ABU DHABI // As Ramadan approaches, the Red Crescent is preparing to hand out 31,500 meals per day to the needy, setting up tents across the city in advance of its annual distribution programme. The tradition of distributing the predawn and sundown meals - Suhur and Iftar - is carried out throughout the Muslim world during the holy month, when believers are required to share their wealth with the less fortunate.
But the Red Crescent outreach is part of a broader effort to help poor and needy families across the country by providing nutritional packages and coupons for food. Needy families will also receive the traditional Eid packages of new clothing, toys for children and other non-essential goods that are customary for the three-day holiday at the end of Ramadan. During the holiday it is also customary to slaughter sheep and distribute the meat among poor families along with zakat, money collected as a tax from all Muslims able to pay it. The proceeds are distributed through charities such as the Red Crescent.
Funding for the food distribution programme, in which as many as one million cooked meals may be handed out, comes from private donations and government charities. Last month the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation and the Ministry of Social Affairs began distributing more than 15,000 tonnes of food to 45,000 needy families ahead of Ramadan, which is expected to run from about August 21 to September 19.
The effort has been described as the largest of its kind in the UAE, with organisers expecting to reach more than 300,000 people. Free Iftar and Suhur meals will also be available to anyone who turns up at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque during Ramadan, and at designated homes and palaces. relass@thenational.ae
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now
Green ambitions
- Trees: 1,500 to be planted, replacing 300 felled ones, with veteran oaks protected
- Lake: Brown's centrepiece to be cleaned of silt that makes it as shallow as 2.5cm
- Biodiversity: Bat cave to be added and habitats designed for kingfishers and little grebes
- Flood risk: Longer grass, deeper lake, restored ponds and absorbent paths all meant to siphon off water
Normcore explained
Something of a fashion anomaly, normcore is essentially a celebration of the unremarkable. The term was first popularised by an article in New York magazine in 2014 and has been dubbed “ugly”, “bland’ and "anti-style" by fashion writers. It’s hallmarks are comfort, a lack of pretentiousness and neutrality – it is a trend for those who would rather not stand out from the crowd. For the most part, the style is unisex, favouring loose silhouettes, thrift-shop threads, baseball caps and boyish trainers. It is important to note that normcore is not synonymous with cheapness or low quality; there are high-fashion brands, including Parisian label Vetements, that specialise in this style. Embraced by fashion-forward street-style stars around the globe, it’s uptake in the UAE has been relatively slow.
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Ahmed Raza
UAE cricket captain
Age: 31
Born: Sharjah
Role: Left-arm spinner
One-day internationals: 31 matches, 35 wickets, average 31.4, economy rate 3.95
T20 internationals: 41 matches, 29 wickets, average 30.3, economy rate 6.28
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5