ABU DHABI //A sea search ended over the weekend without any sign of the UAE freediving champion Adel Abu Haliqa, who went missing during a dive off the Greek island of Santorini on June 7.
Mr Abu Haliqa, 40, was training for September's AIDA Individual Depth World Championship 2011 in Greece. He had been freediving to a depth of 70 metres.
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A specialist team from Crete started the search on Tuesday, taking place of efforts mounted by Greek authorities that were called off after 72 hours.
Although the deep sea search ended with no results, his family is not giving up.
Mr Abu Haliqa's older brother Hussain, 53, travelled to Greece on June 9 and hired an Athens-based private company to conduct a comprehensive search.
It included a camera attached to an underwater robot and an air surveillance by helicopter.
"This is giving us more hope," Hussain said. "He's not under the water; he disappeared."
The board of AIDA International, an organisation that aims to further the sport, announced on its website on Thursday that it was investigating the disappearance.
"Statements have been published regarding this sad occurrence and the investigation is on-going to determine the cause and relate any pertinent details," said the post.
The board would review existing guidelines prior to another free-diving attempt due for July.
Hussain said he and several other family members in Santorini had no plans to return to the UAE without his brother.
"Now, we are still searching," he said. "Inshallah, we'll find him."
Adel's wife, Nada, 35, is in Abu Dhabi with their two sons, Mohammed and Ali, aged 10 and four, and daughter, Amna, eight. She also has not given up hope.
"Expert searchers say he isn't in the water," she said. "Please pray for Adel to be found."
Family and friends have been posting updates and news about the search and words of support and encouragement for Adel's family via the Twitter topic #adelmissing.
rruiz@thenational.ae
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What is dialysis?
Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.
There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.
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Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
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Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
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