Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal receives humanitarian assistance sent by UAE in Islamabad. — Twitter/@uaeembassyisb
UAE Ambassador Hamad Obaid Alzaabi on Tuesday announced humanitarian assistance for flood affectees in Pakistan and extended his condolences to the country following recent catastrophic floods which have killed more than 1,100 people and affected over 33 million.
A statement issued by the ambassador stated that the President of the UAE Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has issued directives to transport relief aid, shelter materials, and humanitarian needs for those affected by torrential rains and floods.
"This assistance includes tons of food and health packages, various shelter materials, as well as urgent relief materials, with the aim of contributing in efforts to relieve the affected population and provide necessary needs in such circumstances, especially for vulnerable groups of women and children," the statement read.
On Sunday August 28, the first relief aid plane from UAE landed in Islamabad. The flight carried various food and shelter aid, which was to be followed by a number of other aid planes over the coming days to provide support to mitigate the repercussions caused by the floods.
The statement added that the constant downpour since June 15 is hampering relief efforts in flood-hit areas. However, the UAE's Red Crescent, Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, and other charitable organizations are working closely with Pakistan's relevant authorities to provide rescue and relief assistance.
Through the assistance, vital food packages, shelter, and medical supplies are being distributed among affectees in Sindh, Balochistan, South Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The assistance also includes a mobile clinic in Sindh which is treating people in flood hit areas of the province.
An alleged hazing incident at a Texas high school that sent one football player to the hospital with burn injuries has resulted in 21 students being suspended.
The Alamo Heights Police Department is investigating after 21 students were suspended at Alamo Heights High School in San Antonio, Texas stemming from a hazing incident that sent one student to the emergency room with skin burns to his lower body, KENS-TV reported this week.
The football players were reportedly initiating new players onto the varsity team as part of a school tradition that involved hot sauce, cookies, and lap dances.
"The senior boys did an initiation, where they went out to the baseball fields and made the younger players put cookies dipped in hot sauce between their butt cheeks," a source told KENS-TV. "Then, they had to race each other, and if any of the cookies fell out the person would have to eat it. They made them do this in an open space completely naked."
BOY, 5, DIES AFTER BEING LEFT IN HOT CAR OUTSIDE TEXAS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DURING TRIPLE-DIGIT TEMPERATURES
Alamo Heights High School in San Antonio, Texas
(Google Maps)
The source added that some players had hot sauce thrown at them and that some of the freshman were forced to strip down to their boxers and give lap dances to cheerleaders at the party.
"Last week, the District received multiple messages through our anonymous tip line regarding safety concerns and allegations of misconduct by some players on the football team," Alamo Heights ISD director of communications Julie Ann Matonis said in a statement. "The alleged incident did not take place on AHISD property nor was it during school hours. District administrators and coaches had no knowledge of any allegations prior to receiving the reports. The District immediately investigated the matter thoroughly and took appropriate action. Because of student confidentiality laws, the District is prohibited from sharing any additional information."
BEDRIDDEN TEXAS MOTHER FOUND IN ‘DEPLORABLE’ HEALTH, OPEN BED SORES AND MOLD ON BODY; ADULT CHILDREN ARRESTED
Local sports talk radio host Mike Taylor said on Wednesday that "almost the entire" team was punished for the incident receiving two game suspensions, in-house suspensions, and community service.
According to KENS-TV, some victims of the hazing incident will also be suspended.
"Nobody would ever want this to happen to their child," Kara Van De Kieft, a parent of junior high students in the district, told the outlet. "It is something that is a concern to me as a parent of somebody who will be going to the high school next year."
The Alamo Heights Independent School District did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
More than a million fans are expected to visit the Gulf nation, where organisers hold a trial of what is being touted as "the most complex transport operations ever mounted for a major sporting event."
Oganisers mimicked the schedule for the busiest days of the tournament when about 300,000 fans could be in Doha at the same time.
(AFP)
World Cup organisers have sent 1,300 buses onto the streets of Qatar's capital Doha in a test of what they have called one of the most elaborate transport operations ever mounted for an international event.
"This is the most complex transport operations ever mounted for a major sporting event," said Ahmad al Obaidly, chief operating officer of Mowasalat, on Thursday.
Mowasalat operates Qatar's bus and taxi services.
In the first scrutiny of their years of preparations, organisers mimmicked the schedule for the busiest days of the tournament when about 300,000 fans could be in Doha at the same time.
Amid sweltering summer heat, hundreds of air-conditioned but mainly empty buses went out to stadiums, metro stations and pickup points.
At the Al Wakra metro station in the Doha suburbs, more than 1,000 Mowasalat drivers pretended to be fans to be ferried to the Al Janoub stadium five kilometres away.
The Al Bayt stadium, where the opening game will be held on November 20, does not have its own metro station.
With more than one million people expected to descend on the tiny Gulf state for the tournament, the government is taking no chances with their multi-billion dollar preparations.
And getting the football hordes around the city and between the eight stadiums promises to be one of the biggest challenges.
Hundreds of buses without passengers plied the 25 kilometres to the nearest station in the new city of Lusail, as they will when they take England and US fans to their match.
The buses even made the return journey after midnight to copy conditions for the Group B late night game.
"We want to make sure our plans are going in the right direction," said Thani Al Zarraa, mobility operations director for the Qatar organisers.
Obaidly said 3,000 buses had been purchased and there would be more than 4,000 on the streets for the World Cup.
The company has also doubled its number of drivers to 14,000 for the event. Most have been brought in from South Asia and Africa.
They have been trained in "defensive driving" to avoid on-the-road hazards and there are "contingency plans" for troublesome spectators, the executive said.
Each bus also has five CCTV cameras monitored at a central command centre for troublemakers.
After the tournament, Qatar's older buses will be given away and as part of its World Cup legacy, it will be "one of the first countries in the world to have a pure electric public transportation service," said Obaidly.
Al Zarraa advised visiting fans to plan their trips in advance and "be patient". But the bus company chief promised: "No fan will be left behind."
