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RAK Ruler pardons 210 prisoners
RAK Ruler pardons 210 prisoners (Wam) / 8 July 2013 His Highness Shaikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, has ordered the release of 210 prisoners, on the advent of the holy month of Ramadan. The pardon covers inmates in Penal and Correctional Institutions in RAK who have so far served different jail terms. Released expatriate prisoners will be deported. Shaikh Saud’s gesture aims to give freed prisoners another chance to start a new life and ease the suffering of their families as well. Shaikh Mohammed bin Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Crown Prince of Ras Al Khaimah and Chairman of the RAK Judicial Council, instructed the competent authorities to implement the orders of the RAK Ruler in coordination with the General Headquarters of the RAK Police. Counsellor Hassan Saeed Muhaimmed, Public Prosecutor of the RAK, said the kind gesture of the Ruler would grant the released prisoners an opportunity to get rehabilitated into the community. Continue reading
Dubai can become a tech hub, say experts
Dubai can become a tech hub, say experts Staff Report / 7 July 2013 Dubai can be transformed into a science and technology hub in the Middle East through technology evaluation, which will encourage small and medium enterprises, or SMEs, to invest into innovation and manufacturing, industry experts said during the first roundtable discussion on technology evaluation organised by Micro Automation Industries, a Jebel Ali-based manufacturer. The event was a part of a series of discussions scheduled to be held throughout 2013 with Dubai SME members. — Supplied photo The event, held in cooperation with Dubai SME, the agency of the Department of Economic Development in Dubai, identified methodologies and criteria to evaluate and select advanced technology appropriate to be settled or supported in the UAE. “Technology evaluation is very important for any economy as witnessed in developed countries,” said Hazim Al Hajjaj, CEO of Micro Automation Industries. “This will help Dubai to further flourish and diversify the economy. It is crucial for the government in its endeavour to advance the manufacturing and industrial sector by giving it greater credence.” The meeting was part of a series of discussions scheduled to be held throughout the year with Dubai SME members. About 30 UAE-based SMEs attended the discussion. According to Al Hajjaj, with knowledge-based capital driving investment and productivity in the 21st century, technology evaluation becomes critical to avoid clustering of inappropriate technology. Harry Wouters, business strategy advisor at Micro Automation Industries in Belgium, said: “Technology evaluation will serve as a measurement tool in creating a strategy, which will enable government policies to support the priority areas in the UAE on a macro level like bio-technology, nanotechnology, information technology, digital and electronics, among others.” Other points discussed during the event were the techniques used in evaluation from developed countries, suggested framework for evaluation and the role the government can play to attract critical added value technologies emerging in Dubai. Dr Abdulhaleem Aman, technology advisor at Micro Automation Industries in Germany, said that some of the challenges that Dubai is currently facing in the technology sector are the lack of support from financial institutions to SMEs and the environment is not right for research and development activities. — rohma@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Egypt’s new president asserts authority
Egypt’s new president asserts authority (AP) / 7 July 2013 Egypt’s new president moved to assert his authority and regain control of the streets Saturday even as his opponents declared his powers illegitimate and issued blood oaths to reinstate Mohammed Mursi, whose ouster by the military has led to duelling protests and deadly street battles between rival sides. But underscoring the sharp divisions facing the untested leader, Adly Mansour, his office said pro-reform leader Mohamed El Baradei had been named as interim prime minister but later backtracked on the decision saying consultations were continuing. Mansour’s administration, meanwhile, has begun trying to dismantle Mursi’s legacy. He replaced Mursi’s intelligence chief and the presidential palace’s chief of staff. Prosecutors, meanwhile, ordered four detained stalwarts of Mursi’s Brotherhood held for 15 days pending an investigation into the shooting deaths of eight protesters last week. No major violence was reported between supporters and opponents of Mursi as the two sides sought to regroup after a night of fierce clashes that turned downtown Cairo into a battlefield. Clashes were also fierce in the port city of Alexandria, where thousands from both sides fought each other with automatic rifles, firebombs and clubs. Friday’s violence left 36 dead, taking to at least 75 the number of people killed since the unrest began on June 30, when millions of protesters took to the streets on the anniversary of Mursi’s inauguration as Egypt’s first democratically elected president. Mursi, a U.S.-trained engineer who was widely accused by critics of monopolizing power for himself and the Brotherhood as well as his failure to implement democratic and economic reforms, remained under detention in an undisclosed location. “El-Sissi is a traitor,” declared an English language banner bearing an image of the army’s chief and hoisted by Mursi’s supporters. Setting up another showdown, the youth opposition group behind the series of mass protests that led to Mursi’s ouster called on Egyptians to take to the streets on Sunday to show support for the new order. Mansour, 67, the former chief justice of the country’s Supreme Constitutional Court who was installed by the military as an interim leader, is little-known in international circles and the choice of El Baradei would have given his administration a prominent global face to make its case to Washington and other Western allies trying to reassess policies. But news of El Baradei’s appointment, which was reported by the state news agency MENA and others, proved divisive. The 71-year-old Nobel laureate was an inspiring figure to the youth groups behind the 2011 revolution that toppled autocrat Hosni Mubarak as well as the uprising against Mursi. His appointment as prime minister would cement Mansour’s support among the young anti-Mursi protesters. Mansour’s spokesman Ahmed el Musalamani denied that the appointment of the former U.N. nuclear negotiator was ever certain. However, reporters gathered at the presidential palace ahead of his news conference were told earlier that the president would arrive shortly to announce it. The dispute over El Baradei underlines the fragmentation of Egypt’s politics as the country continues to be roiled by bout after bout of unrest and violence since Mubarak’s ouster. The 2011 uprising opened the way for the political rise of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was long suppressed by Mubarak’s Western-backed regime, and Mursi was elected last year by a narrow margin. The fundamentalist movement swiftly rejected El Baradei’s appointment. The Brotherhood has vowed to boycott the political process, saying the military manoeuvre was a coup that overturned a democratically elected government. “Now it’s clear that the Mubarak regime has the upper hand,” Brotherhood spokesman Ahmed Aref alleged. “We cannot accept the strategy of arm twisting; we cannot accept the authority being snatched by force,” he told The AP. The group’s powerful deputy Khairat el-Shater, former leader Mahdi Akef, Rashad Bayoumi and Saad el-Ketatni have been accused of inciting violence against protesters in Cairo. The silver-haired new president, meanwhile, insisted national reconciliation was his top priority. Continue reading
