Here
are some of the recent Editorials I wrote for The Gulf Today. (Posted for my
records).
Dubai Expo will open up
unlimited opportunities
Every
five years and for a period of six months, World Expos attract millions of
visitors. The Expo has never been held in the Middle East, Africa and South
East Asia in the history of the event. But in six years’ time, history will
change.
The
Expo 2020 would take place from October 2020 to April 2021 in the dazzling city
of Dubai. The hosting of Expo 2020 is
expected to yield Dhs89 billion in added economic activities and raise the
overall GDP of the UAE in a variety of sectors.
As Reem Al Hashimi, UAE Minister
of State and the Managing Director of the Expo 2020 Executive Body, stated, the
Expo 2020 will provide 277,000 new job opportunities and will have a positive
and comprehensive economic impact on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) since
they constitute about 95 per cent of all registered companies in the UAE.
Each World Expo is a catalyst
for economic, cultural and social transformation and generates important
legacies for the host city and nation. For instance, Shanghai 2010 World Expo
helped transform a heavily industrial city-centre area into a thriving cultural
and commercial district while also bringing its theme “Better City, Better
Life” to the attention of 73 million people.
The next World Expo takes
place in Milan, Italy, in 2015. The focus: “Feeding the Planet, Energy for
Life.” The UAE will host the World Expo 2020 under
the theme ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’.
China
and India are among UAE’s biggest trading partners and the country’s trade with
Africa has increased 600 per cent since 2000. It is forging new trade relations
with Latin America in addition to its strong relations with over 220 countries.
Embracing
more than 200 nationalities and cultures, the
UAE
is already an important international tourism destination with more than 95,
000 hotel rooms and 11 million tourists in 2012. The UAE is also home to
63-business council and a financial centre for 18 of the world's top 25
international bank, six of the top 10 law firms and six of the top 10 insurance
companies.
The
awarding of Expo 2020 to Dubai reflects the confidence of the international
community in UAE’s abilities. When there is clarity in vision and aspiration to
achieve big, countries can take peace, progress and prosperity to new heights.
In that sense, the UAE has repeatedly proved to be a highly progressive country
serving as a model for the rest of the world.
Splendid Sharjah
charms visitors
Developmental projects are in
full swing giving every reason for visitors and residents of Sharjah to smile.
Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah His Highness Dr Sheikh Sultan Bin
Mohammed Al Qasimi has stated that he is personally keen on drafting parks and
roads because all these projects would eventually reflect Sharjah’s
civilisation and add to the UAE’s beauty.
A
number of projects in celebration of Sharjah as Capital of Arab Tourism 2015
are underway. Sheikh Sultan himself took
part in designing the projects, which included Al Qasimiya University, the
hugest project at the emirate level. The Dibba Water Canal is expected to be
inaugurated within 10 days.
Most projects are likely to
be completed before 2015 concurrently
with Sharjah celebrations for being selected as capital of Arab tourism. These
include Wasit sanctuary, Al Hafiya sanctuary and Maliha museum in which
archeological and environmental tourism will be demonstrated.
That is not all. Sheikh
Sultan has also announced the establishment of two institutions, one concerned
with labour disputes and the other with security and safety as part of a programme
titled, “Sharjah is a Healthy City.” Besides, land has been granted for building an integrated sports city with fully
equipped stadium on Al Dhaid road in Sharjah City.
On Sharjah’s travel horizon is the Sir Bu Nair
Island tourism project, slated for completion in 2017. The island will harbour
a five-star hotel and resort, hotel apartments and an amphitheatre among other
attractions.
The emirate has emerged as a
favourite holiday destination for visitors from around the world, especially
those from Europe and neighbouring Gulf countries. It has been recognised as
the home of Arab and Islamic culture and civilisation. It was declared the
Cultural Capital of the Arab world in 1998 by Unesco. Recently, the Arab
tourism ministers' summit in Cairo selected Sharjah as the Capital of Arab
Tourism for Year 2015.
According to the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development
Authority, the first quarter statistics for Year 2014 showed remarkable growth
in the tourism sector compared to the sector's performance during the same
period last year.
The total number of hotel guests touched 600,000 against 515,947
guests last year. With hotel apartments recording similar increase, Sharjah has
registered a healthy 15 per cent increase in visitors over the same period last
year.
Tourists from Europe are the top
tourism-generating destination bringing in over 251,000 visitors. As always
Sharjah welcomed large numbers from visitors the neighbouring Gulf states. Way
to go, Sharjah.
Aid delayed is
aid denied
At a time when more than nine
million Syrians have been displaced by the country’s civil war, it is
distressing to note that weak co-ordination by UN officials is creating doubts
on whether international aid is actually reaching those who need it most.
It is said that 6.5 million
of the displaced are still inside Syria, while 2.7 million have fled to nearby
countries. Syrians also are finding health care hard to obtain. Fifty per cent
of hospitals are said to be out of service and 70 per cent have been damaged.
In such a situation, it is
shocking that seven weeks after UN aid trucks crossed from Turkey into Syria
for the first time, aid workers in the southern Turkish humanitarian hub of
Gaziantep still have no idea exactly where the supplies ended up.
The convoy of 78 trucks
taking food, bedding and medicine to Syria's mainly Kurdish Hasakah province
was seen as a test of the willingness of Syria's authorities and rebels to
abide by a UN resolution urging them to let aid across front lines and borders
by the most direct routes.
But no distribution lists
have been made available for this or any other UN delivery, according to aid
workers in Gaziantep. This hampers the efforts of charities trying to address
the world's biggest humanitarian crisis.
NGOs complain that despite
multiple requests, the United Nations has so far failed to share its
methodology in identifying those most in need and monitoring where its aid goes
after delivery. Often it does not even disclose what its food aid includes.
That makes effective coordination among Syrian and international agencies
operating out of Turkey unnecessarily complicated.
A UN resolution, adopted by
the Security Council in February in a rare show of unanimity on Syria, sought
to boost humanitarian access and threatened to take "further steps"
if Syria's government and the rebels failed to comply. But the lack of
transparency around UN deliveries makes that hard to monitor.
It may be recalled that the
United Nations recently rebuked donors for not doing enough to help millions of
Syrian refugees in the region as well as host countries, saying massive aid is
needed. The world body, which is otherwise doing a tremendous job, should roll
up its sleeves and boost co-ordination efforts so that aid from donors will
reach the right people at the right time.
Air pollution poses
soaring challenge
The World Health
Organisation’s (WHO) warning that many of the world’s cities are “enveloped in
dirty air” that is dangerous to breathe need to be taken seriously and the
authorities concerned should initiate remedial action.
When an internationally
reputed organisation says that urban dwellers are being exposed to excessive air
pollution and are at a risk of respiratory diseases and other long-term health
problems, there is need for introspection.
Air quality in most urban
areas worldwide that monitor outdoor air pollution fails to meet WHO safety
guidelines, putting people at additional of serious health problems, the agency
has noted while issuing its 2014 urban ambient air quality database.
The WHO database covers 1,600
cities across 91 countries – 500 more cities than the previous database (2011),
revealing that more cities worldwide are monitoring outdoor air quality,
reflecting growing recognition of air pollution’s health risks.
Only 12 per cent of the
people living in cities reporting on air quality reside in cities where that
air quality complied with WHO guideline levels. About half of the urban
population being monitored is exposed to air pollution that is at least 2.5
times higher than the levels WHO recommends - putting those people at
additional risk of serious, long-term health problems.
The latest WHO report,
however, has kicked up a dust in India with the country’s air monitoring centre
dismissing data that showed New Delhi's air as the dirtiest worldwide.
The study showed Delhi had an
annual average concentration of airborne small particles of less than 2.5
micrometres in diameter, known as PM 2.5, of 153. This was almost three times
as high as the reading for Beijing of 56 despite the Chinese capital's
reputation for smog, and 10 times that of London. Indian officials have dubbed
the finding “biased and misleading.”
In most cities where there is
data to compare the situation today with previous years, air pollution is
getting worse. Many factors contribute to this, including reliance on fossil
fuels such as coal-fired power plants, dependence on private transport motor
vehicles and the use of biomass for cooking.
Some cities, however, are
making notable improvements, demonstrating that air quality can be improved by
implementing policy measures such as banning the use of coal for “space
heating” in buildings, using clean fuels for electricity production and
improving efficiency of motor vehicle engines.
Cities like Copenhagen and
Bogotà have improved air quality by prioritising dedicated networks of urban
public transport, walking and cycling. There is a lesson for others to learn
here.
Israel should accept
Pope’s peace message
Pope Francis’ peace initiative in
the Middle East as part of his ongoing visit to the region is a noble gesture
that deserves support from all sides, but the question remains whether Israel
will co-operate. Going by past experience, Israel has effectively scuttled all
such peace efforts earlier.
Pope
Francis had flown by helicopter to Bethlehem from Jordan, where he started his
tour on Saturday, becoming the first pontiff to travel directly to the West
Bank rather than enter via Israel. This is seen as a decisive nod for
Palestinian statehood aspirations.
Israel’s
games are getting exposed. It had repeatedly blamed the Palestinian president
for the failure of the latest peace talks, but standing alongside Mahmoud
Abbas, Pope Francis pointedly referred to him as "a man of peace and a
peacemaker."
It is not just that. Pope Francis
also made a surprise stop at the massive wall the international community sees
as a symbol of Israeli oppression and barrier to peace.
Pope
Francis has delighted his Palestinian hosts by referring to the "state of
Palestine," giving support for their bid for full statehood recognition in
the face of a crippled peace process and inviting the Palestinian president to
the Vatican.
Israel’s actions on the
ground are a matter of concern. International rights groups have heavily
criticised the treatment of Palestinian youngsters by Israel's military, with a
report this month finding increasing numbers of arrested minors are placed in
solitary confinement.
A 2013 Unicef report found
Israel was the only country in the world to systematically try children in
military courts, often after being aggressively awakened in the night by armed
soldiers, blindfolded and deprived of sleep. The vast majority of arrests are
for throwing stones.
It
is known that Israel’s settlement expansions led to the breakdown last month of
US-mediated peace talks. Watchdog group
Peace Now had recently stated that Israel increased settlement work four-fold
during the latest round of peace talks, pushing forward with construction of
nearly 14,000 new homes in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.
At
the spot where the Pope Francis stood and prayed near the separation wall,
someone had sprayed in paint the words "Free Palestine." The writing
on the wall is clear. Israel has to mend its ways. The occupation has to, and
will, end. Israel should take the honorable Papal message for peace in the
region seriously and end its atrocities immediately.
Peace cannot
be abducted
The abduction of over 200
girls from a boarding school in the northeast Nigerian town of Chibok in
mid-April by Boko Haram militants and the failure to rescue the victims as yet
is a matter of deep concern for the international community.
Concerns have been mounting
about the girls’ fate after Boko Haram chief Abubakar Shekau claimed
responsibility, saying his group was holding the schoolgirls as
"slaves" and threatening to "sell them in the market."
Rattled by the abductions,
several world leaders have called for intensified efforts to ensure the
peaceful return of the victims. “Bring our girl back,” are the words
reverberating from across the globe.
UN Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon voiced his deep concern during a phone call with the country’s
President, Goodluck Jonathan, who has accepted the former’s offer to send a
high-level envoy to discuss how the world body can support the government
tackle internal challenges.
Jonathan’s government stands
accused of being slow to mount rescue operations. In fact, human rights group
Amnesty International has stated that Nigeria's military had advance warning of
the April 14 attack by Boko Haram that led to the kidnapping but failed to take
immediate action.
US President Barack Obama has
described the kidnapping as "heartbreaking" and
"outrageous" even as Washington deployed military experts in the hunt
for the children.
US officials have voiced
fears that the girls, aged between 16 and 18, have already been smuggled into
neighbouring countries, such as Chad and Cameroon. The governments of both
denied the girls were in their countries.
President Jonathan declared a
state of emergency in the northeast a year ago, ordering extra troops, but
security officials say the armed forces remain overstretched. Perhaps as few as
25,000 service-ready troops face an insurgency over a wide area in the
northeast, communal violence across north and central Nigeria and rampant oil
theft in the south, as well as commitments to peacekeeping missions.
Two decades ago Nigeria's
military was seen as a force for stability across West Africa. Now it struggles
to keep security within its own borders. A lack of investment in training and
failure to maintain equipment has damaged Nigeria's armed services.
The entire world shares the
anguish of the families of the girls and the people of Nigeria at this
traumatic time. Ideological differences should never be a reason for such
deplorable action against innocent girls. Attacks on schools, students and
teachers are prohibited under international humanitarian law and the
perpetrators should be held accountable.
Acid
test for Ukraine’s
‘Chocolate
King’
Ukrainians
have rallied overwhelmingly behind billionaire owner of chocolate factories and
political veteran Petro Poroshenko in the elections, but the burly 48-year-old
faces a barrage of challenges in healing the bleeding nation.
The
country is on the brink of bankruptcy and a UN official warned recently
that the southern and eastern regions are awash in weapons and are a scene of
numerous cases of illegal detentions and abductions.
Monday's
rapid military response to separatists who seized the airport in Donetsk
appears to be a defiant answer to Moscow, which has claimed it is ready for
dialogue with Poroshenko, but the troubles seem far from over for Ukrainians.
Preliminary
results with about half of votes counted gave Poroshenko 53.7 per cent of the
vote - towering over a field of 21 candidates with enough support to avert a
run-off. His closest challenger, former premier Yulia Tymoshenko, secured just
13.1 per cent and made clear she would concede. Official results are likely to
be announced by June 5.
‘Chocolate
King’ Poroshenko, known for his pragmatism, supports building strong ties with
Europe but also has stressed the importance of mending relations with Moscow.
He
stated his first step as president would be to visit the Donbass eastern
industrial region, where pro-Russia separatists have seized government
buildings, declared independence and battled government troops in weeks of
fighting.
Russian
President Vladimir Putin, who last month described eastern Ukraine as "New
Russia," has made more accommodating noises in recent days. He promised at
the weekend that Moscow would respect the will of Ukrainians, and Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov repeated that promise saying Russia was ready for
dialogue with Poroshenko.
Western
countries put little faith in Putin's promises. He has repeatedly announced he
would pull troops from the frontier without doing so. They dismiss Russia's
denials that it has aided the rebels, whose Donetsk force is led by a Muscovite
the European Union describes as a Russian military intelligence officer.
Poroshenko's
sweeping margin of victory gives him a firm mandate that makes it harder for
Moscow to dismiss him as illegitimate, as it did in the case of the interim
leaders he will replace.
Novertheless,
Russia could still use the gaps in the election in the east to challenge its
legitimacy.
It
remains to be seen how Poroshenko will successfully steer Ukraine westward,
with Russia - Ukraine's major market and vital energy supplier - looking
determined to maintain a hold over the second most populous ex-Soviet republic.
