Shipping Service Delayed due to Increased Insurance Premium, Security Alert.
US still questioning 45 Saudi nationals: Arab News Report
Oman Air Grounds all Planes fearing Terrorist Strikes
Police arrest perpetrators of National Bank of Kuwait robbery
Osama bin Laden has four look-alikes
Misery on Chemical Weapons Tank in Kuwait Girls School

 

 

Three Members of Malayali family sustain Serious injuriesSix year old boy dies, others in the IC Unit of Khoula Hospital

Muscat--In a tragic road accident near Rustak Roundabout, Oman, on Tuesday a six year old Malayali boy died on the spot and three members of the family sustained serious injuries. The four member family was going back to Rustak after shopping when their car, taken on rent from a Rent A Car Company, collided with another vehicle at 2.30 pm. Mohan (38 years) who sustained serious injuries is said to be in a critical condition as the bleeding is continuing for three days. Mohan from Thiruvananthapuram, his wife and one child who are said to have multiple fractures are kept in the Intensive Care Unit of Khoula Hospital, Muscat.After a long gap, the family was to go to India the next day, when the accident took place. The number of road accidents in Oman has been increasing. Top

Riyadh: An Indian expatriate, Indran Raju, working at a petrol pump in Saudi Arabia was killed by three Saudi school children following a dispute about paying bill worth Saudi Rial 39! The incident happened when he tried to prevent three Arab high school students from driving off before paying their bills. According to a report in a leading Saudi Arabian newspaper -- Arab News-- Raju died of injuries to head, neck and chest, when his body was crushed against the ground in Hunaithel, a village in Al-Asyah governorate. Similarly stories about petrol pump workers being assaulted on the job are growing in Saudi Arabia.

Gas station owner Hamad Al-Qusair told Arab News Raju had jumped into a Car being driven by three high-school students who were driving off before paying their bill of 39 Saudi riyals. "His body was found bleeding next to the road 500 meters from the station," he said, adding Raju was rushed unconscious to King Fahd Specialist Hospital in Buraidah, 85 km away. According to Saudi police Raju was thrown off the speeding car and he landed at a great speed on the road. The three young Saudis fled, but were later arrested and confessed to their crime, the paper said. Top

Welfare Officers of 8 Indian Embassies in the Gulf to attend Conference

keralamonitor.com

New Delhi: The welfare offices of six eight Indian missions/posts in the Gulf countries, senior officers of the Ministers of External Affairs, Labour and Home Affairs and representatives of the State Governments having substantial worker population in the Gulf will Gulf countries will attend a conference on 8-9 October 2001 at New Delhi. "Over 3.5 million Indian nationals work and live in the Gulf countries. They remit over $4 billion annually to India and have invested billions of rupees in the Indian economy. Remittances from the Indian workers in the Gulf have helped in alleviating poverty and also contributed to solving the increasing unemployment problem in the country.

The Conference will discuss th existing arrangements for the welfare of Indian workers in the gulf and look into the problems faced by them during the process of their search for jobs in the Gulf countries and employment there. Top

 

Breast Cancer Awareness Campaign: IT'S PRETTY IN PINK AT BURJUMAN

A model looks 'Pretty in Pink' at the BurJuman fashion show in aid of the Safe & Sound breast cancer awareness programme.

Dubai, October 6, 2001: BurJuman Centre's Safe & Sound breast cancer awareness programme got off to a flying start yesterday as countless excited shoppers enjoyed the mall's first 'Pretty in Pink' free fashion show.

Many of BurJuman's most popular retailers, including bebe, angès b, JC Penney, Outfit and Nine West, showcased their latest collections to support this year's campaign aimed at further educating women about breast cancer and raising funds for Al Mosanada Cancer Foundation.

A second Pretty in Pink fashion show is planned at BurJuman on October 17, while a similar event is set to tour the Ajman Kempinski Hotel on October 8, the Abu Dhabi Crowne Plaza on October 19 and the Taj Palace Hotel the day after.The pink ribbon has become an international symbol of breast cancer awareness and is the focus of BurJuman's Safe & Sound campaign. Pink ribbons are available throughout the mall to shoppers making a donation to Al Mosanada Cancer Foundation. A wide range of literature on how to beat breast cancer is also available free of charge at BurJuman, plus free in-mall clinics with trained medical professionals. Alternately, people can find comprehensive information on the dedicated breast cancer website, www.safeandsounduae.org, which has been created specially for the Middle East. Top

 

QATAR AIRWAYS TAKES DELIVERY OF FIRST A320 FROM AIRBUS

Doha: Qatar Airways has taken delivery of its first A320 from Airbus - one of six scheduled for delivery in the next few years, for use on regional routes from its Doha base. Qatar Airways already operates leased A320s, which the new aircraft will progressively complement.

The A320 was handed over to Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker by Airbus Chief Operating Officer Gustav Humbert, at a ceremony held in Toulouse."Air travel is a fundamental need of trade and tourism and, despite recent events, we are confident of growing our business by providing it with modern aircraft such as the A320 that we have received today," says Akbar Al Baker. "Passengers can look forward to the quality of our service and, with a young all-Airbus fleet, they can be sure of traveling in both comfort and style."

(From left to right) Gustav Humbert, Akbar Al Baker and Jack Phillips of International Aero Engines, at the delivery ceremony in Toulouse.

In addition to flying A320s on Middle East services, Qatar Airways currently flies A300-600s on its flights to Europe and Asia. It is also a customer for the A330-200 - deliveries of five aircraft on order begin in 2002 - and for two A380s that it will start receiving in 2007. In addition, Qatar Airways is the first airline customer for the Airbus Corporate Jetliner (ACJ).

"Qatar Airways has demonstrated vigorous and successful growth in recent years, and it has both the will and the means to keep expanding in size and scope," says Gustav Humbert.The Airbus A320 is the world's most popular and successful airliner, consistently topping independent passenger surveys, as well as being an excellent investment with strong residual value.

Airbus' A330-200 is also a clear leader, with unmatched passenger comfort, economy and range in its class.Unprecedented in both size and modernity, the A380 that Airbus is now developing is rapidly becoming the craft of choice for the world's airlines, as well as the only practicable way to cope with long-term growth. Top

Microsoft to open new Gulf East Mediterranean Head Office in Dubai

Dubai, October 6, 2001:

Dubai: New Microsoft regional headquarters set to open: Under the patronage of His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE Defence Minister, the new Microsoft Gulf & Eastern Mediterranean (GEM) headquarters is set to open on Tuesday, October 9, 2001 at the Dubai Internet City. The five-storied purpose-built complex will also house a state-of-the-art development centre, which will focus on Microsoft's Arabic software development activity.

Cyber Terrorrism:

E-LERT CONCLUDES: 'BEWARE THE DANGER WITHIN'

keralamonitor.com


Dubai: The Middle East's first 'White Hat Hacker' event - E-lert - closed in Dubai this week with recommendations to lift I.T. security issues to boardroom level and to combat internal threats. The event, aimed at fighting the increasing regional Internet threat from hackers, attracted delegates from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Scandinavia and India. Discussions centred round issues directly related to the threat of hackers entities based in the Middle East and the continuing danger of cyber-terrorism in the wake of the US attacks three weeks ago.

E-lert conference sessions revealed that the biggest threat to enterprises was not from the hacker, but those working within these large organisations.

"Disgruntled employees can cause havoc. These people can work for power stations, airport authorities, hospitals etc. and can give access to malicious hackers who, potentially, could cause more fatalities than the traditional terrorist," said Jens Lund, Managing Director, IT-serve.com.

"However, the internal threat need not only come from disgruntled staff. The arrogance of some system administrators and IT professionals would have us believe that they have impenetrable security systems," continued Lund.

"However, surveys have shown that 67% of companies in the Middle East have little or no security measures and those that do are at severe risk from external penetration. Our own testing has shown that this is the case. The only solution is that IT-security has to be an issue that is tackled from the very highest levels within a company."

E-lert organiser BigHat Media, claims the event has highlighted the importance of safeguarding regional e-infrastructures from global threat. "From research we carried out at E-lert, we know that the event has broadened the experience and knowledge of those who attended," said Trevor Punt, Managing Director, Bighat Media. "As a result the systems on which they administer will become more secure from cyber intruders."

BigHat says that the scope of e-security issues will see the company running similar events in the future."We are launching a series of E-lert styled events targeting differing IT security issues. Some will be held internally within companies in order that they can be tailor made to individual requirements. As reliance on the Internet continues to grow so to should vigilance," said Punt.