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World leaders mourn death of UAE’s Sheikh Khalifa

In this file photo taken on May 1, 2013 the late Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan waves from his vehicle as he leaves 10 Downing Street in Central London. (File/AFP)
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Updated 13 May 2022
Arab News
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World leaders mourn death of UAE’s Sheikh Khalifa

  • President Biden said the UAE president was a “true partner and friend” of the US
Updated 13 May 2022
Arab News

DUBAI: World leaders have offered their condolences after the UAE announced the death of its President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed on Friday. 

US President Joe Biden paid tribute to Sheikh Khalifa, saying he “was a true partner and friend of the United States.”

He continued: “We will honor his memory by continuing to strengthen the longstanding ties between the governments and people of the United States and the United Arab Emirates.” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was deeply saddened to hear of the death of Sheikh Khalifa, adding he was a “wise and respected leader who will be missed enormously“

Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed said the UAE lost “righteous son and leader” after death of Sheikh Khalifa. 

"Khalifa bin Zayed, my brother, my mentor and my teacher, may God have mercy on you with his vast mercy and allow you into his paradise," he wrote. 

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, ruler of Dubai, offered his deepest condolences on Twitter, bidding farewell to the country's leader. 

"The UAE and the world have lost a wise leader loyal to his people and his nation who devoted his life since the establishment of the union to serve the Emirates," wrote Anwar Gargash, diplomatic advisor to the UAE president, on Twitter.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said that he “mourns one of the most precious men and one of the greatest leaders, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.” 

El-Sisi continued to say that the UAE leader was known for his giving nature, offering abundantly to his nation and people. 

The Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), Nayef Al-Hajraf, said, “with the departure of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, we lost a Gulf and Arab leader and pioneer.” 

Meanwhile, leaders of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan Morocco, Iraq, France, Oman, Palestine and Turkey, as well as the heads of the Arab Parliament, the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, also sent their condolences as the UAE mourned his death.

Kuwait, along with several other countries, announced three days of mourning with all ministries and government departments closing, with the flags at half-mast for 40 days. 
Commenting on the tragic loss was the US Embassy in the UAE, which released in a statement that Sheikh Khalifa was a true friend of the United States.

Topics: Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan UAE condolences

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Refugees, migrants in Lebanon find rare sanctuary from Israeli strikes in Beirut church 

Updated 3 sec ago
Reuters
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Refugees, migrants in Lebanon find rare sanctuary from Israeli strikes in Beirut church 

  • Beirut church offers safe haven for displaced migrants, refugees
  • Many refugees lived through 2024 war, but are now more vulnerable
Updated 3 sec ago
Reuters
BEIRUT: When Israeli strikes began pummelling Beirut’s southern suburbs early on Monday, Sudanese refugee Ridina Muhammad and her family ​had no choice but to flee home on foot, eventually reaching the only shelter that would accept them: a church.
Eight months pregnant, Muhammad, 32, walked with her husband and three children for hours in the dark streets until they found a car to take them to the St. Joseph Tabaris Parish, which has opened its doors to refugees and migrants.
They are among 300,000 people displaced across Lebanon this week by heavy Israeli strikes, launched in response to a rocket and drone attackinto Israel by the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.
Just 100,000 of the displaced are in government shelters. Others are staying ‌with relatives ‌or sleeping in the streets. But migrants and refugees say government ​shelters ‌were ⁠never an option ​for ⁠them, saying they were turned away during the last war between Hezbollah and Israel.
Muhammad’s oldest daughter, now seven, stopped speaking after the 2024 war.
This time, they are even more vulnerable: their home was destroyed in this week’s strikes and Muhammad is due to give birth at the end of the month.
“I don’t know if there’s a doctor or not, but I’m really scared about it because I haven’t prepared any clothes for the baby, nor arranged a hospital, and I don’t know where to go,” she told ⁠Reuters as her younger daughter leaned against her pregnant belly.
Muhammad ‌said she was registered with the United Nations’ refugee agency (UNHCR) ‌but had not received support.
“Us, as refugees, why did we ​register with the UN, if they are not ‌helping us in the most difficult times?” she said.
Dalal Harb, a spokesperson for UNHCR ‌Lebanon, said the agency had mobilized but reaching everyone immediately was extremely challenging given the scale and speed of displacement. The UNHCR operation in Lebanon is currently only around 14 percent funded, she said.
The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), which helped the church host displaced in 2024, is doing so again.
Michael Petro, JRS’ Emergency Shelter Director, said the church was ‌full within the first day of strikes, with 140 people from South Sudan, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, and other countries sheltering there.
“There are many, many more ⁠people coming than there ⁠were in 2024, and we have fewer and fewer places to put them,” he said.
Petro said he was told weeks ago that government shelters would be open to migrants if war erupted.
But when the strikes began and even Lebanese struggled to find shelter, the policy seemed to change, he said.
“We’re hearing from hotlines up to government officials and ministries that migrants are not welcome,” Petro said.
Lebanon’s Minister for Social Affairs Haneen Sayyed did not respond to a request for comment. On Thursday, Sayyed said Beirut shelters were full.
When Israeli strikes began, Othman Yahyeh Dawood, a 41-year-old Sudanese man, put his two young sons on his motorcycle.
They drove 75 kilometers (46 miles) from the southern Lebanese town of Nabatieh to St. Joseph’s, where they had sheltered in 2024.
“I know the area ​is safe and there are people who ​will welcome us,” he said.
“We don’t know where to go; there’s war there (in the south), war here (in Beirut), war in Sudan, and nowhere else to go,” he said.

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