Bahrain protesters, police clash near F1 circuit

April 21, 2012

Clash_Protester


Dubai, April 21: Dozens of protesters clashed with police across Shiite villages close to the circuit where Bahrain's controversial Formula One Grand Prix takes place this weekend, witnesses said on Saturday.


Dozens of people took to the streets late on Friday and set alight tyres near the villages of Damistan, Karzakkan, Malkiya and Sadad, all less than four kilometres from the Sakhir circuit.


Some of the protesters, who included women, wore face masks and several were dressed in white shrouds bearing the message: "I am the next martyr."


Security forces fired tear gas and sound bombs to disperse the demonstrators, some of whom responded by hurling petrol bombs and stones, witnesses said, adding that the clashes were "violent."


No casualties were reported, however. The clashes followed a massive afternoon demonstration in the Shiite suburb of Budaya, west of Manama.


Shiite-led protests have intensified in Bahrain, site of a month-long uprising that was crushed last year, since its Sunni rulers insisted on going ahead with this weekend's Formula One Grand Prix race despite pressure to call it off.


The February 14 Youth Movement has called on social networking sites for "three days of rage" to coincide with the race.


Bahrain's main opposition group, Al Wefaq, had called for a week of daily protests during the Grand Prix to focus media attention on their long-standing demands for reforms.


But on Friday, when F1 teams took to the track for the first free practice sessions, Crown Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al Khalifa ruled out cancelling the event.


"I think cancelling just empowers extremists,"said during a media briefing at the Sakhir circuit. "I think for those of us who are trying to navigate a way out of this political problem, having the race allows us to build bridges across communities, and get people working together."


The Bahrain event was cancelled last year in the wake of and uprising and the government crackdown that followed in which a government commission said 35 people were killed.


Following Friday's free practice sessions, the Bahrain GP gets underway on Saturday with qualifying for grid positions followed by the actual race on Sunday.


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News Network
June 26,2020

Dubai, Jun 26: As summers in Dubai bloom in its full glory, the most savoured summer fruit - Mongo - is getting the most special treatment in the city as it gets delivered to customers via an emperor like ride of a Lamborghini.

As per a video report by Gulf News, the Pakistan Supermarket in Dubai is delivering the king of fruits to the doorsteps of its customers in a green coloured Lamborghini to match the level of its supremacy among fruits.

"The king should travel like a king," says the managing director of the store, Mohammad Jehanzeb who delivers the pulpy fruit by himself and also takes the customers on a short ride in the luxury car.

In order to avail the offer rolled out on the Facebook page of the famous supermarket, customers are required to make a minimum order of Dh100, reports the Gulf News.

"The idea is to put a smile on people's faces and make them feel special," says Jehanzeb who has put a smile on the face of dozens of Dubai residents amidst the throes of a pandemic with his 'Mangoes in Lamborghini' campaign.

The delicacy this year has gone viral with videos of delighted mango lovers taking a joy ride in the supercar doing rounds over the internet.

"The joy ride was essentially meant for kids who have been sequestered at homes because of the coronavirus but adults are equally thrilled at the prospect of getting behind the wheels of my Lamborghini Huracan. I am happy to oblige them too," says Jehanzeb.

"Each order takes about an hour. We do about 7-8 home deliveries a day but are hoping to ramp up the numbers to 12," he adds.

Arshad Khan who hails from the Indian city of nawabs - Lucknow- ordered the 'nawabi' varieties - Sindhri and Anwar Ratol - and said that his children were exhilarated after hearing the roar of the Lamborghini outside their Falcon City villa.

"For someone who hails from Lucknow -- the land of the famous dussheri and landga mangoes -- I was a bit skeptical about the taste of Pakistani mangoes. I ordered them for the sheer experience of seeing them come to my place in a luxury supercar," Gulf News quoted Khan as saying.

"It was quite exhilarating and I must confess that the mangoes were as delicious as the ones back home," he added.

Mango fruit has been a delicacy in the 16th-century Hindustan sub-continent. It holds a fascinating narrative in Babur Nama which is an autobiography of the Mughal emperor Zahiruddin Muhammad Babur.

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Agencies
February 5,2020

Paris, Feb 5: Saudi Arabia has reported an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N8 bird flu virus on a poultry farm, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) said on Tuesday, February 4.

The outbreak, which occurred in the central Sudair region, killed 22,700 birds, the OIE said, citing a report from the Saudi agriculture ministry.

The other 385,300 birds in the flock were slaughtered, it said.

The case was the first outbreak of the H5N8 virus in Saudi Arabia since July 2018.

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Gulf News
April 12,2020

Hyderabad, Apr 12: In the backdrop of rising tide of anti-Muslim hatred and Islamophobia on the social media, a company in Dubai sacked an employee from Hyderabad for his hate-filled posts on Facebook.

Bala Krishna Nakka from Hyderabad, who was working as Chief Accountant at Dubai’s Moro Hub Data Solutions Company, was sacked after his Facebook went viral evoking widespread condemnation. The man had posted images on his Facebook page which showed Muslims as suicide bombers wearing bombs in the form of coronavirus cells.

It triggered demands both on Facebook and Twitter for action against him. In a quick response the company announced that the person was being sacked from his job, as the company had zero tolerance towards hate propaganda.

Moro Hub said in a statement: “At Moro, we take a zero tolerance attitude to material that is or may be deemed Islamophoic or hate speech. The tweets that we have been alerted to do not, in any way, reflect Moro’s brand values.”

Since the outbreak of coronavirus in India, a more intense hate propaganda has been unleashed by right wing elements on social media targeting India’s Muslim minority, some of whom are based in Gulf region.

As both the mainstream media, especially Indian TV channels, as well as social media users, have unleashed a campaign linking the spread of virus to a Muslim missionary organisation, the Tableeghi Jamaat, in India, a fresh war of words has broken out on social media.

While some activists have taken up it on themselves to highlight the hate propaganda and draw the attention of employers to such hate mongers, the right wing social media handles have also launched their own counter-offensives against such activists.

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