Widow numbers rise in wake of violence BAGHDAD, 26 April (IRIN) - More than 90 women become widows each day due to continuing violence countrywide, according to government officials and non-governmental organisations devoted to women's issues. "Hundreds of households are losing their heads due to ongoing violence, causing a drop in living standards," said Mayada Zuhair, a spokesperson for the Women's Rights Association (WRA). "More women now have to search for work to support their children." "In addition to being widowed, these women don't get any government support," Mayada added, "nor are their rights respected." Although few reliable statistics are available on the total number of widows in Iraq, the Ministry of Women's Affairs says that there are at least 300,000 in Baghdad alone, with another eight million throughout the country. Officials point out that at least 15 police officers' wives become widows every day because police constitute major targets for the insurgency. "Every married police officer is concerned about what he will bequeath his family," said senior police officer Major Khalid Maruf. "They fear that death is around the corner." Thousands of Iraqi women lost their husbands during the ten-year war with Iran in the 1980s. This number rose further during the 1991 US-led war with Iraq following the latter's invasion of Kuwait. Local NGOs say the situation has become even more critical since the 2003 US-led invasion of the country, which has given rise to increasing violence and sectarian killing. "Saddam Hussein was responsible for killing thousands of men during his 25 years of brutal rule," said Ibtissam Kamal, a member of a local organisation that works on the issue but which prefers anonymity for security reasons. "But more people have died during the past three years, most of them men whose families are now without support." Ibtissam's NGO, which has received threats more than five times in the past three months, is devoted to empowering women by preparing them for employment. "We're looking for funds to support these women and try to reintegrate them into society," Ibtissam said. "We want to empower them by getting them jobs, instead of having them rely solely on remarriage as a means of raising their orphaned children." The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is also looking into ways of helping widows who have lost husbands as a result of violence. According to a senior ministry official, projects currently being studied include the creation of more job opportunities and the establishment of free day-care centres. As is common with many of the government's more altruistic plans, however, funding remains an overriding concern. "A lot of investment is required to implement these projects, and the ministry lacks funding for new initiatives," said Sinan Youssef, an official at the social affairs ministry's strategy department. Youssef added that many marginalised groups were suffering from a lack of government assistance. "We expect international NGOs to help us provide these widows with the necessary support to raise their children," he said. Under the Saddam Hussein regime, widows of "martyrs", particularly during the Iran-Iraq war, were provided with compensation and free education for their children. In some cases, they were provided with free homes. Under the current system, however, no such safety net exists, and widows have few resources at their disposal. "I lost my husband six months ago, and don't have parents to help me, because they died in the Iran-Iraq war," said recently-widowed Yousra Ibraheem, 38. "My late husband supported me, but left me with no means of sustenance." Indo-German Relations Scale New Heights Allah Bukhsh** This is a unique year for India in Germany. We are the Partner Country at the Hannover Trade Fair and the Guest of Honour Country at the Frankfurt Book Fair. India’s participation at Hannover Messe 2006 with over 300 companies showcases the vast potential for partnership that the expanding Indian economy offers for trade, investment and technology collaboration. In the month of May, India is the Focus Country at the Bonn Biennale. For each of these important fairs, India has the unique distinction of being the only country to have been bestowed the honour for a second time. Several German cities would be holding special events on India. The tremendous interest that India has generated there, will contribute towards bringing the people of Germany and India still closer. Globally Attractive Destination India is on the move today. The Indian economy has recorded high rates of growth on a sustained basis since the process of economic reforms began. India is among the most attractive destinations globally for doing business. Several Indian companies have expanded their global presence in various sectors across the world, including in Germany. Today, our external economic profile is robust and reassuring to investors, at home as well as abroad. The economy has recorded close to 8 per cent annual growth for two years in a row. Raising India’s annual growth rate to around 9-10% can be confidently predicted. The optimism is based on the fact that our savings rate is now over 29% of our GDP and the investment rate is about 31% of GDP. Policies relating to investment, banking, finance and capital markets have evolved to make Indian industry and enterprise more competitive globally. The launch of a massive programme for rural renewal will upgrade rural infrastructure and incomes and thereby, expand the domestic market. Government’s new policies are enabling public-private partnership in the modernization of our roads system, railway system, ports, airports, power and the entire urban infrastructure. The transformation, India is going through, bids fair to be one of the most exciting in this century as over one billion people move towards growth and prosperity. Strategic Partners India and Germany are Strategic Partners. Germany is the 6th largest investor in India and the 3rd largest trading partner for India in Europe. Indo-German collaborations are among the market leaders in a whole range of sectors. The two countries also have a long-standing scientific and technical collaboration. They also continue to work closely with regard to the reform of the UN Security Council. Addressing the Inaugural Session of the Indo-German Business Summit in Hannover, Germany, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh said: This Business Summit, and the various events organized in the Hannover Industrial Fair, offer an excellent opportunity for our business communities to forge useful linkages. They also provide a new impetus to our bilateral commercial engagement. … There is enormous respect for German enterprise and creativity in India. Today, Germany is the 6th largest foreign investor in India and most major German companies are already in India, and doing well. Several have become market leaders in their areas of operation. Several Indian subsidiaries of prominent German companies have out-performed the German parent companies. This has created a good basis for cooperative engagement between our businesses. While the bigger German firms have been present in India for a long time and know India well, the German Mittelstand has also played an important role. A recent survey of German business leaders show that more than 80 per cent of German companies are aware of the huge potential of the Indian market. About 65 per cent of German manufacturing companies already have a presence in India and another 30 per cent plan to come there. This is a good augury for expanded cooperation between us in future. Indian Multinationals Earlier at the inauguration of the Hannover Messe, Dr. Manmohan Singh said: The fundamentals of the Indian economy are strong and robust. We are confident of sustaining our high economic performance and growth rates of 8%. Indeed, we aim to raise this to the 8-10% bracket in the near future. Indian firms are becoming globally competitive and we are witnessing the rise of Indian multinationals. India has become a production base and an export hub for a range of products from agricultural goods to automobile components to high end and IT enabled services. Indian firms are now part of global production chains – importing, sub-assembling, adding value and re-exporting. Today, corporations from all over the world are establishing themselves in India. They seek to take advantage of the pool of high quality scientific talent and skilled work force in the manufacturing and services sectors. There is immense scope for Indo-German Cooperation based on the triad of infrastructure development, manufacturing and high technology. Many German companies in India have successfully leveraged the advantage India offers to set up R & D facilities and business process outsourcing operations. Other corporations are also increasingly aware of the enormous opportunities that a market of over a billion consumers offers, in the long run. Consequently, it is no surprise that German companies are planning to expand their operations in India and make India their manufacturing hub for the region. NRI Contribution Indian communities in Germany have earned for themselves an enviable reputation for diligence, creativity, and enterprise and for assimilation in a foreign culture and ethos without losing or abandoning the intrinsic values that make them Indian. This has enabled each and every one of them to be ambassadors of India and to favourably shape the perception of India among their colleagues at work, their neighbours in their communities and their elected representatives. Their contribution in furthering the understanding for India in Germany is admirable. Their love and respect for the land of their ancestors have to be complimented. Demand for Security Technology on the Increase in the Middle East Online Distribution and partners display IT security solutions at Comex 2006 Muscat, To keep pace with the increased spending on enterprise security products in the region, Online Distribution, the leading value added networking distributor, and its partners presented the latest solutions to improve internet security at Comex 2006, Oman’s largest IT exhibition. According to analyst firm Datamonitor, increased interest in security solutions among enterprises around the world has ensured that security product revenues have exceeded those of many other IT solutions. Global spending on enterprise security products will rise to $13.5 billion in 2006, spurred on by the need for security administrators to manage an increasing number of new threats, and Online Distribution aims to increase the depth of security offered to medium and large enterprises while raising awareness of the threats posed to organisations. The company is strengthening its presence in Oman and representing three vendors, CipherTrust, Proxim and Juniper at Comex this year. “Companies are spending the most money on intrusion protection, vulnerability assessment solutions and security management tools, due largely to a number of high-profile virus outbreaks. This encourages companies to embed more technologies at each layer of the enterprise: at the perimeter, within the network, on servers and on client devices such as PCs and PDAs,” said Sushma Kajaria, security business unit manager, Online Distribution. Solutions highlighted at the show included the IronMail appliance from CipherTrust, the leader in messaging security, designed to protect enterprise e-mail users worldwide from viruses, spam and outside intrusion; and a broad range of Juniper Network’s award-winning networking and security solutions. By combining the skills and expertise of its partnership companies, OnLine Distribution is able to offer one of the most comprehensive and sophisticated IT security systems on the market. “The acquisition and collaboration of our partnership corporations is a direct response to a demand for higher levels of IT security in medium and large enterprises. We know that building the right technology security infrastructure is a focus for the government and corporates in Oman. We are committed to serving this market and events such as these help us connect better with our customers,” added Kajaria. BenQ shows off Digital Projectors at Gitex Saudi Arabia 2006 Riyadh,BenQ, the regional leader in digital lifestyle products, has recorded phenomenal growth in Saudi Arabia across its entire product range. As part of its continued investment in the Middle East’s most important market, BenQ participated at Gitex Saudi Arabia along with its channel partner Rodana Digital. According to research analysts Decision Tree Consulting, BenQ leads the digital projector market in Saudi Arabia and registered a 26 per cent market share in 2005. It has been estimated that one of every four projectors sold is manufactured by BenQ. Demand has also been particularly strong for its range of LCD TVs. Award winning BenQ products on display included the PE8720, the home cinema projector with the world’s highest contrast ratio (10,000:1), the CP120, the world’s smallest wireless XGA projector, and LCD televisions ranging from 20 to 37 inches. The 37-inch LCD TV (Model DV3750) is the only two mega pixel LCD TV currently available in the MEA region with an impressive HD resolution of 1920 x 1080. “Saudi Arabia is an enthusiastic adopter of new technology and is a strategic market for BenQ,” said Robert Dung, managing director, BenQ Middle East and Africa. “Increasingly, Saudi business professionals are identifying the positive impact of mobility on their bottom-line, and they are just as enthusiastic about its potential as their peers elsewhere in the region. The corporate sector will be a key focus for us this year in Saudi Arabia in line with our long term objectives of increasing our market share, premium product positioning and brand equity. We now have a dedicated focus for the Kingdom which will allow us to introduce innovative sales and marketing strategies and develop a solid channel network which reaches both consumers and businesses of all sizes in the most efficient manner.” BenQ will focus on consumer electronics products like LCD TVs and projectors and improve its market reach, frequency and penetration to break into the corporate sector in the Kingdom. To enhance brand preference and customer loyalty, the company will invest in brand marketing activities; marketing spend will increase 100 per cent over 2005 and will include media presence, in-store branding exercises and channel incentive programmes. “Consumers in Saudi Arabia are extremely knowledgeable about the latest technological developments,” said Ayman H. Akel, General Manager of Rodana Digital, BenQ’s distributor in Saudi Arabia. “The Kingdom is the region’s most important business market, because of its size and demand for leading edge technology. We are pleased to work with BenQ to bring state of the art technology to this market.” BenQ is the current No.3 producer of LCD monitors in the region and holds the No.2 position in the regional projector market, according to BNA and DTC research respectively. This year, it will continue to build on its digital lifestyle range by launching new products in its award-winning range of LCD monitors, projectors and LCD TVs to its target audiences in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Egypt. Ethiopian Minister Reiterates Strong Ties with India Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of Ethiopia while delivering the Keynote Address at the inaugural session of the Regional Conclave on India Africa Project Partnership 2006 on 28.4.2006 said that the east Africa region and Ethiopia in particular have had fruitful and friendly relations with India for centuries and India has been a steadfast supporter of Africa’s legitimate interests since its independence. He said that the conclave will help re-affirm this long-standing relationship. He said India has reached a stage where it can play a vital role in assisting Africa to break the bondage of poverty and lauded Indian businessmen for the economic miracle that has been achieved by India.He said that India can help in the developmental efforts of Ethiopia by investing in infrastructure, agriculture, agro-processing and labour intensive manufacturing. He said that Ethiopia is investment friendly and assured that drawbacks can be redressed. He said that the balance of trade does not reflect the true potential which exists between Ethiopia and India as Ethiopia can export agricultural products to India. He expressed hope that the conclave will help in building the momentum to redress the shortfall. The inauguration ceremony was also attended by H.E. Mr. Tadesse Haile, State Minister of Trade & Industry and H.E. Mr. Alemayehu Tegenu, Minister of Mines, Energy and Mr. Asfaw Digamo, Minister of Water Resources. A total of 400 people attended the Conclave. At the inauguration the Ambassador of India, H.E. Mr. Gurjit Singh announced that Embassy of India would undertake in the next six months a special study to guide Indian companies on emerging opportunities in Ethiopia so that the experience of the conclave could be utilized for creating a firm basis for action. He also announced that following the recent high level meetings between India and ECOWAS and SADC and initiative to have a similar high level and diversified engagement with COMESA would be undertaken. The inaugural session was followed by technical sessions on “India: A Partner of Choice” showcasing sectoral achievements of the Indian industry and “Going Beyond Lines of Credit” focusing on options of finance other than the Government Lines of Credit involving commercial banks and financial institutions from India and Africa. The technical sessions were followed by one to one meetings. A 40-member business delegation from India is taking part in the conclave. The captains of Indian industry through the Confederation of Indian Industry and leading bankers from India and the region through the EXIM Bank of India have all joined in a common endeavour to reach out to potential partners in Ethiopia and the eastern African region. One of the aims of the conclave is to enhance trade and further investment by a partnership between India’s public and private sectors with their counterparts in the countries of the eastern African region. Over 180 Indian companies have already invested in Ethiopia with a total approved investment of $350 million. In the last six months 35 Indian companies have invested in Ethiopia with an approved investment of $ 50 million. The overall trade between India and the eastern African region is presently $1.3 billion and is set to grow as a result of opportunities identified at the conclave. The conclave drew a good regional response with businessmen from Djibouti, Tanzania, Kenya and Sudan participating in the proceedings. Representatives of regional financial institutions like the Afri-EXIM Bank, the PTA Bank, the East Africa Development Bank, the Africa Development Bank and the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa participated in the deliberations and a panel discussion on financing initiatives to support the India Africa Project Partnership. On the day before the conclave the Indian delegation called on the President of Ethiopia, H.E. Mr. Girma Wolde-Giorgis and were briefed on the procedures and opportunities for trade and investment in Ethiopia by the State Minister of Trade & Industry, H.E. Mr. Tadesse Haile and the Director of the Privatisation Bureau. Later the Prime Minister of Ethiopia held a detailed hour long discussion with the Indian business delegation expressing his interest in having a closer engagement with Indian businessmen in recognition of their vigour and entrepreneurship. Bahrain Islamic Bank Rewarded Bahrain Islamic Bank (BIsB), first Islamic bank in Bahrain, was rewarded last night for sponsoring an educational awareness week organized by Eslah Society for the period between 25 – 30 April 2006. Sh. A.Nasser Bin Omar Al Mahmood Manager Sharia'a Audit Dept at Bahrain Islamic Bank received the thank-you certificate on behalf of BIsB. The certificate was handed to him by Mr. A.Latif Alsakran, Deputy Governor at Capital Governorate. The ceremony was attended by Sh. Wajdi Ghunaim who presented a lecture titled " My Modesty is my way to heaven" where it was attended by a mix audience over 250. The lecture was held at Fateh Beach walkaway and attended by MP Sh. Mohd Khalid and a number of Municipality reps.

Robert Dung, managing director at BenQ Middle East and Africa.