Traffic through a section of the Barwa Commercial Avenue signal on the Doha Industrial Area Road was affected for sometime yesterday afternoon as a refrigerated truck carrying milk and fruit juices fell on its side while negotiating a turn. A crane had to be brought to lift and remove the truck.
Civil Defence personnel are seen cleaning the accident spot with police vehicles cordoning off the area. It was not known if anyone got injured in the accident. PICTURE: Nasar T K
By Li Qiaoyi Source:Global Times Published: 2017/3/30 18:48:42
Editor’s Note:
At a panel discussion on Sunday at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference in Boao, South China’s Hainan Province, former World Bank chief economist Justin Lin Yifu (Lin) crossed swords with Long Yongtu (Long), the outspoken former chief negotiator for China’s entry to the WTO, concerning two much talked about topics – whether the global economy’s center of gravity will shift to China by 2030 and what the factors behind the success of Chinese telecom equipment behemoth Huawei are.The Chinese economy’s global rise
Lin: Indeed Chinese economists currently don’t have much international influence. However, it is believed that the 21st century will be the century of Chinese economists, as the center of world economics has come across as shifting along with the changing center of the global economy. The world’s renowned economists used to be either British or foreigners working in the UK. After World War II, the famous economists have been either Americans or foreigners working in the US, as the global economic center has shifted to the US which renders theories explaining US economic phenomena a matter of the utmost importance.
If China’s economy can maintain roughly 6 percent growth under the new normal, it will become the world’s largest economy by 2030. Still, China has a long way to go to catch up with other developed countries, but it’s inevitable that the main center of the world’s economy will relocate to China which will also be the research center of world economics. We must be confident about that and ready the economy for future opportunities. It is expected that the contribution of Chinese economic theories by then will be on par with the country’s contribution presently in the fields of air conditioners, smartphones and industry sectors.
Long: You have great ambitions. China will possibly be the largest global economy by 2030, but the country won’t necessarily become the global economy’s center of gravity. To become the world’s economic center is not a question about quantity but about quality. If China discontinues institutional reforms of its economy, there will be no such person as an economist, for the Chinese economy falls within the framework of a huge planned economy. Under this framework, so-called economists in the country are merely professors and experts who read into planned economic policies. They are not actual economists.
Factors behind Huawei’s success
Lin: China’s industrial policies were behind Huawei’s success. The country used to impose fairly high tariffs on imports of program controlled computers, making it possible to leave sufficient room for enterprises – which were on the threshold of importing some simple middleware components to be assembled domestically – to be profitable.
Meanwhile, the country encouraged the use of homegrown products in second- and third-tier cities. Certainly I believe another factor behind the success was that there was not an exclusion of private businesses and so long as the product quality was okay, it would be accepted in the second- and third-tier cities, be it produced by State-owned enterprises or privately run enterprises. An environment of fair access was created in the context of certain industrial policies, and then entrepreneurship came into existence, enabling the development of both private and State-owned businesses.
Long: I asked Huawei’s management why the company achieved its success. And the answer given was: The company was at that time not given a chance to do business at its home market. Domestic telecom equipment manufacturers were all State-owned, therefore China Telecom and China Mobile just purchased from State-owned telecom equipment vendors. Huawei had no choice but to go outside of the country. As such, the company began building its presence in Africa and Asia before extending its reach to Europe. The initial stage of Huawei’s development was generally about its venture in overseas markets, and thus the company’s pioneers had nurtured the spirit of endeavor and innovation beyond the home territory. They did it and came back to the home market with a huge success. And then some of the country’s big telecom operators started procuring Huawei equipment, adding wings to the tiger.
At the beginning, nevertheless, the company was embroiled in cruel competition in the global market, pitting itself against Cisco and Ericsson. So there’s still a long way to go for China to cultivate a domestic environment that allows more fair competition.
Created on Thursday, 30 March 2017 12:10 | Published Date
Sweida/ Daraa – Army units eliminated 3 terrorist group affiliated to Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organization in the countryside of Daraa and Sweida, SANA reported.
A military source said that an army unit carried out a special operation against a gathering of Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organization between the villages of Barghasheh and al-Shayahat in al-Lajat area in Sweida northwestern countryside.
The source added that all members of a terrorist group were killed in the operation and their military equipment was destroyed.
An army unit also eliminated two terrorist groups affiliated to Jabhat al-Nusra after they infiltrated from the direction of Tloul Khalif and the village of Um Walad in the eastern countryside of Daraa towards one of the military posts in the western countryside of Sweida.
Meanwhile, army units carried out intensive bombardments against positions of Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists in Daraa al-Balad area, killing a number of them and destroying two of their positions in the neighborhood of al-Sad Road, in addition to destroying a barricade for a machinegun to the north of the roundabout of al-Karak neighborhood.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — Ministry of Healthcare of Uzbekistan purchased and delivered 50 ambulances of DAMAS AMB model to the regions of Uzbekistan.
President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a resolution “On measures to further improve the emergency medical care system” on 16 March 2016.
According to the resolution, this year, Uzbekistan plans to purchase 1,200 specialized vehicles for medical institutions due to resources of the state budget and other means.
Ministry of Healthcare said that 50 ambulances of DAMAS AMB model were purchased and delivered to the regions. The ambulances are equipped with all necessary medical equipments and tools.
MOKPO, South Jeolla Province — The Sewol ferry had departed from Incheon on a misty morning on April 15, 2014 for a routine 13-hour voyage to the southern resort island of Jeju.
But the passenger ship, now a rusted wreck, reached the end of its voyage at Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, on Friday afternoon, 1,801 days after its departure.
With families of the victims of the sinking almost three years ago and ordinary citizens watching, the salvaged ferry, loaded on a transport vessel, arrived at Mokpo Port at 1:15 p.m. Friday.
The Sewol ferry is brought to a port in Mokpo on Friday after it was lifted from where it sank some three years ago in the country’s southwestern waters. (Yonhap)
“It arrived safely six days after we lifted the hull,” said Lee Cheol-jo, a ministry official who is in charge of the salvage operation.
Sewol’s sinking on April 16, 2014 was the nation’s worst maritime disaster, which left over 300 dead or missing. The victims were mostly high school students on a field trip.
As Sewol set sail for the final voyage at around 7 a.m. from the wreck site off Jindo, South Jeolla Province, families of the nine missing passengers followed it on a small boat.
“Let’s go home my daughter. Sorry for making you wait for so long,” said Park Eun-mi, a mother of one of the missing Danwon High school student Huh Da-yoon.
The wife of Danwon High school teacher Yang Seung-jin said her only hope is to find the body so she can have a funeral for her husband.
“My husband has been stuck in dark and cold water for three years. I will certainly find his body when we reach the shore,” said Yoo Baek-hyung who followed Sewol on the boat.
Other family members of the missing passengers, who have lived in makeshift houses at Paegnmok Port near the wreck site ever since the disaster, packed their bags to move to Mokpo Port.
The ill-fated vessel had been lying at a depth of 44 meters on the seabed for nearly three years before it was lifted out of the water on March 22.
A search of its interior for the missing passengers is likely to start only around April 10, the ministry said.
“Engineers still need to move the ferry into a dry dock, using a rail-like transporter,” Lee of the ministry said. The work could be complete by April 6, he added.
After sterilization and other safety procedures, the search team will check the ship for the nine missing passengers in the hope that their bodies are still inside.
In case the bodies are not found there, the team also plans to search the sea bed with sonar radar.
An on-site headquarters for the search operation opened at Mokpo Port on Friday. They also plan to provide necessary support to the bereaved families, such as psychotherapy treatments, funeral procedures and more.
TEHRAN — Road casualties have decreased by seven percent since the beginning of the holidays (Mar. 15) in Iran compared to the same period last year, Traffic Police chief said on Wednesday.
Some half a million individuals comprising police, health and safety inspectors, and rescue and relief forces have provided the travelers with services since Mar. 15 and would keep on offering the services up until April 4, Mehr news agency quoted Taqi Mehri as saying.
The rainy and snowy holidays have not kept the families from travelling, Mehri said, stating, provinces of Tehran, Mazandran, Qom, Gilan, and Khorasan Razavi were the most visited places during the holidays.
Not keeping eyes on the road, tiredness and sleepiness contributed to 42 percent of the accidents, he regretted, adding, speeding with 23 percent and overtaking with 18 percent are to blame for the accidents as well.
Road accidents claim 250 lives in holidays
Some 250 individuals died in road accidents since the beginning of the holidays, said a high-ranking Traffic Police official on Wednesday, IRIB reported.
This year the number of the trips rose by 10 percent but the casualties dropped by seven percent which shows an improvement in traffic behaviors, Mohammad Hossein Hamidi suggested.
Head of Iran’s Emergency Medical Services, Pir Hossein Kulivand, also said that so far some 22,000 persons injured during accidents are transferred to hospitals and clinics to receive proper medical attention.
“Compared to the same period last year the number of those who got injured in road accidents grew by 1.7 percent,” Kulivand pointed.
One death every 71 minutes in accidents
The deputy police chief Eskandar Momeni also said on Wednesday “whereas last year one person died in a car crash every 60 minutes during the holidays on average, one person died every 71 minutes since the beginning of the current holidays.”
“While last year some 24 were killed daily on average over the Nuroz holidays in road accidents this year the number decreased to 21”, Momeni said, stating, “despite the decline the number is still big.”
In spite of the fact that over a 10 year period the number of the cars has increased from seven million to 19 million the number of deaths has fallen down from 28,000 to 16,000, he added, YJC reported.
The decline sounds fine but the number is still huge, he reiterated.
According to IRNA news agency Iran’s forensics organization will officially announce the exact number of road casualties by the end of the holidays.
DESPITE the Government’s free education policy, more than 500,000 children still cannot access the formal education system, according to Education Secretary Dr Uke Kombra.
“We only talk about improving the access and quality of the 2.2 million kids who are in the formal education and tend to forget those who do not have access to education,” Kombra said.
He was at the launching of a pilot mobile education project at Baruni in Port Moresby yesterday by Life PNG Care with the support of the National Development Bank.
The idea is to take education to places where there are no schools, giving children an opportunity to receive lessons.
“Mobile means school going to where the kids are,” Kombra said.
This is not a classroom where the kids go to school, but this is turning the whole idea of education.
“It means that the school is going to where the kids are.”
He told the children at the event that it was an innovative way of education which would enable them to be productive members of society.
“You have the capabilities of what other kids have,” he said.
“The only difference is that you live in a community where there is no school.”
Kombra praised Life PNG Care director Collin Pake for the mobile education project and assured him of the department’s commitment towards project.
Statistics House, which was badly damaged in the November 14 Kaikoura Earthquake. Photo / Mark Mitchell.
The damage to Statistics House in November’s Kaikoura earthquake has been blasted as “unacceptable”, with building codes now set for review.
Several buildings in Wellington faced major damage in the quake, but Statistics House was particularly serious, due to the partial collapse of three floor units in the building.
A large beam in the ground floor also collapsed.
The results of Government review have just been released.
Building and Construction Minister Nick Smith said the damage at Statistics House could have killed people, and that was unacceptable.
CentrePort buildings (from left) Maritime House, Statistics House and Shed 35, damaged by the Kaikoura Earthquake. Photo / Mark Mitchell.
“This quake was large and unusually long, but a modern building like Statistics House should not have had life-threatening structural damage.
“We need to follow up on similarly designed buildings through councils and engineering companies, so that where it is a problem, it can be rectified.
“This has already been done in respect of Wellington as a consequence of the preliminary findings in Statistics House but now needs to be followed up elsewhere.”
Smith said the Concrete Structures Standard would need amending, to ensure even new buildings were ready to withstand long earthquakes.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) has been instructed to look at whether additional powers are needed in the Building Act, to allow it to force building owners to address serious technical problems.
The Earthquake Actions Standard would also need review.
“A compounding factor was the geological basin effects that are not well understood, but which have also been observed in other earthquakes internationally,” Smith said.
“This is an area of seismic science that needs further research, particularly in respect of Wellington.”
Government Statistician Liz MacPherson said she hoped the investigation prevented future failures of this kind.
She added that it drove home the need for independent technical advice.
“I remain forever grateful that the quake struck after midnight when no one was in Statistics House.
“It is my hope that Centreport and their insurers can now accelerate decisions regarding the future of Statistics House.
“Staff who worked in the building are keen to know what’s going to happen.”
Centreport chief executive Derek Nind said the report gave some “much-needed answers”.
However, Centreport still hadn’t made a decision on the future of Statistics House, as it was waiting for the engineers and insurers to complete their work.
Work was also being done to assess the future of the nearby BNZ Building, Customs House and Shed 39.
Structural Engineering Society spokesperson Paul Campbell said the Kaikoura quake had shown flaws in the building code, for quakes that were both large and long.
“Flexible frames are designed to bend so that the ends of the beams experience controlled damage.
“But the Kaikoura earthquake has confirmed that if an earthquake is strong enough and long enough, the damage can make the beams grow in length.
“This means the supports for the pre-cast floor system can move too far apart, potentially causing parts of the floor to lose their support and collapse.”
He said engineers were now working with MBIE on how buildings could be assessed and retrofitted to withstand these conditions.
Wellington City Council was given additional powers by the Government following the November quake, to order additional engineering reports.
The council has already used the new powers to order invasive testing of 80 buildings throughout the capital.
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