IRAQ: U.N. Experts Visit Suspected Nuclear Complex, Other Sites More News
The Registration Certificates of 39 recruiting agencies engaged in export of manpower were either suspended or cancelled from January 2000 to November 2002. Stating this in a written reply during question hour in the Lok Sabha today, the Labour Minister Dr. Sahib Singh said that 11 each of them are in Kerala and Maharashtra, eight in Tamil Nadu, seven in Delhi and two in Andhra Pradesh.
He said that registration certificates of seven registered agencies were cancelled during this period. He said that 55 prosecutions were sanctioned in respect of cases registered against unregistered agencies/individuals. Dr. Sahib Singh said that the government has recently decided that recruiting agencies will settle complaints with a 90 days failing which immediate action is taken to suspend/cancel their certificates and, if necessary, forfeit the security deposited by them. He said that a complaint against registered recruiting agencies is taken up with the Indian Mission in the respective countries to settle the problems of workers immediately.
At the same time the agencies are directed to settle the complaints. The Labour Minister said in case of complaints against unregistered agencies, the matter is immediately taken with the appropriate authorities for investigation and suitable legal action for violation of the Emigration Act, 1983. He said that complaints mainly relate to charging of service charges in excess of amount prescribed under the rules, collection of money from the intending emigrants but not actually deploying them for overseas employment, sending some of the workers to foreign countries against non-existent jobs and, in some cases, changing the terms and conditions of employment of workers on their reaching alien land.(keralamonitor.com)
UK-Syria Bilateral Discussions
Speaking in an interview for the Today Programme on 16 December, FCO Minister, Mike O'Brien, responded to questions about President Al-Asad of Syria's visit to London by saying it was an offer of dialogue and discussion. Challenged with the thought that some people might be revolted at the idea of building relations with a country alleged to have supported Palestinian suicide bombers, Mike O'Brien said that the talks represented an opportunity to express our concern on that subject and also to use our influence to return to negotiations and persuade Syria to close the offices of Palestinian Rejectionist groups in Damascus.'We need to try to talk through our differences, perhaps find ways of reducing those differences,' he said. 'Syria is an important and influential country. It's changing, it's opening up. We want to encourage that process and to engage Syria not only in the Middle East peace process, but also hopefully in sending clear messages to Saddam Hussein and hopefully in due course avoiding war.' More
Zanzibar gets first private newspaper since revolution
DAR ES SALAAM, 16 December (IRIN) - In a bid to revive what was once a diverse and dynamic press, several journalists in Zanzibar last week launched the archipelago's first private newspaper for 40 years.
Dira, the Kiswahili word for "compass", is the first privately-run newspaper since the violent revolution in 1964 that led to Zanzibar's union with Tanganyika and the formation of Tanzania.
"We want to give people confidence that this is their country, that they can say what they think and that the constitution protects them," Ali Nabwa, the weekly newspaper's managing editor told IRIN on Monday.
"Because of this paper, people here are very excited, but they have been asking, 'Will it be able to continue? Will they allow you?'" Nabwa said. "But they are not doing us any favours by letting us publish. This is our constitutional right. So long as we do not commit an offence, they cannot ban the paper."
Nabwa admitted that there was pressure to "toe the line by praising the government", but he said that Dira would continue publishing stories that challenged the establishment. He cited the tendency of people to heap praise on Julius Nyerere, Tanzania's first president, while ignoring the government's abuse of detention powers during his rule and the mistreatment of Zanzibar, as issues that needed to be tackled.
Zanzibar, which had one of East Africa's most dynamic and politically diverse presses in the early 60s, has been ruled by the same party since the 1964 revolution. However, the archipelago is currently undergoing a process of political reconciliation following a period of uncertainty caused by elections in 2000, which the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) claims were flawed.
Commentators welcomed the arrival of a new publication in the Zanzibari media, but questioned whether the paper would be fully independent from a political ideology as well as being independent from the government.
"This is typical for the Zanzibar political scene," a don at the University of Dar es Salaam noted. "Politics on the island are highly polarised between the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) and CUF, so you will find sections that are very excited, while, equally there will be those that won't even bother reading Dira."
"The publication may be seen by many as a mouthpiece for CUF, but, given the atmosphere of democratisation and reconciliation and the donor community's renewing interest in Zanzibar, I don't see the government wanting to be seen to be closing down newspapers," he concluded. (keralamonitor.com)
Libya denies sending in troops
KINSHASA, 16 December (IRIN) - Libya has denied allegations by the government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) last week accusing it of sending troops and military equipment into DRC territory along the border with the Central African Republic (CAR).
A statement made by the Libyan General People's Committee for African Unity quoted by the Libyan news agency, Jana, on Saturday said Libya "had no forces or equipment of any kind in these areas". It said the country "had been and was still working to establish peace and achieve national reconciliation in the DRC", which included its involvement in "numerous initiatives" and several African mini-summits in this respect.
On 13 December, the DRC government reportedly wrote to the UN Security Council asking it to condemn Libya's action and to demand the immediate withdrawal of its troops from DRC territory.
This followed an accusation on 11 December by Vital Kamerhe, the commissioner-general of the DRC government in charge of the peace process in the Great Lakes region, who said the Mouvement de liberation du Congo (MLC) rebel group - which was being aided by Libya - had heavy weapons, tanks and artillery stationed in Gbadolite in preparation for an attack on the capital, Kinshasa.
The Libyan statement acknowledged the presence of a limited number of Libyan soldiers in the CAR in response to a request of the CAR government and in accordance with a decision taken by the Community of the Sahel-Saharan States and the African Union. It added, however, that these troops would be withdrawn "in the next few days" after being been replaced by forces of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa.(keralamonitor.com)
DRC: UN finds 38 bodies in mass grave in Kisangani
KINSHASA, 16 December (IRIN) - A UN team has found 38 human corpses buried in a mass grave in Kisangani, northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, a senior UN official told IRIN on Friday.
"The remains of another body were found in a separate area, but the other 38 were found in a mass grave," said Amos Namanga Ngongi, the special representative of the UN Secretary-General to the DRC. Ngongi also head the UN peacekeeping mission to the country, known as MONUC.
He added that preliminary tests had shown that the corpses were buried between 1994 and 2001. Experts would release further details to UN headquarters in Geneva, as they obtained additional information.
Since 1992 Kisangani - previously a seat of government - has passed through the hands of many different armies, including those of the late President Mobutu Sese Seko, of Rwanda, those of the rebel Rassemblement congolais pour la democratie and Mayi-Mayi militia.(keralamonitor.com)