Day: March 15, 2024

The Leader of the Revolution, Sayyed. Abdul Malik Badr Al-Din Al-Houthi, called on the masses of the Yemeni people to go out in million-person tomorrow afternoon, Friday, in the capital Sana’a and the rest of the governorates in solidarity with the Palestinian people and their just cause and valiant resistance.

The Leader of the Revolution said in a speech this evening on the latest developments, “I call you the call of God, the Qur’an and Islam, and I call you the call of Al-Aqsa, and the groans and pains and hunger of the Palestinian people to exit in million-person protest honorable tomorrow afternoon, Friday, in Sana’a and the rest of the provinces.”

He addressed the masses of the Yemeni people, “It is hoped that tomorrow you will return to the ears of the world the position of Miqdad and the position of Saad bin Muadh in the Great Battle of Badr, the battle continues and not from religion or loyalty or magnanimity or manhood put up flags nor evacuate the squares nor ignore the tragedy of the Palestini
an people, you are the people of virility, loyalty and magnanimity, you are Yemen of faith and the people of steadfastness and you are today the hope of the vulnerable and oppressed.”

The leader urged the need for the popular momentum to remain parallel to the level and military position targeting the Israeli enemy, and that there be continuity in the weekly million-person protest exodus, adding, “Let your exit be as much as the hope in you and in a way that embodies belonging to great values and faith.”

“Our human conscience, our religion, our morals, our dignity, our pride, our belonging to Islam, it is forbidden for us to watch the oppression of Palestine or to be silent about it, and the siege and starvation of the people of Gaza must stop, and the tragedy of the starvation of children in the Gaza Strip must stop,” he said.

The leader of the revolution stressed that the armed forces and the Yemeni people continue the battle of “the promised conquest and holy jihad” to support the Palestinian people.

Source: Yemen News Agency

DUBAI: Indian Businessman, Philanthropist and Executive Chairman and CEO of Buimerc Corporation, Siddharth Balachandran, has contributed AED10 million to the Mothers’ Endowment campaign, launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to honour mothers by establishing an AED 1 billion endowment fund to support the education of millions around the world.

Organised by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, the Mothers’ Endowment campaign reflects the UAE’s commitment to aiding and empowering underprivileged communities and vulnerable individuals, which helps create a better future while driving stability and development.

Siddharth Balachandran said, “I would like to thank Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives for offering me this opportunity to contribute to, and associate with, this noble humanitarian campaign while honouring and celebrating the generosity of our mothers. Extending aid to underprivileged communitie
s worldwide is the best way to express our deep appreciation of our mothers.’

“Also, being a citizen of India residing in the UAE, it is a chance for me to humbly manifest the benevolence of these two great nations, and contribute to the holistic elevation of world society at large. The Mother’s Endowment campaign is particularly important as millions around the world live difficult lives, where access to education and training isn’t possible. This endowment fund will play a key role in empowering them to improve their reality through education,”

Coinciding with the holy month of Ramadan, the Mothers’ Endowment campaign allows contributors to make donations in their mothers’ names to honour them, with proceeds channeled to educational projects that will be implemented in partnership with humanitarian organisations.

The campaign aims to establish the values of honouring parents, kindness, compassion and solidarity across the community, as well as solidify the UAE’s humanitarian role. It also promotes the co
ncept of endowments as a development tool that ensures sustainable charity and supports global efforts of sustainable development.

The Mothers’ Endowment campaign welcomes donations and contributions to the endowment fund from institutions and individuals across six main channels including the campaign’s website (Mothersfund.ae), as well as a dedicated call centre via the toll-free number (800 9999).

Donations are also possible via bank transfers in the UAE dirham to the campaign bank account number with Emirates Islamic Bank (AE790340003708472909201). Donations via SMS are possible by sending the word ‘Mother’ to the following numbers (1034, 1035, 1036, 1038) for Etisalat by e and users. Other possible platforms for donating to the campaign are the DubaiNow app by clicking the ‘Donations’ tab, and Dubai’s community contributions platform Jood (Jood.ae).

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI: The UAE Food Bank has announced the launch of five initiatives through which it will distribute five million meals this Ramadan.

The initiative is held under the directives and supervision of the wife of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, H.H. Sheikha Hind bint Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum, Chairperson of the UAE Food Bank.

An initiative under the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI) umbrella, the UAE Food Bank focuses on effectively managing surplus food, minimising waste, and globally distributing it to the beneficiaries. Its effort underscores the values of kindness, generosity, charity, and social welfare.

The initiative aims to distribute 166,666 meals daily to feed over half a million families and more than three million workers.

The bank’s commitment to supplying meals to beneficiaries encompasses diverse sub-initiatives and campaigns, including the ‘Your Iftar is on Us’ campaign, the ‘No for Wasting Food
initiative, the ‘Cook of Thousand Meals’ initiative, ‘Food Parcel,’ and ‘Iftar with the Workers.’ Additionally, 25 educational programmes will be implemented to raise awareness of environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and volunteering.

Anticipating widespread support, the bank expects more than 350 strategic partners and supporters from food facilities, hotels, and companies.

Over 5,000 volunteers will support the bank’s initiatives throughout Ramadan. The bank will also sign five partnership agreements to strengthen its efforts in efficiently managing surplus food and minimising waste in cooperation with the private sector.

Dawoud Al Hajri, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the UAE Food Bank, underscored the significance of the bank’s initiatives during the holy month of Ramadan, highlighting the bank’s role as a comprehensive humanitarian system and a pioneering global institution that prioritises the value of food provision.

Al Hajri added, “With these initiatives, our objectiv
e is to promote responsible food management and reduce food waste. We further aspire to cultivate a sense of social responsibility, encourage volunteerism, and actively gather and distribute financial and food donations to beneficiaries. Our efforts are aimed at instilling values of compassion, generosity, and solidarity within the community, ensuring the efficient distribution of surplus food to the widest possible segment during the holy month of Ramadan.”

Al Hajri emphasised the bank’s goal to divert 975 tons of food waste, away from landfills during Ramadan, equivalent to planting 102,135 trees annually. This commitment aligns with the bank’s dedication to environmental sustainability, and contribute to the broader objectives of reducing carbon emissions and achieving a 30 percent reduction in food waste by 2027.

Within the framework of ‘Your Iftar is on Us’ initiative, the UAE Food Bank is set to gather meals for distribution to beneficiaries both within and outside the UAE. This initiative aims to pro
vide 350,000 meals, donated by more than 50 organisations. The campaign will be organised by seven entities, with the participation of several volunteers.

The ‘Donate a Food Parcel’ initiative aims to gather contributions in the form of food parcels by purchasing vouchers redeemable at local retail stores. These food parcels are projected to supply up to 1.5 million meals.

The UAE Food Bank is also organising an initiative focused on providing iftar meals to over 2,000 workers in Dubai. The primary goal of this initiative is to foster community solidarity and acknowledge the invaluable contributions of workers.

The bank is set to organise the ‘Cook of Thousand Meals’ competition, an event convening aspiring chefs to cook and distribute 4,000 meals daily over five days during Ramadan in the UAE. This collaborative initiative is being organised in partnership with Taya Production.

Furthermore, the bank will collaborate with 200 donors from fruit and vegetable markets, commercial enterprises, and wholesale m
arkets to redistribute surplus food and prepare meals adhering to high-quality standards for the well-being of workers, to provide up to two million meals. Additionally, any surplus cooked meals from local restaurants and hotels will also be distributed.

The UAE Food Bank’s ‘Food Rescue’ initiative strives to recycle unsuitable food for human consumption, diverting it from landfills and transforming it into fertilisers. This will be implemented with the National Food Loss and Waste initiative ‘Neama’ and partnership with the private sector. The initiative aims to recycle 1.5 million meals of surplus food and turn it into fertiliser that will be distributed to farmers in the Hatta region.

Since its inception in 2017, the UAE Food Bank has successfully distributed meals to over 35 million beneficiaries, both locally and globally.

Source: Emirates News Agency

ABU DHABI: Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence’s (MBZUAI) Institute of Foundation Models (IFM) is breaking new ground in generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools by deploying “first-of-its-kind” specialised language and multimodal models.

The IFM was launched last year to bring together top AI scientists, engineers, and practitioners to develop large-scale, broad-utility, and efficient AI models with the capacity to be adapted to a wide range of downstream, sustainable applications.

MBZUAI is world-renowned for its expertise in this area following the success of the launch of Jais – the world’s most advanced Arabic large language model (LLM) – with Core42 and Cerebras Systems, and Vicuna – a sustainable model in partnership with other universities.

The launch of the five new models-BiMediX, PALO, GLaMM, GeoChat, and MobiLLaMA-is an important milestone in the institute’s journey and for the research community. They include small and large language models and large multimodal models
(LMMs), which deploy multimodal learning to process and analyse data from multiple modalities or sources beyond text, including audio and images, with a special emphasis on Arabic language capabilities.

The five models are designed to make a real-world impact on healthcare, detailed visual reasoning, multilingual multimodal capabilities, multimodal reasoning for the geo-spatial domain, and efficient LLMs for mobile devices, respectively, and were each developed from extensive research by the university’s faculty, researchers, and students.

“These models showcase the ability of the Institute of Foundational Models to transform cutting-edge research into applications that address novel use cases across society,” MBZUAI’s Acting Provost and Professor of Natural Language Processing, Professor Timothy Baldwin, said.

He added, “By going beyond the limitations of single-modality models and offering numerous applications across industries, multimodal models can be tailored to meet specific needs. This approach ens
ures that the university is fulfilling its vision to drive excellence in knowledge creation and transfer and AI deployment to foster economic growth, while positioning Abu Dhabi as a hub for the international AI community.”

Source: Emirates News Agency