Tag Archives: environment
Government customers urged to avoid cars tomorrow
Government customers urged to avoid cars tomorrow Staff Reporter / 18 February 2014 Parking lots at Dubai Municipality Headquarters to be closed as 64 entities sign up for Car Free Day. Customers of entities participating in tomorrow’s Car Free Day initiative have also been requested to avoid using cars when they visit these departments. Commuters travelling on a Metro train on Car Free Day in Dubai on February 13 last year. — KT file photo As many as 64 government and private departments, ministries and companies are taking part in the 5th edition of Dubai Municipality’s Car Free Day drive. A few schools and universities have also signed up to participate. The Dubai Municipality launched the initiative in 2010 to protect the environment by promoting the use of public transport, especially the Metro and buses, which in turn, reduces road congestion. All parking lots at the Municipality’s headquarters, clinic, pest control section, veterinary section and so on would be shut throughout the day. However, the municipality centres detached to the headquarters are exempted from this, though the employees would ditch their cars to work. Meanwhile the Corporate Marketing and Relations Department of Dubai Municipality announced that the number of people registered online for the green initiative has reached approximately 4,000. Mohammed Al Noori, Director of Corporate Marketing and Relations Department said in a statement: “Civic Body, in collaboration with all major government departments and private companies in the emirate of Dubai, is proud to achieve this level of public awareness supporting the government of Dubai to accomplish its strategic goals in the preservation of environment for a better future. “We expect more people to register on the last day before the event. Our total target of this year was 7,000 to participate in the event. As long as the online registration itself reached 4000, we have great hope to exceed our expectation,” Al Noori said. ‘It’s worth mentioning that the residents of Dubai are well aware of their duty towards the initiatives launched by government departments especially the initiatives of civic body with the aim of achieving its vision to create an excellent city that provides essence of success and comfort of sustainable living,’ he said. “We need to change the attitude of people who are not much aware of the importance of such green initiatives. I am sure majority of the people can do something to spread the great message behind this event through their contacts so as to get the maximum result,” he added. Yousif Murad Salmeen, head of Media Section at Dubai Municipality said the Municipality was fully prepared to mark the event in a sophisticated way. Hussain Nasser Lootah, Director-General of the Dubai Municipality, along with top officials of major government organisations will ride the metro from Etisalat Metro station at 7.30am and will reach to Union station at 7.45am, followed by the inauguration of the huge exhibition of green initiatives and eco-friendly equipment at the car parking area of Dubai Municipality headquarters, Salmeen said. “At 8am, a group of around 100 DM employees will conduct a bicycle rally from Deira City Centre to the DM main building to make a difference in the road culture of the city,” he said. “In addition, there would be a variety of traditional art performances and folk dances alongside the event. Hundred sport bicycles will be distributed to winners from the participants who registered online,” he added. sajila@khaleejtimes.com The participants The participants of this year’s Car Free Day include mainly the Ministry of Environment and Water; Ministry of Public Works; Ministry of Education; Ministry of Culture, Youth and Community Development; Ministry of Social Affairs; Ministry of Justice; Ministry of Economy; Land Department; Etisalat; Dubai Police; GDRFA; DCCI; RTA; Dubai Properties Group; Department of Economic Development; Financial Audit Department; Dubai Mall; Al Bayan; DHA; Dubai Educational Zone; Mohammed bin Rashid Housing; Dubai Healthcare City; Dubai Civil Aviation; American University of Dubai; University of Wollongong Dubai; Emirates Foundation for Cooling Systems; DMI; Dubai Arts and Culture; Al Serkal Group; Radisson Blu Hotel; Public Authority for Youth and Sports Welfare; Department of Finance; Dubai Customs; Department of Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities; Shaikh Zayed Housing Foundation; Awqaf; Minors Affairs Foundation; Dubai Ambulance Services; Civil Defence; Dubai Police Academy; Dubai Courts; Dubai International Financial Centre; UAE Red Crescent Authority; Emirates Transport; Dubai Government School; University of Dubai; Mohammed bin Rashid School; Umm Suqeim School; Institute of Applied Technology; Holiday Inn; Dubai Sports Council; Al-Ahly; Al Wasl; UAE Football Association; Dubai Sports City; and Al Futtaim. 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Musharraf at court for the first time for treason hearing
Musharraf at court for the first time for treason hearing (AFP) / 18 February 2014 He was first ordered to appear before the tribunal on December 24, but had missed repeated hearings since then due to bomb scares and health problems. Pakistan’s former military ruler Pervez Musharraf arrived in court on Tuesday for the first time to face charges in a treason case he has denounced as a score-settling exercise by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. The 70-year-old arrived in a heavily protected cavalcade of at least half a dozen vehicles at the National Library in Islamabad where the court has been holding hearings, an AFP photographer said. No former military leader has appeared in court before, and the trial is seen as a test of the supremacy of civilian rule in a country governed for more than half its history by the army after three coups. Musharraf faces possible treason charges, which can carry the death penalty, over his suspension of the constitution and imposition of a state of emergency in 2007 while he was president. He was first ordered to appear before the tribunal on December 24, but had missed repeated hearings since then due to bomb scares and health problems that saw him complain of a heart ailment. Musharraf has challenged the civilian court’s right to try a former army chief, saying he is entitled to be dealt with by a military tribunal. He has accused Prime Minister Sharif, whom he ousted in a 1999 coup, of waging a “vendetta” and has asked for permission to go abroad for medical treatment, which has been refused. Sharif came to power after elections in May last year in the first transfer of power from one elected government to another after a full term. Musharraf has endured a torrid time since returning to Pakistan in March last year on an ill-fated mission to run in the general election. Almost as soon as he landed he was barred from contesting the vote and hit with a barrage of legal cases dating back to his 1999-2008 rule. The charges against him include the murder of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in December 2007. So far, nothing has come of rumours that a backroom deal would be struck to get Musharraf out of the country before trial, to avoid a destabilising clash between the government and the powerful armed forces. For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Public school admissions in Abu Dhabi begin on February 23
Public school admissions in Abu Dhabi begin on February 23 Olivia Olarte-Ulherr / 18 February 2014 Expatriate students can register starting March 16 while admission age for Kindergarten students raised. Registration for the 2014-2015 academic year for the new Emirati students in public schools across the emirate will begin on February 23 and will continue till March 20. Expatriate students will have a week to register from March 16 to 20. Mohammad Salem Al Dhaheri, executive director of school operations at the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec), has urged parents to enrol their children as early as possible in order not to miss the deadline. “Missing the deadline will cause a lot of problems for the parents,” he said, noting that awarding of spaces will be based on first-come-first-serve basis,” he said. Online registration This year, registration has been made easier with the new online system adopted by the Adec. “We have introduced new features like using the Emirates ID to capture all information automatically. This will minimise the time spent by the school and the number of documents required to register a student,” said Walid Nsouli, senior information and communications technology (ICT) advisor at the council. With the Emirates ID card reader, registration of new students takes about three to five minutes compared to the old registration process of typing all information and scanning documents, which takes between 28 and 32 minutes. “For KG to Grade 5, we don’t need any documents to be scanned, but for the higher grades (Grades 6-12) we need their last grade report card,” Nsouli explained. Admission age In keeping with the new Ministry of Education guidelines, Adec clarified that the admission age for Kindergarten 1 (KG1) at public schools is four years old as of December 31 of the admission year. It will be five for KG2 and six up to eight years for Grade 1. The entry level for kindergarten previously was 3.6 years for KG1 and 5.6 years for Grade 1 by October 1 of the admission year. “They changed the new admission age to four years for KG1; the child should be four years old by December 31,” said Thuraya Khalifa Al Salmi, student administration manager from Adec. This is the new guideline in the UAE and takes effect during the 2014 to 2015 academic year,” she added. Waiting list Another system introduced to parents this year is the waiting list e-registration service. Parents who can’t find a place for their child can log on to Adec website www.adec.ac.ae and choose a school according to their area of residence. “This will minimise the parents coming to our regional offices and they will be informed which school they can go,” Nsouli explained, noting that the new system was introduced to avoid frustration among parents. He said this will also allow Adec to manage the distribution of students especially in new settlement areas. There are currently 126,000 students enrolled in 262 public schools across the emirate. Students who are eligible to register at Adec schools include Emirati children, GCC nationals, holders of presidential decrees, diplomatic missions’ children, children of expatriates (according to the applicable laws) and orphans sponsored by UAE nationals. olivia@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
