Tag Archives: business
100-day Expo 2020 countdown begins
100-day Expo 2020 countdown begins Staff Reporter / 26 August 2013 The final countdown for deciding who gets to host World Expo 2020 has officially begun. In less than 100 days, representatives from 167 member nations of the Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) will cast their votes to decide which city will host the World Expo 2020. An artist’s impression of the main site where World Expo 2020 will be held if Dubai’s bid succeeds. Voting will take place on November 27 as a team from the Dubai Expo 2020 team will focus on hosting a theme symposium in Dubai this October. The symposium, which will be held by each of the candidate cities, is an opportunity for the UAE to further demonstrate to BIE delegates the global relevance and timeliness of the bid theme. Dubai’s Expo 2020 bid is centered around the theme ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’. Delegates will have the chance to explore the three sub themes — Mobility, Sustainability and Opportunity — which represent the key drivers of global development. The event will also allow delegates to witness and experience first-hand unique advantages the UAE has to offer as a potential host nation, including the country’s robust infrastructure, warm hospitality and global connectivity. As a result of the country’s infrastructure and geographical positioning, Dubai Expo 2020 expects to attract 25 million visitors offering a diverse and exciting international profile. For the first time in the history of World Expo, more than 70 per cent of the visitors would stem from beyond the host nation. An Expo in Dubai would take place on the eve of the UAE’s 50th anniversary, starting countrywide celebrations. It would also be the first time that a World Expo is held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region, presenting a significant opportunity. More than 277,000 jobs are forecast to be created by Dubai Expo 2020 and for each one of these, an additional 50 jobs are expected to be sustained across the wider region. Dubai Expo 2020 will leave a powerful legacy, both in terms of the Expo site itself and also as an inspiration for future generations. Dubai is competing against three other candidate cities in its bid to host World Expo 2020. The other candidate cities are Sao Paulo in Brazil, Yekaterinburg in Russia and Izmir in Turkey. news@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Mexico train derailment kills 6
Mexico train derailment kills 6 (AFP) / 26 August 2013 A cargo train carrying US-bound migrants derailed in a remote and swampy area of south eastern Mexico on Sunday, killing at least six people and injuring several more, officials said. National civil protection coordinator Luis Felipe Puente said on his Twitter account that 18 people were taken to hospitals, including 17 from Honduras and one from Guatemala, all aged 19 to 54. He had said earlier that 22 people were injured. Security and civil protection officials in the municipality of Huimanguillo said 250 to 300 people were aboard the train when it crashed at a site far from any road and only accessible by air or boat. A Tabasco government spokesman told AFP that four of the dead were from Honduras. Tabasco civil protection director Cesar Burelo told Milenio television that the injured were taken to the regional hospital of Las Choapas in the neighbouring state of Veracruz, which is 25 minutes away by boat. The cause of the accident was not yet known, he said, adding that the train was also carrying scrap metal. Mexican media said the train may have been travelling too fast amid heavy rain. Eight of the train’s 12 freight cars overturned at around 3:00 am (0800 GMT), state officials said. Rescuers used hydraulic tools to cut through the metal to find survivors. Burelo said cranes will be needed to lift the wagons, which could lead to discoveries of more fatalities. Local media showed pictures of freight cars lying on their side with the wheels detached from the bottom. The tracks are seen in a wooded area and covered with plants. At least two of the injured were transported lying on the wooden flatbed of a handcar — a small four-wheeled railroad vehicle — according to a picture posted on Twitter by Tabasco civil protection. President Enrique Pena Nieto expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and his foreign ministry said it was providing information to Central American embassies. President Enrique Pena Nieto unveiled a $309 billion plan in July to modernize the country’s infrastructure, including by reviving the nation’s passenger train service. Continue reading
UN to inspect Syria gas attack site today
UN to inspect Syria gas attack site today (Reuters) / 26 August 2013 The United Nations said on Sunday its experts would start their probe of an alleged Syrian chemical weapons site on Monday after Syria agreed to allow the inspection even as a US official said it was already too late. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon “has instructed the mission … currently in Damascus, to focus its attention on ascertaining the facts of the August 21 incident as its highest priority,” the UN said in a statement. “The mission is preparing to conduct on-site fact-finding activities, starting tomorrow, Monday, 26 August.” The UN announcement came shortly after Damascus gave the green light for the inspectors to carry out the probe into the alleged use of chemical weapons near the Syrian capital on Wednesday. “The Secretary-General would like to reiterate that all relevant parties equally share the responsibility of cooperating in urgently generating a safe environment for the mission to do its job efficiently and providing all necessary information.” Foreign powers have been searching for a response from the Syria regime since many hundreds of people were killed by poisonous gas on Wednesday in the suburbs of Damascus in what appears to have been the world’s worst chemical weapons attack in 25 years. There were increasing signs that the United States and its allies were considering taking action, a year after President Barack Obama said the use of chemical weapons was a “red line” that would prompt serious consequences. A senior US official said there was very little doubt that the Syrian government had used a chemical weapon against civilians on Wednesday and that Washington was still weighing how to respond. The official also said any decision to grant access to the UN inspectors would be “too late to be credible” because evidence had been corrupted by government shelling and other actions. Syria’s information minister said any US military action would “create a ball of fire that will inflame the Middle East”. He also said Damascus had evidence that chemical weapons were used by rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Al Assad, not by his government. Western countries say they believe the rebels do not have access to poison gas. Opposition activists in Damascus said the army was using surface-to-surface missiles and artillery to strike eastern Damascus on Sunday, including neighbourhoods where the mass poisoning occurred. US President Barack Obama met his top military and national security advisers on Saturday to debate options. US naval forces have been repositioned in the Mediterranean to give Obama the option of an armed strike. “Based on the reported number of victims, reported symptoms of those who were killed or injured, witness accounts, and other facts gathered by open sources, the US intelligence community, and international partners, there is very little doubt at this point that a chemical weapon was used by the Syrian regime against civilians in this incident,” the senior US official said. President Bashar Al Assad’s closest ally Iran, repeating Obama’s own previous rhetoric, said the United States should not cross a “red line” by attacking Syria. “America knows the limitation of the red line of the Syrian front and any crossing of Syria’s red line will have severe consequences for the White House,” said Massoud Jazayeri, deputy chief of staff of Iran’s military, Fars news agency reported. The Syrian opposition says between 500 and well over 1,000 civilians were killed this week by gas in munitions fired by pro-government forces. The medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said three hospitals near Damascus had reported 355 deaths in the space of three hours out of about 3,600 admissions with nerve gas-type symptoms. The head of the Al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front rebel group has pledged to target communities from Assad’s Alawi sect with rockets in revenge for Wednesday’s incident, according to an audio recording published on YouTube. “For every chemical rocket that had fallen on our people in Damascus, one of their villages will, by the will of God, pay for it,” Abu Mohammad Al Golani said in the recording. Continue reading
