Dubai: Kerala Muslim body serves Iftar to 2,500 people

Agencies
May 18, 2019

Dubai, May 18: A Kerala Muslim centre here is serving Iftar meal every day to more than 2,500 people from all walks of life, according to a media report.

Iftar is the evening meal with which Muslims end their daily Ramzan fast at sunset.

There are 210 volunteers, divided into seven groups, who ensure smooth and clean distribution of Iftar meals, Gulf News reported.

"Most of the volunteers are drivers, A/C maintenance workers, office assistants and people who do other routine jobs. But, we also have businessmen and professional executives who have been volunteering with us," Ebrahim Elettil, president of the Kerala Muslim Cultural Centre’s (KMCC) said.

"When we started the community Iftar in 2012, we were serving only 1,500 people. Over the years, the number of people coming to have iftar increased. On average we serve 2,550 Iftar meals. Our volunteers are the pillars of this success,” Elettil said.

Even people with disabilities are part of the team. The preparation for the volunteering team, who also fast, begins a month before Ramzan.

"The registration of new members and renewal of old members is done and they are assigned duties in rotation. They are also trained by hygiene officers from some hotels. Every day we have about 150 volunteers present," Ebrahim Iritty, chairman of the volunteers' wing, was quoted as saying.

The volunteers arrive several hours before the Iftar time to take care of all the necessary arrangements. Lieutenant Colonel Khalifa Ali Rashid, assistant director at the al-Muraqqabat police station said that the KMCC volunteers were doing an amazing job by serving such a large number of people from all walks of life.

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Agencies
May 17,2020

Jerusalem, May 17: The Chinese ambassador to Israel was found dead in his home north of Tel Aviv on Sunday, Israel's Foreign Ministry said.

No cause of death was given and Israeli police said it was investigating.

Du Wei, 58, was appointed envoy in February in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. He previously served as China's envoy to Ukraine.

He is survived by a wife and son, both of whom were not in Israel.

Israel enjoys good relations with China.

The ambassador's death comes just two days after he condemned comments by visiting U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who denounced Chinese investments in Israel and accused China of hiding information about the coronavirus outbreak.

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News Network
March 23,2020

Dubai, Mar 23: All inbound, outbound and transit passenger flights to and from the United Arab Emirates – home to one of the world’s busiest hubs – are to be suspended for two weeks.

The UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA) and General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has announced that passenger flights to, from and through the country will be suspended from 25 March for a period of two weeks, in order to “curb the spread of the Covid-19”.

Freight and emergency evacuation flights will still be permitted to operate.

The suspension affects major global hubs in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Dubai-based Emirates has already announced that it will suspend most of its passenger flights from 25 March.

“Additional examination and isolation arrangements will be taken later should flights resume, in order to ensure the safety of passengers, air crews and airport personnel and their protection from infection risks,” state the NCEMA and the GCAA.

Dubai International Airport was the third-busiest airport in the world in 2018, handling 89 million passengers.

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News Network
May 18,2020

Abu Dhabi, May 18: Bollywood superstar Salman Khan has recorded a special message for Indian expats in the UAE as the country fights the coronavirus pandemic.

Khan - one of the biggest stars of Bollywood for decades - enjoys a large fan following in the Gulf, which is why Abu Dhabi roped in the actor to record a special video message for expats, urging them to cooperate with authorities in the capital and the country as they carry out sanitisation and testing programmes.

In the video, tweeted by the Abu Dhabi Media Office on Sunday night, the superstar appeals to Indians in Abu Dhabi to become heroes by staying home (stepping out for essential work/errands only), following precautionary measures and simply 'do the right thing' by getting tested if they have any Covid-19-related symptoms.

Khan, who has shot his recent super hit films (Race 3) in the capital, assured expats that Abu Dhabi authorities will not leave the community in these challenging times as it is a hospitable city who takes care of all residents.

"Following preventive measures also protects your family from the virus - so do the right thing as heroes do," Khan concludes.

The second phase of Abu Dhabi's sanitisation and testing in labour areas is underway, which started on May 16. Special testing facilities have been set up in the city for this purpose that test thousands of workers everyday.

As of May 17, UAE has confirmed over 23,000 cases along with over 8,000 recoveries and 220 deaths.

The country recently made a breakthrough in treating Covid-19 by using stem cells to help with the recovery.

The UAE leadership has thanked citizens and residents for their cooperation and assured that the country will take care of everyone in the country - with food and medicines being the red line, and that there will be no shortage of either during the crisis. Stimulus packages have been announced to help businesses stay afloat.

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