One Percent of UAE Foreign Aid to Lebanon in 2009

The UAE Foreign Ministry has released for the first time, their Foreign Aid report for 2009 covering the donations they made during that year. In total, the Emirates (government and NGOs) gave AED 8.93 billion (US$ 2.43 billion) to 92 countries across the world. Here’s the list of key recipients:

1. Yemen – AED 2,836 million (US$771 million)
2. Pakistan – AED 1,604 million (US$ 436 million)
3. Afghanistan – AED 1,261 million (US$ 343 million)
4. Palestinian Territories – AED 965 million (US$ 262)
5. Syria – AED 310 million (US$ 84 million)
6. Tanzania – AED 180 million (US$ 49 million)
7. USA – AED 154 million (US$ 42 million)
8. Egypt – AED 143 million (US$ 39 million)
9. Seychelles – AED 132 million (US$ 36 million)
10. Kazakhstan – AED 91 million (US$ 25 million)
11. Morocco – AED 78 million (US$ 21 million)
12. Lebanon – AED 77 million (US$ 21 million)
13. Eritrea – AED 75 million (US$ 20 million)
14. Maldives – AED 56 million (US$ 15 million)

Of the US$21 million that was donated to Lebanon, half of it came from the UAE Federal government; the rest originated from NGOs and other organizations. Of the US$ 11 million provided by the government, 85% went towards education, 13% towards government and civil society projects, and the remainder was donated to Lebanese NGOs.

Gulf News: The UAE provided $21 million in aid to Lebanon in 2009.

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Lebanese World Cup Preference Questioned

Dubai’s freely distributed weekday newspaper, 7Days, (I know its ironic when its only available 5 days a week) has a Letters to Editor section which has somewhat of a cult following where expats generally moan and groan about things in Dubai ranging from phantom traffic fines to supermarket deli weighing tricks.

Well, this morning I found a letter addressed to Lebanese expats in the UAE:

Well another FIFA World Cup is nearly upon us.

Just wanted to write in to put a guess on the number of our fellow expats from Lebanon who suddenly become one of the following nations: Brazil, Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Portugal, Argentina or another nation who is likely to win the final…! It’s strange how nobody from Lebanon supports some of the smaller nations like Slovenia or Honduras…

Man Utd fan
Never been to Manchester

So I’ve decided to send a letter back to 7Days with answers to MUF’s question. I would like to send as many answers as possibly by Saturday. So to get the ball rolling, I’ve started with two possible answers:

1. Why waste my money on flags, stickers, shirts, balls and clappers on a team that will probably not proceed beyond the first round?
2. Slovenia and Honduras are in the World Cup?

If you’ve got any of your own responses you would like to include, just leave it in the comment section below or hit me up on Twitter.

From +961: Overdoing the World Cup 2010 – IV

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SMS AFP Naharnet – Not Working

Not sure if you anyone has seen this ad on the Naharnet website:

SMS AFP Naharnet

Well, it doesn’t work. I actually received word of this service before Naharnet began advertising it. My mobile service provider, etisalat, was kind enough to send a Sales, Promotion & Advertising Message (aka SPAM) informing Lebanese subscribers of the service. I have tried subscribing in early April when I first got the message and this morning as well; the response I receive is the same:

From: AFP Lebanon
Message: Sorry, an error has occured. Please try again later.

No idea what the error could be. Maybe that fact that they misspelled ‘occurred’. Has anyone in the UAE had any luck with this? Not sure who to speak to: etisalat, Naharnet, or AFP Lebanon?

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Etisalat Wants More

After announcing that they’ve surpassed the 100 million subscriber mark, the UAE’s telecom giant, Etisalat, is eyeing Lebanon (again) as one of its future markets of interest:

“We are focusing on the Middle East where we have a good understanding of the market,” [Mohammed Omran, chairman of Etisalat] added. Etisalat currently operates 18 networks across the world.
Omran, who was speaking at a conference on mergers and acquisitions, said the countries that Etisalat was aiming to expand into included Syria, Iraq, Oman, Lebanon, Libya and Morocco.

The only thing that could bring telecom costs down is competition but I am definitely not expecting anything to happen soon.

Though it might be interesting to point out that a third mobile subscriber “exists” in Lebanon. If you have a Sony Ericsson mobile with the latest firmware (I haven’t checked with other brands), and you go through their list of Preferred Networks, you see that Lebanon has three: other than the two incumbent, there is also OGERO Mobile.

Etisalat eyes Lebanon mobile market.

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But He Called Me Stupid

You’d think after you’ve crossed the threshold of age 8, you shouldn’t experience such childish behavior:

 A Lebanese man recounted in court on Tuesday how his ex-boss libelled him on Facebook and claimed he incurred “enormous damages” on what he described as the UAE’s primary e-social networking tool…”The suspect, who posted the comments, called me bad names such as thief and stupid,” the Lebanese claimant, A.R., told Presiding Judge Ebrahim Khalil Abu Shamma yesterday.

You think that’s bad, here’s what his Syrian ex-boss had to say:

“Your Honour, please let me explain what happened. I had a partnership with his brother in a restaurant … later I discovered that he was stealing the money from the cashier. He also used to inform customers that the restaurant had been sold and that I had nothing to do with the restaurant anymore. His behaviour provoked me and that’s why I posted the comments on Facebook.”

If you have kids, you’re all probably familiar with the “He Called Me Stipud…Well, He Started It” song and dance. I guess you never really grow out of it.

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