Launch date of Liwa Date Festival brought forward

Abu Dhabi: The ten-day Liwa Date Festival, organised by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH), will begin on July 12 instead of July 16.

The decision came during a meeting held by the event's higher organising committee.

The decision to bring the launch date forward is due to technical and operational procedures, as well as the fact that Ramadan is expected to begin on August 1.

The decision also allows the Ajman Culture and Media Department to host the festival for three days starting from July 27.

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Poetry library and research centre opened

Dubai: The Emirati classical Arabic and Nabati poetry library and research centre was inaugurated at the Juma Al Majid Centre for Culture and Heritage Saturday.

There are 800 titles in the library that goes by the name Bait Al Qaseed, or the house of poetry.

Juma Al Majid, Chairman of the Juma Al Majid Centre for Culture and Heritage, opened the library along with Sultan Bin Saqr Al Suwaidi, Federal National Council member and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Culture and Scientific Association, and Saeed Al Nabouda, CEO of Dubai Culture.

Exhibition

Al Majid and his guests also visited the Palm library that was opened recently which includes more than 100 studies related to palm trees.

An exhibition titled ‘Poets on the mail wing', was also opened by Al Majid, which was prepared in cooperation with the Emirates Association of Stamp Collectors and the Al Sarkal Cultural Establishment.

The stamp collection included seven prominent Emirati poets such as Al Majidi Bin Daher, Rashid Al Khudur, Rashid Bin Tannaf, Sultan Bin Ali Al Owais, Salim Bin Ali Al Owais and Hamad Bu Shihab.

The guests were briefed about the poets and their stamps by Shaikha Al Mutairi, head of the heritage section in the centre.

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Humanitarian aid guide translated into Arabic

Abu Dhabi: While the UAE is among the leading countries in the GCC that provide aid and additional resources to help victims in crises, there is still much that can be done by the region's humanitarian and non-governmental organisations, a leading expert in humanitarian affairs told Gulf News.

"The UAE government has been a great source of help, not only in the translation of The Sphere Handbook, but also in providing translations for additional humanitarian documents and it is also a leading source for aid not only for victims in the region, but around the world as well," said Khalid Khalifa, Head of Office for the Coordination of the Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Integrated Regional Information Network (IRN) for Middle East and Asia Bureau.

Rwanda genocide

The handbook, which is among the most recognised guide on humanitarian services and crisis management, was first released in 1994 as a result of the difficulties faced by aid workers in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide. It cannot be applied legally, however, and humanitarian experts have called for applying it ethically.

"Because of the UAE's constant commitment to helping victims by providing aid and resources, one of the methods we use to ensure that our representatives are always up-to-date on the latest information and techniques, we are constantly organising training workshops so that Emiratis in the humanitarian sector can continue building their skills," Sultan Al Shamsi, Executive Director, UAE office for the Coordination of Foreign Aid (OCFA), said.

"The Arabic edition will also be distributed by western aid organisations and additional launches of it are being planned in July.One of the challenges we faced in translating it was ensuring that the Arabic phrases used were as clear as possible, as there are many different dialects in the region," Khalifa said.

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Woman dies in road accident

Dubai: Driving against traffic caused one woman's death and injured three others in a horrific collision Wednesday morning.

The three-car collision, which happened at 3am at the exit of Shindagha Tunnel in the Bur Dubai direction, was caused by the driver of a Nissan Patrol, a 27-year-old GCC citizen identified as AY who was driving against traffic, said Lieutenant Colonel Abdullah Khadim, Director of Naif Police Station.

The driver collided with a taxi, which then hit a Toyota car due to the impact.

The taxi driver, a 29-year-old Asian and the Toyota driver, a 27-year-old Arab, both sustained severe injuries and were trapped inside their cars, while a passenger in the Toyota, a 26-year-old Asian woman was killed.

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Afghan President Hamid Karzai received in Kabul Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Foreign Min

Shaikh Abdullah conveyed to the Afghan President the greetings of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. He also conveyed their wishes for the progress and prosperity of the people of Afghanistan.

Shaikh Abdullah reiterated the need for concerted international efforts to support the development programmes in Afghanistan for the welfare of the Afghan people.

Shaikh Abdullah had arrived in Kabul on Wednesday, along with his British counterpart William Hague to discuss with the Afghan government, the progress made in reinforcing the efforts of the international coalition in Afghanistan.

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Prisoners plead for repairs to phone link from jail

Dubai: Around 4,000 prisoners at Dubai central jail cannot contact their families and loved ones due to a technical fault in etisalat phone lines operating inside the jail.

Prisoners said they are facing problems in using phone line connection for more than 10 days.

"We are facing difficulties in using phones in the jail and we cannot contact our families and loved ones outside the jail," a prisoner told Gulf News.

Prisoners said they use Dh20 prepaid etisalat phone cards for phones inside the jail.

"When we follow the process which is required to make phone calls, it is answered by Customer Service [101]," said a prisoner.

Outside world

He said many were very frustrated and upset. "We need to contact our families. Phones are our only connection with the world outside the jail," said the prisoner.

An Etisalat official said there was a technical problem with the 133 number used for prepaid cards. "We are trying to repair the service as soon as possible," said the official.

Prisoners said there are around 100 phones in different wards and buildings. Each of them gets about two hours every week to use the phone and when the time is finished they wait until the next week.

Prisoners jailed on financial charges are given more time to be able to sort their issues outside the jail.

"We urge etisalat to repair the phones inside the jail as soon as possible because it is our window to the outside world," they said.

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