Most of the millionaire raffle winners in UAE are Indians

KT
April 7, 2018

Dubai, Apr 7: People the world over come to the UAE in search of better job opportunities and a better way of life. And for those in search of lady luck, it seems to be her very resting place too.

Who wants to be a Millionaire? It's the age old question on everyone's lips. And in the UAE, the answer is clear: Lots! But the reality is, people are no longer just wanting it, they're living it.

Over the years, headlines across the country have not been short of rags to riches stories of drivers, cooks, factory workers turning millionaires overnight after landing a big win on pastures new.

From Abu Dhabi's Big Ticket raffle to Dubai Duty Free's Millionaire Draw, these people no longer have to spend years grafting to make the dream a reality. With the quick purchase of a ticket and a whole lot of luck, lives here are changing in a flash. The UAE may be the land of opportunities, but it's fast becoming the land of dreams too.

Since it first launched back in 1999 to ring in the new millennium, Dubai Duty Free's Millionaire Draw has handed over 264 cheques worth $1 million each to visitors and residents of the UAE. And staggeringly, six of those 264 people were two-time winners.

Take Cypriot national Marc Khoury for instance. He first won the raffle in 2004. Speaking to Khaleej Times 14 years on from his first win, the now-retired Khoury said he was channelling a lot of positive energy in the run up to that draw announcement all those years ago.

"I was confident I would win. I went for high frequency purchases too; I bought about three of four tickets for every draw. My odds, and the odds in general, are very favourable for the raffle."

And after scooping his first $1 million, it was his wife who was first to be treated. But then luck was on his side again in 2009, when he became a millionaire for the second time.

"Now that was a big surprise to the point that I thought someone was pulling my leg. If I remember correctly, the initial call came from a mobile number and I asked to have the call come from Dubai Duty Free's official number just to make sure."

And it was true. Khoury was the 99th winner of the draw. With the second win he said he decided to stop working and "enjoy life a bit more". He did a lot more travelling and spoilt the immediate family too, including his grown up son and Dubai-based daughter.

When asked what the secret to being so lucky is, Khoury said he actually views his wins from a more practical perspective. "There is no secret to luck. I guess I just won due to the frequency of buying the tickets. I'm sure a lot of people won't accept this though, so fine, I would call it pure luck. As for the secret, I still have no idea myself."

Indians prove to be luckiest

With each Duty Free draw comprising a limited series of 5,000 tickets available to departing, arriving and transiting passengers from Dubai International Airport, it seems even in a pool of 5,000, lady luck is on Khoury's side.

But interestingly, when looking at data from two of the biggest raffle draws in the UAE (Abu Dhabi's Big Ticket raffle to Dubai Duty Free's Millionaire Draw), it's Indian nationals who are proving to be most lucky. Whether that's because they buy more tickets or not though, is unknown.

Of the 312 first prize winners for the Big Ticket since it began in 1992, Indian nationals have scooped 80 per cent of the total winnings. And of the 264 winners of the $1 million at Dubai Duty Free since 1999, Indian winners account for 125 of the total number.

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News Network
November 14,2024

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The UN special rapporteur for Palestine has slammed Israel’s parliament for passing a law authorizing the detention of Palestinian children, who are “tormented often beyond the breaking point” in Israeli custody.

Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in a Thursday post on X, characterized the experiences of Palestinian minors in Israeli detention as extreme and often inhumane.

The UN expert highlighted the grave impact of this policy, noting that up to 700 Palestinian minors are taken into custody each year, a practice she described as part of an unlawful occupation that views these children as potential threats.

Albanese said Palestinian minors in Israeli custody are “tormented often beyond the breaking point” and that “generations of Palestinians will carry the scars and trauma from the Israeli mass incarceration system.”

She further criticized the international community for its inaction, suggesting that ongoing diplomatic efforts, which often rely on the idea of resuming negotiations for peace, have contributed to normalizing such human rights violations against Palestinian children and the broader population.

The comments by Albanese came in response to Israel’s parliament (Knesset) passing a law on November 7 that authorizes the detention of Palestinian children under the age of 14 for “terrorism or terrorist activities.”

Under the legislation, a temporary five-year measure, once the individuals turn 14, they will be transferred to adult prison to continue serving their sentences.

Additionally, the law allows for a three-year clause that enables courts to incarcerate minors in adult prisons for up to 10 days if they are considered dangerous. Courts have the authority to extend this duration if necessary, according to the Knesset.

The legislation underscores a shift in the treatment of minors and raises alarms among human rights advocates regarding the legal and ethical ramifications of detaining children and the conditions under which they may be held.

Thousands of Palestinians, including hundreds of children and women, are currently in Israeli jails—around one-third without charge or trial. Also, an unknown number are arbitrarily held following a wave of arrests in the wake of the regime's genocidal war on Gaza.

Since the onset of the Gaza war, the Israeli regime, under the supervision of extremist minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, has turned prisons and detention centers into “death chambers,” the ministry of detainees and ex-detainees’ affairs in Gaza says.

Violence, extreme hunger, humiliation, and other forms of abuse of Palestinian prisoners have been normalized across Israel’s jail system, reports indicate.

Over 270 Palestinian minors are being detained by Israeli authorities, in violation of UN resolutions and international treaties that forbid the incarceration of children, as reported by Palestinian rights organizations.

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News Network
November 15,2024

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Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has killed or captured 69 terrorists linked to the Israeli spy agency Mossad during a major counterterrorism drill in the country's southeast, its spokesman says.  

General Ahmad Shafaei, the spokesman for the “Martyrs of Security” drill, said Friday that a total of 23 terrorists have been killed and another 46 arrested in various clean-up operations ever since the IRGC Ground Force launched it in the Sistan and Baluchestan province on November 1.

Seven terrorists have also turned themselves in during the period.

“The undeniable fact about terrorists is that they rely on arrogant powers, particularly the intelligence service of the wicked and vicious Zionist regime," Shafaei said.

“Unfortunately, weapons and munitions at terrorists’ disposal are among the most sophisticated ones in the world. This accounts for their heavy dependence.” 

The official stated that several members of the disbanded terror teams were non-Iranian nationals, who had been hired by foreign intelligence agencies to carry out acts of sabotage and terror inside Iran.

In a most recent operation, six terrorists were arrested and four others were eliminated, three of whom were non-Iranians, he added. 

On October 26, ten members of Iran's law enforcement forces were killed in a terrorist attack in the Gohar Kuh district of Taftan in the Sistan and Baluchestan province.

The so-called Jaish al-Adl terrorist group claimed responsibility for the assault, which was one of the deadliest in the province in recent months.

The group has carried out numerous terrorist attacks in Iran, primarily in Sistan and Baluchestan.

Its tactics include the abduction of border guards as well as targeting civilians and police stations within the province to incite chaos and disorder.

In January, Iran launched a military operation during which the headquarters of the Pakistan-based terrorist group was targeted in missile strikes, destroying its infrastructure.

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News Network
November 4,2024

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Hundreds of Israeli settlers conducted a brutal attack in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah.

The settlers set fire to numerous homes and vehicles of Palestinians and then moved to the main road connecting Ramallah to other cities, targeting Palestinian cars passing by.

They stormed the city of al-Bireh, near Ramallah, and burned Palestinian property and vehicles.

A woman sustained injuries after the settlers hurled stones at her vehicle, according to Palestinian news outlets.

Tension has been running high across the West Bank because of Israel’s genocidal war in the Gaza Strip, which has killed at least 43,341 people, mostly women and children, since last year’s October.

The Monday settler attack came as the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas warned of Israel’s plans to annex the West Bank and drive Palestinians out.

“We warn of the grave danger posed by the plans led by the extremist occupation regime and illegal settler groups to displace the residents of Palestinian villages in the occupied West Bank,” Hamas official Mahmoud Mardawi said.

Israel's far-right minister Bezalel Smotrich called for the full annexation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip last week.

Smotrich asserted that Israel should unequivocally declare there would be no Palestinian state.

He repeated his proposal of expanding Israeli settlements within the West Bank and other occupied territories.

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