Tag Archives: education
11 dead, 1,200 injured as heavy snow hits Japan
11 dead, 1,200 injured as heavy snow hits Japan (AFP) / 9 February 2014 As much as 27 centimetres (10.6 inches) of snow was recorded in Tokyo by late Saturday, the heaviest fall in the capital for 45 years, according to meteorologists. People walk against blowing snow in Tokyo. AP The heaviest snow in decades in Tokyo and other areas of Japan has left at least 11 dead and more than 1,200 injured across the country, reports said on Sunday. As much as 27 centimetres of snow was recorded in Tokyo by late Saturday, the heaviest fall in the capital for 45 years, according to meteorologists. The storm hit Tokyo on the eve of its gubernatorial election. Observers say the weather may affect voter turnout in the city of 13 million people. As of 6pm (0900 GMT), turnout was down more than 10 percentage points from a previous poll during the last mayoral election. As a depression moved along the Pacific coast on Saturday, the northeastern city of Sendai saw 35 centimetres of snow, the heaviest in 78 years. Local media said at least 11 people have been killed with one person also in critical condition in snow-linked accidents — mostly crashes after their cars skidded on icy roads. In central Aichi prefecture, a 50-year-old man died after his car slipped on the icy road and rammed into an advertisement steel pole, a local rescuer said. Public broadcaster NHK reported at least 1,253 people were injured across the nation, many of whom had slipped on the ground or fallen while shovelling the snow off their roofs. More than 20,000 households were without electricity early on Sunday while airlines cancelled more than 400 domestic flights a day after over 740 flights were grounded. Nearly 5,000 people were stranded at Narita airport on Saturday as traffic linking the airport to the capital was disrupted, NHK said. Further snowfall is expected on Sunday in the northern part of the country, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Healthcare is a right and gets highest priority: Mohammed
Healthcare is a right and gets highest priority: Mohammed Staff Reporter / 5 February 2014 VP calls on all the local and federal healthcare facilities to unite efforts to provide best medical treatment. Receiving quality healthcare services is a right for every Emirati as it is directly related to the society’s welfare and happiness, His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said on Tuesday, adding that citizens’ health hence would get the highest priority. Shaikh Mohammed instructed that practical measures should be placed in action to apply the national regular medical checkups programme for all citizens. He called on all the local and federal healthcare facilities to unite efforts to provide best medical treatment and to raise the UAE healthcare sector to the international standards. Shaikh Mohammed and Minister of Health Abdul Rahman Al Owais at the Government Innovation Lab sessions at JW Marriott in Dubai on Tuesday. — Wam Shaikh Mohammed’s remarks came during his participation in the Government Innovation Lab organised by the Ministry of Health at the JW Marriott Hotel in Dubai. Pursuant to directives from the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Shaikh Mohammed urged stakeholders in the public and private healthcare sector to unify their efforts to develop the medical services, construct a quality healthcare system and provide best services to people aiming to improve the quality of life. In the presence of Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai; Shaikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai; Mohammed Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs; Abdul Rahman Al Owais, Minister of Health; and Essa Al Maidoor, Director-General of the Dubai Health Authority, Shaikh Mohammed exchanged ideas with participants and listened to their views about the development of healthcare services in the UAE. Shaikh Mohammed issued directives to launch the implementation phase of the mobile healthcare services programme to provide services in remote areas, especially for senior citizens. “I want to deliver healthcare services to people wherever they are, and I do not want any citizen to suffer in this aspect as it is the government’s duty to reach people at any time and in any place and provide medical treatment with the same quality we provide in other government services,” he said. During his visit to the Government Innovation Lab, Shaikh Mohammed approved a study for the establishment of a specialised medical training centre, and directed stakeholders to speed up the process to complete the establishment of the centre to provide continuing training programmes for medical cadres and train them on the latest developments the medical field. He also reviewed recommendations of a study conducted on the national regular medical checkups programme. “The UAE Government utilises its full capacity to support creative and applicable initiatives that shall contribute to achieving the community’s health and happiness and assuring quality healthcare services for citizens, in the fastest way possible,” Shaikh Mohammed said. He lauded the efforts of the team that complete the medical cadres’ standardisations unification initiative. The team was composed of the Abu Dhabi Health Authority, the Dubai Health Authority and the Ministry of Health. Shaikh Mohammed also praised the interactive response of the Ministry of Health with the instructions and initiatives that he launched through the Government Innovation Lab held recently at Sir Bani Yas. Initiatives aiming to improve healthcare services launched after the Cabinet retreat include: – Approving the launching of the mobile healthcare programme to serve citizens in remote areas specially senior citizens. – Launching a programme to evaluate hospitals and medical practices. – Approving the national regular medical checkups programme. – Establish specialised professional cadre for the public healthcare sector and develop occupational path. – Unify accreditation procedures for medical doctors and healthcare workers nationwide. – Introduce unified national standards for hospitals in the UAE. – Launching the cancer screening programme aiming to diagnose and treat cancer in its early stages. – Approving the establishment of national database for all medical records to facilitate patients’ transferring between hospitals. – Approving a set of procedures to control obesity and encourage healthy lifestyle. – Introduce a strategy to establish a medical research and development centre in cooperation with academia. – Establish a unified national record for cancer patients. – Launching the UAE Board as regional reference for all medical specialisations. – Launch a specialised training centre, with international standards, to train and qualify workers in the medical field. – Increase the appeal of nursing as a profession and introduce a programme to attract nationals to this occupation. – Launch a comprehensive programme to increase awareness about healthy lifestyles as preventive measure. – Establish unified standards for healthy diet in public and private schools. news@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Emirates Post launches e-PO Box service
Emirates Post launches e-PO Box service Staff Reporter / 5 February 2014 Users can now see the envelopes of incoming mails lying in their post boxes on their mobile phones. Emirates Post’s PO Box users can now see the envelopes of incoming mails lying in their post boxes on their mobile phones, thanks to a new mobile service launched by the company. The e-PO Box service, which allows users to see which all mails have arrived before physically visiting their post boxes, is available on mobile devices from February 3, said Ibrahim bin Karam, chief commercial officer, Emirates Post Group (EPG). “If your post box is in Karama post office and you need to know if at all any mails have landed or if there is any important mail that you need to collect urgently, you can check it on your mobile before visiting the post office,” he told Khaleej Times . All the envelopes are generally scanned by the mail-sorting machines. These scanned images are now supplied to the users, he explained. Other e-services made available on mobile devices include track and trace; location maps for post offices; submitting customer enquiries, complaints and suggestions; complaint tracking and rate calculator. Bin Karam said in a press statement that the project is inspired by the UAE government’s Smart Government initiative, as mobile phone penetration in the UAE is among the highest in the world. The next phase of the m-Services project will see Emirates Post venturing into e-commerce by the last quarter of this year. “We see immense potential for e-commerce as Emirates Post Group boasts a world-class mailing and delivery system,” said Bin Karam. Under the e-commerce venture, he said, the company is introducing a new concept of e-greeting, in which an online greeting card will be converted into a physical card and delivered by mail to the recipient. This service will allow users to select and customise e-greeting cards, which will then be printed by Emirates Post and delivered. Such cards can be delivered locally and internationally. Another service, e-stamps, will enable people to place orders for UAE stamps from any part of the world, and have them delivered to their doorstep after making payment online using credit cards. This service is expected to attract the interest of stamp collectors in a big way. Additionally, Bin Karam said a selected range of electronic products, flowers and other items would be listed on the website, and customers will be able to order them online and have them delivered through the postal and courier network of Emirates Post Group. “We are currently short-listing suppliers for the e-commerce project. We will keep adding new categories to the catalogue as time goes by and expand the product range, depending on demand,” he added. Emirates Post’s foray into Smart Government services is in keeping with the rapid increase in users of mobile devices and smart phones in the UAE. The m-Services are also offered in line with the government’s Smart City project in Dubai. According to figures released by the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA) in December 2013, mobile-phone penetration in the UAE stood at 181 per cent and smart phone penetration was 73.8 per cent, the highest in the world. sajila@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
