Tag Archives: business
‘Friends of Syria’ meeting in Doha to discuss aid for rebels
‘Friends of Syria’ meeting in Doha to discuss aid for rebels (AFP) / 21 June 2013 Foreign ministers of the “Friends of Syria” group meet in Doha on Saturday to discuss military help and other aid for rebels after an onslaught by government forces who have retaken key areas. The meeting will address in a “concerted, coordinated and complementary manner” the concerns raised by the opposition’s military chief, Salim Idriss, during a “Friends of Syria” meeting in Ankara last Friday, a French diplomat said. The rebels had notably asked for anti-tank and anti-air missiles to fight the regime forces. Western aid for them so far has been confined to non-military equipment like sophisticated communications materiel. The upcoming talks — attended by ministers of Britain, France, the United States, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and Egypt — will also discuss a proposed peace meeting between President Bashar Al Assad’s regime and the opposition to end the 27-month conflict which has claimed some 93,000 lives and shows no sign of abating. “We will try in Doha to sum up the situation on the ground and to see how we can aid the opposition coalition and arrive at a political solution,” French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said. The Doha talks will be held against the backdrop of a string of successes by government troops into rebel territory. They have retaken Qusayr in the central Homs province near Lebanon and trying to recapture the key city of Aleppo. It also comes days after a summit of G8 leaders issued a non-committal statement for a peace conference on Syria to be held as soon as possible. The group was deeply divided on key issues, especially owing the intransigence of Russia, Assad’s ally. The G8 also agreed to push for a transitional government in Syria that could include members of Assad’s regime who switched sides. French President Francois Hollande, who will be in Qatar and Jordan over the weekend in a visit that had been planned earlier, will also discuss the Syrian unrest with Qatar’s Amir Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, officials said. Qatar and Saudi Arabia have been the two major Middle Eastern states providing aid to the rebels. United States President Barack Obama has authorised sending small arms to the rebels after confirmation that chemical weapons were being used in the conflict. But he has refused to specify what they will be. Syrian rebels have asked friendly world powers to give them heavier weapons and to impose a no-fly zone over parts under their control to avert a humanitarian disaster. “The regime could use Scud missiles with unconventional warheads to shell liberated areas. So we need a safe haven,” Free Syrian Army spokesman Louay Meqdad said. “It is necessary to establish secure areas and impose no-fly zones in the south or north,” he said. Calling for anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons, he said that “if they do not provide us with arms to protect civilian areas, a humanitarian disaster will occur because regime troops are committing massacres in the areas they are recapturing”. Continue reading
No price hikes until end of Ramadan
No price hikes until end of Ramadan Salah Al Deberky / 21 June 2013 Grocery outlets in the country will publish, from next week, a list of more than 60 products consumed during the holy month of Ramadan, with 50 per cent discounts. Products which are most favoured by people during Ramadan have been selected, and will be made available in the markets from June 25, well before the advent of the holy month giving consumers sufficient time to make purchases, said Dr. Hashim Al Nuaimi, Director of the Consumer Protection Department at the Ministry of Economy. “The higher committee for consumer protection has decided to suspend all applications for increasing the prices of commodities, and no decisions will be taken on this count until the end of Ramadan,” Dr. Al Nuaimi said, noting that, the move was part of the ministry’s plan to support stability in prices in the markets during the holy month. As many as 100,000 Ramadan baskets containing a collection of discounted food items will also be made available. The department of consumer protection is in constant contact with sale outlets to be familiarised with all arrangements before the advent of the holy month, he said. The ministry is also keen on implementing Ramadan initiatives like the ration scheme through cooperation with major grocery outlets, he added. The Ministry of Economy, according to him, had contacted charity associations for coupons of the Ramdan ration and they will be distributed before June 25. “The Ministry is keen on developing the scheme which is largely meant for Emiratis, provided the associations supply the coupons with each one valuing between Dh300 and Dh500,” he said. He pointed out to the strong cooperation between the ministry and a number of major grocery outlets like the Abu Dhabi Cooperative Society, Union Coop and Sharjah Coop. The ministry will also coordinate with suppliers to avoid any hikes in prices, and all measures will be taken to maintain the prices during Ramadan, he reiterated. news@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Generous gift from ‘stranger’ could save Sarah-Jean’s life
Generous gift from ‘stranger’ could save Sarah-Jean’s life Sarah Young / 21 June 2013 A generous last-minute gift from a person who wishes to remain anonymous in the UAE will see an Abu-Dhabi girl get the life-saving operation she needs. Sarah-Jean Masinas, 20, who lives in Abu Dhabi, has Acute Myleoid Leukemia (AML), and requires a bone-marrow transplant. After a year of searching for a donor, she finally found a match through a hospital in Sweden — but the operation came with a Dh900,000 price tag, and a time limit. Her parents, who earn Dh7,000 between them a month, have been fundraising for months to find the amount before they meet with the Swedish Embassy on June 23 to seek a visa. Given the aggressive nature of her cancer, and the fact her body cannot take any more chemotherapy, the operation must go ahead in early July when the donor is ready. Her mother, Rosalie Masinas, was overjoyed on Thursday to find out they had reached their target, thanks to a charity auction earlier this week which raised Dh46,000 — and a mysterious auction-goer who pledged to donate any remaining dirhams needed to reach the total. This donation turned out to be a generous Dh61,500, she said. The family had also raised Dh14,000 through the online donation site http://www.youcaring.com/ since a Khaleej Times article about her daughter’s plight was published on June 17, Masinas said. “I was so excited. I don’t know how to describe it, but I’m really, really happy. I just want to thank everyone so much. When they transferred the remaining amount, I was really crying. I was just so relieved. And maybe I will be crying again in the second week of July, if we get the visa and it can go ahead.” Masinas said her daughter had been shocked, and kept asking if it was really true. “She couldn’t believe it, either. She was crying, too.” Sarah-Jean was diagnosed with AML in 2010 when she returned to her home-country of the Philippines to study radiology. She was treated with chemotherapy in the UAE and the illness went into remission, but returned last year and doctors have said a transplant is the only option left. Dubai resident Zeina Naim was the driver behind the The Gramercy’s Charity Auction Night hosted by Virgin Radio’s DJ Kris Fade on Monday evening. “I found out about Sarah’s case just after trying to help a little girl with the same type of Leukemia, called Lea Joven who unfortunately passed away last November. My friends and I read about Sarah-Jean and since we had some knowledge about charities here who may be able to help, like Friends of Cancer Patients in Sharjah, and a bit about hospitals abroad that do bone marrow transplants we reached out to Sarah’s mom, and started our plight to raise money for Sarah.” sarah@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
