Sharjah
Combating coronavirus: 100% of Sharjah government employees return to workplaces from 19th July
Government employees across Sharjah returned to work at 100 per cent capacity from today, July 19 as the emirate works to return to normality following the restrictions put in place to combat the spread of Covid-19.
Dr. Tariq Sultan bin Khadem, Member of the Sharjah Executive Council and Chairman of the Sharjah Human Resources Directorate (SHRD), said that 100 per cent of the employees will return on Sunday, July 19, to their workplaces in the departments and entities and institutions of the Sharjah Government, in line with the directives of the Sharjah Executive Council, and based on the circular issued by the Directorate.
Bin Khadem stressed that the decision comes in implementation of the wise directives of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohamed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, as part of the comprehensive plan for the gradual return to normal life in the Emirate of Sharjah, following all the intensified precautionary measures.
He appreciated the tremendous efforts all the employees in different entities and institutions, lauding the team spirit which contributed in enabling the emirate to overcome this crisis with complete flexibility.
He added that the entities and department have received circulars of required preparations and precautionary measures to welcome back the employees.
Bin Khadem praised the impressive success witnessed in the past period during applying the remote working, stressing that all the parties have demonstrated their complete readiness to successfully work remotely.
The Chairman of the Sharjah Human Resources Directorate stressed the importance of taking all the necessary health precautions and complying with social distancing rules among employees, in compliance with safety rules and procedures, to ensure the safety of employees.
He underlined the importance of commitment by all parties to strictly implement all precautionary measures that ensure public safety, aiming to prevent the spread of this global epidemic.
Commenting on the development, Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Director General of Sharjah Department of eGovernment, has expressed the importance of the announcement of returning 100 per cent of the employees of Sharjah Government to offices, stressing that it represents a qualitative shift in the confrontations of the consequences of the current stage. He has further highlighted the role of the wise leadership in promoting healthy workplaces for all the employees, in line with the availability of developed infrastructure.
Eng. Khalid bin Butti Al Muhairi, Member of the Executive Council and Chairman of the Department of Town Planning and Survey (DTPS) confirmed that the Department has implemented all preventive measures in its headquarters and branches in various regions of the emirate, in preparation for the returning of all the employees to their workplaces, adding that a committee has been formed to supervise the implementation of precautionary and preventive measures that ensure the safety of all.
Al Muhairi also pointed out that the Department has implemented a number of workshops for employees remotely, aiming to raise their awareness about the ways to ensure the implementation of the precautionary measures.
Engineer Ali bin Shaheen Al Suwaidi, member of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Sharjah and Chairman of Sharjah Directorate of Public Works (SDPW), has stressed the Directorate's keenness to take all the preventive measures that ensure the safety of employees, in live with the directives of Sharjah Human Resources Directorate.
For his part, Dr. Abdullah Bin Ali Muhayan, Chairman of the Sharjah Health Authority (SHA) stressed that the Authority has taken all precautionary and preventive measures to ensure the safe returning of its employees to their workplaces.
Commenting on this, Eng. Yousef Saleh Al Suwaiji, Chairman of the Sharjah Roads and Transport Authority (SRTA), pointed out that the Authority has completed all its precautionary measures to ensure the safety of all the employees after their coming back to their offices, lauding the tremendous efforts of the Sharjah Human Resources Directorate to curb the spread of the virus.
Waleed Al Sayegh, General Director of Sharjah Finance Department has praised the Department's strategic plan in welcoming its employees and ensuring their safety, stressing on their efforts in adoption all the preventive means or measures necessary to provide secure working environment.
Abdullah Al Mahmoud, Director of Support Services Department at the Sharjah Economic Development Department (SEDD) has pointed out that the Department has provided all the necessary needs to ensure strict adherence to precautionary measures.
In turn, Mohammed Yusuf Al Ali, Director of General Services Department at the Social Services Department in Sharjah, explained that this wise decision comes within the framework of enhancing the continuity of government work and the gradual return of employees, stressing on the importance of taking all the precautionary measures that ensure the health and safety of individuals and society.
Source: www.khaleejtimes.com
Tsukuba
90 percent of municipalities in Japan to shorten school summer breaks
More than 90 percent of municipalities in the nation intend to shorten summer breaks at public schools following prolonged school closures due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, an education ministry survey has found.
Among elementary and junior high schools, those planning on shortening their summer vacations to 16 days, from around a month, made up the largest group, according to the survey released Friday. For high schools, the most common length of vacation was 23 days.
The survey asked 1,811 municipalities that operate public elementary, junior high or high schools about their summer break plans as of June 23.
Schools in 1,794 municipalities had suspended lessons since April 1, with those closing for 31 to 40 days accounting for the largest proportion, followed by schools that had closed for 21 to 30 days.
Of the municipalities that temporarily closed schools during the virus crisis, 95 percent said they would shorten summer break for their schools. The shortest summer vacation planned was nine days for elementary schools and junior high schools and four days for high schools.
As many as 97 percent of municipalities that shut schools for some time said they would review how and when to conduct school events. Meanwhile, schools planning to hold classes on Saturdays made up only 19 percent of the total. Those with plans to compile curriculums that consider the next academic year from April and beyond made up a mere 14 percent.
All municipalities used paper-based teaching materials for study done from home amid the school closures, but only 26 percent used videos created by municipal education boards. Municipalities that had schools conduct online classes with two-way communication systems accounted for 15 percent.
Source: www.japantimes.co.jp
Hague
The Hague opens its largest solar-power plant to date
A new eco solar park officially opened in the Hague on 15th July, on the border of Mariahoeve and Voorburg stations. With its 5,700 solar panels, it is the largest solar farm in the Dutch city, informed the authorities. The park will supply electricity directly to the public transport company HTM.
The panels at the new Eco-solar park 't Oor will harvest enough sustainable energy for the power the RandstradRail line (connecting the centres of The Hague, Rotterdam and Zoetermeer) between the Laan van NOI and Voorburg 't Loo stops.
The land, purchased by The Hague in 2016, is divided into 2 sites: 1,000 panels in the North and 4,700 in the South, each developed by a different company, selected by the municipality.
Helena Sustainable Innovations (HSI) is responsible for the eco-solar park on the north side of the site. Their panels will provide approximately 320,000 KWh per year, which is enough for approximately 100 households.
In addition to generating sustainable solar energy, space was set aside for farming - sheep, chickens, bees, frogs and ducks; as well as an organic vegetable garden, run by volunteers. The site is organised in a sustainable and animal-friendly manner, everything follows the permaculture principle (in this case, resilient and sustainable agriculture close to the natural ecosystems).
On the Southern side, respectively, Loolaan-Zuid, Energie van Hollandsche Bodem (EVHB) installed another 4,700 panels. They can generate more than 1.4 Gigawatt hours of electricity per year.
This means that the HTM Randstadrail 3 and 4 will be supplied with sustainable energy from the new plant. According to the municipal website to their knowledge, it is the first case that trams run on solar energy on such a large scale. The transport company and EVHB are currently investigating how solar energy can be used even more efficiently, for example by storing it in batteries.
Source: www.themayor.eu
Shenzhen
Job seekers find solace in opportunities online
The digital economy is becoming a major driving force in promoting employment in Guangdong province, cushioning the crippling blow dealt by the coronavirus pandemic.
Bruised by the public-health crisis, many companies in the traditional industries, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, have been forced to shut down or lay off employees.
Meanwhile, the tech revolution has brought much cheer and relief to people desperate for work amid a sluggish economy.
The growing integration of the real economy and digital technologies has given birth to new business models, creating new jobs.
The booming livestreaming sector, for instance, is among the leaders in the pack with a large number of jobs on offer. According to data from e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, Guangdong took the top slot nationwide in terms of the number of new hosts on Taobao Live - the livestreaming arm of the Hangzhou-based conglomerate - from March to May, with the number soaring six fold year-on-year.
Wu Yingxin, an associate professor of economics at Lingnan College of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, said the digital economy is expected to spur a huge demand for technical personnel and professionals in emerging business fields in the long term.
The emerging economy also helps to create employment by changing the traditional model of job hunting. As the pandemic has greatly done away with face-to-face interviews, more employers are shifting their recruitment procedures online, reducing the outbreak's impact on the job market.
"Although I'm unable to travel to seek jobs in other cities due to the public-health crisis, I still see plenty of opportunities as many enterprises are recruiting people online," said Tan Xinrui, 26, a graduate of Shenzhen University.
Guangdong has made big strides in developing the digital economy in recent years. The provincial government launched a development plan in August, saying it will strive to turn itself into a global innovation center for the digital economy within five to eight years.
The nation's digital economy has seen exponential growth, accounting for 36.2 percent of last year's GDP, surging from 2.6 trillion yuan ($370 billion) in 2005 to 35.8 trillion yuan last year, according to the latest report by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology. Guangdong led other provinces in the overall development of the digital economy, with the added value of industrial digitalization hitting 3 trillion yuan in 2019, the report said.
Source: epaper.chinadaily.com.cn
By Zhou Mo
Brisbane
Lime back on Brisbane streets with scooters spreading to the suburbs
Brisbane suburbs are where Lime will roll out its new electric scooters in the coming days, changing from the company's original CBD focus.
Lime pulled all its hire scooters from Brisbane at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, citing the risk of transmission of the virus, but on Monday began putting scooters back on the streets.
The company has a permit from Brisbane City Council for up to 400 scooters, while competitor Neuron has 600. Neuron kept its scooters on Brisbane streets during the lockdown.
Lime took its scooters and bikes from all Australian cities and New Zealand, returning to each on a case-by-case basis.
Lime's general manager for Australia and New Zealand, Wendy Rattray, said the company was bringing its newest iteration of the green-and-white scooter to Brisbane exclusively, the new third-generation Lime scooter.
The next-generation 3 scooter has a larger wheel, dual braking system, and lock-in helmet technology to keep helmets with the scooter.
"The main difference is they've just got some additional safety features, a slightly large wheel and and improved suspension, just for that increased stability," Ms Rattray said. "They're really sturdy and a really enjoyable ride."
In June, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission found Lime had misrepresented its safety record to consumers.
Lime undertook to address the commission's concerns in a court-enforceable agreement, after the ACCC found Lime’s Gen 2 e-scooters would sometimes apply excessive brake force to the front wheel, causing it to stop suddenly.
Serious injuries from riders were reported through the months in early 2019 when the brake locking issue was discovered, and Lime was also found not to have appropriately informed the federal government about firmware upgrades to fix the issue.
Ms Rattray said the issue was "put to bed" and Lime had met all its requirements and resolved the safety issue.
She said Lime's observations of scooter use in cities across the world during the pandemic showed people were using them more to get around their own neighbourhoods than for the daily commute.
The information prompted a stronger push to the suburbs for Lime, with more scooters to be outside the inner-city circle.
Lime uses proprietary software to identify "hotspots" for scooter demand in suburbs, Ms Rattray said, and also comes with the option to book a scooter through the Uber app, not just through Lime.
"Something that's really exciting, come the end of August, you'll be able to order your Lime scooter on the Uber platform," she said.
"The reach that Uber has with their platform is huge."
Source: www.brisbanetimes.com.au
By Lucy Stone
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