Education
Mikhail Gorbachev calls for collective leadership
Mikhail Gorbachev calls for collective leadership Afkar Abdullah / 24 February 2014 Former Soviet leader says The root cause of the unrest in Ukraine was an interruption of perestroika and of the democratic process there. Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev says the crisis in Ukraine has been created by the government’s failure to act democratically. Speaking at the IGCF on Sunday, as the forum’s guest of honour, he dwelled briefly on the current political situation in Ukraine where protesters took to the streets of Kiev and seized the president’s office as parliament voted to remove him and hold elections. Speaking about the social conflicts across the world, Gorbachev said: “Today, the world is a kind of turbulent sea. The tensions that have accumulated can surface in the most dramatic way — although it will be difficult to say where. In such reactions, we have seen mass uprisings in countries such as Turkey and Ukraine that underline the failure of their governments to act democratically and talk to their people. The root cause of the unrest in Ukraine was an interruption of perestroika and of the democratic process there.” Calling for change, he said: “Weak crisis management indicates lack of political initiative and courage. Leaders have been content with small steps and have failed to act in the spirit of collective leadership, which is the only workable format in today’s world. The transition to a more sustainable world is imperative. If the current elite are not able to provide leadership to pioneer this change, it is time for the new race of leaders to take their place. Today, we need to look for solutions that lead to world peace. We need global governance — it is a multi-level initiative that covers the local, national, and regional levels. We have only years and not decades to resolve this problem.” In his keynote address, Gorbachev said: “The 20th century has turned out to be the bloodiest century. Although we are living in an interdependent world, we are yet to live in interdependence. We are, therefore, seeing the consequences of this inability in political, economic and social interactions. Globalisation is the dominant reality of the world. The end of the cold war gave impetus to this globalisation.” Gorbachev criticised the way issues are being addressed: “In as much, the assumption that the current model of globalisation will see us overcome the problems of inequality is not working. In fact, we see the development of new weapons and conflicts while old conflicts remain unresolved. For instance, the economic crisis of 2008 is not over. It should have been an alarm bell – but we have not responded to it adequately; there has been no sincere shared effort.” He said globalisation would achieve equality and spread tolerance in the world; it is now encouraging Muslim countries to confront the marginalisation by the Great Powers. afkarali@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Journalists cannot be forced to reveal their source: Shaikh Sultan
Journalists cannot be forced to reveal their source: Shaikh Sultan Afkar Abdullah / 24 February 2014 A journalist’s rights are protected by law and he or she cannot be forced to reveal their source of information and news, says Sharjah Ruler A journalist’s rights are protected by law and he or she cannot be forced to reveal their source of information and news, said His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah. Addressing the opening session of Sharjah International Government Communication Forum (IGCF) 2014 which is concluding today, Dr Shaikh Sultan said: “Arab world today stands at a critical phase in time. Things are changing at a rapid speed. The regional landscape is in some sort of flux, making it difficult to differentiate right from wrong.” “We see the enlightened moving towards darkness. Honesty is being taken over by falsehood. The virtuous are being forced to surrender to base desires. Where is the media in this chaotic landscape and what is its role here?” He added that media and journalism is dangerous when it dedicates itself for spreading misleading and false information. The journalist must respect the reader, audience, privacy, and public interest while delivering news and information. A journalist of various means of media must have personal sense of morality, ethics, accuracy, credibility and fairness. He stressed that the journalist has rights that are protected by law. These rights include freedom of speech and criticism and access to news and information as well as freedom to investigate without interfering in confidential public or private affairs, unless of course, the exception is clearly justified. The journalist’s main right is not revealing the sources of his news which he/she receives in secrecy. He directed his message to TV channels that broadcast imported pictures or films. He encouraged the local channels to avoid delivering fabricated, false information and prevent themselves from getting involved in violating copyrights, staying away from laziness, cowardliness, hatred, or any criminal act. “The TV channels must contribute in strengthening the human spirit among individuals by spreading ethical and, cultural values to impose love and happiness in the society. afkarali@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Pay your taxi fare by Nol, debit or credit card
Pay your taxi fare by Nol, debit or credit card Lily B. Libo-on / 20 February 2014 The move that came into effect February 19 onwards is aimed at making taxi rides easier and hassle-free. Tourists and residents of Dubai can now pay their taxi fares using Roads and Transport Authority’s (RTA) Nol card, or their debit or credit cards. The move that came into effect February 19 onwards is aimed at making taxi rides easier and hassle-free. An RTA official demonstrates how the taxi fare can be paid by Nol, debit and credit cards, at the RTA headquarters on Wednesday. — KT photo by Rahul Gajjar This move also complements RTA’s efforts to fulfill its commitment to enhance Dubai’s Smart City Initiatives. In a Press conference, Dr Yousef Al Ali, RTA’s Public Transport Agency CEO, said the new initiative will be implemented in four phases, starting with 20 airport taxis, followed by 155 Hala taxis two months from now and the rest of the 8,700 taxi fleet by mid-2015. “This initiative will indisputably constitute an added value service to public transport commuting in general and to taxi rides in particular. Using this latest mode of taxi payments, we expect the ridership to increase, especially when we increase our fleet by 2020.” He said passengers will only have to swipe their Nol or debit or credit cards of various types from around the world, on a meter installed inside the taxi to pay their fares in a smooth and easy payment without the trouble of finding ATMs, in case they run out of cash. “Tourists do not need to rush for currency exchange outlets to be able to have cash to pay the airport taxis. Residents of Dubai can use only a single Nol card since there is easy integration of all RTA modes of transportation.” Al Ali also said that the initiative was not easy to implement before, as it needed to network RTA data with Network International, which powered the payment solution through Verifone, and the franchise operators. “This initiative is an answer to the long standing demand of the customers but it takes time to implement since the new features need to have RTA system directly connected to the banks worldwide.” Abdullah Al Madani, CEO, RTA’s corporate technical support services sector, explained that the unified Nol card is considered one of the most secured cards, thanks to its high tech and multiple features that qualified it to win the Best Prepaid Card in the Middle East Award in 2012, as part of the Middle East Awards for Smart Cards, which is regarded the first of its kind specialised programme in the Middle East Region. He said the infrastructure in place in this initiative will enable RTA to add more services for the taxis in the future. “This initiative will unquestionably raise the level of satisfaction of taxi commuters, and the system is customised to enable taxi users to tip the taxi drive through the use of Nol, debit and credit cards,” he added. Bhairav Trivedi, CEO of Network International, said that both types of consumers — leisure travellers and business travellers — do not need to carry cash. “All terminals are wireless. We instal one meter which accepts Nol card, debit or credit card for payment by simply swiping them on it.” He said that Network International stands in this initiative to fully work in the entire government entity within UAE and continue to produce world-class payment system of top quality so that this can be addressed like anywhere else in the world. “We are pleased to have been selected by RTA to be the payment provider of this ambitious project, which is a key initiative in line with RTA’s Smart Taxi vision. The convenience of taxi users in Dubai was the key driving factor behind the launch of this service.” lily@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
