Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, right, and President Hu Jintao applaud at the opening session of the National Peoples Congress in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Mr Wen said the military's chief tasks include winning regional conflicts using the latest technology. Adrian Bradshaw / EPA
Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, right, and President Hu Jintao applaud at the opening session of the National Peoples Congress in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Mr Wen said the military's cShow more

Chinese premier reasserts Communist Party control over armed forces



BEIJING // The Chinese premier, Wen Jiabao, yesterday reaffirmed the Communist Party's ultimate control over the armed forces at a time of rising defence budgets and sharpening regional territorial disputes.

In a wide-ranging address at the opening of the legislature's annual 10-day session, Mr Jiabao reasserted the Communist Party's ultimate control over the armed forces at a time of rising defence budgets and sharpening regional territorial disputes.

He reiterated the military's chief tasks, including winning regional conflicts using the latest technology, fighting terrorism, maintaining stability, handling emergencies and providing disaster relief.

Mr Wen's emphasis on the Communist Party's control over the military remarks was aimed to quash scattered calls for the 2.3 million-member People's Liberation Army to be placed under government rather than party control.

The PLA's main duty is to safeguard party rule and strike back against opponents, as it did against unarmed pro-democracy student protesters in 1989.

While Mr Wen's remarks on the military were almost identical to those in last year's address, the reference to party control was new. That could be an indication of the urgency with which the leadership feels it needs to address calls from junior officers and academics for a nationalised military.

"We will strengthen ideological and political standards, and adhere to the fundamental principle of the party having absolute leadership over the armed forces, and we should maintain the Chinese armed forces' fundamental purpose of being an army of the people," Mr Wen said.

The most important military task is to "win local wars under information-age conditions", Mr Wen said.

China announced on Sunday that it would boost defence spending by 11.2 per cent in 2012, the latest in a nearly two-decade string of double-digit increases.

Although the planned figure is less than last year's 12.7 per cent increase, China's military leaders have said they are unhappy with recent moves by the Obama administration to increase the US military presence in the Asia-Pacific region. Only twice since the early 1990s has the increase been less than double digits.

National People's Congress spokesman Li Zhaoxing said China's defence spending would increase by 11.2 per cent over actual spending last year to hit 670.2 billion yuan (Dh390.2 billion) in 2012.

China's official defence spending is the largest in the world after the United States, but actual spending, according to foreign defence experts, may be 50 per cent higher, as China excludes outlays for its nuclear missile force and other programmes.

China has territorial disputes in the South China Sea with countries including the Philippines and Vietnam. It has similar sea disputes with Japan and border disagreements with India.

The Philippine foreign secretary, Albert del Rosario, said China has a sovereign right to bolster its defence but he expects Beijing "to fully utilise [its] vast global influence in the most responsible way, especially in terms of promoting peace, prosperity and stability in our region".

Tokyo's top government spokesman urged China's leaders to greater transparency on military issues and pledged Japan would be closely watching what happened across the water.

"We are concerned about the double-digit increase in this year's Chinese defence budget and will pay attention to future developments," Osamu Fujimura, the chief cabinet secretary, said.

The specs

  Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now

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5pm Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic Prestige Dh110,000 1,400m

5.30pm Abu Dhabi Colts Classic Prestige Dh110,000 1,400m

6pm Abu Dhabi Championship Listed Dh180,000 1,600m

6.30pm Maiden Dh80,000 1,600m

7pm Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap Dh80,000 1,400m

7.30pm Handicap (TB) |Dh100,000 2,400m

Zakat definitions

Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.

Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.

Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.

Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.

Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989

Director: Goran Hugo Olsson

Rating: 5/5

SPECS
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UJDA CHAMAN

Produced: Panorama Studios International

Directed: Abhishek Pathak

Cast: Sunny Singh, Maanvi Gagroo, Grusha Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla

Rating: 3.5 /5 stars

The Penguin

Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz

Creator: Lauren LeFranc

Rating: 4/5

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The Buckingham Murders

Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu

Director: Hansal Mehta

Rating: 4 / 5

Gender pay parity on track in the UAE

The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.

"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."

Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.

"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.

As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general. 

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Where to donate in the UAE

The Emirates Charity Portal

You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.

The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments

The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.

Al Noor Special Needs Centre

You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.

Beit Al Khair Society

Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.

Dar Al Ber Society

Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.

Dubai Cares

Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.

Emirates Airline Foundation

Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.

Emirates Red Crescent

On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.

Gulf for Good

Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.

Noor Dubai Foundation

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).

The Details

Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5 

Company%20Profile
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In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
  • Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000 
  • Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000 
  • Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000 
  • Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000 
  • HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000 
  • Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000 
  • Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000 
  • Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000 
  • Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000 
  • Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000 
  • Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000 
  • Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
  • Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
  • Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000

Directed by Sam Mendes

Starring Dean-Charles Chapman, George MacKay, Daniel Mays

4.5/5

How the bonus system works

The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.

The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.

There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).

All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.