Anjana Sankar K

Assistant Editor - Khaleej Times

United Arab Emirates

Journalist by profession. Humanist by passion!
UAE-based senior journalist chasing global stories of conflict and migration. With more than 18 years of experience working with major English dailies, Anjana has extensively reported on human rights violations, labour issues, immigration, crime, education and human interest stories.
Currently heads a team of reporters at Khaleej Times.

Portfolio
Khaleej Times
A ticking time bomb off Yemen coast

After almost 18 months of hard negotiations, a UN expert team has got permission to visit the ship and assess its safety. Yemen's protracted conflict and the massive hunger crisis it has spawned is one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world.

Khaleej Times
Kids bear brunt of Yemen conflict

According to the UN, an estimated 1.8 million children under the age of five are acutely malnourished. Three-month-old Mohammed's feeble yet agonizing cries tear through the stuffy hospital room in Mukalla, an erstwhile Al Qaeda territory in South Yemen. He is three months old. But his scrawny, malnourished body looks like a skinny bag of bones.

Khaleej Times
Parents in limbo as 'stateless' baby's hospital bills mount in UAE

Hana's father said the baby has to first seek citizenship - a process that can take more than six months. A 'stateless' five-month old baby in Abu Dhabi is fighting a life-threatening heart disease, and is unable to get a passport and health insurance.

Gulfnews
10/08/2015
Young refugee children learn to cope in a foreign land

Munich: As you enter the blue concrete dorm building run by Caritas for unaccompanied minor refugees, in the heart of the Munich city, the rustic beat of a Pashtun song greets you in the hallway. Huddling on a couch at the entrance of an indoor volleyball court, Jaan Mohammad, 14, from Afghanistan is flipping through his mobile playing his favourite songs.

Gulfnews
05/27/2015
A month on, Nepal is still on shaky ground

It is seven in the morning. The first rays of sunshine have landed on the rugged mountains overlooking a cluster of villages that are already awake. There is a slow trickle of people up a steep road leading to a patch of flat ground.

Khaleej Times
Meet the man who picks the lottery millionaires in UAE every month

Like everybody else, he also wishes to win the lottery someday. On the 3rd of every month, millions of people across the world wait to hear from an Englishman in Abu Dhabi. His one call can change people's lives forever. Meet Richard, who conducts the Big Ticket Raffle millionaire at the Abu Dhabi International airport.

Khaleej Times
Kerala flood victims celebrate Onam at relief camp

Our Abu Dhabi Bureau Chief Anjana Sankar is on the ground in Kerala. She's back in Kerala capturing the plight of thousands of Keralites after the heavy flooding that took the lives of 223 people thus far.

Khaleej Times
India elections 2019: Mumbai playing politics of hope

It seems no one knows this better than its politicians who seek votes for a better tomorrow. Mumbai is a mystery to many outsiders. The megalopolis still remains violently intimidating yet reassuring. When you are in this choke city, every inch around you is invaded by teeming millions and your space shrinks to a dot.

Khaleej Times
Decoding Modi and the Vadnagar myth

Bias or no bias, when you are in Gujarat, development is the keyword to open conversations. "Don't worry, You just come. Here our roads are better than your Dubai," my contact told me a day before I set off for Gujarat.

Khaleej Times
Godhra puts its troubled past behind and eyes development

The small town in eastern Gujarat has long buried its ignominious past. The narrow streets that wind through the busy wholesale market on the Gidhwani Road in Godhra is clogged with traffic and sweaty men. Trucks filled with swollen sacks of rice and onions callously rattle past rickety bikes and rickshaws wheezing in the dusty, hot weather.

Khaleej Times
Houthi landmines wreak mayhem

Victims recall brush with explosives; UAE-backed de-mining effort makes steady progress. "Look at me. I am alive but half-dead," says 54-year-old Ali Ahmed, clutching his pair of crutches. Ahmed lost his left leg when he accidentally stepped on a mine laid by Houthis before they retreated from Aden when coalition forces moved into the interim-capital to restore the legitimate government of Abd-Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

Khaleej Times
I saw the power of the common man while covering the India polls

The enormity and complexity of India as a nation is a bit intimidating, especially for someone who has lived outside of the country for nearly two decades. It was with a mix of enthusiasm and apprehension that I took up the assignment to cover the marathon Lok Sabha elections in India.

Khaleej Times
Rahul woos farmers; Modi wave missing?

In a 40-45 minute speech, Gandhi went all guns blazing against the BJP and his chief opponent Narendra Modi. The temperature hovered around 42 degrees and the midday sun was piercing through the colourful shamianas (tents) covering the open ground in Ramseen - a remote village in the Jalore district of Southern Rajasthan.

Khaleej Times
Yemen war: Life in Mukalla after Al Qaeda

Security is still tight as the fear of Al Qaeda and their sleeper cells that can launch an attack anytime, lingers. The coastal town of Mukalla in the South of Yemen is emerging from the dark shadows of terror. The port city, which is also the capital of Yemen's biggest province Hadramawt, was overrun and besieged by Al Qaeda in 2015.

Khaleej Times
No compromise in war against Al Qaeda in Yemen

Yemeni Forces are being trained to drive Al Qaeda out. The sweeping views of Mukalla from atop the rugged mountains wrapping the southern coastal stretch look picture perfect. But for the heavily armed Yemeni forces manning the military outposts from a vantage point, it is crucial to keep round-the-clock watch over the port city that was once rampaged and ruled by Al Qaeda up until 2016.

Khaleej Times
'Not appropriate time to address separatist issue'

Yemen's deputy foreign minister, said his government is willing to address the 'Southern question' but only after the Houthis are defeated. Any attempt to push for the division of Yemen in the south when the country is still fighting the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the North is counter-productive and will not help anyone's cause, a senior Yemeni government official has said.

Khaleejtimes
'They came armed, with faces covered'

Tiny group of Hindu Rohingya refugees recount tales of horror In Hindupara locality in Kutupulong, a small crowd of Rohingya refugee women are collecting aid from a local charity. Clad in brightly coloured sarees and wearing glowing red dots on their forehead, they looked strikingly different from the thousands of women you see in other camps and on the roadside.

Khaleejtimes
Their faces haunt me, they loom closer now

I saw a tiny glint of hope in the eyes of refugees when they spoke to me. Did I imagine it? After an exhaustive five-day coverage of the Rohingya refugee crisis in Bangladesh, I am all set to fly back to Abu Dhabi.

Khaleejtimes
They killed our family as we fled homes to be alive

According to a UN estimate, the total number of Rohingya who have fled Myanmar since August 25 following a military crackdown, has crossed 415,000. They are people who have no place to call home.

Khaleejtimes
Terror watch being kept on Rohingya refugee influx

Bangladesh has banned telecommunication companies from selling mobile phone connections to the refugees, citing security concerns. Bangladesh is keeping a close watch on the refugee influx to make sure Rohingya camps are not targeted by extremist elements for potential recruits, a senior official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Khaleej Times.

Khaleejtimes
Rohingya refugees still counting on Suu Kyi to save them

Mothalab escaped to Bangladesh 14 years ago and lives in the Lede makeshift camp with his family that consists of nine children. Thousands of fleeing Rohingya are still pinning their hopes on Nobel winner and State Counsellor of Myanmar, Aung Sang Suu Kyi, for a dignified return to their homeland, a senior Rohingya leader has said.

Khaleejtimes
Opening heart and home to refugees

This Bangladeshi woman has opened up her heart and home to dozens of desperate refugees Azeeza Begum's huge plot in Shamlapur is the last refuge for many Rohingya refugees who have newly arrived in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. This Bangladeshi woman has opened up her heart and home to dozens of desperate refugees who have otherwise no place to call home.

Khaleejtimes
Indian embassy thwarts 700 bogus job offers in six months

Of 792 inquiries received by the embassy, only 66 turned out to be genuine. The Indian embassy in Abu Dhabi has thwarted more than 700 fake job offers made to its citizens in the last six months, the Indian ambassador said.

Khaleejtimes
Panic as owner of UAE-based money exchange absconds

The unexpected closure of the exchange has left a trail of heartbreaks, as customers lost amounts between Dh1,000 and Dh45,000. Unexpected closure of a money exchange has created panic among scores of customers in the UAE, Khaleej Times has learned.

Khaleejtimes
Wife exposes husband's abuse on social media in UAE

The husband M.H. who works for a bank, rubbished the allegations when Khaleej Times spoke to him on Monday. A Filipino mother who claims to be a victim of domestic abuse has taken to social media to expose her husband, Khaleej Times has learned. "I suffer for so many years.

Khaleejtimes
Penniless American in UAE gets Dh230,000 hospital bill waived

With no funds or family to support him, Himes has been living in a room in Sharjah, Rolla, thanks to a kind-hearted family. A homeless 70-year-old American, who has been living on charity in Sharjah, can finally hope to fly home as a private hospital has waived off his medical bills to the tune of Dh230,000.

Khaleejtimes
Abu Dhabi hospital steps in after mother abandons newborn

A Filipino woman in her early 20s gave birth to Omer prematurely through an emergency C-Section surgery. An abandoned four-month-old Filipino baby is being taken care of by the staff at a private hospital in Abu Dhabi, Khaleej Times has learned.

Khaleejtimes
Of course you can learn from a mahout how to handle people

Wooing your lady love is a painstaking affair. Historically, men have slain demons, crossed mountains and swum oceans to do so. But that is history. Today, the art of wooing is dying, or so goes the word. For those struggling with the basics, my advice is, head to a zoo!

Khaleejtimes
Why not exit the skyscraper and move into a houseboat?

The UAE is coming up with floating homes that have more than novelty going for them The sky-high prices of the Abu Dhabi rental market have left many expatriates in deep water. But a boat-obsessed aquaphile like Berend Lens van Rijn is someone who knows exactly how to stay afloat - in the literal sense.

Khaleejtimes
UAE braces to give Eman new hope

In a country grappling with obesity twice the world's rate, Dr Vayalil said Burjeel Hospital's decision to take in Eman will send out a strong message. Treating the world's heaviest woman is a big fight against the UAE's swelling obesity problem, said Dr Shamsheer Vayalil, chairman and managing director of VPS Healthcare in Abu Dhabi.

Khaleejtimes
Watch: Pakistani 5-star chef becomes cabbie in UAE

The heartbreaking story of how an expat went from working with Michelin Star chefs to driving a taxi in UAE. If you happen to hail Zohaib Ashiq's taxi in Abu Dhabi, don't mistake him for an ordinary cabbie.

Khaleejtimes
Indian wins Dh7 million jackpot in Abu Dhabi

Indian wins Dh7 million jackpot in Abu Dhabi Filed on March 6, 2017 | Last updated on March 6, 2017 at 06.05 am His first priority is to pay off bank loans in his home country. Indian expat Sreeraj Krishnan Kopparembil will wake up as a millionaire on Monday.

Khaleejtimes
Home alone American children living on German charity in Abu Dhabi

Their mother, a divorced school teacher, was reportedly serving a term in Al Ain jail for a financial crime involving dud cheques. Three American children in Abu Dhabi have been surviving on handouts from a German charity after their mom got imprisonsed, Khaleej Times has learned.

Khaleejtimes
No big deal: UAE worker returns German's wallet

"He is a real hero. I am so touched by his honesty," said Krause. If you measure a man by his honesty and uprightness, then Bangladeshi worker Jahir Rehman definitely stands tall. The 42-year-old maintenance worker from Abu Dhabi who earns a monthly salary of Dh700 has safely returned a wallet with cash and cards he found on a park bench last Wednesday.

Khaleejtimes
Husbands gone, these UAE-based women took life head on

It is not possible to fly on one wing. But many gutsy women in the UAE do just that. As widows and single mothers, they fight all odds to soar high. On International Women's Day, Anjana Shankar and Ashwani Kumar bring you the extraordinary fights of four ordinary women facing life's adversities.

GulfNews
10/12/2016
Flare-ups at LoC, friendships in UAE

Abu Dhabi Relations between nuclear neighbours India and Pakistan may have hit a new low, but in the UAE there is no line of control dividing the hearts and minds of Indians and Pakistanis who live here as friends, co-workers and even roommates.

GulfNews
10/08/2015
Young refugee children learn to cope in a foreign land

Munich: As you enter the blue concrete dorm building run by Caritas for unaccompanied minor refugees, in the heart of the Munich city, the rustic beat of a Pashtun song greets you in the hallway. Huddling on a couch at the entrance of an indoor volleyball court, Jaan Mohammad, 14, from Afghanistan is flipping through his mobile playing his favourite songs.

GulfNews
05/18/2016
Inside a 50-hectare organic farm in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi: A tour of the Al Rawafed Agriculture Organic Farm in Abu Dhabi makes you feel you are somewhere in the middle of lush tropical greenery and definitely not in the middle of a desert.

GulfNews
09/14/2016
Khalidiya: A foodie's paradise in Abu Dhbai

Abu Dhabi: 'Spoilt for choice' is an understatement if you are hungry and happen to be in Khalidiya. The sheer number and variety of eateries in this busy neighbourhood make it the food basket of Abu Dhabi. Their bright neon signs beckon at every corner and some streets have over a dozen restaurants.

GulfNews
08/17/2016
Fancy a shark shawarma?

Abu Dhabi: The popular shawarma is no longer the humble street food it used to be. Over the years, the traditional Arab wrap (see box) has reinvented itself to take on several new exotic forms, with the result that the good old chicken and lamb staples are now almost passe.

GulfNews
04/27/2016
Kerala election battle hots up in the UAE

ABU DHABI: South Indian politicians are falling over each other to woo the UAE's sizeable Malayali population ahead of an important legislative assembly election in the state of Kerala. With less than three weeks left before the May 16 polls, campaigning has reached a fever pitch in the UAE, home to nearly 770,000 Keralites.

GulfNews
05/25/2016
48 years of separation: 'I never thought I would see my brother and sister in this lifetime'

Abu Dhabi: Siblings separated as kids across the India-Pakistan border and a dramatic reunion almost five decades later, you may think, is stuff Bollywood tearjerkers are made of. But when T.P. Mammikutty, 75, and his sister Eyyathu, 85, both from Kerala, met their long-lost brother, Pakistani Hamza Sarkar, 76, after 48 long years, there were more tears and smiles than one would ever see on the silver screen.

GulfNews
03/16/2016
Abu Dhabi residents duped by 'villa for rent' scam

ABU DHABI: A number of Abu Dhabi residents have been duped out of thousands of dirhams by a rental scam involving a 'villa for rent' ad on the online classifieds portal Dubizzle. Up to 10 people - both bachelors and families - lost amounts ranging from Dh8,000 to Dh40,000 in an audacious real estate fraud in which scammers used stolen Emirates IDs, tampered tenancy contracts and fake names.

GulfNews
06/29/2016
'Mummy, do you think fatoush can eat us up?'

ABU DHABI A giant African spurred tortoise has found a new home in Abu Dhabi and made some friends too. Ten-year-old Fatoush, who was being looked after by a marine biologist at Park Hyatt Hotel for a week, now lives with the Metcalfe family in Al Reef Villas and plays in their backyard with three British kids Madeline 6, Devon 4 and Miles 2.

GulfNews
12/10/2014
Exposed: Poachers peddling dubious drugs door to door

SHARJAH/ABU DHABI An XPRESS sting operation has uncovered a gang of Indian poachers who are going door to door in the UAE, peddling dubious medicines derived from the highly-endangered musk deer. They claim their concoctions can cure 101 diseases, including cancer.

GulfNews
08/24/2016
100 pets dumped in Mina area rescued

Abu Dhabi: Animal activists claim they have rescued over 100 pets, mostly cats and a few dogs and chipmunks, after they were found abandoned in the area around the Mina animal market. According to them, the area had become a "dumping ground" for unwanted pets in the last two months.

GulfNews
08/10/2016
Hot breads that sell like hot cakes in the capital

Abu Dhabi: There is no dearth of modern bakeries that supply a variety of breads in Abu Dhabi. But there is something about the good old Afghan bakeries that make the traditional tandoor-baked wheat breads or rotis which still have many takers.

GulfNews
09/21/2016
School told to return Dh700 uniform fee

Abu Dhabi: The Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) has overturned an Indian school's decision to charge Dh700 for new school uniforms following complaints by parents. Scores of parents had approached ADEC after the Sunrise English Private School in Musaffah asked them to fork out Dh700 for uniforms in the middle of the academic year.

GulfNews
08/31/2016
The changing face of school libraries in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi: A stroll to the neighbourhood library and spending an afternoon poring over your favourite book is a throwback to an era gone by for many of us. With the infinite world of knowledge just a scroll away on our laptops, tablets and smartphones, many of among us may have already forgotten our association with traditional libraries.

GulfNews
10/12/2016
Dh20,000 worth of speeding tickets in 24 hours

Abu Dhabi: An American tourist committed 24 speeding violations in less than 24 hours, including 22 in just 46 minutes, racking up fines worth nearly Dh20,000 during a maiden visit to the UAE recently. Businessman Jonathan Beall from Texas, USA, was driving on the Dubai-Al Ain road in a rented Mercedes Benz on September 24 when he was caught exceeding the 100km/h speed limit several times.

GulfNews
05/13/2016
Anti-incumbency factor will end in Kerala: Chief Minister

Dubai: In less than two days, when the South Indian state of Kerala will head to polls, it will be a litmus test for the Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and his political leadership. The 72 year old veteran Congress politician has had a tumultuous five years heading the UDF (United Democratic Front) government that has been rocked by allegations of corruption.

GulfNews
05/12/2016
Third Front in south Indian state of Kerala vows shake-up

Dubai: While churning the murky ocean of caste politics in Kerala, arch-rivals Congress and the Left Front have taken turns in sharing the 'amrita' (nectar) of electoral victory, alternating between every five years. But come the state legislative elections on Monday, and there is a third contender to the throne.