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Khaleej Times
6 days ago
- Business
- Khaleej Times
UAE: Food rescue, drone tree planting startups win awards at Sustainable Impact Challenge
A company that rescues imperfect fruits and vegetables and a startup that uses drones to plant trees received top honours at the Sustainable Impact Challenge. Organised by Majra — National CSR Fund, the challenge picked projects with the maximum impact and gave away Dh600,000 to winners to continue their work. The first prize went to Herogo which was awarded Dh300,000. The initiative collects fruits and vegetables that are too big, too small or don't meet the requirements to be sold at supermarkets and delivers them to UAE residents at a discounted rate in an effort to reduce food waste. Buyers can save up to 30 percent of their grocery bills by subscribing to a Herogo box. 'It's a platform that is empowering millions of people to access affordable and healthy meal while fighting food waste,' said Daniel Solomon, founder of the company. 'In 2024 alone, we rescued over 400,000kg of fruits and vegetables from going to the landfill. That's about 1 million CO2 saved from nutritious food.' He added that with the prize, the company will be expanding its reach to reach more homes in the UAE and other Gulf countries. Recognition Majra is a UAE federal government entity dedicated to supporting the private sector in amplifying their impact in the space of CSR, ESG and sustainability. The Sustainable Impact Challenge identifies and celebrates outstanding CSR initiatives led by private sector companies, third-sector organisations, universities, and other institutions. The initiative saw a total of 228 entries, of which 100 were selected by an internal committee. These were then whittled down to the top 20 projects which were on display at the SEE Institute at Dubai Sustainable City. Each of the 20 projects were given a surprise cash award of Dh20,000 each during the announcement ceremony. According to Sarah Shaw, CEO of Majra, the projects were selected based on specific factors. 'These 20 projects are more capable at scaling and creating bigger impact if they scale,' she said. 'We want to give visibility to projects that are really impactful, and we give the verified impact stamp to those projects. We're limiting social washing and greenwashing in the nation to really support private sectors' contributions.' Other winners The second place in the competition went to online tutoring firm Thiqa Education's 'One Dirham makes an impact' initiative. The firm donates Dh1 for every tutoring hour that is purchased from them to educational initiatives. 'In May we delivered more than 3,000 tutoring hours so we will donate more than Dh3,000,' said Hamdan Karmustaji, co-founder and CFO of the company. 'With this prize money, we are aiming to expand our impact to reach more people to create our pre-recorded lessons and sessions platform that will reach the targeted audience. Our vision is to make education accessible to everyone and everyone.' The third prize of Dh100,000 was won by Distant Imagery Solutions for their 'Rooted in Innovation' project that has been transforming mangrove planting in the UAE and internationally. With the prize money, the company is going to launch an initiative in Tonga. 'They've had a lot of tsunamis recently, and the areas behind the mangroves suffered the least because the mangroves really broke the surge,' said Cory Rhodes, co-founder of the company. 'We're we're going to work with them to co-develop and design the tech to figure out exactly how we need to tweak it. Then we're going to teach the communities how to build everything and maintain it and operate it and then leave them with all of the tools that they need so that the project is sustainable in the long term.' Ajman University received a special mention and Dh50,000 cash award for their project of getting students to plant mangrove trees. 'We have had over 1200 volunteers planting 3500 trees and 45 percent of our volunteers were below the age of 18,' said Maya Haddad, sustainability manager at the university. 'We get school children with us from schools that are underprivileged. Usually, they don't have access to inclusive, sustainable education that is hands-on, and this is a great opportunity for them.'
Washington Post
06-04-2025
- Health
- Washington Post
Palestinian teenager who died in Israeli prison showed signs of starvation, medical report says
TEL AVIV — Starvation was likely the leading cause of death for a Palestinian teenager who died in an Israeli prison , according to an Israeli doctor who observed the autopsy. Seventeen-year-old Walid Ahmad, who had been held for six months without being charged, suffered from extreme malnutrition, and also showed signs of inflammation of the colon and scabies, said a report written by Dr. Daniel Solomon, who watched the autopsy, conducted by Israeli experts, at the request of the boy's family.
Washington Post
31-01-2025
- General
- Washington Post
The lives lost in the D.C. plane-helicopter crash
American Eagle Flight 5342 had 60 passengers and four crew members aboard as the plane collided with an Army helicopter carrying three crew members, a crash with no survivors just outside Reagan National Airport whose horror reverberated across the country. Among those presumed dead are competitive figure skaters, many of them children who dreamed of making it to the Olympics and their parents who shuttled them to and from skating events to help make those dreams come true. There was the renowned former Russian Olympic figure skating duo who coached some of those kids. A flight attendant who embraced his life of travel. The helicopter crew chief who had a smile for everyone, especially his infant son. The crash happened three days after the 2025 U.S. Figure Skating Championships — the most prestigious annual event on the American figure skating calendar — concluded in Wichita, where the American Airlines flight originated. 'This is a terrible tragedy that will unite those in Washington, D.C., and those in Wichita, Kansas, forever,' Wichita Mayor Lily Wu. As family members and friends grieve, they also shared memories of the lives they now mourn. This story will update as more information is available. Sarah Lee Best with her husband Daniel Solomon. (Daniel Solomon/Daniel Solomon) Sarah Lee Best, 33 Sarah Lee Best was an associate at the Wilkinson Stekloff law firm in the D.C. area. She was a hard worker, but she always found time for kind gestures, said her husband of almost ten years, Daniel Solomon. One Valentine's Day, she surprised him with an elaborate spread of chocolates, handmade cards, balloons, and candles. Solomon said they first met at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, where he teaches classical studies. He said Sarah's love of classics is what brought them together. For their 10th anniversary, which would have come on Feb. 21, the pair had planned to finally take their honeymoon this May in Hawaii — where Sarah was born. Read more Kiah Duggins, 30 From Washington Kiah Duggins had been visiting her hometown of Wichita out of her devotion to her family, they told KMUW 89.1, NPR's Wichita affiliate. The 30-year-old civil rights attorney wanted to be with her mother during a surgical procedure. On Wednesday she was headed back to D.C., where she worked as an attorney for Civil Rights Corps, a nonprofit 'dedicated to challenging systemic injustice in the United States' legal system,' according to its website. Harriet's Wildest Dreams, a D.C.-founded, Black-led mutual aid and community defense organization, shared a post on Instagram in dedication to Duggins and her work with their organization. Read more (Family photo) Ian Epstein, 53 From Charlotte Ian Epstein was one of the flight attendants working aboard American Eagle Flight 5342, according to family members who also described him as a father, stepfather, husband and brother who was 'full of life.' 'He loved being a flight attendant because he truly enjoyed traveling and meeting new people,' his sister and former wife wrote in text messages on behalf of the family. Read more Jinna Han, 13 and Jin Han, 49 From the Boston area Jinna Han was an only child who had been skating since she was 4 years old, said Olga Ganicheva, a figure skating coach at the Skating Club of Boston. Ganicheva said she had worked for years with Jinna, who was on the plane with her mother, Jin Han. Read more Liz Keys with her dog Tucker on Christmas Day. (Family photo) Liz Keys, 33 From D.C., grew up in Madeira, Ohio Liz Keys was an attorney with a sharp sense of humor who played the saxophone, the oboe and the bassoon. She walked on to the sailing team at Tufts University, and lived in D.C. with a 10-pound rescue Yorkie named Tucker and her life partner, David Seidman, whom she met at Georgetown Law School. Read more Christine Conrad Lane, left, and her son Spencer Lane. (Family photo) Spencer Lane, 16, and Christine Conrad Lane, 49 From Rhode Island Christine Conrad Lane and her son Spencer had been chasing his figure skating dreams at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships alongside aspiring young skaters from the Skating Club of Boston. His eyes were set on the Olympics. Lane's father described Christine as bright, energetic and creative. She had been a freelance graphic designer and had just gotten her real estate license. She and her husband, Doug Lane, helped drive Spencer an hour each way to a Boston rink to support his figure skating, which he practiced four days a week, his grandparents said in a telephone interview. Read more Ryan O'Hara was the crew chief on the Black Hawk helicopter that collided with American Eagle Flight 5324. (Family photo) Ryan O'Hara, 28 From Arlington County Ryan O'Hara, the crew chief on the Black Hawk helicopter that was part of Wednesday's crash, was a 'wonderful kid' who had a smile for everyone and loved being in the Army, his father said. He had just texted his dad earlier on Wednesday about a new assignment that might bring him, his wife and their 1-year-old son back to Georgia later this year. 'He doted on that boy,' Gary O'Hara, Ryan's father said. Read more Jesse Pitcher, 30 From Calvert County, Maryland Jesse Pitcher, who had just spent days on an annual wilderness trip, duck hunting and talking shop with other plumbers, was on his way home to his wife, Kylie. Read more Lori Schrock, 56, and Robert 'Bob' Schrock, 58 From Kiowa, Kansas Ellie Schrock, a junior at Villanova University in Philadelphia, was excited about seeing her parents this week. Robert 'Bob' and Lori Schrock were heading from Wichita to Washington on Wednesday. From there they'd travel on to see her. She knew their flight number: American Airlines 5342. And then came the late-night news: their plane and a military helicopter had collided minutes before landing. Read more Wendy Jo Shaffer, 35 From Charlotte Wendy Jo Shaffer, of Charlotte, was a wife and mother of two young children. A family spokesman, reached by phone, declined extended comment but sent a statement via text: 'We are devastated. Words cannot truly express what Wendy Jo meant as a daughter, a sister, a friend, a wife and most importantly, a mother.' Read more Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov shown in a 1995 performance. (Shizuo Kambayashi/AP) Evgenia Shishkova, 52, and Vadim Naumov, 55 Originally from Russia, lived in the United States since 1998 Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who were married, were renowned former Russian figure skaters who went on to coach young skaters in Boston. Their son, Maxim Naumov, 23, competed in the men's U.S. Figure Skating Championships competition in Wichita, finishing fourth, and left Kansas on an earlier flight than his parents. Read more
