Abu Dhabi, Aug 13: The President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has ordered the release of 704 prisoners on the occasion of Eid-ul-Adha. The pardoned prisoners had been sentenced to jail terms for a variety of offenses.
Sheikh Khalifa pledged to settle the financial obligations of the released prisoners.
The move comes as part of Sheikh Khalifa's keenness to give the pardoned prisoners a chance to start a new life, and alleviate the suffering of their families.
Dubai, May 3: Over 150,000 Indians in the UAE, who wish to return home amid the coronavirus lockdown, have applied through the online registration process to the Indian missions here, according to media reports.
The Indian missions in the country last week opened online registration for the expatriates who wish to fly back home after getting stuck in the country amidst the lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
As of 6 pm on Saturday, we received more than 150,000 registrations, Consul General of India in Dubai Vipul told the Gulf News on Saturday.
A quarter of them want to return to their homeland after losing their jobs, he said.
According to a report in the Khaleej Times on Sunday, about 40 per cent of the applicants who have registered are blue-collared workers and 20 per cent are working professionals.
"Roughly 20 per cent have suffered job losses and about 55 per cent of the total applicants are from Kerala," Neeraj Aggarwal, Consul, Press, Information, Culture was quoted as saying in the report.
Aggarwal said that the figures would change as they are expecting registrations from workers from other states, including Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar.
About 10 per cent of the applicants are visit and tourist visa holders who got stranded here due to the ongoing lockdown in India.
India extended the ongoing lockdown by two weeks from May 4 to contain the spread of the coronavirus that has affected nearly 40,000 people in the country.
Aggarwal said that a small number of the applications constitute those from pregnant women and other medical cases.
Since the online registration process was launched, the Consulate's website crashed several times due to the heavy rush of applicants wishing to register to fly back home.
The site has been working fine now though it took a lot of time for it to stabilise in the initial phase due to the heavy traffic, the counsel general said.
He said that the missions here have not yet received any information from the Indian government about the mode of transport of the stranded citizens, the prices of the tickets or how the COVID-19 test results of applicants would be assessed for their journey.
There are high-level discussions going on regarding these things, he said in the report.
Meanwhile, Norka (The Non Resident Keralites Affairs) said it has received a total of 398,000 applications from Keralites across the globe who wish to return home.
"Of which, the highest numbers are from the UAE. At least 175,423 applicants have signed up from the UAE," Norka said in an official statement on Saturday.
It also received 54,305 registrations from Saudi Arabia, 2,437 from the UK, 2,255 from the US, and 1,958 from Ukraine from those who wish to return to India, the Khaleej Times reported.
The coronavirus has infected 13,599 people and claimed 119 lives in the UAE, the Ministry of Health and Prevention said on Saturday.
Kolkata, Jan 27: The West Bengal government on Monday tabled a resolution against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act in the Assembly.
The resolution appeals to the Union government to repeal the amended citizenship law and revoke plans to implement NRC and update NPR.
As per reports, state Parliamentary Affairs Minister Partha Chatterjee introduced the resolution in the House around 2 pm.
Three states - Kerala, Rajasthan and Punjab - have already passed resolutions against the new citizenship law.
The law has emerged as the latest flashpoint in the state, with the TMC opposing the contentious legislation tooth and nail, and the BJP pressing for its implementation.
The new citizenship law has emerged as the latest flashpoint in the state, with the TMC opposing the contentious legislation tooth and nail, and the BJP pressing for its implementation.
New Delhi, Jan 10: An IPS officer's thumb was bitten by a woman protester when he was pushing back agitators, who were trying to march towards the Rashtrapati Bhawan here on Thursday, police sources said.
The protesters had gathered after a call was given by JNU Students' Union president Aishe Ghosh to march towards President's House to demand the removal of University's Vice Chancellor, M Jagadesh Kumar.
Ingit Pratap Singh, a 2011 batch officer, who is currently posted as the additional deputy commissioner of the southwest district, was injured in the attack.
According to sources, Singh was trying to pull a male protester when the woman, in a bid to shield her friend, bit Singh's left thumb.
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