Crucial Information about Sex Racket Gangs of Dubai
Leaked Out from Chief Minister's Office
DUBAI – Some of the crucial records confidentially
culled out and handed over by the Dubai Police to the office of Kerala
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy have been alleged leaked out from the
CM's. Instead of helping further enquiries to trace the sex trafficking
agents, the documents ended up in the custody of the same culprits.
The confidential information extracted from various investigations
is suspected to have reached some of the leading sex traffickers from
Kerala who control the pan Gulf prostitution rings. According to informed
sources, CM Oommen Chandy heard many stories about the growing abuse
of Keralite woman who are recruited from Kerala and trapped in the
UAE brothels. According to sources, a detailed report about the Dubai
operations of various sex trafficking groups was given to the CM's
office on the latter's request. After being grilled by the media and
the concerned officials about the sex trafficking syndicates that
trapped hundreds of young Keralite girls, the Chief Minister appeared
keen to get all the details of the gangs so that he can take some
corrective steps in Kerala...
"Ten Malayali women who were deported by the
Dubai Police gave crucial evidence against the sex trafficking gangs
in Dubai and the involvement of various parties in the racket. The
secret document has reached the Dubai office of various businessmen
who control the trade," said sources. "Ten Malayali women
who were caught in the Dubai Ajman police raids were deported on May
24, 2005 by Sharjah Thiruvananthapuram flight. The Chief Ministers
office assigned one senior IAS official from Non Resident Keralite
Affairs Department (NORKA) to receive them in the airport and facilitate
their transfer to their homes. It is said that a private contracting
company in Dubai, registered as a class one contractor of Public Works
Department, Thiruvanathapuram received these documents in their office
fax! Sex trafficking is a multimillion business in which many politicians,
travel agents and businessmen are involved.
The leaking out of the crucial evidence helped many
of them to take preventive measures or destroy evidence so that the
evidence from the statements of recently arrested victims are nullified.
It is believed that the leaked records contained many crucial names
including politicians from the ruling party who are directly or indirectly
involved in sex trafficking. The construction company which is allegedly
the recipient of the documents in Dubai is a first class contractor
of Public Works Department. The Dubai based contracting company has
apparently close links to some politicians. It claims to have completed
many vital projects in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah. The IAS officer,
who is accused of sending the document to his friend's circles in
Dubai and Gulf countries, is always present in Dubai. The confidential
documents were faxed back to its original source, perhaps to show
that nothing can be done against the powerful sex racket mafia. The
gang's moles are present in the Chief Minister's office and NORKA.
SRPC Winds Up Dubai
Bureau of Malayalam News; Journalists Given Just A Mont's notice by
the 16th largest Publishing Group in the World.
SRPC group
fails before Malayali Managements..Gulf Madhyamam penetrates Saudi
market, takes a share of UAE market, ME Chandrika claims Circulation
Growth. Manorma Follows Wait and Watch Policy; Deepika passing through
Critical Phase; Mathrubhumi nowhere in the horizon..Varthamanm.. closed
chapter.
DUBAI - Saudi Research and publishing
Group, (SRPC), the publishers of Arab News, Urdu News and Malayalam
News has terminated the services of all the Malayali Journalists who
used to work for the group's Malayalam News daily Bureau in Dubai.
The paper gave just one month notice to journalists and the Bureau
is almost closed down. While other SRPC offices located on the fifth
floor of the CNN Building in Dubai Media City are functioning normally,
the Malayalam News has stopped appearing on the Newsstand. Leaving
the journalists in a difficult situation, the world's 16th largest
publishing group apparently took an abrupt decision to close down
the Dubai Bureau, due to the heavvy rent outflow every month. The
Newspaper's future was seriously affected by the penetration of Saudi
market by Gulf Madhyamam and the entry of Middle East Chandrika to
the UAE market. While the claims and counterclaims about circulation
figures of new and old Malayalam dailies continues, it is clear that
the management style of SRPC could not match the Malabari management
style adopted by Kerala Newspapers.
In fact Gulf Madhyamam has countered
the Middle East Chandrika's claim and reiterated that their circulation
is not at all affected by the new breed of newspapers. "In fact
our circulation has gone up due to the new insurance scheme and the
closure of Malayalam News. It is a blessing in disguise as readers
can dsistinguish between the papers," says M.C.A.Naser, the star
journalist of Gulf Madhyamam . It is a fact that Malayalam News circulation
was a few thousand copies, and its disappearance has helped other
newspapers in the market. In the Saudi Market, Gulf Madhyamam circulation
shot up from just below 3,000 a few months back to about 15,000 now,
says another Gulf Madhyamam admirer. Hamsa Abbas, the firebrand editor
of Gulf Madhyamam who is the major force behind the thumping success
of the first Malayalam newspaper with multiple Gulf editions, is getting
ready to start Oman and Kuwait editions in the near future. Even though
Malayalam News retains monopoly market right within the protected
Saudi market, the situation is different in Dubai, which is an open
economy. "We could not compete with the Malayalam Newspapers
like Gulf Madhyamam which have strong support base from established
organisations and sympathisers," says sources. ."The paper
did not take care of the Dubai readers and appeared not keen about
the circulation or advertisement revenue from Dubai," added sources.
"SRPC has lost a good opportunity
to tap the UAE Malayali readers due to poor management. They are not
interested in the Indian readership.. They did not do their homework
well," says Ahmed P.Sharief, formerly with Malayalam News. "The
entry of Middle East Chandrika in the UAE now and Saudi market in
future will cause more trouble for established newspapers,"claims
Sharief, Editor of Middle East Chandrika. However, others rule out
any genuine threat from the Muslim League mouth piece, because the
paper could not make any major impact in its own home country. They
say that the papers success depends on the continuation of the initial
euphorial created by the new paper by changing is Green image and
the fund flow should match the business calculations of Abdul Wahab,
businessman and Member of Parliament, the main financial backbone
of ME Chandrika. The Gulf Malayali tycoon is counting
on the 40,000 strong Kerala Muslimc Cultural Center (KMCC), the Gulf
wing of Muslim League to expand the paper's reach. It also expects
to grab a share of the advertising revenue from the League supporting
business community in various Gulf countries. The KMCC influence is
the bane and gain of the paper as interference from the League quarters
may affect the editorial integrity of the paper. Currently four Malayalam
dailies are printed from Dubai. Malayala Manorama, the market leader
back home, is still dilly dallying about the Dubai edition plans as
it does not want to venture to the competitive market in a hurry.
Malayala Manorama has been serving the UAE, Gulf and American market
with the Bombay Bureau, where printing and operational cost is much
lower than Dubai.
"We have been contemplating
the Dubai Bureau plan for sometime. We dont want to have both the
Dubai and Mumbai Bureaus simultaneously because it will add upto the
cost of operation. If we close down the Mumbai Bureau, it will affect
circulation to other overseas markets, especially the US, a major
market" said Manorma sources. However, the Manorama group strengthened
its Dubai Bureau with many new journalists under Pradeep Pillai, the
yougn Bureau Chief. Deepika International which started the Dubai
operation a few months could not present a marvellous performance
as the circulation figures is not impressive. Max Media has come forward
to bail out Deepika International, which is reportedly passing through
a critical phase. Journalists from Malayalam News are available in
the market and the closure of the paper a few months after the closure
of Umm Al Quwain Radio increases the number of Malayali journalists
available in the market. As earlier reported by KM job security is
a big prolem haunting the Indian journalist community in the Gulf.
The marketing departments of various newspapers are monitoring cirulation
figures daily to adopt new strategies and schemes to lure readers
and avoid another episode of closing down...For media owners, a newspaper
or radio station is nothing more than a trading company and their
keenness is about the balance sheet...More so for the closed newspaper,
which was managed by a non-Malayalai management and Umm Al Quwain
Radio, owned by a Pakistani media tycoon. The media world is keenly
watching for the next newspaper bubble to burst...Watch Out.
PUBLIC-PRIVATE SECTOR CO-OPERATION
NEEDED TO CREATE ENTREPRENEURIAL ENVIRONMENT, SAYS SHEIKH KHALID BIN
ZAYED
DUBAI 25th May 2005
His Excellency Sheikh Khaled bin Zayad Al Nehyan,
founder and chairman of the Abu Dhabi-headquartered Bin Zayed Group
of Companies, has urged greater co-operation between the region’s
public and private sectors to create an entrepreneurial environment.
The call came during a panel discussion at Entrepreneurs
in Dubai, the world’s largest gathering of self-made tycoons
and business leaders currently running at the Dubai International
Convention Centre. “The Mohammed bin Rashid
Establishment for Young Business Leaders is an excellent example of
what can be achieved when the region’s young entrepreneurs are
given the necessary backing,” said Sheikh Khalid. “It
is not fair to ask commercial banks to shoulder the full responsibility
of encouraging start up business. We need more venture capitalists.”
Fellow panellist Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, CEO
of Mashreqbank, agreed banks could assist the process but the task
had to be spread much wider.
“Banks certainly have a role to play, but the
responsibility must be shared – we need a collective effort
to create a public-private sector partnership.”
And Al Ghurair called for a more-business focussed syllabus to be
introduced in the UAE, where youngsters are not exposed to business
until a late stage.
“Schools teach mathematics, science and languages
very well,” he said, “but life is not science and maths.
Young people used to go and work with the fathers when they were growing
up, learning about business along the way. This does not happen as
much anymore, so we should introduce classes in schools to prepare
our youth for the business world.”
The panel, which was moderated by Abbas Ali Mirza,
Patner, Deloitte and Touche and included Anita Mehra Homayoun, Director
of Marketing and Corporate Communications, Department of Civil Aviation,
Government of Dubai and Vijay Tirathrai, Board Director of the Young
Entrepreneurs Organisation also urged potential entrepreneurs not
be frightened of failure.
“You must overcome fear – most successful
entrepreneurs have failed at some point,” said Sheikh Khalid.
“Good entrepreneurs overcome obstacles and manage risk. This
is only possible through experience so in effect, you must fail to
become a successful entrepreneur.”
Al Ghurair also advised facing up to risk. “As
an entrepreneur, you must accept that most of your ventures will fail
– maybe as many as six or seven out of ten. Entrepreneurs are
ordinary people who allow themselves to dream and as a result, come
up with some crazy ideas. Not all will succeed, but those which do,
will pay for the failures.”
Entrepreneurs in Dubai has been organized by IIR Middle
East in conjunction with the Mohammed Bin Rashid Establishment For
Young Business Leaders. The event was held under the patronage of
His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The
Mohammed bin Rashid Establishment has already set up a Dhs 700 million
(US $ 191 million) Islamic Fund to provide capital for new entrepreneurs.
AME Info, Flip Media and Gulf Business are Entrepreneurs in Dubai
Media Partners.
Lack of TV viewer research named as industry frustration
Accountability of investment needed, claims Selevision
(Dubai, May 2005): A lack of viewing figures and research
has been identified as the single biggest barrier to effective TV
advertising campaigns, with fragmentation of the media named second.
These observations were made by industry professionals from both sides
of the table – advertisers and media buyers – in recent
forums conducted by the television technology provider Selevision.
The forums, held in Dubai, were designed to encourage
debate about the TV advertising sector and Selevision president and
CEO Dr Raed Khusheim said: “For too long, we have been hearing
how a lack of accurate research is stifling media buyers and clients
alike. This issue proved to be top of the list of concerns.
“The inability to target campaigns based on
realistic data was one of a number of frustrations for both advertisers
and media buyers; others were the quality of programming, fragmentation
of media, and reach.”
Selevision, based in UAE and Saudi Arabia, is poised
to enter the market with its Dynamic Commercial Delivery System. The
pioneering technology enables advertisers to manipulate viewing habits
and maximize return on investment for their ad spend.
For the first time, advertisers will be able to guarantee
reaching a specific audience - pre-determined by themselves - using
sophisticated technology that enables commercials to be targeted by
any of a number of criteria, such as location, age and income.
As well as being able to target viewers direct, and
only paying for the number of registered impressions, advertisers
also receive a full report on viewer profiles, watching times and
channels – valuable research data in its own right.
Dr Khusheim added: “The biggest challenge advertisers
face in the region is accountability for investment. Educated guesswork
is the only current means of targeting television commercials, but
that will soon no longer be the case.”
Selevision will be launching its technology in the
Middle East in June and expects to supply 800,000 homes in the UAE
and Saudi Arabia with its Digital Satellite Receivers – a multi-functional
‘set top box’ - within the next 12 months.
The ‘set top boxes’ will be available
for a monthly subscription of just AED 5 (a deposit is required),
with the Selevision technology and all its advanced functionality
available free of charge. Advertisers will be charged just US$0.05
per impression, with their advert guaranteed to be delivered to the
intended recipient.