Tag Archives: business
UAE hopes to build capacity for Somalia
UAE hopes to build capacity for Somalia Allan Jacob / 11 September 2013 While the international community and navies have succeeded in bringing down Somali maritime piracy, problems on land remain. Al Shabab militants are striking at will as shown by their attempt on the life of the president of that country last week and the killing of 15 innocents recently. The fledgling government of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud requires long-term support to rebuild the nation still struggling to find its feet after decades of civil war. A good start was made at last year’s conference where, led by the efforts of the UAE, the leaders of Somalia and breakaway Somaliland agreed to begin stalled negotiations after 20 years. At the third counter-piracy conference starting in Dubai today, the UAE and other regional countries hope to build capacity and foster long-term development in the Horn of Africa. “Central to the UAE’s counter-piracy strategy is the recognition that the capability and capacity of countries in the region to combat piracy are varied and at different stages of development. Determining specific gaps thus allows the UAE to target assistance where it can have the greatest impact, thereby advancing regional partners’ security and stability,” said Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan in a statement. The plan is to help countries like Somalia which are affected by civil strife to develop their own counter-piracy capability, strengthen their rule of law, and protect their sovereignty and territory against the scourge of maritime piracy, said the minister. He said the UAE had strengthened its military’s maritime security capability, engaged and trained private industry on best practices in areas such as port security, and used the legal system as a tool for prosecuting and deterring piracy-related offences. “The recent reduction in piracy in the Indian Ocean region is the result of exactly these kind of strategic, focused and multi-disciplinary approaches that include security operations, investments in economic and social development, humanitarian assistance, and capacity building for local security forces and legal systems,” Shaikh Abdullah said. Credit is due to international naval patrols: Eunavfor, Nato Operation Ocean Shield, and CTF-151, as well as efforts by China, India, Japan and South Korea, which curbed the phenomenon, but Oceans Beyond Piracy, a think-thank, said their mandates would expire in 2014 and gains could be reversed if the global community dropped the ball on Somalia. “It is vital that the international community continues to engage with the government in Mogadishu to provide them assistance and support. It is only when the conditions ashore become stable and there is commerce and employment, that piracy will cease to be a threat to ships at sea,’’ Pottengal Mukundan of the International Maritime Bureau said from London. Maritime forces like the Eunavfor continue to engage with the Somalis. Last week, it hosted the President of Somalia, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, onboard the Dutch Eunavfor flagship, HNLMS Johan de Witt. The Somali officials met the EU’s Special Envoy to Somalia, Michele Cervone d’Urso; the EU Naval Force Operation Commander, Rear Admiral Bob Tarrant; and the Head of Mission of EU Capacity Building Mission (EUCAP) Nestor, Etienne de Poncins. The Dubai counter-piracy conference will be followed by the ‘New Deal for Somalia’ summit in Brussels on September 16 where countries will endorse a ‘Compact’ between Somalia and the international community that identifies the key political, security and socio-economic priorities. “Somalia welcomes cooperation with the EU to improve maritime security as part of the broader engagement of the EU in Somalia. Maritime cooperation will have important effect on the stabilisation and development of coastal areas in my country,’’ said President Mohamud in a statement. Public-private partnership The two-day conference in Dubai is jointly convened by the UAE Ministry Foreign Affairs, global ports operator DP World and Abu Dhabi Ports Company (ADPC). The organisers said 500 participants comprising foreign ministers, senior government officials, military officers, executives of global maritime-sector companies, and leading experts are expected to attend. DP World called on the private sector to identify mechanisms to further create an environment for sustainable development of Somalia’s emerging economy and address the root causes of maritime piracy. allan@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Apple unveils two new iPhones, starting at $99
Apple unveils two new iPhones, starting at $99 (AFP) / 11 September 2013 Apple unveiled two new iPhones on Tuesday in its bid to expand its share of the smartphone market, including one as low as $99 with a US carrier contract. “The business has become so large that this year we are going to replace the iPhone 5 and we are going to replace it with two new designs,” Apple chief Tim Cook announced at the company’s Silicon Valley headquarters. Apple will begin taking orders on Friday, and on September 20 the two devices will go on sale in the United States, Australia, Britain, China, France, Germany, Japan and Singapore. The iPhone 5C is part of Apple’s bid to counter the flood of low-cost smartphones from rivals, most of which use the Google Android operating system. Apple designer Jony Ive said that despite the low cost, the polycarbonate iPhone 5C with a steel frame “is beautiful.” “We took the same fanatical care with how the iPhone 5C feels in your hand,” Ive said. The iPhone 5C with 16 gigabytes of memory will sell for as low as $99 with a US carrier contract — half the cost of earlier iPhone base models. Analysts were keenly focused on the promise of an iPhone 5C to win over buyers in China and other developing markets where there is fierce competition from low-priced smartphones powered by Android. The top-line iPhone 5S, which starts at $199 with a contract, “is the most forward thinking phone we have ever created,” said Apple vice-president Phil Schiller. “It is the gold standard in smartphones.” Schiller said the 5S model includes a speedier chip which brings up the computing power from 32 to 64 bits. “It has over a billion transistors in it,” he said, adding that the device will be “about twice as fast in graphics and computing power and about 40 times faster than the original iPhone.” The 5S will also have improved battery life, with some 10 hours of talk time, or 40 hours of music listening, Schiller added. Apple also introduced a fingerprint sensor for the iPhone 5S, as a new security measure in place of passwords. “You can just press the home button to unlock your phone,” Schiller said. “You can use it to authenticate iTunes purchases.” Schiller added: “We have so much of our personal data on these devices, and they are with us almost everyplace we go, so we have to protect them.” Apple also broadened its color palette, announcing the low-cost phone in blue, white, pink, yellow and green, and the top-line model in silver, gold and a new “space gray.” Apple also said its iOS 7 software will debut September 18. It includes a free iTunes Radio Service featuring more than 200 stations “and an incredible catalog of music from the iTunes Store,” Apple announced earlier this year. The two new handsets keep the four-inch screen of current iPhones, despite some speculation Apple would boost the size to compete with larger phones from rivals like Samsung. Apple announced separately a deal with Japan’s biggest mobile phone carrier NTT DoCoMo to bring the two new iPhones to that country. “NTT DoCoMo has built an impressive network, the largest in the nation with over 60 million customers,” said Cook. “We’ve enjoyed tremendous success with iPhone in Japan, in fact it’s the top selling smartphone in the country, and we look forward to delivering iPhone into even more customers’ hands through NTT DoCoMo.” The smartphone market is now dominated by Android devices, with roughly three-fourths of all handsets, but a forecast by research firm IDC suggested Apple will increase its share this year to 17.9 per cent from 16.9 per cent. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Brian White said the new low-cost device will help Apple broaden its appeal. “Since Apple’s iPhone family focuses on the higher-end part of the smartphone market, we estimate the company has been unable to address approximately 60 per cent of the smartphone market,” he said in a note to clients. “We believe today’s event will prove to be part of a larger string of events over the next year as Apple enters a year of innovation.” Continue reading
JLT motorists caught in jam
JLT motorists caught in jam Muaz Shabandri / 10 September 2013 Thousands of motorists were stuck in their cars on Monday morning after traffic came to a standstill in the Jumeirah Lake Towers community. Some motorists spent more than two hours in their cars as traffic backed up from Shaikh Zayed Road leading up to the entire stretch of the road going around the community. The slow-moving traffic at the JLT roundabout in Dubai on Monday. — KT photo by Leslie Pableo Police officers confirmed the incident on Twitter as Dubai Police tweeted, “Broken down vehicle is causing traffic congestion at JLT.” Rush hour traffic continued late on Tuesday evening also as motorists complained similar traffic snarls in the same area. Some motorists complained that a major roundabout in the middle of the development was closed and traffic from three different roads was being rerouted to one exit. “It usually takes me seven minutes to reach office from my house in Emirates Hills. On Monday, it took more than two-and-a-half hours and it was absolutely chaotic. There were no signs explaining which roads were closed,” said Manjari Khatwani who works for an international media company in JLT. Most motorists in the area were unaware as limited traffic signs and new road diversions added to traffic problems. Offices in JLT were severely affected as the so-called ‘planned road closure’ had choked access to buildings in the area. Security staff working in the area were seen directing traffic towards an exit leading to Shaikh Zayed Road as teams from civic authorities also rushed to the site. Rami Salame works for an advertising agency in the area. He called on authorities to plan better and help avoid such situations. “There can’t be three or four roads leading to one exit. Someone has to take responsibility for better planning and build more access and exit points in the area,” he said. JLT’s master developer, Dubai Multi-Commodities Center, was tight-lipped about the traffic crisis. The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) also did not reply to questions by Khaleej Times . muaz@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
