Tag Archives: opinion
Mikhail Gorbachev calls for collective leadership
Mikhail Gorbachev calls for collective leadership Afkar Abdullah / 24 February 2014 Former Soviet leader says The root cause of the unrest in Ukraine was an interruption of perestroika and of the democratic process there. Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev says the crisis in Ukraine has been created by the government’s failure to act democratically. Speaking at the IGCF on Sunday, as the forum’s guest of honour, he dwelled briefly on the current political situation in Ukraine where protesters took to the streets of Kiev and seized the president’s office as parliament voted to remove him and hold elections. Speaking about the social conflicts across the world, Gorbachev said: “Today, the world is a kind of turbulent sea. The tensions that have accumulated can surface in the most dramatic way — although it will be difficult to say where. In such reactions, we have seen mass uprisings in countries such as Turkey and Ukraine that underline the failure of their governments to act democratically and talk to their people. The root cause of the unrest in Ukraine was an interruption of perestroika and of the democratic process there.” Calling for change, he said: “Weak crisis management indicates lack of political initiative and courage. Leaders have been content with small steps and have failed to act in the spirit of collective leadership, which is the only workable format in today’s world. The transition to a more sustainable world is imperative. If the current elite are not able to provide leadership to pioneer this change, it is time for the new race of leaders to take their place. Today, we need to look for solutions that lead to world peace. We need global governance — it is a multi-level initiative that covers the local, national, and regional levels. We have only years and not decades to resolve this problem.” In his keynote address, Gorbachev said: “The 20th century has turned out to be the bloodiest century. Although we are living in an interdependent world, we are yet to live in interdependence. We are, therefore, seeing the consequences of this inability in political, economic and social interactions. Globalisation is the dominant reality of the world. The end of the cold war gave impetus to this globalisation.” Gorbachev criticised the way issues are being addressed: “In as much, the assumption that the current model of globalisation will see us overcome the problems of inequality is not working. In fact, we see the development of new weapons and conflicts while old conflicts remain unresolved. For instance, the economic crisis of 2008 is not over. It should have been an alarm bell – but we have not responded to it adequately; there has been no sincere shared effort.” He said globalisation would achieve equality and spread tolerance in the world; it is now encouraging Muslim countries to confront the marginalisation by the Great Powers. afkarali@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Pay your taxi fare by Nol, debit or credit card
Pay your taxi fare by Nol, debit or credit card Lily B. Libo-on / 20 February 2014 The move that came into effect February 19 onwards is aimed at making taxi rides easier and hassle-free. Tourists and residents of Dubai can now pay their taxi fares using Roads and Transport Authority’s (RTA) Nol card, or their debit or credit cards. The move that came into effect February 19 onwards is aimed at making taxi rides easier and hassle-free. An RTA official demonstrates how the taxi fare can be paid by Nol, debit and credit cards, at the RTA headquarters on Wednesday. — KT photo by Rahul Gajjar This move also complements RTA’s efforts to fulfill its commitment to enhance Dubai’s Smart City Initiatives. In a Press conference, Dr Yousef Al Ali, RTA’s Public Transport Agency CEO, said the new initiative will be implemented in four phases, starting with 20 airport taxis, followed by 155 Hala taxis two months from now and the rest of the 8,700 taxi fleet by mid-2015. “This initiative will indisputably constitute an added value service to public transport commuting in general and to taxi rides in particular. Using this latest mode of taxi payments, we expect the ridership to increase, especially when we increase our fleet by 2020.” He said passengers will only have to swipe their Nol or debit or credit cards of various types from around the world, on a meter installed inside the taxi to pay their fares in a smooth and easy payment without the trouble of finding ATMs, in case they run out of cash. “Tourists do not need to rush for currency exchange outlets to be able to have cash to pay the airport taxis. Residents of Dubai can use only a single Nol card since there is easy integration of all RTA modes of transportation.” Al Ali also said that the initiative was not easy to implement before, as it needed to network RTA data with Network International, which powered the payment solution through Verifone, and the franchise operators. “This initiative is an answer to the long standing demand of the customers but it takes time to implement since the new features need to have RTA system directly connected to the banks worldwide.” Abdullah Al Madani, CEO, RTA’s corporate technical support services sector, explained that the unified Nol card is considered one of the most secured cards, thanks to its high tech and multiple features that qualified it to win the Best Prepaid Card in the Middle East Award in 2012, as part of the Middle East Awards for Smart Cards, which is regarded the first of its kind specialised programme in the Middle East Region. He said the infrastructure in place in this initiative will enable RTA to add more services for the taxis in the future. “This initiative will unquestionably raise the level of satisfaction of taxi commuters, and the system is customised to enable taxi users to tip the taxi drive through the use of Nol, debit and credit cards,” he added. Bhairav Trivedi, CEO of Network International, said that both types of consumers — leisure travellers and business travellers — do not need to carry cash. “All terminals are wireless. We instal one meter which accepts Nol card, debit or credit card for payment by simply swiping them on it.” He said that Network International stands in this initiative to fully work in the entire government entity within UAE and continue to produce world-class payment system of top quality so that this can be addressed like anywhere else in the world. “We are pleased to have been selected by RTA to be the payment provider of this ambitious project, which is a key initiative in line with RTA’s Smart Taxi vision. The convenience of taxi users in Dubai was the key driving factor behind the launch of this service.” lily@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
Qasr Al Hosn festival to give life to traditions
Qasr Al Hosn festival to give life to traditions Silvia Radan / 20 February 2014 Educational archaeological digs and artefacts handling sessions are also taking place next to Qasr Al Hosn. The red and white colours of the old Abu Dhabi emirate flag, from the days of the Trucial States, is flying once again on a small building in the heart of the capital. Cavalia show reflecting themes inspired by the UAE’s history and interactive heritage. — KT photos by Nezar Balout According to a man in an old police uniform guarding the building, this is where the Abu Dhabi’s old police headquarters used to be, very close to Qasr Al Hosn, or the White Fort, Abu Dhabi’s oldest concrete building. The set up is part of this year’s Qasr Al Hosn festival, taking place from February 21 to March 1, on the grounds of the old fort, and it is where police officers will be telling visitors about the guarding of the palace in the old days. “There are no stairs inside the Watch Tower to prevent enemies entering it. The guards used to climb to the top on a rope,” explained Peter Sheehan, historic buildings manager at Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (ADTCA). The Watch Tower is the oldest part of Al Hosn Fort, built in the 1800s. Last year, the building commemorated its 250th anniversary, which was marked by organising the first Qasr Al Hosn festival. Just as in 2013, this year too the grounds of the fort are turned into a massive heritage village, honouring all aspects of Emirati traditions. The area is split into four sections — Desert, Marine, Oasis and Abu Dhabi Island, each showcasing exhibits, workshops, demonstrations and performances. Apart from the police building, the Abu Dhabi Island area also has a Beit Al Zehba, a traditional wedding house where visitors can watch performers prepare for a traditional Abu Dhabi wedding with dancing, music and the adorning of the bride with henna and jewellery. Educational archaeological digs and artefacts handling sessions are also taking place next to the fort, while behind the old school, set up to emulate how traditional Emirati schools used to look and operate, children are invited to play traditional games. Demonstrations of sadu (weaving), henna and dukhoun (traditional scent or incense making) will take place daily, along with horse riding, a souq and, new this year, Emirati chefs showing how to prepare local dishes. The Desert area will have Bedu men showing off their Hatheera skills, the techniques of making traditional Arabic coffee, while others will put on an Yola folk show, reveal the traditional Bedouin etiquette, make horse saddles, teach about kandoora dying and burqa making. New this year is a partnership with the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD), which will set up a houbara bustard pen, to hopefully raise awareness about this endangered species, once hunted by Arabs for food. Falconry, saluki dogs and camels are also part of the desert area. “I could sit and watch falcons all day! I’m fascinated by them! When they drop from the sky, sometimes at 300 kilometres per hour, to catch their pray, my blood races like I’m racing myself,” said Emirati Mohammed Saif. For the next 10 days of the festival he can watch falconry demonstrations every afternoon, as his friend is one of the falcon-owners participating in the show. Fishing and pearling are the focus on the Marine area exhibits, while in the Shasha building there are workshops on paddle making, sail making, dhow building, fishnet making, fish trap making and fish salting. The Oasis area is all about making a living from date palm trees, with exhibits and demonstrations on palm tree climbing to harvest the dates, palm weaving to make household objects like mats and fans and rope making from palm tree fibres. EAD is again present here, this time with a Healing Garden, which exhibits desert plants and their medicinal properties in ointments and herbal remedies. Opened for the first time in years, the Cultural Foundation will host traditional handicrafts, clothing, toys and pottery. Also opened for the first time in decades, is the inner courtyard of Qasr Al Hosn, where guided tours will explain all about Abu Dhabi’s most iconic, historical building, which is under restoration. After its VIP opening tonight, the festival will be opened for ladies only on Friday and to the general public from February 22, from 4pm to 11pm. silvia@khaleejtimes.com Schools to close early abu dhabi — Schools in the Capital will close at midday today due to the Qasr Al Hosn Festival, the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec) announced. According to Mohammed Salem Al Dhaheri, executive director of school operations at Adec, students will be released from school early due to various activities and programmes that would require closing a number of roads around the celebration area from 12pm till 7pm, thus affecting the traffic flow. The Adec has instructed schools to inform parents of the early dismissal. It has also coordinated with the Emirates Transport to organise transfer of students to avoid traffic jams and smoothly facilitate their journey back home. news@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
