Son’s death anniv becomes luck charm of Pinay who won AED500,000 (PHP6.5M) in Mahzooz raffle

A Filipina based in Sharjah who bought a ticket for the Mahzooz raffle last March 8, the anniversary of his son’s death, took home AED500,000 or approximately PHP6.5 million pesos.

The 38-year-old Pinay expat matched five out of six numbers to split the one million dirham to a Pakistani national named Farhan during the raffle draw on March 13, reported Gulf News.

Catherine, who is married and two other kids, said she felt “something big was going to happen” on the day she bought the ticket.

“That day, I had a feeling that I just couldn’t understand. I just knew that something big was going to happen,” she said.

Catherine lost her child a few years ago to a rare disease called biliary atresia, a liver disorder that requires a transplant.

Catherine also shared how she got the winning numbers 3, 8, 19, 24, 25 and 47.

“The numbers I chose are all related to us. 3 is my eldest son’s birthday, 8 is the anniversary of the death of my second son, 19 is my youngest son’s birthday, 24 is my birthday and 25 appeared in my dreams,” she said.

As for her plans for the prize, Catherine bared that she intends to share it with her family and donate to their church as well as patients suffering from biliary atresia.

“This money will be spread out – we will give a portion to the church, donate to biliary atresia patients, give some to my siblings and start a business of our own,” she said.

Arizona Open Fire Shooting

One dead, four in critical condition in Arizona open fire shooting

One man was shot dead and four others were severely injured when a gunman went on a shooting rampage in Tucson, Arizona. 

Several children were also reported missing following the incident, in which the shooter was critically wounded by police.

Tucson police Chief Chris Magnus told media that the 35-year-old man opened fire on an ambulance in which the male driver was shot in the head, and a female paramedic in the passenger seat was shot in the chest and arm. The man was in critical condition and the woman was stable, he said. 

The shooter then drove to the scene of a house on fire and began shooting at firefighters and neighbours who were trying to douse the flames, Magnus said, adding that one neighbor died after being shot in the head, while a firefighter was shot in the arm, and another bullet grazed a neighbour’s head.

When a police officer encountered the suspect several blocks away, the accused rammed his SUV into the officer’s vehicle and shot at him. The officer returned fire and critically wounded him, the police chief said, adding that the motive behind the attacks was not known and an investigation was being carried out. 
The house fire revealed a “badly burned” body inside the home and “two or three” children missing. Magnus affirmed that authorities are now searching for the missing children.

Philippines House Bill 9175

Lawmakers approve bill providing permanent validity of birth, marriage certificates.

The House of Representatives has passed on second reading a bill that will give permanent validity to birth and marriage certificates. 

These documents were issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority and National Statistics Office. 

The lower house has approved House Bill No. 9175 or the “Permanent Validity of the Certificates of Live Birth, Death, and Marriage Act.”

Under the proposed measure, certificates of live birth, death, and marriage issued, signed, certified, or authenticated by the PSA and its predecessor, the NSPO, and local civil registries will be valid regardless of the date of issuance.

“National government agencies and instrumentalities, government-owned and controlled corporations, local government units, private companies, private and public educational institutions, and other non-government entities are prohibited from requiring the submission of another or newer copies of certificates of live birth, death, or marriage, and reports of birth, death or marriage when a valid certificate can already be presented,” the bill said.

The bill however clearly states that documents should be intact, readable, and still visibly contain the authenticity and security features for it to become valid.

“In cases when the texts on the certificate appear illegible, or an administrative correction or a judicial decree has been approved, the concerned person shall thus submit new, amended, or updated certificate,” the bill added. 

United Arab Emirates AED 2.2B Housing Loan

UAE to provide AED 2.2B housing loans for Emiratis, waives repayments for retirees, families of deceased citizens

Under the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Office, has ordered housing loans to be disbursed to citizens in Abu Dhabi, with retirees and families of deceased mortgagors to be exempt from loan repayments.

Coinciding with Eid al-Fitr, the total value of the loans and exemptions is AED2.21bn, with 1,656 citizens to benefit.

The noble initiative comes in implementation of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed’s directives as part of the Ghadan 21, Abu Dhabi’s accelerator programme, to increase home loans for Emiratis, coinciding with Eid al-Fitr.

READ ON: RTA announces timings for Dubai Metro, public transportation for Eid Al Fitr 2021

Bill, Melinda Gates Announce End Of Marriage After 27 Years

Bill and Melinda Gates have decided to end their marriage after 27 years, according to announcements made in their Twitter accounts. 

“After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage,” the statement said. 

The couple founded the organization Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000. The foundation has spent $53.8 billion on a wide range of initiatives related to global health, poverty alleviation and more. 

“We have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives. We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives,” he said. 

In a CNN report, Melinda Gates filed a petition for divorce in King County, Washington, on Monday, asking a judge to dissolve the marriage based on the couple’s separation contract. 

No financial details were included in the publicly available documents.