Emirates Press

BEIJING: China witnessed a surge in international arrivals in the first quarter of 2024, with the number of foreign travelers tripling compared to the same period last year. This spike can be attributed to China’s recent measures to optimize its visa system and policies, providing greater convenience for foreigners visiting the country.

People’s Daily quoted official data which indicates that China granted 466,000 visas and entry documents to foreigners between January and March, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 118.8%. Moreover, nearly 1.99 million foreigners entered China without a visa, marking a remarkable 266.1% increase compared to the figures from 2023.

Among the measures implemented are reducing visa application requirements, gradually lowering fees, simplifying procedures for international students, exempting some from fingerprinting, waiving visa appointments, and introducing visa-free access for certain nations.

On July 26, 2023, China resumed its 15-day visa-free policy for Singaporeans an
d Bruneians with ordinary passports for business, tourism, visiting relatives, and transit. On December 1, 2023, it granted unilateral visa-free entry to France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and Malaysia.

Three months later, the visa-free policy extended to Switzerland, Ireland, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, and Luxembourg. As of March 1, 2024, a mutual visa exemption agreement with Thailand also took effect.

To date, 989,000 foreign nationals from these 15 countries have entered China visa-free, accounting for over 60% of visitors from these nations, with numbers continuing to rise.

The relaxed visa rules have spurred interest among foreigners to visit China for tourism, business, and education opportunities.

Travel agencies have reported a surge in inquiries and bookings for China tours from countries benefiting from the visa-free policies.

The visa relaxations have also facilitated increased bilateral exchanges between China and partner nations like Thailand.

As China continues opening its bo
rders, the country anticipates welcoming more international visitors, further boosting cultural understanding and economic cooperation globally.

Source: Emirates News Agency

The Palestinian Prisoner’s Society (PPS), Palestinian Commission of Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs, Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, and Wadi Hilweh Information Center (SILWANIC) all reported that since Oct. 7, thousands of workers have been subjected to arrests, prosecution, and torture by the Israeli occupation authorities.

In a statement issued today, the prisoner societies called on all international human rights institutions to carry out an independent international investigation in light of the escalating crimes and genocidal war against the population in Gaza, and to work towards putting an end to the escalating and unprecedented crimes against detainees.

They pointed out that crimes against Palestinian workers stem from the Israeli occupation’s unprecedented collective punishment policy since the aggression on the Gaza Strip started, with a number of workers dying in the occupation’s custody.

The prisoner institutions explained that the greater number of these arrests ta
rgeted workers from Gaza going to work in the occupied Palestinian territories.

According to figures, more than 10,000 Palestinians worked in the occupied Palestinian territories before Oct. 7, 3,000 of whom were released in November, whereas 6,000 of them shifted to working in the West Bank, while 1,000 workers remain missing.

Source: Qatar News Agency

AJMAN: Sheikh Ahmed bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Representative of H.H. the Ruler of Ajman for Administrative and Financial Affairs, Chairman of the Department of Economic Development in Ajman (Ajman DED), honoured 10 employees of the Ajman DED for obtaining the ‘Accredited Innovation Assessor’ (AInA) degree from the Global Innovation Institute (GInI), a leading international organisation in providing professional certifications, accreditations, and memberships in the field of innovation.

Ajman DED took this important step in line with its strategic directions to provide pioneering and innovative services for investors as a part of the emirate’s goals aimed at developing prospects for cooperation with research institutions and leading entities in the world in the fields of innovation and anticipating the future and promoting a culture of creativity and sustainable development based on scientific foundations.

Ajman DED is the first entity in the Ajman government to enable its employees to become certified assessors
and exclusively licensed by GInI to conduct innovation maturity assessments for institutions seeking to obtain the Certified Innovation Organisation (CInOrg) certificate. This certification also qualifies them to conduct accreditation assessments for innovation laboratories, business incubators, and accelerator programs, in addition to submitting applications for innovation approval for the benefit of institutions. The certified persons have been selected according to specific criteria, including having professional experience of no less than 10 years, in addition to having university degrees.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Humaid Al Nuaimi said, ‘The Ajman DED employees obtaining the Accredited Innovation Assessor degree reflects the extent of our commitment to developing the capabilities of our national cadres. This confirms the efficiency and maturity of our human resources in creating the future in accordance with the finest international methods and standards. It is considered an impetus for more innovations and crea
tivity to achieve the global competitiveness that the emirate aspires to.’

Source: Emirates News Agency

The death toll from the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7 has risen to 34,568 martyrs and 77,765 injured, the majority of whom are women and children.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health stated on Wednesday that during the past 24 hours, the occupation forces committed massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 33 Palestinians.

Thousands of victims are still under rubble and on the roads, as the occupation is preventing ambulance and civil defense crews from reaching them.

The unprecedented Israeli aggression against Gaza has been continuing for 208 days, causing a humanitarian catastrophe of tens of thousands of martyrs, wounded and missing people, as well as massive destruction of vital infrastructure and facilities in the Strip.

Source: Qatar News Agency

DUBAI: Dubai Future Foundation (DFF) launches the second edition of the ‘Design Gov’ programme, which will involve government entities in designing strategies and initiatives to make Dubai one of the most liveable cities on Earth.

Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of DFF, said, ‘This programme will empower future government leaders with critical skills and tools, including design thinking, creativity, identifying opportunities, and innovation, to develop novel models and then share them with the world.’

Belhoul reaffirmed that the success of government work focuses on utilising national talent equipped with skills in design-thinking and seeing the future, turning potential challenges into opportunities, and deploying to serve society.

Belhoul reiterated that the program is critical in empowering Dubai government entities to develop the skills of government employees in human-centred design, encouraging them to adopt creative thinking and providing them with tools to shape the future of government work.

Held under the
theme of ‘Leadership and Design’, the programme will last for 14 weeks from July to October 2024. The programme will include workshops, meetings, and events locally and abroad. The deadline for registration is 12th May, 2024.

In the second edition, participants will work in teams to test their new skills by developing innovative concepts, designing future scenarios, prototyping government projects, initiatives, and strategies, and identifying entities to ensure they achieve their project goals.

The first phase aims to encourage participants to network, introduce them to the programme’s objectives, and train them in design tools and their application in government.

The content of the ‘Design Gov’ programme was developed in cooperation with various government entities in the UAE and research and academic institutions around the world according to best international practices.

Its main goals are to foster a culture of creativity and proactive planning in government entities, empower national talents with inn
ovation-related skills, and support the development, launch, and implementation of enhanced public services, initiatives, and projects that enhance Dubai’s and the UAE’s future readiness.

The UAE government launched the first ‘Design Gov’ programme in 2019 to promote the design of initiatives, policies, and programmes that support the goals of the UAE Centennial 2071.

Source: Emirates News Agency

The State of Qatar, represented by Qatar Civil Aviation Authority (QCAA), participated in the Global Implementation Support Symposium (GISS) 2024, which is being held by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in the city of Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, from April 30 to May 2, 2024.

Mohamed bin Faleh Al Hajri, In Charge of Managing QCAA, headed Qatar’s delegation in the symposium.

During the opening session of the symposium, Al Hajri announced a contribution from the State of Qatar to support the ICAO activities in the field of technical training for countries in need of raising the technical competence of employees, in a way that enhances the plans of the Organization’s implementation support programs.

The symposium discusses the main initiatives of the ICAO and its cooperative endeavors to enhance aviation resilience, innovation, sustainable development and operational solutions, which are within the framework of achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals stipulated in th
e United Nations 2030 Agenda, and the ICAO ‘No Country Left Behind’ Initiative.

It is worth noting that the State of Qatar is always keen to actively participate in supporting the goals and vision of the ICAO, and is considered one of the most prominent countries that supports all efforts made by the Organization to enhance the growth of the international civil aviation sector.

Source: Qatar News Agency