Tag Archives: weather
Call to address abuse of war victims
Call to address abuse of war victims (Wam) / 29 September 2013 Shaikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of Development and International Co-operation underscored that the UAE is playing an effective role globally in the field of protecting the rights of individuals and ensuring their dignity, particularly its strong support for the international issues related to sexual violence, suffered by victims of the armed conflicts in various spots in the world. On the sidelines of the 68th United Nations General Assembly, New York, Shaikha Lubna discussed with Zainab Hawa Bangura, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence Conflict, the importance of continuing the international efforts in this regard. They also discussed a number of international humanitarian issues, especially the increase of sexual abuse crimes during wars and armed conflicts, the tragedies witnessed by refugees and the importance of addressing them effectively through the partnership among all various sides. They also reviewed the UAE’s effective contributions in alleviating the suffering of the affected people in various parts worldwide. Shaikha Lubna also met with Alan Duncan, the UK’s Minister of State for International Development and discussed with him the latest developments in the humanitarian issues and the two countries’ contributions in alleviating their repercussions, particularly in Syria, Somalia and Yemen. They also agreed on the importance of continuing the joint efforts and building on the previous strong partnership channels for the sake of increasing their contributions in the developmental, relief and humanitarian aspects. Shaikha Lubna also met with Anthony Lake, Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef). During the meeting, they discussed ways to respond to the challenges of the Syrian crises and its results on the Syrian people, specially children and the need to secure protection for them. On his part, Anthony Lake hailed the UAE’s unique efforts in the fields of securing living conditions and educational services for the Syrian children through establishing the UAE-funded camp for Syrian refugees in Jordan. Continue reading
UAE, Mexico to sign treaty on protecting investments
UAE, Mexico to sign treaty on protecting investments (Wam) / 28 September 2013 Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan continued meeting with his counterparts from other countries taking part in the 68th session of the United Nations’ General Assembly. Shaikh Abdullah met Mexican Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Meade; Singaporean Foreign Minister K. Shanmugam; Kazakh counterpart Erlan Idrissov; South Korean minister Yun Byung-se; and Colombian minister Maria Angela Holguin. Shaikh Abdullah bin Zayed, other GCC foreign ministers, US Secretary of State John Kerry and US Secretary of Defence Chuck Hagel during the third ministerial meeting of the US-GCC Strategic Cooperation Forum in New York on Thursday. The two sides reached a consensus on ways to bolster stability and security throughout the Middle East and deepen the close relations. The GCC ministers condemned the horrific chemical weapons attack in Syrian on August 21. — Wam He discussed with them the UAE’s relations with their respective countries, ways to strengthen them and the regional and international issues. He and the Mexican minister agreed to sign an agreement to encourage protection of investments between the two countries. With Shanmugam, he discussed the positions of the two countries regarding the political issues of mutual interest, including the Syrian standoff, Palestinian issue and developments in Egypt. He and South Korean minister also discussed the ways to activate the strategic economic, investment, scientific and technological partnerships between the two countries, including the exchange of expertise in the areas of renewable energy, trade and medicine. The UAE Foreign Minister thanked Ambassador Nusseibeh, on behalf of the members of the mission, for their strenuous efforts to strengthen the role of the UAE in the UN. Shaikh Abdullah also held talks with the President of Mongolia, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, at the UN. During the meeting, Shaikh Abdullah conveyed the regards of the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to Elbegdorj and his wishes to the Mongolian leadership and people. On his part, President Elbegdorj asked Shaikh Abdullah to convey his regards to the UAE President. He stressed the interest of his country in strengthening the bilateral relations in all fields. Shaikh Abdullah visited the residence of the UAE Permanent Mission to the UN in New York. He was received by UAE Permanent Representative to the UN Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, members of the UAE diplomatic corps to the UN and the UAE delegation members and local staff at the mission. Continue reading
Your smartphones now as Nol cards
Your smartphones now as Nol cards Amanda Fisher / 28 September 2013 By tomorrow, millions of Dubai’s public transport users will be able to pay for their trips simply by using their smartphones — but not if you have an iPhone. The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced the launch of its ‘Smart Nol’ service on Friday, a tie-up with etisalat and du that will also enable users to top up their Nol credit and check their balance. RTA Corporate Technical Support Services CEO Abdulla Ali Al Madani said the mobile system only worked on phones with Near Field Communication (NFC) technology — but should be able to be used for other small payments in the future. “We are providing this service for NFC-enabled mobile phone users via a special SIM card to use Nol services for public transport and in future for micropayments in (the) UAE. Customers will have a similar experience to Nol cards and there is no major change in using it. Currently we have more than six million Nol cards and we are expecting good (adoption) from our customer base since (the) UAE has a good number of NFC-enabled handsets.” The NFC is similar to bluetooth technology — though more streamlined. The Smart Nol will work by users placing their smart phones against the card readers at metro station gates or onboard buses and water buses. The SIM cards will be available at etisalat and Du business centres from tomorrow. Etisalat chief marketing officer Khaled El Khouly said in a statement the new technology would revolutionise travel. “The launch of the latest NFC technology solution will be the beginning of a new era on how we empower our customers, as well as service providers in the country.” Du chief commercial officer Fahad Al Hassawi said Du’s role went beyond providing telecom services but “to be a catalyst for society’s advancement”, in line with the Smart Government initiative. Jacky’s Electronics chief operating officer Ashish Panjabi said NFC technology was simpler to use than bluetooth and allowed information to be transmitted simply by tapping two devices together. “The issue is at the moment not everything is NFC-enabled…if you look at Apple, it’s got nothing NFC-enabled. With every new iPhone launch, we’re wondering whether it will be equipped with NFC, but I don’t think it will happen. I don’t think it’s something they believe in.” Apple was such a “significant player in the market” which compromised the chances NFC technology would become commonplace. More than 65 per cent of bus users in Sweden already use their mobile phones to pay for public transport, but there are other forms of technology than NFC such as the mobile barcode, which requires people to purchase barcodes which are sent to their phones, and the Google Wallet ‘tap-and-pay’ system already being used to pay for public transport in parts of America. Local company Beam are trialing a payment system using a mobile app which stores credit card details. Panjabi said the pitfalls of the NFC system were that many parties were required to cooperate, including the credit card companies, local banks, telecommunication companies and merchants. Apple may have “something up their sleeve”, such as plans to create their own mobile payment system. “Apple has got the largest repository of credit card data because hundreds of millions of people who have signed up with Apple have given credit card details, whether it be for music or games or devices…you would think (payment) would be something they could control and dominate through that material.” However, he said most people who had purchased a mainstream smartphone such as Samsung, LG or BlackBerry in the past two years would likely have the technology. The RTA advised people to check with their mobile phone providers about whether their phones were compatible. British consulting firm Juniper Research recently predicted mobile ticketing across all forms of transit would triple in the next five years, led by public transport — though it also said in markets where the iPhone was popular, such as North America and Western Europe, NFC technology would probably not take off. Panjabi said there was “no limit” of where cellphones would go next. “We’re looking now at the next step, which is wearable technology…we’ve seen the smart watch, Google Glass…that may eliminate cell phones one day.” – amanda@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
