Tag Archives: opinion
New images of possible Malaysia jet debris
New images of possible Malaysia jet debris (AFP) / 23 March 2014 The images had been passed on to Australian authorities who are coordinating the search for the plane Malaysia said Sunday it had received new satellite images from France showing floating objects in the search area for a missing Malaysian jet in the southern Indian Ocean. The images include “potential objects in the vicinity of the southern corridor”, the Transport Ministry said in a statement. It added the images had been passed on to Australian authorities who are coordinating the search for the plane, now focused on a remote stretch of ocean 2,500 kilometers (1,562 miles) southwest of Perth. The statement gave no details of the number, size or precise location of the objects shown in the French pictures. Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 went missing on March 8 en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people aboard. Malaysia, which later revealed the plane turned back over the Malaysian peninsula after losing contact, has enlisted 25 other countries to help hunt for the plane. Efforts in recent days have focused on the coast off Australia after previous satellite images of large objects there were released, and a plane spotted a wooden cargo pallet, along with some belts or straps. Read more: Malaysian plane drama fuels aviation security rethink Read more: Relatives of Malaysia jet’s passengers struggle to cope For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Dubai Islamic affairs department launches e-services guide
Dubai Islamic affairs department launches e-services guide Ahmed Shaaban / 22 March 2014 The Department of Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities in Dubai on Thursday launched its electronic services guide on its official website. Dr Hamad Al Shaibani, Director-General of the department, said the move was a step to turn it into a total smart entity in line with the Smart Government initiative announced by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, in May 2013. “While smart services were first launched in some mosques of the emirate in February this year, all department services are planned to be smart for the benefit of the public.” The department is also planning to launch a packet of smart services soon, he added. The Department, late in February this year, launched the first ‘smart mosque’ in the country — the Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Mosque at Jumeirah 3. The mosque, equipped with QR (Quick Reader) code technology for the first time in government buildings, was part of Phase I, including nine smart mosques being planned this year. Nasser Mubarak, Head of the IT Section, said the Electronic Services Guide consists of three sections — the Islamic affairs sector, the charitable activities sector, and community and media sector. The Islamic Affairs Sector spans the services being provided to new Muslims, as well as fatwa, scientific and library researches, Quran study, family consultations, mosque affairs and other religious activities. Mubarak said the Charitable Activities Sector includes all services related to all Islamic and charitable societies in the emirate, along with Quran study centres, the Princess Haya Cultural and Islamic Centre, and Zakat and charity. “The community and media sector spans all activities of the Zayed bin Mohammed Family Forum, distribution of books and brochures, recruitment, media institutions, and other relevant electronic services.” Abdullah Al Dallal, head of the corporate excellence section, said the department has adopted a number of initiatives to make all its services smart. “Customers may benefit from the electronic services guide by simply filling an e-form.” The e-form shows customers the right way to get the service needed in a fast and convenient way, he noted. “Customers may also submit their remarks, complaints and suggestions using the same form to give feedback.” ahmedshaaban@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Women and children first as Russian forces seize base
EU takes aim at Russia economy as Kiev plans Crimea pullout (AFP) / 20 March 2014 The European Union is under intense pressure to find a credible response to an explosive security crisis on the 28-nation bloc’s eastern frontier. European leaders were on Thursday to debate biting economic sanctions against Russia for its annexation of Crimea as Ukraine tore up key ties with the Kremlin and drew up plans to evacuate its nationals from the rebel peninsula. The European Union is under intense pressure to find a credible response to an explosive security crisis on the 28-nation bloc’s eastern frontier that NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen on Wednesday called “the gravest threat to European security and stability since the end of the Cold War.” But the Kremlin has warned repeatedly that it would strike back hard if confronted with a new wave of Western punitive measures that EU nations — their energy and financial sectors intertwined with Russia’s — would keenly prefer to avoid. Russian President Vladimir Putin will also find himself on the diplomatic defensive in Moscow when he hosts United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, as the global community almost unanimously views Russia’s absorption of the Black Sea region as illegal. But world anger has done little to halt unchallenged Russian military advances that prompted Kiev’s new Western-backed government to acknowledge preparing a Crimean evacuation plan for thousands of its soldiers and families. Tensions eased somewhat in the region on Thursday morning when acting president Oleksandr Turchynov announced the release by Crimean militias of Ukranian navy chief Sergiy Gayduk. Turchynov had threatened the Crimean authorities with “an adequate response… of a technical and technological nature” unless they immediately released Gayduk and several others seized during the storming of Ukraine’s naval headquarters in the port of Sevastopol on Wednesday. His call was backed up by Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu — a signal that even Moscow considered some of the militants’ actions outside the bounds. Yet the pro-Kremlin troops’ march across the mostly Russian-speaking region roughly the size of Belgium has been unhalting since the day Putin first won the right to use force against his ex-Soviet neighbour following the November 22 fall there of a Moscow-backed regime. Kiev’s untested leaders and their Western allies now fear that Putin has set his sights on the Russified southeastern swathes of Ukraine as part of his self-declared campaign to “protect” compatriots from the more nationalistic forces who rose to power on the back of three months of deadly protests in Kiev. “Our major concern right now is whether he (President Vladimir Putin) will go beyond Crimea, whether Russia will intervene in the eastern parts,” NATO chief Rasmussen also conceded on Wednesday. Ukraine has responded by seeking protection from Western powers and planning on Friday to sign the political portion of a broad EU Association Agreement whose rejection in November by Ukraine’s pro-Kremlin president Viktor Yanukovych sparked the protests that eventually led to his fall. Kiev on Wednesday also announced plans to withdraw from the Moscow-led Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) alliance that replaced the Soviet Union and to slap visas on Russians who sought to enter the country. For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
