Abbas to ask Arabs to set date for new UN bid
On Sunday officials said Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will announce to the Arab League (AL) his decision to seek Palestinian membership in the United Nations.
King Abdullah urges all to glorify Ramadan
The Saudi monarch, King Abdullah, has urged officials and government agencies involved in Umrah services to exert all efforts to help pilgrims perform their rituals in ease and comfort.
Thousands in anti-NATO protest
ISLAMABAD - Thousands protesting Pakistan's decision to reopen the land supply routes for NATO forces in Afghanistan Sunday gathered at a border town as part of their campaign to mount pressure on the government to withdraw its decision.
Dlamini-Zuma elected to head AU Commission
South African Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma was elected on Sunday to become the first female head of the African Union (AU) Commission, ending a bruising leadership battle that had threatened to divide and weaken the organisation.
Cold weather grips SA
Snow and heavy rain has wreaked havoc across the country, with many cars still stuck in the snow and two people freezing to death.
Syria: Annan appalled by 'massacre'
Geneva - Peace envoy Kofi Annan said on Friday he was "shocked and appalled" at reports that tanks and helicopters slaughtered more than 150 people during a massacre in the Syrian village of Treimsa.
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Merkel: ‘Muslims and Jews free to circumcise’
BERLIN – Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman promised Germany’s Muslim and Jewish communities on Friday they would be free to carry out circumcision on their children despite a court ban.
Zuma: ‘SA needs education on democracy’
President Jacob Zuma says many South Africans need to be educated about democracy because they do not understand how it works.
Worldwide skills shortages
The skill gap is not just a headache for emerging markets such as South Africa, it also weighs heavily on powerful corporations worldwide, according to the findings of PwC’s 15th annual global chief executive survey for 2012, “Delivering results: Growth and value in a volatile world”.
Never before have there been so many educated people in the world, so it would seem simple to fill the top job positions with the best and brightest, particularly with the internet as an effective recruitment tool. Not so, say chief executives around the globe.
Although jobless rates are high in the United States and Europe, particularly among the young, businesses say they cannot attract the digitally adept millennial generation to pursue careers in their industries, according to the report.
“This is the talent crunch. It’s a complex and frustrating challenge and it’s being felt worldwide.”
This not only affects costs but also plays a role in lost business opportunities.
More than 1250 chief executives in 60 countries were surveyed. The results show that many are changing their talent management strategies rather than adjusting approaches to risk and capital investment.
Skills shortages are seen as a major threat to expansion. Forty-three per-cent of respondents said talent-related expenses rose more than expected in the past year; 31% said they were not able to innovate effectively because of talent constraints; 29% could not pursue a market opportunity; and 24% cancelled or delayed a key strategic initiative.
“The challenges are acute in knowledge industries such as pharmaceuticals, life sciences and technology, and in heavy industries such as industrial manufacturing and automotive,” the report says.
“The need for technically skilled people to manage the increasing sophistication in production is strong, and the growth in demand for professionals in manufacturing is projected to be over 4% a year across all economies and to peak at over 10% in developing economies in 2020.”
Saturday, 14 July 2012
Darul Ihsan Media Desk
Road to Marriage Workshop
After several marriage workshops in the past, Darul Ihsan Centre held a workshop titled ‘The Road to Marriage’ at its Overport offices on 30 June 2012. The programme was exclusively for females and encompassed a wide range of discussions pertaining to marriage.
Marriage programmes held in Durban
Strong marriages build strong communities. To maintain this social stability, marriages require constant improvement and enhancement. In modern day society many spouses struggle with marital challenges to the extent where divorce has become a very common occurrence.
Limpopo: Report blames officials
According to a report Limpopo Education MEC Dickson Masemola contributed to his bankrupt department’s “pathetic” state of affairs – and an unauthorised expenditure bill of R2.2 billion last year, and R25 million a year on phone bills.
Al Quds Foundation to launch health facility in Gaza
The Al Quds Foundation SA are set to launch a health training facility at the Al Quds University in Gaza, as one of the many offshoot projects created after the opening of its new branch in Malaysia. The new offices aim to create awareness programmes around the Palestinian struggle and the challenges faced by the city of Al Quds.
Syrian ambassador defects
Syria’s ambassador to Iraq, Nawah Al-Fares, defected on Wednesday in protest over President Bashar Assad’s violent suppression of a 16-month uprising as the UN Security Council remained deadlocked over the next steps in the crisis.
The BDS Movement: ‘Stronger, more widespread and more effective than ever’
Seven years after the Palestinian civil society call for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel was launched, the global BDS campaign has become stronger, more widespread, more effective and certainly more diverse than ever
Patent war threatens SA healthcare
SA healthcare activists have warned that the result of the court battle in question, between pharmaceuticals giant Novartis and the Indian government, could set a dangerous precedent that will impede local access to affordable drugs.