 |  | | Economics & Politics | | ON March 24 the Portuguese
prime minister, Jose Socrates,
resigned after all the opposition
parties rejected his austerity
plan, which included slashing
pensions by more than €1,500 a
month and more cuts in tax benefits.
His government´s collapse triggered an
election, which could not take place for
another two months. During the interim
Socrates stayed on as acting prime
minister and reached an agreement
with the European Union and the
International Monetary Fund for a
€78bn bailout. The terms? Almost
exactly the same as those proposed by
him and rejected by the Portuguese
parliament six weeks earlier.
When the elections finally took place
the political class could sense a certain
degree of cynicism. The Portuguese
president, Anibal Cavaco Silva, warned
voters they could not complain about
what... |
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| |  | | CASH CON BY
CORPORATES |
| WATCHING the evolution
of economic discussion
in
Washington over the
past couple of years
has been a disheartening experience.
Month by month, the discourse
has gotten more primitive;
with stunning speed, the lessons
of the 2008 financial crisis have
been forgotten, and the very ideas
that got us into the crisis - regulation
is always bad, what´s good
for the bankers is good for
America, tax cuts are the universal
elixir - have regained their
hold.
And now trickle-down economics
- specifically, the idea that
anything that increases corporate
profits is good for the economy -
is making a comeback.
On the face of it, this seems
bizarre. Over the past two years
profits have soared while employment
has remained disastrously
high. Why should anyone believe
that handing even more money to
corporations, no strings... |
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Gemalto to secure Hukoomi for ictQatar
TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK
DOHA THE Supreme Council for Information and Communication Technology (ictQatar) has selected digital security major, Gemalto, to deploy the Coesys eGov 2.0 solution in Qatar.
Using Qatari citizens’ electronic identity card (eID) as an authentication token, the solution will boost usage and enhance access security of their national eGovernment services portal - Hukoomi.
Qatar plans to expand the existing service to integrate more than 50 eGovernment initiatives over the next few years.
Qatari citizens as well as residents holding an eID will enjoy easy access to eGovernment services, such as visa application, commercial registration, electricity bill payment or health card renewal from the comfort of their houses.
In addition, users will be able to digitally sign official documents and forms on the web.
Gemalto is also providing the associated services including software integration, training, support and maintenance.
The Gemalto solution requires no additional software installation by the end-user.
People simply use their eID as the single credential and a personal code to authenticate themselves.
This pioneering technology allows web applications running in a standard web browser to seamlessly access a smart card connected to the user’s computer, thereby enhancing the security and usability of web applications.
This also enables the Hukoomi portal to dynamically deploy and update its services in a transparent way for the citizens.
“Gemalto is a long-standing trusted partner with a strong presence in the Middle East and has a proven track record of eGovernment solutions all around the world,” said ictQatar Service Delivery Manager Mohannad Oman Naim.” The Coesys 2.0 solution is a key enabler to modernise our government services,” he added.
“Building on the successful deployment of eIDs in Qatar, Gemalto is pleased to continue supporting the Qatari government to deliver new citizencentric solutions,” said Hisham Surakhi Sales Director Middle East Government Programs at Gemalto.
He added, “Qatar is a pioneering country spearheading the eGovernment services of tomorrow, with convenience and security which open more access to eGovernment services for a greater number of citizens.” Gemalto, headquartered in Amsterdam, is the world leader in digital security with 2010 annual revenues of 1.9 billion and over 10,000 employees operating out of 87 offices and 13 research & development centres in 45 countries.
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