An Indian man who had been retrenched by his company had luck smiling from another quarters – the $1 million Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire Draw held on December 20.

Navaneeth Sajeevan will take home the mega prize after his ticket, which he had bought online on November 22, won the Millennium Millionaire Series 345. Sajeevan is sharing the prize with four other friends but he will still get to take home $200,000, which is a sizeable amount.

The 30-year-old is an Abu Dhabi resident for four years, and lives there with his wife and one-year-old son. Sajeevan is currently serving his notice period until December 28 in an Abu Dhabi-based company, where he was made redundant in November owing to the pandemic. He had just finished a job interview when he got the call from DDF, informing him of the win.

Sajeevan hails from Kasargod district in Kerala, and his wife is still working here. He said he has not made major plans what he wants to do with his money; he will use it partly to clear loans amounting to Dh100,000 and save the rest to secure his future.

He is the 171st Indian national to win the DDF mega prize. Indians make up the highest number of Dubai Duty Free Millennium Millionaire ticket buyers. The cost of a ticket is AED 1000 (Rs 20,000).

The post Jobless Keralite wins Dubai lottery appeared first on The Gulf Indians.

Priyanca has been given multiple roles as the Minister of Diversity,Inclusion and Ethnic Communities, Minister for Youth, Minister of Community and Voluntary Sector and Associated Minister for Social Development and Employment.

Earlier, Priyanca has served as the private Secretary to the then Minister for Ethnic Communities Jenny Salesa and later as the Assistant speaker in the second term of the government led by Labour Party. She had also acted as policy advisor to former MP Phil Goff.

This is the second time Priyanca is elected as MP representing Labour Party. She has been active in Labour Party for the last 14 years.

Priyanca completed her education from Singapore and New Zealand. She holds a masters degree in Development Studies from Victoria University. Hailing from Paravoor in Ernakulam, Priyanca is daughter of Raman Radhakrishnan and Usha. IT professional Richardson is Priyanca’s husband.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern unveiled what she called an “incredibly diverse” cabinet on Monday, as she promised to prioritise economic recovery in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

Ardern has revamped her ministerial lineup in the wake of a landslide election victory, allowing her form the single-party government since New Zealand moved to a German-style system of proportional representation in 1996.

The post Keralite among new faces in New Zealand’s newly elected government appeared first on The Gulf Indians.