World

Turkey, Syria earthquake: How and what to donate to UAE relief efforts

As the death toll from this week’s massive earthquakes and aftershocks in Syria and Turkey passed 21,700 as of Friday morning, the world is coming together to help the embattled countries and provide vital aid for the tens of thousands of citizens left without shelter and vital supplies.

Countless victims, many of whom have lost their homes, have been left without provisions to survive harsh winter conditions and need urgent relief aid.

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Campaigns in the UAE

In the United Arab Emirates, the Emirates Red Crescent on Wednesday announced its campaign to help people affected by the earthquakes in, naming it “Bridges of Good.”

The drive will begin packing initial aid on Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Abu Dhabi National Exhibition center and Dubai Exhibition Center at Expo City Dubai.

The campaign will run for two weeks where volunteers are needed to help pack relief boxes for survivors of the earthquakes.

Suggested donation items include winter clothes, blankets, canned food and baby food, and personal hygiene items including diapers, wipes and sanitary pads.

The campaign is being organized in partnership with the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation and the Ministry of Community Development. Anyone who wants to volunteer can register via the website volunteers.ae.

Omer Faruk Telbisoglu, 30, lies on a stretcher after he was rescued, in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in Kahramanmaras, Turkey February 10, 2023. (Reuters)

More than a dozen humanitarian organizations across the UAE are participating in the campaign. These include Dubai Cares, the Department of Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities in Dubai, the Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation, the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, and the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity

“Bridges of Good” is one of several humanitarian missions being staged across the UAE.

Turkey’s consulate in Dubai has also launched a donation drive for vital food and winter clothing to support survivors. Across the emirate, members of the public are being invited to supply essentials, including clothing and food.

Meanwhile, the Turkish embassy in Abu Dhabi set up a donation drive for UAE residents to donate items urgently needed in Turkey and Syria. Those who wish to donate large quantities of items can drop them off at the CSS Homeward Bound transportation company warehouse directly.

International aid efforts

Internationally, hundreds of donation sites by international charities and local community groups from all over the world have also been created to help those in need.

Among those, UNICEF is working to provide immediate assistance with search and rescue, coordinating evacuations, and distributing hygiene kits, blankets and warm clothing.

“Children who are now in immediate danger of being hurt or killed in the oncoming aftershocks and collapse of infrastructures need urgent shelter, safe drinking water, and hygiene essentials,” the charity said in an online appeal for donations.

“Eleven years into the conflict, economic downturn, and displacement have left hundreds of thousands of families struggling to survive in Syria. Now, the impact of such a devastating earthquake makes the situation even more desperate.”

Hulya Kabakulak is carried after being rescued after 90 hours, as the search for survivors continues, in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in Hatay, Turkey, February 9, 2023. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) – an international organization that provides medical aid to various countries in need – has been treating people in Turkey in their associated hospitals and has been donating emergency medical kits to other people in the region. It has also urged people to donate through its website.

Another charity that is counting on public donations is the Syrian American Medical Society, which has provided humanitarian and medical relief for Syria and Turkey since 2011.

They are currently providing medical assistance at the Bab al-Hawa hospital in Syria for victims of the earthquake.

Care International, a humanitarian organization that has presence in Turkey and Syria, has also urged people to give emergency aid including food, shelter, hygiene kits, cold weather supplies and cash assistance.

In a public appeal, Red Crescent organizations in both Syria and Turkey have asked people to donate first aid kids, blankets and clothes.

It said it urgently needs items including biscuits, bread, energy bars, flour, ready-to-eat meals, pasta, rice, milk, and baby formula.

The Syria Civil defense – known as the White Helmets – is a humanitarian organization specializing in search and rescue operations and its team of volunteers are continuing to work around the clock in a race against time to find survivors of the earthquake.

Members of the Syrian civil defense, known as the White Helmets, transport a casualty from the rubble of buildings in the village of Azmarin in Syria’s rebel-held northwestern Idlib province at the border with Turkey following an earthquake, on February 7, 2023. (AFP)

The group has solicited donations through its website.

“There is an urgent need for additional search and rescue equipment, heavy equipment, spare parts and fuel due to the number of collapsed buildings and to the damage to existing equipment,” the Syria Civil defense wrote in a statement. “White Helmets equipment and supplies are not currently sufficient to meet these urgent needs. The White Helmets calls on all humanitarian organizations and international donors to provide material support and to help organizations responding to this disaster and to urgently assist victims of the earthquake.”

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the border region between Turkey and Syria, an area home to more than 13.5 million people, on Monday.

The death toll from the earthquake, which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called “the disaster of the century,” has risen past 21,000, eclipsing the more than 18,400 who died in the 2011 earthquake off Fukushima, Japan, that triggered a tsunami and the estimated 18,000 people who died in a temblor near the Turkish capital, Istanbul, in 1999.

The new figure, which is certain to rise, included over 17,600 people in Turkey and more than 3,300 in civil war-torn Syria. Tens of thousands were also injured and many tens of thousands have been left homeless.

Turkey-Syria earthquake death toll tops 20,000 as hope to find survivors fades

Turkey-Syria earthquake: UAE mosques to hold absentee funeral prayers for victims

World

Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi meets with CEOs of leading Norwegian companies

H.H. Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, has met with a group of CEOs from leading Norwegian companies, as part of their participation in the UAE-Norway Investment Forum, held alongside his official visit to the Kingdom of Norway.

During the meeting, H.H. Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed underscored the UAE leadership’s commitment to strengthening economic cooperation with its international partners.

He highlighted that investment in innovation and knowledge is a cornerstone for achieving sustainable development, noting that enhancing collaboration with Norwegian companies across key sectors will open new avenues for mutual economic growth between the two countries.

The UAE-Norway Investment Forum, taking place in Oslo, aimed to highlight available investment opportunities and strengthen trade relations between the UAE and Norway, fostering shared interests and supporting innovation and knowledge-based economic visions.

-wam

World

At the Indonesia International Book Fair 2024, TRENDS inaugurates 10th global office, releases four books

As part of its Asian research tour, partnership with Aletihad News Center, and
primary sponsorship of the Indonesia International Book Fair 2024, TRENDS
Research & Advisory inaugurated its office in Jakarta, marking its 10th location
worldwide. It also released four books in Indonesian.
The inauguration event was attended by ambassadors of the UAE, Bahrain, and
Jordan to Indonesia, chairpersons of the UAE and Indonesian Publishers’
Associations, the Director of TRENDS’ Jakarta office, and a group of researchers
and academics.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Al-Ali, CEO of TRENDS
Research & Advisory, stated that TRENDS’ international offices—set to reach 15
by the end of 2024—aim to enhance the Center’s research efforts and deepen its
role in disseminating knowledge, thus serving as a global knowledge bridge.
He emphasized, “At TRENDS, we believe in the importance of cooperation
between think tanks and prioritize this endeavor. We believe the TRENDS office in
Jakarta will enhance the exchange of knowledge and ideas between think tanks in
Asia and the Middle East, opening new horizons for collaboration in various
fields.”

Four books in Indonesian
As part of the Jakarta office’s inaugural activities, four books were released in
Indonesian, including the 11th and 12th books of the Muslim Brotherhood
Encyclopedia and Global Trends in AI and Automation and the Future of
Competition between Man and Machine: An Analytical Forward-looking Vision.

Hostility to Arab states
The 11th book of the Muslim Brotherhood Encyclopedia, The Concept of the State
According to the Muslim Brotherhood, highlights its hostile stance toward Arab
states since its inception. The group views them as an obstacle to its ascent to
power. It opposed the modern principles upon which these states were built,
considering them incompatible with the group’s unique interpretation of Islam,
which it claimed to embody exclusively.

Exclusion of nonconformists
The 12th book, The Muslim Brotherhood: Rejection of Tolerance and Exclusion of
Nonconformists, examines the Muslim Brotherhood’s stance towards
nonconformists, individuals, and entities. The book reveals the group’s binary view
of the world, categorizing others as allies or adversaries. It ties these relationships
to the Brotherhood’s internal power struggles and self-serving interests.

Global Trends in AI
The third book, Global Trends in AI, explores significant developments in AI and
its impact on various aspects of life, including the economy, society, and
governance. It also offers a comprehensive analysis of technological advancements
in AI, its applications across sectors, the ethical and social challenges it presents,
and its future trajectory.

Automation

The fourth book, Automation and the Future of Competition between Man and
Machine: An Analytical Forward-looking Vision, addresses the growing challenges
faced by the human workforce in the face of widespread automation and AI
applications. The book concludes that while automation presents a significant
challenge to the labor market, it simultaneously creates new opportunities. It
emphasizes the importance of preparing for this shift through skills development,
continuous education, and adopting economic and social policies that support the
workforce.

Prominent pavilion and active presence
The TRENDS’ pavilion at the Indonesia International Book Fair has attracted
numerous visitors, including academic researchers and officials, such as the
ambassadors of the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan, and Turkey. Additionally,
chairpersons of Arab and Indonesian publishers’ associations, authors, publishers,
and students visited the pavilion. All were impressed with and praised TRENDS’ diverse, valuable publications. They also commended TRENDS’ active
international presence and ability to address global developments with rigorous
analytical research.
Dr. Mohammed Abdullah Al-Ali honored the esteemed guests, including
ambassadors of the UAE and Bahrain to Indonesia, Wedha Startesti Yudha,
Chairperson of the Indonesia International Book Fair Committee, Arys Hilman
Nugraha, Chairman of the Indonesian Publishers Association, and others,
presenting them with TRENDS’ publications and commemorative shields.
Additionally, he awarded TRENDS’ Research Medal to Ni Made Ayu Martini
Indonesian Deputy Minister of Marketing, Tourism and Creative Economy
It is worth noting that during its current Asian research tour, TRENDS announced
the launch of the TRENDS Research Medal, awarded to individuals who make
significant contributions to the development of scientific research and promote collaboration with TRENDS in strengthening a culture of research across various fields.

World

US determined to prevent full-scale war in Middle East, Joe Biden tells UNGA79

US President Joe Biden highlighted the US Administration’s determination to prevent a wider war that engulfs the entire Middle East region, noting that a diplomatic solution “remains the only path to lasting security to allow the residents from both countries to return to their homes on the border safely”.

In remarks he made today before the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA79), the US President said, “Full-scale war is not in anyone’s interest,” adding that a diplomatic solution is still possible.

He also touched on “the rise of violence against innocent Palestinians on the West Bank”, and the need to “set the conditions for a better future”, which he said featured “a two-state solution, where the world — where Israel enjoys security and peace and full recognition and normalised relations with all its neighbours, where Palestinians live in security, dignity, and self-determination in a state of their own”.

President Biden underscored the ceasefire and hostage deal put forth by Qatar and Egypt, which the UN Security Council endorsed. He said, “Now is the time for the parties to finalise its terms, bring the hostages home,” adding that this would help ease the suffering in Gaza, and end the war.

-WAM