Tag Archives: georgia
City to turn pink for cancer awareness
City to turn pink for cancer awareness Staff Reporter / 29 September 2013 It’s that time of the year when you begin to see people sporting pink ribbons. World over, as in the UAE, October is the month for breast cancer awareness. One of the leading cancer types — second only to lung cancer as the most common cause of cancer related deaths in women — regular self-examination, early detection, and diagnosis is critical to fighting the illness. Pink Caravan, a UAE breast cancer awareness initiative launched in 2011 by Friends of Cancer Patients, will commemorate their anniversary celebrations with a line-up of activities this October. Corporate houses are going all out to honour the month. Galleries Lafayette is hosting a pink Buffet in aid of Pink Caravan. The pink pony campaign by Ralph Lauren will raise funds through the sale of limited edition tee shirts priced between Dh325 to Dh750, with one quarter of the proceeds going to Pink Caravan. Secretary-General for the Friends of Cancer Patients charitable society and Head of the Pink Caravan’s Medical and Awareness committee, Dr Sawsan Al Madhi said: “It is fantastic that fashion firms and retailers have embraced the notion of a pink October by creating special items to raise funds for cancer education and treatment. Ralph Lauren’s Pink Pony Campaign, in particular, has significantly increased breast cancer awareness and contributed towards many successful research projects around the world.” The Friends of Cancer Patients (FoCP) charitable society has revealed that women with advanced breast cancer (ABC) feel left out of the breast cancer movement. The results of the largest every global study, ‘Count Us, Know Us, Join Us’, gives a voice to the 250,000 women living with advanced breast cancer around the world. Based on testimony from 1,273 women in 12 countries, the survey shows two-thirds of women with ABC feel that no one understands what they are going through. Advocates for the cause, the Burj Al Arab will — much like in past years — each day in October between 7.30pm and 8.30pm show its support for the breast cancer awareness campaign by lighting its sail pink and adorning it with the symbolic pink ribbon. All afternoon teas at the hotel will include pink pastries including Ispahan macaroons filled with rose cream, pink choux, pink apple mousse cake, pink New York cheesecake, strawberry and pistachio tarts and pink-glazed traditional French mille feuilles. An estimated 1,00,000 pink roses will be flown in to further raise awareness. The hotel’s team of 12 florists have developed pink floral displays. All guests chauffeured to the hotel will be presented with pink roses and all women who dine at any of the hotel’s restaurants will be presented a single pink rose. For the staff at the hotel, Burj Al Arab will work with Pink Caravan to provide free voluntary medical examinations for the 1,600 staff as well as guidance on self-examination. All colleagues will also wear the iconic pink ribbons throughout the month. – news@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Khalifa orders aid as quake rattles Pak regions again
Khalifa orders aid as quake rattles Pak regions again (Wam, AFP) / 29 September 2013 The President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, has directed emergency items such as food and medical aid be delivered to the earthquake stricken regions of Pakistan, after an earthquake left more than 500 dead. Thousands remain wounded — many without access to aid — since last week’s quake at 7.8 Richter Scale. The directive was followed up by General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Shaikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the UAE Red Crescent Authority, to ensure emergency assistance is provided to people affected. The RCA office in Pakistan is currently engaged in providing tents blankets, food and medical items to the victims of the earthquake. Meanwhile, a powerful 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit southwest Pakistan on Saturday, killing at least 22 people in a region already devastated by a tremor which left more than 300 people dead this week, local officials said. “The death toll is increasing. Rescue workers have so far recovered 22 dead bodies,” Hari Fal, the top government official in Khuzdar town said, adding that more than 50 people have been wounded. Officials fear the toll in Saturday’s quake in Awaran, the poorest district in the southwest province of Balochistan, could still rise further. The new quake struck the remote district at a depth of 14km at 12.34pm according to the US Geological Survey. Continue reading
Syria vows to abide by UN resolution
Syria vows to abide by UN resolution (AP) / 29 September 2013 Syria’s prime minister said Damascus will fully cooperate with UN inspectors charged with destroying the country’s chemical weapons stockpile. Wael Al Halqi’s comments on Saturday come a day after the UN Security Council voted unanimously to purge Syria of its chemical weapons programme. Al Halqi said in an interview with Lebanon’s Al Manar TV that Syria “welcomed the resolution” and “will fulfill its international duties.” He also said the government “will facilitate the work of the inspectors.” The UN resolution passed on Friday allows the start of a mission to rid Syria’s regime of its estimated 1,000-tonne chemical arsenal by mid-2014. It also calls for consequences if Syria fails to comply, but those will depend on the council passing another resolution in the event of non-compliance. Meanwhile, Syrian rebels including members of an Al Qaeda-linked group captured a military post on the border with Jordan on Saturday after four days of fighting, an activist group said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 26 soldiers were killed in the battle as well as a number of rebels, including seven foreign fighters. The post served in the past as the customs office on the border with Jordan. It was turned into an army post years ago. The post is on the outskirts of the southern city of Daraa where the uprising against President Bashar Assad’s regime began in March 2011. The uprising later turned into a civil war that killed more than 100,000 people, according to the UN. Rebels control multiple areas along the borders with Jordan, Iraq, Turkey and Lebanon as well as the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Also on Saturday some UN inspectors left their hotel in Damascus in one vehicle to an unknown location. The UN said on Friday its team of weapons experts currently in Syria will investigate seven sites of alleged chemical attacks in the country, four more than previously known. The announcement came hours before the UN Security Council voted unanimously to secure and destroy Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile. The team initially visited Syria last month to investigate three alleged chemical attacks this year. But just days into the visit, the rebel-held Damascus suburb of Ghouta was hit by a chemical strike, and the inspectors turned their attention to that case. The inquiry determined that the nerve agent sarin was used in the August 21 attack, but it did not assess who was behind it. The UN team of investigators expects to finalise its activities in the country by Monday, a UN statement said. Continue reading
