The UAE’s Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) has launched its annual winter aid campaign to support more than 1.8 million people across 24 countries at a cost of more than Dh37 million.
More than Dh27 million of it has been allocated to assist 1,350,000 people in Gaza, reaffirming the UAE’s leading humanitarian role and its continued support for the Palestinian people.
The campaign involves winter clothing, blankets, heating supplies, food and hygiene parcels, children’s essentials and shelter materials being delivered to those most in need, with the aid delivered through UAE embassies and ERC offices.
The move was announced by state news agency Wam and comes under the directives of Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed, Ruler’s Representative in Al Dhafra Region and chairman of ERC.
A total of 1,856,324 people will be helped at an estimated cost of Dh37,126,485, said the ERC, which provides emergency aid, disaster relief and humanitarian assistance both in the UAE and around the world.
Ahmed Al Mazrouei, secretary general of the ERC, said this year's campaign strengthens the organisation’s response to vulnerable groups affected by harsh winter weather, adding that the initiative reflects the UAE’s long-standing humanitarian approach under the leadership of President Sheikh Mohamed.
He noted that this year’s campaign is particularly significant due to escalating global crises and rising humanitarian needs.
Mohammed Al Shareef, spokesperson for Operation Chivalrous Knight 3 – a humanitarian initiative to dispatch aid from the UAE to Gaza – said the ERC is an important partner in delivering support, underscoring the UAE’s values of solidarity and generosity.
He highlighted the operation’s integrated relief efforts, which include air, land and sea deliveries, field humanitarian programmes and the establishment of field hospitals to serve vulnerable groups.
A US-brokered ceasefire in Gaza came into effect on October 10. It has brought a pause to major warfare between Israel and Hamas, but there have been repeated outbreaks of violence since.
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Founded 50 years ago as a nuclear research institute, scientists at the centre believed nuclear would be the “solution for everything”.
Although they still do, they discovered in 1955 that the Netherlands had a lot of natural gas. “We still had the idea that, by 2000, it would all be nuclear,” said Harm Jeeninga, director of business and programme development at the centre.
"In the 1990s, we found out about global warming so we focused on energy savings and tackling the greenhouse gas effect.”
The energy centre’s research focuses on biomass, energy efficiency, the environment, wind and solar, as well as energy engineering and socio-economic research.
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Five hymns the crowds can join in
Papal Mass will begin at 10.30am at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on Tuesday
Some 17 hymns will be sung by a 120-strong UAE choir
Five hymns will be rehearsed with crowds on Tuesday morning before the Pope arrives at stadium
‘Christ be our Light’ as the entrance song
‘All that I am’ for the offertory or during the symbolic offering of gifts at the altar
‘Make me a Channel of your Peace’ and ‘Soul of my Saviour’ for the communion
‘Tell out my Soul’ as the final hymn after the blessings from the Pope
The choir will also sing the hymn ‘Legions of Heaven’ in Arabic as ‘Assakiroo Sama’
There are 15 Arabic speakers from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan in the choir that comprises residents from the Philippines, India, France, Italy, America, Netherlands, Armenia and Indonesia
The choir will be accompanied by a brass ensemble and an organ
They will practice for the first time at the stadium on the eve of the public mass on Monday evening
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
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It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
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THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
