World Refugee Day

Today is World Refugee Day.


It is observed every year on June 20 to raise awareness of the situation of refugees throughout the world.


From June 18 to 20 the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) commemorates World Refugee Day in Washington, DC, in order to draw the public's attention to the millions of refugees worldwide who are forced to flee their homes.


Each year, UNHCR selects a theme and coordinates events across the globe.


The day honours the courage, strength and determination of those who have been forced to flee their homelands due to war, persecution and terror.


To have more information on World Refugee Day please check the UNHCR website.

NEW SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD - Vote Now!!

Voting procedure to select the New Seven Wonders of the World has begun.

UAE’s Bu Tinah Island, located on the western shores of the emirate of Abu Dhabi is also nominated as a prospective name in the New Seven Wonders list.

Other nominated destinations include Sundarbans of Bangladesh, India.

The voting process closes on November 11, 2011.

So log on to http://www.new7wonders.com/vote-2 and cast your vote!

NO SMOKING!!

Today is May 31, World No Tobacco Day. 


Tobacco the word is actually leaves of the tobacco plant dried and prepared for smoking or ingestion.


Tobacco kills nearly 6 million people each year.


This day is marked by the World Health Organisation not just to avoid smoking for a day but to have a control on Tobacco consumption in people.


The WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) effectively protects people from the many harms of tobacco. It obliges its Parties to take incremental action against tobacco consumption, marketing and exposure.


WE MUST JOIN HANDS AND PLEDGE TO NEVER EVER CONSUME TOBACCO IN ANY FORM. And also we must take steps in discouraging those who are using it in any way.


Read more on the WHO website.

Writer to Remember

Happy Birthday Ruskin Bond!


Today is the birthday of the great Indian author Ruskin Bond. He is a celebrated author of over 300 short stories, essays, novellas and more than 30 books for children and also two volumes of his autobiography.


Two of his books - The Blue Umbrella and Sussana's Seven Husbands - have been adapted into Bollywood films - The Blue Umbrella and 7 Khoon Maaf, both directed by Vishal Bhardwaj.


Ruskin Bond was born on 19 May, 1934 in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh in India. He has lived in London since the 1960s, having previously also lived, as a child and as a young man, in Shimla, Jamnagar, Mussoorie, Dehradun and London.


Most of Bond's writings show a very strong influence from the social life in the hill stations at the foothills of the Himalayas, where he spent his childhood. His first novel, "The Room On the Roof", was written when he was 17 and published when he was 21. It was partly based on his experiences at Dehradun, in his small rented room on the roof, and his friends. The "Room On the Roof" brought him the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize in 1957.


Some of his famous works:

• Delhi Is Not Far
• Our Trees Still Grow In Dehra
• A Flight Of Pigeons
• Strangers In The Night
• The Eyes Have It (short story)
• Angry River

Awards
* In 1992, he received the Sahitya Akademi award for English writing, for his short stories collection, "Our Trees Still Grow in Dehra", by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters in India.
* He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1999 for contributions to children's literature.

Happy Mother's Day

A day can never be enough to celebrate, honour or thank the kind of dedication, love and support our mothers provide us throughout our life.

God could not be everywhere, so he created Mothers!! - this popular saying is just so true. Mothers are like this wonderful gift from God.

We often take our mothers for granted. Many of us do not listen to her and fail to see the care hidden behind those harsh words..warning us to not do this and not do that.

Do you know that, whatever your mother tells you is always right for you? Try to not follow her advise on something and later you will realise that your mom was indeed right!

Mothers are these beautiful angels who fulfill all our wishes and do everything to please us. It is very normal to not understand your mothers when you are a kid...but as we mature and when we have kids of our own...we understand how much our mothers have done for us.

So May 8, is Mother's Day - a day to celebrate the spirit of all mothers on the earth. A day to thank our mothers by giving them a warm hug, making gifts/cards for them and making them feel 'special'.

It’s time to do something special for the most important woman in your life! We all have 'special moments' with our moms… those which you treasure, which give you the strength when you need it, moments that you remember forever, moments that make you smile!! Tell us about that special moment (250 words or less) with a brief introduction about yourself and your mother (for eg, where you live, your school, what does your mother do, etc). You may also write on what did you do for your mother on Mother's Day (250 words or less) on May 8.

Selected entries will be posted on the main page of the Youngest blog.

Email us on tmgmiddleeast@gmail.com or post your story through the comments form below.

The contest is open from today till 31st May and the winning entries will be announced through this blog.

Wishing all mothers a very HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!! :)

Youngest Turns TWO

Many of our readers may have found out, that The Youngest Middle East's May Issue was its second anniversary issue.

Yes, young readers your favourite magazine - The Youngest - is now two-years-old. The first issue of Youngest was introduced to the reading community in May 2009.

Below are excerpts from the Editor's Note from the MAY 2011 Issue of The Youngest.

It has been a joy ride while reaching out to the children not only in the UAE, but in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman as well. Our heart swoons with pride to know that Youngest has been successful in intriguing the young minds in all these countries. Thank you all our little angels for expressing your appreciation and encouragement for Youngest over the past two years.
 Very soon, children in Kuwait and Bahrain will be able to join the reading treat as Youngest promises to enter the two regions in the near future.
 Come on, young guns grow up with Youngest.
 Keep reading! 

Say "Happy Birthday" to The Youngest through the Comments form.

Laughing All The Way

Yesterday (May 1) was celebrated as World Laughter Day (WLD) by loads and loads of happy people around the world.

A group of yoga practitioners, did their breathing exercises and laughed their heart out at Zabeel Park in Dubai to commemorate the day. See the report here.

In History
WLD is celebrated on the first Sunday falling in the month of May every year. World Laughter Day was created in 1998 by Dr. Madan Kataria. Dr. Kataria is also a founder of the worldwide Laughter Yoga movement. To know more, check out a dedicated website on the worldwide laughter movement!

The day was marked in order to manifest on the idea of world peace and stress on the values of brotherhood and friendship among citizens of the world, through laughter.

The first Laughter Day was marked on January 11, 1998, in Mumbai, India.

Do You Know?
There are over 6000 Laughter Clubs worldwide across the world.


Tell The Youngest
Laughter is said to be the best medicine. Did you laugh your heart out yesterday on global laughter day?

Tell us if you participated or witnessed an activity to mark the World Laughter Day through the Comments form below this post.