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UAE happiest Arab country
UAE happiest Arab country Staff Reporter / 9 September 2013 The UAE has been ranked the happiest Arab country and the 14th happiest in the world in the second World Happiness Report. His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has lauded the achievement, which he described as an approach followed by the founding fathers of the UAE, a vision in all government sectors, levels and institutions ‘‘as well as a manner of work that governs all of our policies and decisions’’. Shaikh Mohammed with students at the Granada School for Primary Education in Al Mazhar area of Dubai on Sunday. Shaikh Mohammed also visited the Al Nokhba (Elite) Model School. The visits to the two schools come within the framework of Shaikh Mohammed’s interest in pursuing excellence in the field of education for UAE students. — Wam “Achieving happiness, welfare and dignified living for nationals and their families is the preoccupation of the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. This ranking would not have been possible without the efforts of sincere men, excellent teamwork and full coordination and integration between all local and federal government sectors.” A safe and secure environment is one of the main reasons that the UAE has been voted the ‘happiest country’ in the Arab region, according to its residents, who said the UAE is ‘an amazing place to live in’. “Our goal is to achieve the happiness of our people, and their satisfaction is the gauge of our success. All development plans that we approved, all initiatives that we launched and all the government policies and laws, have one common goal — achieving the happiness of our people. What we have already achieved is only the first stage, which will be followed by more work and achievements in order to become one of the world’s best countries God willing,” Shaikh Mohammed said. “Countries can only be built with happy and satisfied people. Happiness of individuals is only the start for a stable, productive and safe society. That is why relevant international organisations started to review the real yardstick for the success of governments and to increasingly focus on measuring the satisfaction and happiness of people as a main way towards sustainable development,” stated Shaikh Mohammed. Underscoring the importance of embracing this yardstick by all government officials, he said: “We gave directives to all government teams, during the recent Government Summit, that they should make their decisions and policies based on one goal, which is making society happy. No doubt happiness and satisfaction is something psychological for individuals, but the government’s mission is to provide dignified living and welfare for its citizens, to make life easy for them as well as to create opportunities for them to achieve happiness for themselves and for their families. All this requires, among other things, joint efforts and policies and laws that are suitable for society, achieving security, justice and safety, taking care of underprivileged groups and the continuous development of infrastructure. This cannot be achieved without having clear-cut plans and excellent teams and taking the best advantage of the resources that are available to us. “We will continue forward to serve our country, achieve happiness for our sons and to invest all that we have to prepare people to make them able, strong, and skilled enough to achieve success. I say to all our people: be hopeful because we all overcame a lot of challenges in the past, and because our present is full of achievements, and our future is promising and is based on the highest ambitions,” said Shaikh Mohammed. Khaleej Times caught up with a few UAE residents who agreed with the results of the report, and cited a safe and secure environment as one of the main reasons for the overall happiness of its people. Indian national and Dubai resident Shehir Rawthar said: “In comparison to neighbouring nations, UAE is a safe haven. People here have steered clear of wars and fights. Even a layman can afford luxury, and that is what makes UAE special.” Pakistani national Victoria Diamond said: “I have lived here all my life and UAE is home to me. There is no other place where I feel safer and happier than I feel here.” Syrian national Khaled Ali said: “My home country is currently in a state of crisis. I have been living here for the last 11 years and I have achieved tremendous career and personal growth living in the UAE. Though I am worried about my brothers and sisters back home, I know my family will be very safe here. Yes, I am happy in the UAE.” “I have been living in the UAE since 2005. Except for very high rents and a slight language problem, it is a great place to live in. It is safe and provides great education for its young. I personally live in a great place, have a good job, and I drive a good car. So if happiness is measured by the kind of commodities that you can acquire, then yes, I am a very happy man,” said British national Nick David. — news@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Many happy returns as Dubai Metro turns 4
Many happy returns as Dubai Metro turns 4 Lily B. Libo-on / 9 September 2013 Dubai Metro, world’s largest driverless rail network extending up to 75 kilometres, celebrates its four years of successful operation today with an increase of 20 per cent increase in its ridership over the years. The high-level performance of Dubai Metro’s 58 trains is evident by its more than 366,000 current average daily passengers, which has led millions to turn to public transport and decongest Dubai roads. Metro passenger, Joseph, an Indian expatriate in Dubai says: “I find the Metro very efficient, no-hassle public transport for expatriates. I live in Baniyas Square but work at the Dubai Airport Free Zone in Al Qusais. Yet, I reach my work place in 15 minutes. I have never been late because Metro Green Line is bringing me to work with efficiency and speed.” According to Cherrie Rentillo, a Filipina, the metro helps her in saving time. “It is very efficient and seldom has any technical glitches. Even if it happens, the Rail Agency of the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) always has a solution. “It is fast as you will not go through a traffic rush. It’s just perfect,” she says. Pakistani expatriate, Ali Mohammed, is all praises for the Dubai Metro. “Since its launch in 2009, I have never been late for work though I work on Shaikh Zayed and stay in Deira. It is a great help to workers, not just in terms of time but also in terms of cash. RTA’s newly launched Metro Mini Entertainer, a discount voucher booklet priced at Dh65, is also a help when I come home late. It contains Dh2,000 worth of savings from over 30 different outlets representing restaurants and leisure centers located close to the metro stations.” Sudanese housewife, Huda, said that the latest expansion of the women and children cabin from 7am to 9am and from 5pm to 9pm from Sunday to Thursday is convenient to mothers when travelling with kids, especially while going to the Mall of the Emirates or The Dubai Mall. “It is such a relief,” she said. Metro expansion welcome The news of the forthcoming expansion, which will expand the Red Line to Mirdif and the Green Line to Academic City, is also a welcome move. Dubai Metro passengers along this area said that it will give them the benefit of traveling faster and quicker. Ramadan Abdullah Mohammed, director of RTA’s Rail Operations, said that Dubai Metro celebrates its fourth year of operation today, with a huge success and increasing demand, which prompts it to continuously plan for expansion. “We conduct a continuous study to enhance our services to the public, even the latest allocation of one cabin to women and children from 7am to 9am and from 5pm to 9pm, is a product of our study. We also plan to increase the number of trains based on the continuous study of the ridership during peak hours and months, holidays such as Eid and National Day, and our target and achievements,” Ramadan said. He said the Dubai Metro achieved its target well in 2012, and even in 2013, it is performing well in terms of achieving its target. To start the project next year, the RTA is conducting more studies on the proposed extensions and the exact time to begin the projects next year after concluding its observations. The Green Line will extend up to 24 kilometres and the Red Line by 12 kilometres. Both lines consist of modern designs and architecture, including many retail outlets, Wi-Fi connectivity, ATM machines and accessibility for special needs passengers to public buses. The number of riders using the Dubai Metro Red Line in the last six months topped 43,552,110 riders at a rate exceeding seven million per month. The Green Line riders during the same period reached 23,549,206 at a rate of about four million riders per month. Deira City Centre, Burj Khalifa, Mall of the Emirates, Union, Burjuman, Al Rigga and Al Karama metro stations accounted for the biggest chunk of passengers in the Red Line. – lily@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Obama gears up for all-out push on Syria
Obama gears up for all-out push on Syria (AFP) / 9 September 2013 Washington deepened its diplomatic offensive at home and abroad on Sunday as President Barack Obama braced for a key week in his push to persuade skeptical Americans to back strikes against the Syrian regime. Lawmakers returning on Monday from their summer break are set to begin debate on whether to approve limited US military action in Syria, with a Senate vote possibly coming as early as Wednesday. Obama will blitz US networks on Monday evening before addressing the American people from the Oval Office on Tuesday aiming to lay out the case to deepen US involvement in a two-year-old war that has claimed more than 100,000 lives. President Bashar Al Assad was also to take to the US airwaves to deny he ordered a suspected chemical attack on his people last month, which has shocked the world and galvanised the Obama administration into preparing for its first military foray into the brutal conflict. In a rare interview with a US network, Assad insisted he was not behind the August 21 gas attack on a Damascus suburb, and issued a veiled warning to the American people not to become militarily involved in the rebellion against him that erupted in March 2011. The long-time Syrian leader warned that as his country prepares “as best we can” for US military action, there could be a bitter consequences. “There’s no evidence that I used chemical weapons against my own people,” he reportedly told CBS television, in the interview to be aired on Monday. Assad said he “had a message to the American people that it had not been a good experience for them to get involved in the Middle East in wars and conflicts.” He “suggested that there would be, among people that are aligned with him, some kind of retaliation if a strike was made,” veteran CBS correspondent Charlie Rose told CBS. After talks with Arab League leaders in Paris, US Secretary of State John Kerry said: “All of us agree, not one dissenter, that Assad’s deplorable use of chemical weapons… crosses an international global red line.” Kerry, who was dispatched by Obama to shore up support abroad, said a number of Arab countries, were willing to sign a statement agreed by 12 of the G20 countries last week calling for a “strong” reaction to the alleged attack. Asked about Assad’s denial, Kerry told journalists traveling with him on his next stop in London that “the evidence speaks for itself.” “Today we discussed the possible and necessary measures that can be taken,” he said earlier, adding Saudi Arabia was among those who had signed on. While a resolution for a military strike is likely to pass the Senate controlled by Obama’s Democrats, according to a Washington Post survey some 224 of the current 433 members of the Republican dominated House were either “no” or “leaning no” on military action as of Friday. A large number, 184, were undecided, with just 25 backing a strike. A top White House official said on Sunday the Obama administration is planning “for every contingency” in case of any fallout from US military strikes. “We have to obviously be very careful and very targeted and very limited in our engagement so we do not get dragged into the middle of this. And then there’s obviously risk of reaction and retaliation against our friends,” White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough said on CNN. He urged hesitant lawmakers to watch graphic videos released over the weekend, said to be of the August attack, showing corpses as well as dying people, including children, writhing in pain and apparently foaming at the mouth and vomiting. The Los Angeles Times reported meanwhile that the Pentagon was preparing for three days of attacks on Syria, longer than originally planned. War planners now aim to unleash a heavy barrage of missile strikes to be followed swiftly by additional attacks on targets that may have been missed or remain standing after the initial launch, the newspaper cited officials as saying. A US defense official said the scale and purpose of the operation against Syria has not changed in recent weeks, although US forces would adjust as needed. “We will continue to review our targeting and targeting options as the Syrian government adapts over time,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. On the ground, Syrian rebels, including the Al-Nusra Front, were said to have taken control of the historic Christian town of Maalula, north of Damascus. And an Italian journalist and a Belgian national who had both been kidnapped in early April were released and on a plane flying to Italy, the Italian government said. Continue reading
