Tag Archives: technology
Syria vows to abide by UN resolution
Syria vows to abide by UN resolution (AP) / 29 September 2013 Syria’s prime minister said Damascus will fully cooperate with UN inspectors charged with destroying the country’s chemical weapons stockpile. Wael Al Halqi’s comments on Saturday come a day after the UN Security Council voted unanimously to purge Syria of its chemical weapons programme. Al Halqi said in an interview with Lebanon’s Al Manar TV that Syria “welcomed the resolution” and “will fulfill its international duties.” He also said the government “will facilitate the work of the inspectors.” The UN resolution passed on Friday allows the start of a mission to rid Syria’s regime of its estimated 1,000-tonne chemical arsenal by mid-2014. It also calls for consequences if Syria fails to comply, but those will depend on the council passing another resolution in the event of non-compliance. Meanwhile, Syrian rebels including members of an Al Qaeda-linked group captured a military post on the border with Jordan on Saturday after four days of fighting, an activist group said. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 26 soldiers were killed in the battle as well as a number of rebels, including seven foreign fighters. The post served in the past as the customs office on the border with Jordan. It was turned into an army post years ago. The post is on the outskirts of the southern city of Daraa where the uprising against President Bashar Assad’s regime began in March 2011. The uprising later turned into a civil war that killed more than 100,000 people, according to the UN. Rebels control multiple areas along the borders with Jordan, Iraq, Turkey and Lebanon as well as the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Also on Saturday some UN inspectors left their hotel in Damascus in one vehicle to an unknown location. The UN said on Friday its team of weapons experts currently in Syria will investigate seven sites of alleged chemical attacks in the country, four more than previously known. The announcement came hours before the UN Security Council voted unanimously to secure and destroy Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile. The team initially visited Syria last month to investigate three alleged chemical attacks this year. But just days into the visit, the rebel-held Damascus suburb of Ghouta was hit by a chemical strike, and the inspectors turned their attention to that case. The inquiry determined that the nerve agent sarin was used in the August 21 attack, but it did not assess who was behind it. The UN team of investigators expects to finalise its activities in the country by Monday, a UN statement said. 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
Eating and drinking top Metro violations
Eating and drinking top Metro violations Staff Reporter / 26 September 2013 As many as 12,948 tickets were issued for violations on Dubai Metro trains from January to July this year with a monthly average of 1,850 violations. The Red and Green Lines of Dubai Metro have been witnessing a huge throng — over 300 million passengers used the Green and Red lines since the beginning of Metro services till July this year, with a daily average of 364,779 passengers from January to July this year. However, the Red Line is used more by passengers than the Green Line. The average number of passengers using the Red Line daily reached 236,044 from January to July, against 128,735 commuters on the Green Line in the same period. Mohammed Al Mudharreb, Director of Rail Operation at the Roads and Transport Authority’s Rail Agency, ascribed the violations committed by passengers to a lack of culture of optimal use of the services though the RTA had distributed booklets and leaflets containing information and guidelines on the terms that should be followed inside the trains and stations to maintain the safety of passengers and trains. The booklets also contained a detailed explanation of the types of violations and fines applicable in this regard. Al Mudharreb pointed out that eating and drinking in prohibited areas was the most common violation, followed by moving in a carriage other than the allowed one like people travelling in the Gold carriage when they had only Silver cards and men travelling in carriages meant for women and children. The BurJuman (Khalid bin Al Waleed) Metro Station, which is one of the two transfer stations where the Red and Green lines intersect, was the most used station by passengers since it is near the popular trading shops and residential areas. The average daily number of passengers who used the BurJuman Metro Station from January to July came to 23,000 followed by Al Ittihad (Union) Metro Station which is the other transfer station. The Union station, he said, was characterised by being close to the business hub in Dubai. It saw an average of 20,000 passengers daily during that period, while the Deira City Centre Station witnessed a daily average of 18,000 passengers. The Nakheel Harbour and Tower Station was the least used station with only 618 on average daily from January to July since it is far away from residential and commercial areas, followed by the Etisalat station with 1,911 passengers using it daily during that period. The RTA operates 79 trains now — 62 on the Red Line and 17 on the Green Line. news@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
