare, as they are still in the Dubai Hospital. The heart pipe of my elder twin Aadi is closing, but he is still receiving medication, which started at Mediclinic City Hospital, for the same. We will appreciate your kindness and compassion. God bless you and your family,” Andrea said. lily@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Mohammed: Bureaucracy inhibits innovation
Mohammed: Bureaucracy inhibits innovation (Wam) / 19 August 2013 His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has said bureaucracy and routine are counter-productive and inhibit innovation and excellence, referring to the importance of developing government administrative work. “Let us be advocates of innovation and excellence. Our mission is to join forces and make our beloved country rank top globally in terms of services provided to citizens,” he said, as he paid an inspection visit to the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai (GDRFA) on Sunday. Shaikh Mohammed, Shaikh Maktoum bin Mohammed and Lt-Gen Shaikh Saif bin Zayed looking at the old passports displayed at Al Dana Museum in the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai on Sunday. — Wam Shaikh Mohammed underlined the significance of tolerance and respect for the rights of people irrespective of their religion or ethnicity, stressing the value of enriching the welcoming experience for visitors who enter the country by means of air, sea and land. During the visit, Shaikh Mohammed was briefed on the efforts being made to streamline workflow at the directorate. He was accompanied by Shaikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai; Lt-General Shaikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior; Lt-General Musabbah Rashid Al Fattan, Director of the Office of the Vice-President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai; Khalifa Saeed Suleiman, Director- General of Dubai Protocol and Hospitality Department; Major-General Nasser Lakhraibani Al Nuaimi, Secretary-General of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister; and a number of senior officials. Shaikh Mohammed was also accompanied during his tour to the departments and sections GDRFA Director-General Major-General Mohammed Ahmed Al Marri, who briefed him on the transactions carried out by various sections at the department. Al Marri pointed out the efforts and technology adopted by the GDRFA to streamline workflow with aims to reduce transaction time to a minimum and raise output. Shaikh Mohammed stopped at the Entry Permits and Visa Department, where he was briefed on the daily work carried out by the employees before visiting the Online section where transactions are processed swiftly. Shaikh Mohammed inspected the numerous facilities designed to make people’s visit to the department as comfortable as possible such as the waiting places dedicated for women. He also stopped at Al Dana Museum within the GDRFA headquarters which displays passports dating back to the establishment of the UAE. The Electronics Services Department was the next stop where Shaikh Mohammed listened to a briefing on the various projects carried out by the department such as the electronic link project with different Dubai Government entities. The department successfully processed over five million e-Transactions and received over 500,000 SMS service requests through “Jadid” service last year. During the first quarter of this year, the GDRFA processed more than three million e-Transactions and received more than 400,000 SMS service requests. He also stopped at the Call Centre operated by GDRFA staff. Shaikh Mohammed expressed satisfaction with the high level of proficiency the GDRFA staff had and their dedication to their work which, in turn, reflected the civilised and advanced status of public services in the UAE. Continue reading
Egypt army chief says new clashes won’t be tolerated
Egypt army chief says new clashes won’t be tolerated 19 August 2013 Egypt’s military leader vowed on Sunday that the army will not tolerate further political violence after nationwide clashes that left hundreds dead, as security forces detained Muslim Brotherhood members in raids aimed at disrupting planned rallies. Defence Minister Gen Abdel Fatah El Sissi, who led the July 3 coup that toppled President Mohammed Mursi, again said the army has no intention of seizing power in the Arab world’s most populous country. El Sissi removed Mursi after four days of mass rallies by millions of Egyptians who demanded the president step down. “We will not stand by silently watching the destruction of the country and the people or the torching the nation and terrorising the citizens,” he said in a speech aired on state television. The general said that the military didn’t seek power but instead “have the honour to protect the people’s will — which is much dearer (than) ruling Egypt.” El Sissi also said Islamists must be included in the country’s politics moving forward. A military timetable calls for the nation’s constitution to be amended and for presidential and parliamentary elections to be held in 2014. “We have given many chances … to end the crisis peacefully and call for the followers of the former regime to participate in rebuilding the democratic track and integrate in the political process and the future map instead of confrontations and destroying the Egyptian state,” he told a gathering of top military commanders and police chiefs. El Sissi’s remarks come ahead of an anticipated harsher stance by the military-backed government toward the Brotherhood. The Cabinet held an emergency meeting on Sunday to discuss potentially banning the group, a long-outlawed organisation that swept to power in the country’s first democratic elections a year ago. A possible ban — which authorities say would be implemented over the group’s use of violence — would be a repeat of the decades-long struggle between the state and the Brotherhood. It also would drain the group’s financial resources and allow for mass arrests of its members. That likely would diminish the chances of a negotiated solution to the crisis and push it again underground. The Brotherhood, however, has shown no signs of backing down. Under the banner of an anti-coup alliance, the group said it will hold a demonstration in front of the Supreme Constitutional Court in southern Cairo later Sunday. Authorities already stationed armoured vehicles and troops at the building, which could turn into another focal point of street violence. The Brotherhood faces increasing public criticism and blame over the ongoing violence in Egypt. Sheik Ahmed Al Tayyeb, the powerful head of Al Azhar mosque, issued an audio statement asking Brotherhood members to stop the violence. “The scenes of violence will not grant you any rights and the bloodshed nor chaos spreading across the country will give you no legitimacy,” Al Tayyeb said. The violence in Egypt also has sparked deep concerns worldwide. Egypt also lost one of the few doves in the country’s military-backed administration as Mohammed El Baradei, who resigned as vice-president in protest of the use of force against Mursi’s supporters, left Cairo for Vienna on Sunday. Continue reading
