Wednesday, April 3, 2013

FIFA World Cup 2014 Trophy

It was most memorable day in life to see 2014 FIFA World Cup Winner’s Trophy live in Dubai. Thanks to VISA official Partner of 2014 FIFA World Cup. Over 3,000 Football aficionados took the opportunity at the Dubai Mall to get their picture taken with the Trophy that will be lifted by the winners next year in Brazil.  Weighing approximately 4.5kg, the trophy will be also showcased in Kuwait and in Oman.

 



 

Monday, February 18, 2013

UK’s Football Heroes



The Royal Mail is issuing a set of stamps featuring some of the UK’s biggest soccer heroes to mark the 150th anniversary of Association Football rules being established.
The first class stamps, Football Heroes, show the stars in their home country’s strip, including John Charles (Wales), Denis Law (Scotland), George Best (Northern Ireland) and Jimmy Greaves (England).
The stamps were illustrated by artist Andrew Kinsman.
Andrew Hammond of Royal Mail said: “The stamps celebrate heroes of the beautiful game who excelled on the pitch at club and national level and are rightly considered icons of the sport.’’
Sir Trevor Brooking, FA director of football development, said: “It is fantastic that that Royal Mail has honoured a whole team of these heroes from across the United Kingdom.’’
The other stamps feature Gordon Banks, John Barnes, Bobby Charlton, Kevin Keegan, Bobby Moore, Bryan Robson (all England), and Dave Mackay (Scotland).

Sunday, February 17, 2013

UAE stamps feature football Gulf Cup winners 2013


 
Stamps featuring the victorious UAE football team and coach after their historic Gulf Cup win have been issued by Emirates Post.
The commemorative stamps — in a single Dh2 denomination and a Dh6 souvenir sheet — have been issued in association with the UAE Football Association and under the sponsorship of Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries (Julphar).
The UAE witnessed sweeping celebrations following the win in Bahrain, which bought the cup home. The UAE national football won this prestigious tournament for the second time in its history.
The stamps also feature a portrait of UAE coach Mahdi Ali who has been responsible for taking the team to new heights, Emirates Post said in a statement.
The Gulf Cup Championship, held once in two years, has developed into one of the biggest football tournaments in the region, after modest beginnings in 1970 in Bahrain.
The Gulf Cup was launched in 1968 during the Summer Olympic Games in Mexico. The countries that took part in the inaugural tournament in 1970 were Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
The 21st Gulf Cup, held in Bahrain’s capital, Manama, attracted a large number of spectators and soccer fans from across the region.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Japan : 67th National Sports Festival (Furusato Stamps)

 
These Japan commemorative stamps celebrate the 67th National Athletic Meet in Gifu Prefecture.
The National Sports Festival is the premier prefecture versus prefecture sports event in Japan. The abbreviated name is Kokutai which literally translates into ‘National Polity’ or ‘Fundamental Character of the Nation.’
Winners in each discipline are awarded the Emperor or Empress Cup.
The first Kokutai was held in 1946 with the cities of Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe being co-hosts.
Since then, the national sports festival has been held on an annual basis without interruption.
The last three Kokutai meets 64/65/66 were hosted by Niigata, Chiba, and Yamaguchi prefectures.
Yamaguchi Prefecture is hosting the event for the second time after 1965.
The Japan commemorative stamps on the left depict five athletic competitions:
Badminton
Rhythmic Gymnastics
Rowing
Cycling
Field Hockey
The left and right hand side borders of these Japanese stamps show ‘Minamo,’ the games mascot character.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

बाळासाहेब गेले; एक पर्व संपले...मराठी मन सुन्न (Bal Thackeray passes away)

 
 
मराठी अस्मितेचा बुलंद आवाज... ज्वलंत हिंदुत्वाचे पुरस्कर्ते... देशाच्या राजकारणातील चमत्कार... लाखो ह्दयांचे अनभिषिक्त सम्राट... तमाम शिवसैनिकांचे आधारवड... शिवसेनाप्रमुख बाळासाहेब ठाकरे यांचं आज, शनिवारी दीर्घ आजारानं निधन झालं. ते ८६ वर्षांचे होते. दुपारी ३.३३ वाजता बाळासाहेबांनी अखेरचा श्वास घेतल्याचं डॉक्टर जलील परकार यांनी सांगितलं आणि बाळासाहेबांवर जीवापाड प्रेम करणा-या शिवसैनिकांच्या दुःखाला पारावार उरला नाही. गेली साडेचार दशकं आपल्या एका ' आदेशावर ' देशाचं राजकारण फिरवणा-या या महानेत्याच्या निधनामुळे अवघं मराठी मन सुन्न झालं आहे.

बाळासाहेबांची प्रकृती गेल्या काही दिवसांपासून बरीच खालावली होती. त्यांना श्वसनाचा त्रासही जाणवत होता. लीलावती रुग्णालयातील तज्ज्ञ डॉक्टरांचे पथक त्यांच्यावर उपचार करत होते. मंगळवारी त्यांची तब्येत अधिकच नाजुक झाल्यानंतर त्यांना सातत्यानं ऑक्सिजनचा पुरवठा करण्यात येत होता. त्यानंतर, अखेरच्या क्षणी बाळासाहेबांना व्हेंटिलेटरवर ठेवून डॉक्टर प्रयत्नांची पराकाष्ठा करत होते. मात्र, या उपचारांना प्रतिसाद देणे थांबले आणि वांद्रे येथील ' मातोश्री ' निवासस्थानी त्यांची प्राणज्योत मालवली. शिवसेना कार्यप्रमुख उद्धव ठाकरे, मनसे अध्यक्ष राज ठाकरे यांच्यासह ठाकरे कुटुंबीय मृत्यूसमयी त्यांच्यासोबत होते.

शिवसेनेच्या स्थापनेपासून महाराष्ट्राचे राजकीय, सामाजिक व सांस्कृतिक जीवन ढवळून काढणारे ' बाळासाहेब ठाकरे ' नावाचे वादळ गेल्या काही काळापासून प्रकृती अस्वास्थ्यामुळे काहीसे शांत झाले होते. मागच्या दोन वर्षांपासून त्यांनी सक्रीय राजकारणातून अंग काढून घेतले होते. शिवसेनेचा दसरा मेळावा, महाराष्ट्राच्या सुवर्णमहोत्सवाचा सोहळा, वरळीच्या जांभोरी मैदानात झालेले वारकरी संमेलन, महापालिका निवडणुकीची शिवतीर्थावरील सभा आणि जुहूतील एका हॉटेलात झालेले पुस्तक प्रकाशन असे मोजके कार्यक्रम वगळता बाळासाहेबांनी घराबाहेर पडणे बंद केले होते. ' मातोश्री ' वरूनच ते शिवसेनेचे संघटनात्मक निर्णय घेत होते. पक्षाच्या मुखपत्रातून भूमिका मांडत होते. उद्धव ठाकरे यांना मार्गदर्शन करत होते. लोकांच्या भेटीगाठीही घेत होते.

नुकत्याच झालेल्या शिवसेनेच्या दसरा मेळाव्यात बाळासाहेबांनी शिवसैनिकांना व्हिडीओच्या माध्यमातून मार्गदर्शन केले होते. यावेळी त्यांनी स्पष्ट शब्दांत शिवसैनिकांना आपल्या ढासळत्या प्रकृतीची कल्पना दिली होती. बाळासाहेबांचे ते भाषण पाहून, धीरोदात्त नेत्याचं हे भावनिक आवाहन ऐकून हजारो शिवसैनिकांचं मन हेलावलं होतं. सा-यांनाच त्यांच्या प्रकृतीबाबत चिंता लागून राहिली होती. आपल्या लाडक्या नेत्याच्या प्रकृतीला आराम पडावा अशी प्रार्थना शिवसैनिकच नव्हे, तर इतर पक्षांतील त्यांचे चाहतेही मनोमन करत होते. अनेक बड्या राजकीय नेतेमंडळींनी, सामाजिक-सांस्कृतिक-कला क्षेत्रातील मान्यवरांनी ' मातोश्री ' वर जाऊन बाळासाहेबांच्या प्रकृतीची विचारपूस केली होती. बाळासाहेबांच्या दीर्घायुसाठी यज्ञही केले जात होते. मात्र, ' जातस्य हि ध्रुवा मृत्यु ' या उक्तीप्रमाणे अखेर ती दुर्दैवी बातमी आली. बाळासाहेब नावाचं एक वादळी पर्व संपलं आणि अवघा महाराष्ट्र शोकसागरात बुडाला, देश-विदेशातील मराठी माणूस सुन्न झाला.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Philatelic Diwali Greetings:




 
Philatelic Diwali Greetings:
INDIA ISRAEL- JOINT ISSUE
Diplomatic relations between India and Israel were established in the year 1992. A set of two stamps is being issued by both the countries to mark the completion of twenty years of diplomatic relations. The stamp depicts the two festivals of lights, Deepavali and Hanukkah.
Theme of the stamps is “Festival of Lights” Israel’s stamp features the menorah with the word “Zion” inscribed inside a magen david star, and India’s shows a row of lamps, representing the Indian holiday of Deepavali.The menorah featured on the stamp was inspired by the wooden menorah used by the Jewish community in Bombay, India.
Themed on the “festival of lights”, one stamp depicts the Jewish festival of Hannukah with a row of candles. The other, depicting the Hindu festival of Diwali, features diyas.
Israel and India established full diplomatic relations in 1992. Israel opened its embassy in New Delhi in February, although it operated at a somewhat limited capacity. The friendly ties between these two countries have flourished ever since and currently include agricultural cooperation, joint scientific and technological development, water management collaboration, thriving trade and more.
Date Of issue:- 05.11.2012.


Thursday, November 8, 2012

Welcome to 28th Asian International Stamp Exhibition (Sharjah 2012)

 
Following the success of Dubai 2006, the 19th FIAP Asian International Stamp Exhibition, the Emirates Philatelic Association will be hosting another international exhibition in Sharjah. The stamp exhibition, known as SHARJAH 2012 will be held at Mega Mall, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates from 20 - 25 November. It will be a 6-day exhibition. The Exhibition has been endorsed by FIAP at their executive committee meeting held on 27 April 2012 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The stamp exhibition covered all FIP classes and including the Promotional Class (Class 13); the objectives of this exhibition class is to encourage collectors of Modern Philatelic materials of the Traditional, Post History, Postal Stationery, Aerophilately, Thematic and Revenue Classes within the past 20 years (1993 - 2012). Qualification for entry is based on the recommendation of the national commissioners and at the discretion of the Sharjah 2012 Organizing Committee. Exhibitors are allowed THREE frames for each exhibit. Acceptance of any entries in the promotional class will not preclude acceptances of entries in any other class. Please refer to the IREX on the official exhibition website.
Frame Fees: US$40 per frame (or per literature entry) for all classes except Youth Class (no frame fee) and One-frame Class (US$80).
Closing date of entry: Entry forms to reach the Sharjah 2012 Organizing Committee by 10 August 2012.
Hong Kong Commissioner is Ms. Anna Lee, please contact her for exhibition envelopes and frame fees.
For more details of the exhibition, the IREX of the exhibition and entry form please go to the official website: www.sharjah2012.comlowin