Tag Archives: georgia
General Shaikh Mohammed opens World Future Energy Summit
General Shaikh Mohammed opens World Future Energy Summit 20 January 2014 As the centrepiece of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, WFES 2014 expects to receive 30,000 attendees from over 172 countries. General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, attended the official opening ceremony of the 7th edition of the World Future Energy Summit (WFES) being held at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Centre (ADNEC), as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week. The summit runs from January 20-22, 2014 and is held under the theme: “Powering the Future of Energy Innovation”, saw the participation of a number of heads of states and governments, representatives of international organisations, international companies and experts. The World Future Energy Conference (WFES), which is the largest summit of energy experts, will share the best international practices, unveil new products and discuss sustainable solutions to tackle present and future energy challenges. As the centrepiece of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, WFES 2014 expects to receive 30,000 attendees from over 172 countries, up from the 152 countries that participated last year. Since its inception in 2008, WFES has grown to become the leading discussion platform for renewable energy, clean technology and sustainability, and it is now considered the pre-eminent international event for government and industry decision makers to find viable, sustainable solutions to the world’s growing energy challenges. Hosted by Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company, WFES 2014 is the centerpiece of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, the largest ever gathering on sustainability in the Middle East. The event comprises a world-class conference that offers an unparalleled forum for political, business and intellectual debate and a large-scale exhibition which facilitates networking and transactions between manufacturers, suppliers and customers across both the public and private sectors. Global decision and opinion makers include UAE Minister of Energy Suhail bin Mohamed Faraj Fares Al Mazrouei; Rachel Kyte, vice-president for sustainable development at the World Bank; and Maria van der Hoeven, executive director of the International Energy Agency. Around 125 speakers will address delegates during the conference programme, on topics such as waste-to-energy, natural gas and the evolving energy mix, energy efficiency, and renewable technology innovation. Other high-level speakers at the event include Marie-Jose Nadeau, president of the World Energy Council; Saif Al Sayari, executive officer of energy solutions, Taqa; Santiago Seage, CEO of Abengoa Solar; and Kazuo Furukawa, chairman of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation. More than 900 exhibiting companies will take part in WFES, International Water Summit, and the inaugural EcoWASTE, with more than 200 new products to be unveiled at the three shows. New and expanded exhibition features at WFES this year include the Project and Finance Village, showcasing over 20 renewable energy projects from the region and beyond. For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
RTA customer services now on fingertips
RTA customer services now on fingertips Lily B. Libo-on / 20 January 2014 The week-long event also highlights presentations of RTA’s different services daily with the department’s respective CEO leading the team. Ahmed Hashim Bahrozyan, (centre) at RTA’s Customer Service Week at The Dubai Mall on Sunday. — KT photo by Leslie Pableo The Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) is now online in all its services — from renewal of driving licence and vehicle registration to getting and paying Salik, NoL cards, and retrieving items left in taxis, buses and the Metro. Even for complaints against taxi and bus drivers or dissatisfaction over RTA services, customers only need to dial 8009090, the call centre of RTA, which is connected to all RTA departments online. Or they may choose their computers, laptops, iPhones, iPads, notebooks and tablets or smart phones to click on the RTA website, www.rta.ae and register their complaints or needs. RTA’s all online services are the focus of its one-week ‘Customer Service Week’, which started on Sunday. The campaign, now on at the Star Atrium at the lower ground floor of The Dubai Mall, will continue till January 23. Ahmed Hashem Bahrozyan, CEO of Licensing Agency and Head of Higher Committee, Customer Service, opened the ‘Customer Service Week’ launched by the RTA to drum up information and showcase its diverse services to the public. In attendance were various RTA officials and staff. The week-long event also highlights presentations of RTA’s different services daily with the department’s respective CEO leading the team. All queries from expatriates, residents and visitors on the timing of the various modes of public transport, where and how to get Salik, NoL cards for daily and monthly usage, how to find personal items left in the taxis, Dubai Metro and buses, and where to complain against public transport drivers are all answered in the presentations. Motorists can now renew their driving licences and registration of their cars without going to RTA. They can either use their smart phones to download Salik application and wojhati application from App Store for iPhones and Play Store from other mobiles, register in the online form and send to RTA. Within 48 hours, if there is no problem with the car registration and driving licence like unpaid fines and penalties, the driving license and registration are renewed automatically. Then, RTA will send them to the applicants by either Aramex private courier or by Emirate Post. Lost items too can be reported without going to the RTA. The owner only has to call the call centre, and the person answering the call will ask about his or her NoL card number. With this information, the call centre will fan out the information to all Dubai Metro, taxi and bus departments to locate the lost or left personal items within 48 hours. If found, the customer has to claim the found items from the Lost and Found Department in Rashidiya by presenting his or her Emirates ID and by providing the PIN or password of his/her smart phones, laptops, notebooks and tablets. lily@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Syrian opposition to attend peace conference
Syrian opposition to attend peace conference (AP) / 19 January 2014 The Syrian National Coalition’s media office said that of 73 voters, 58 voted in favour of attending the conference. The main, western-backed Syrian opposition group voted on Saturday in favour of attending next week’s peace conference aimed at ending the country’s bloody civil war. The Syrian National Coalition’s media office said that of 73 voters, 58 voted in favour of attending the conference. It added that 14 voted against, two abstained and one placed a blank ballot. The coalition was under huge pressure from its Western and Arab sponsors to attend the peace talks, scheduled to open on Wednesday in the Swiss city of Montreux. The Syrian government has already said it will attend the UN-sponsored talks. It will be the first face-to-face meeting between the representatives of the Syrian government and the opposition since the country’s crisis began in March 2011, killing more than 100,000 people and displacing millions. The US and Russia have been trying to hold the peace conference since last year and it has been repeatedly delayed. Both sides finally agreed to sit together on the negotiations table after dropping some of their conditions. The aim of the conference, dubbed Geneva 2, is to agree on a roadmap for Syria based on one adopted by the US, Russia and other major powers in June 2012. That plan includes the creation of a transitional government and eventual elections. One of the main demands of the opposition was that President Bashar Al Assad agrees to step down before going to the conference. With his government troops keeping their momentum on the ground, Assad’s government has said he will not surrender power and may run again in elections due in mid-2014. Many coalition members were hesitant to attend a conference that has little chance of success and will burn the last shred of credibility the group has with powerful rebels on the ground, who reject the talks. Many members boycotted the Istanbul meetings that began on Friday, forcing the coalition’s legal committee to approve the decision in a simple majority vote. The coalition’s media office said the group’s leader, Ahmad Al Jarba, will give a speech “to the Syrian people” later Saturday. For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
