June 15, 2004.

K M D I S C U S S I O N F O R U M F R O M P A R E N T S IIJS Jeddah.

To the kind attention of All NRI's -Malayali Students face Discrimination in Indian International School Saudi Arabia?

H.E. Mr. Manmohan Singh, The Prime Minister of India,
Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, MP,
Mr. Arjun Singh, Minister - Human Resources Development,
Mr. Natwar Singh, Minister - External Affairs,
Mr. Jaipal Reddy, Minister - Information & Broadcasting
Mr. Sunil Dutt, Minister - Youth Affairs,
Mr. Kuldip Nayyar, Mr. M. J. Akbar & All News Papers - India
Principal, Chairman, Managing Committee; International Indian School, Saudi Arabia,

Discrimination In Education

With deep concern, we are writing this to all of you with a humble request to every individual to kindly forward this message to as many people as possible to make this information reach to the concerned body in order to get justice for the innocent, hard working students of NRIs. This study is based on a close observation of Students of Jeddah International Indian School (Class X) this academic year (2003-04), while the other has to come out through monitoring by some parents body. Both the bodies are parents of students of IISJ.

As you are well aware that the Secondary School Examination (Class X) final results have been published and it seems there is a lobby, who with a malafide intent, chopping away the overall marks of the subject, English. This is being done only in the case of students who select their second language as Malayalam (the mother tongue of Keralites).

In case of students who select HINDI as their second language, they have achieved surprising marks. The ratio is approximately 20-25 marks plus in case of the Hindi ones and 20-25 marks minus in case of the Malayalam language students.

This is a sheer insult to those students who are hard working and their achievement is being evaluated by the envious few, who are discriminating on the basis of the students' mother tongue.

As per our knowledge, one of the main reasons is the previous Central Government’s efforts in employing their own fascist people in key posts all over India, especially in the Education field. It may be noted that Kerala has not returned a single MP who belongs to BJP and its allies. Their jealousy and animosity is mostly politically motivated, designed to teach (already literated)Keralite a lesson for their disregard toward the BJP and its allies.

A Malayalam Language - News Paper's Jeddah correspondent, made an investigation on this subject by interviewing some students of the school and found the allegations are correct. When the correspondant met the principal, he admitted in general that the school is experiencing this practice since 3 years not only Keralite student but also almost all students while the NRI students are more capable to handle English against students in India. He further mentioned that the School (Jeddah) has written a letter to CBSE, New Delhi this year on the above-mentioned discrimination.

Again, we reguest all of you to kindly forward this message to maximum as possible.

Kind regards,

For Parents and All Malayali Community

School News College News

Telecom and Media Leaders Stress Convergence Critical for Regional Communications Future

Amman, 15 June 2004 Participants in the Media and Telecommunication Convergence conference held recently by regional telecommunications and media analysts Arab Advisors Group in Amman, stressed on the fact that the convergence of these two vital sectors will reflect positively on various sectors and will enhance the size of business and trade in addition to remarkable increase in flow of information among different communities. The two-day conference held under the Patronage of Dr. Fawaz H. Zu'bi Minister of Information and Communications Technology, saw the participation of over 300 regional media and telecom leaders.

In the opening session His Excellency Dr. Zu'bi said that the future of telecommunication is in converging with media, highlighting that currently there is a competition between telecom operators in providing advanced voice and data services. He added that although the region faces challenges, leaders are learning how to best benefit from the convergence of media and telecommunication that has the potential to transform communications services in the region.

"I believe that the convergence of telecom and media is a mustunderway, as nowadays they are considered a unique and vital sectors, as they target all segments of community and at the same time play a key role in the development of these communities." Said Jawad Abbasi, president and founder of Arab Advisors Group. " During the two days participants discussed the future of these sectors and the positive outcome from the convergence of these sectors. in addition to Moreover setting the methods in further enhancing the adoption of mobile multimedia services based on providing persuasive data content was also fully discussed."

The conference also shed the light on the importance of content development in the Arab world and the crucial role which media could play in driving users to adopt multimedia services. The conference called on operators to further spread awareness between users on the role of advanced mobile services, which will lead into gaining more revenues.

" I believe there is a need to hold similar conferences in the region, ," said Sulieman Al Shuneifi, marketing manager of SMS at Saudi Telecom. "The telecom markets in the Arab world are alike, and such conferences enable us to share our expertise and learn from each other, in addition to paving the path for new means of cooperation between operators. I would like to call on all Arab operators to participate in such conferences in order to further enhance our capabilities."

In a bid to further promote the necessity of converging these sectors, an exhibition was held on the sidelines of the conference. A number of telecom and media organisations showcased their latest services and offerings.

"The convergence of telecom and media is essential," said Ziad Al Masri, Mobile Data Services Manager at Fastlink. "The conference enabled us to share expertise and discuss the opportunities which are created by the phenomenal advancements achieved in the ICT sector in the Arab world. Fastlink has been well known for being a leader in providing state-of-art- services, we have taken into consideration the important role of media and our customers are currently experiencing advanced multi media services." The main sponsors of the event were MTC the Kuwaiti Mobile Telecommunications Company and Fastlink, the leading GSM operator in the Kingdom. The conference is also sponsored by Xpress, Jordan Telecom, Maktoob, CNBC Arabia, Orbit, Axiom Telecom, Nafes and Spot On Public Relations.

E Ahmed on four-day visit to Saudi Arabia

June 14: External Affairs E Ahmed arrived at Saudi Arabia on a four-day visit and was received by Custodian of the two Holy Mosques, King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz in Jeddah. He conveyed the greetings of the new Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and also laid stress on the new government's policy to strengthening the ties between Saudi Arabia and India. Stress was also laid on the cultural links between the two countries and the people-to-people contact. There is a population of more than 1.5 million Indians residing in Saudi Arabia and thus forms a large part of the country's overall population. Minister Ahmed isl also planning to meet Iyad bin Ameen Madani, Minister of Haj, to finalise arrangements for nearly 120,000 Indian pilgrims who would be performing annual Haj pilgrimage in January next year. This is the first meeting between the two countries since the formation of the new Manmohan Singh Government. -Keralamonitor.com

CBI cracks the Satyendra Dubey murder case

New Delhi June 16: With the recovery of the murder weapon and the briefcase of Shri Satyendra Kumar Dubey, CBI has cracked the murder of the IIT engineer. CBI has also arrested five persons for their involvement in the murder of Shri Dubey. On the basis of the statements of these arrested persons, CBI recovered the briefcase from a well near the Gaya Railway Station. The briefcase contains some official papers/Polaroid ID Card No.28083 of National Highways Authority belonging to Shri Dubey, a mobile charger, a bunch of keys and some family photographs which are heavily damaged due to seepage into the broken briefcase. CBI has recovered the country made gun used for the murder and two live cartridges from the concealed place.
Shri Satyendra Kumar Dubey, an Engineer on deputation to National Highways Authority was shot by some undidentified assailants in the early hours of 27th November,2003 while he was returning to his residence at Gaya from the Railway station on a rickshaw. The case was taken up by CBI for investigation on the request of the Govt. of Bihar.
CBI had arrested four persons, Uday Mallah, Mantu Kumar, Tutu Kumar and Babloo, all belonging to Katari village of Gaya on 6.6.2004. On 13.6.2004, CBI arrested another accused Sarvan Paswan.

On interrogation of the arrested persons, it was disclosed that Mantu Kumar had shot Shri Dubey while Sarvan Paswan bursted a cracker to scare Shri Dubey. They wanted to snatch the briefcase of Shri Dubey but Shri Dubey resisted with all his force. After shooting at Shri Dubey, the assailants ran away towards Katari village. They broke open the brief case and took out Rs.4,000/- in cash. They had also taken Rs.500/- from Shri Dubey's pocket earlier. They distributed the amount equally and threw the briefcase into an abandoned well. They also concealed the country made gun and two live cartridges in a crevice in the Katari hill.
During the investigation, the district police of Gaya, especially Shri Sanjay Singh, SP provided operational assistance to the CBI team. The Special Task Force of the SP led by Shri Atal Singh, Head Constable assisted CBI in the investigation of this case. -Keralamonitor.com

Increased penalty for ticketless rail travel from July 1

June 14: The penalty for ticketless rail travel will be increased to Rs. 250 from the existing Rs. 50 with effect from July 1, 2004. This follows amendments to Sections 137 (3) and 138 (3) of the Railways Act, 1989 by the Parliament in 2003. A gazette notification to this effect, appointing July 1, 2004 as the day from which the amended provisions of the Railways Act will be enforced, has been issued by the Ministry of Railways. With five-fold increase in the penalty for tickeless rail travel, the leakages of revenues will be plugged considerably as the Railways are gearing up to take multi-pronged measures to check tickeless travelling. -Keralamonitor.com

Kamal Nath invites G-20 to hold its next meeting in India Reiterates India's limited flexibility in agricultural market access

June 14: Shri Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce and Industry, has invited the G-20 to hold its next ministerial meeting in India. This was conveyed by him to Mr. Celso Amorim, the Brazilian Foreign Minister, at a bilateral meeting in Sao Paulo on Saturday evening. Brazil is the coordinator of the G-20. Shri Kamal Nath appreciated the important role of Brazil in the G-20 and said that the consolidation of this Group on agriculture was important not only for G-20 but for all WTO member countries.

Discussing the present state of play in the WTO negotiations in agriculture and their respective assessments regarding the kind of framework for agricultural negotiations that was proposed to be achieved in July, Shri Kamal Nath reiterated India´s limited flexibility in the area of agricultural market access in order to protect its interests in the rural sector, even as it was prepared to move forward in the negotiation. He emphasized that any formula for the framework must adequately address the concerns of member countries in respect of all the three pillars of the agreement on agriculture namely, domestic support, export competition and market access and market access alone should not be allowed to overtake the other two pillars which were of vital concern to developing countries. Mr. Amorim underlined the role of G-20 as a strategic alliance and said that "never had the developing countries participated as actively or perceived as such active players in impacting the agricultural negotiations in the WTO as also the public opinion". The ideals of trade liberalization combined with social justice were symbolised by the alliance between India and Brazil, he said. The blended formula of tariff reduction which developing countries had rejected was no formula at all, he stressed, adding that the new blue box being proposed by some developed countries should be subject to severe disciplines. He emphasied that the G-20 had made a lot of progress till now, even as a lot of work was yet to be done.

Later, following the Ministerial meeting of G-20, in which Shri Kamal Nath participated, a Ministerial communiqué was issued, which stated that the G-20 meeting took place at a crucial moment in the Doha round as WTO members sought to reach agreement on a framework for agriculture negotiations by the end of July 2004. The meeting assessed the current stage of Doha round negotiations with special emphasis on agriculture and considered the next steps in the negotiations. "G-20 Ministers reiterated that maintaining the level of ambition of the Doha mandate remains the guiding principle of the negotiations. In this context, any framework text must be fully consistent with the Doha Mandate and lead to the establishment of modalities capable of ensuring substantial reductions in trade-distorting domestic support, substantial increase in market access, phasing-out with a view to elimination of all forms of export subsidies and operational and effective special and differential treatment, that takes into account food and livelihood security and rural development needs``, the communiqué said.

The Ministers noted that negotiations on agriculture were central to move the Doha round to a successful and timely conclusion. Trade in agricultural products continued to be hindered by all sorts of barriers and distortions and therefore, true liberalization in agricultural trade must include reforms to address such barriers and distortions in order to achieve the development objectives of the Doha round. The interests and concerns of developing members would have to be paramount in the negotiations and special and differential treatment for developing countries must be fully reflected in the outcome.

The Ministers stressed that a number of important and sensitive issues remained to be tackled with regard to domestic support. Substantial reductions in (trade distorting) support, stronger disciplines and effective monitoring would be essential. "For achieving substantial reduction of domestic subsidies, there must be deep cuts in the sum of overall trade-distorting support, which calls for, inter alia, clarity regarding the point of departure for reduction commitments in the Blue Box. Improved disciplines in distorting domestic support are required to avoid product and box shifting. The importance of accepting product-specific disciplines in the Amber and in the Blue Box was highlighted. Enhanced monitoring mechanisms are essential to provide confidence that commitments by Members will be fulfilled. As far as the Green Box is concerned, Ministers stressed the importance of ensuring its non-trading distorting nature, and, therefore, the need to clarify its criteria, while ensuring transparency and accountability in its utilisation."

On export subsidy, Ministers welcomed the progress in the negotiations over credible end-date for the phasing out of all forms of export subsidies, as mandated at Doha and said that to achieve this, workable and precise definition regarding timeframes and disciplines will be needed so as to elimination of direct export subsidies as well as all forms of subsidies in terms of export credits, state trading enterprises activities etc.

The Ministers also welcomed the fact the G-20 document (on market access) has prompted renewed substantive discussions on the market access issue in agriculture and allowed for better understanding of each members´ position and issues which would have to be resolved.

The Group has also been successful in its efforts to take into account the concerns of other members outside the G-20 in its proposal, especially of other developing countries and least developed countries.

The Ministers also expressed their common belief that South-South trade i.e. increased trade flows among developing countries would be a major contribution to enhancing their integration into global trade as a whole and stressed the importance of launching a third round of negotiations under the Global System of Trade Preferences (GSTP) among developing countries during UNCTAD XI. -Keralamonitor.com

Iron ore mining industry to continue as publicity utility service for another six months

June 14: The Iron Ore Mining Industry has been declared a public utility service under the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 for another six months with effect from June 18, 2004. The Labour Ministry in a notification issued here said that this has been done as the Central Government considers it necessary to extend the above said period for six months. The Iron Ore Mining Industry was declared a public utility service for six months from December 18, 2003.

The employees in this industry, as a result, would among other things be required to give notice to their employer six weeks in advance of proceeding on strike so that conciliatory proceedings could be started. During the conciliatory proceedings and seven days after their completion, the employees cannot go on strike. -Keralamonitor.com

Kamal Nath attends NG-5 meeting on WTO Doha round issues in Sao Paolo

June 14: Shri Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce and Industry, participated in the important meeting of the NG (non-group)-5 - an informal group of 5 key WTO member countries - to move the WTO Doha negotiations forward in Sao Paolo yesterday. The meeting was attended by Mr. Robert Zoellick, United States Trade Representative (USTR); Mr. Pascal Lamy, the EC Trade Commissioner; Mr. Mark Vaile, Minister of Trade of Australia and Mr. Celso Amorim, the Brazilian Foreign Minister. The meeting discussed agriculture issues in the WTO negotiations with reference to the three main pillars of the Agreement on Agriculture viz., domestic support, export competition and market access, and agreed to proceed towards working out a framework agreement for negotiations on all the three pillars in parallel, keeping in mind the sensitivities of member countries. Participants later said the discussions were very fruitful and constructive, pointing to the possibility of a framework agreement for the negotiations on agriculture by the mandated time frame of July 2004.

Since Cancun, considerable progress has been achieved in identifying issues in the three areas of the agriculture negotiations and the NG-5, which is also known as the group of five interested parties (FIPs), has been meeting and discussing issues, with India and Brazil representing the views of G-20 at these deliberations.

Earlier, in his bilateral meetings with Mr. Robert Zoellick and Celso Amorim, Shri Kamal Nath strongly underlined India's sensitivities in the area of agriculture and stressed that the July framework must capture the essential interests of all countries. For this, it was vital that work in all the three areas in agriculture i.e., domestic support, export subsidy and market access, should proceed in tandem so that the outcome could be fair and equitable. -Keralamonitor.com

Confine labour issues to ILO framework, Labour Minister Sis Ram Ola tells International Labour Conference

June 14: All issues relating to labour and decent work should be addressed within the framework of the International Labour Organisation. Conveying India's strong feelings in this regard, the Labour Minister Shri Sis Ram Ola urged the International Labour Organisation, ILO, that there should be no compromise on this.

Addressing the International Labour Conference in Geneva today, Shri Ola said that any agreement between multinational companies and global employment forum, as suggested in the report of the World Commission on Globalisation, would not be practical at the national level. He said, "Encouragement of such agreements on core labour standards may undermine and marginalise the national consultative mechanisms among social partners." The Labour Minister said that we have to ensure systematic global governance based on democracy, social equity and effective participation of all social partners in order to achieve the global goal of decent work.

Referring to unemployment and poverty alleviation, Shri Ola told the conference that New Delhi is deeply concerned about these issues. He said, "We are sensitive to the needs of our people and committed to providing them fair opportunities and decent work." However, Shri Ola added that at this stage of development, we are not in a position to support the concept of a common socio-economic floor across the globe. But we are agreeable to such a concept to all families within the country. On cross border movement of labour, Shri Ola called for an effective multilateral framework. Referring to globalisation, Shri Ola said that the greatest challenge before us is how to ensure development of society at large with a human face.

The Labour Minister expressed appreciation for the World Commission for having adopted Mahatma Gandhi's quotation in its report to convey its message which says, "There is enough in the world for everybody's need, but there cannot be enough for everybody's greed".

The Labour Minister is leading a 27-member tripartite Indian delegation to the Conference. The delegation comprises of one Delegate and seven Advisers each from the Employees' and Employers' sides and a seven-member Government Group The 17-day Conference, also known as Labour Summit, opened on June 1st, 2004 and is being attended by about 3,000 delegates, including Labour Ministers and leaders of workers' and employers' organizations from most of the ILO's 177 member States. -Keralamonitor.com

UK News

Putting victims first : The Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Bill

June 14: The Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Bill will today enter the House of Commons for the first time. Home Secretary, David Blunkett will introduce the Bill, which provides for the biggest overhaul of domestic violence law in 30 years, heralding tough powers for the police and the courts to protect victims and prosecute abusers.

Proposals in the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Bill will strengthen the rights of victims and witnesses, ensuring they receive the help, support and protection they need. They build on the Government's ongoing reform of the criminal justice system, rebalancing the process in favour of victims and witnesses.

The Home Secretary will also announce new measures to be taken forward following a public consultation on compensation and support for victims of crime. These are:

* Making offenders pay more towards compensation and support for victims through:

- Making wider use of court compensation orders.
- Making criminals and those who commit anti-social behaviour pay back to their communities by placing a surcharge on criminal convictions, fines and Fixed Penalty Notices for criminal offences. This will exclude parking offences, all civil penalty notices and non endorsable motoring offences. On speeding, we intend to penalise only
the most serious and persistent offenders.
* Introducing a right for the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority to recover money from offenders.

Mr Blunkett said:

"I feel proud and privileged to bring forward this legislation today. These reforms are long overdue. The effect of crime on the lives of its victims can be devastating. Victims and witnesses need support, and I am committed to ensuring that they get it.
"This Bill is a crucial part of the government's determination to put victims at the heart of the criminal justice system. It will help put law-abiding citizens first and ensure that victims have the justice system on their side. It represents the most radical overhaul in domestic violence legislation for 30 years. It builds on widespread consultation, including with victims themselves. This Bill is shaped by their views.

"Domestic violence is an abhorrent crime, which costs the lives of two women every week, and accounts for 1 in 5 of all violent crime. This Bill will ensure that victims get the help, support and protection they need, and that the police and the courts have the powers they need to convict and punish these offenders.

"A Victims Fund will put more money into services such as practical support, information and advice to victims of rape and sexual offences, road traffic accident victims and those who have been bereaved as a result of crime. We want to provide more funding to the voluntary sector and communities to meet local needs. I have already dedicated £4 million from the proceeds of crime to this fund. The measures we are announcing today will further help to ensure that offenders contribute more to supporting victims.
"I realise that legislation alone is not enough. That is why we are tackling the root causes of crime, through record police numbers and concerted action to tackle problematic drug use and anti-social behaviour so fewer people are likely to become victims of crime. The chance of becoming a victim of crime is now the lowest in 20 years. We are also investing £650 million on support for victims.

"Collectively these measures, along with legislation such as the Criminal Justice Act, the Sexual Offences Act and this Bill will ensure that victims feel able to come forward and can be confident that when they do they get the help, support and protection they need to rebuild their lives, as well as helping to convict the guilty." -Keralamonitor.com

UK, France and Norway to receive new submarine rescue system

June 14: Following an international competition the MoD, together with partner nations France and Norway, has placed a £47m contract with Rolls Royce for a new high-tech rescue system to help crews escape from sunken submarines anywhere in the world.

The project - The NATO Submarine Rescue System (NSRS) - will be based around a 10-metre, 27-tonne submarine, operated by a crew of three, which can dive down to a stricken boat and dock with it, bringing the crew up to the surface in batches. As well as a rescue submarine the contract will provide for an unmanned craft, which will locate the sunken submarine, decompression chambers, medical facilities and other support equipment. The contract also covers support and operation of the system for the first ten years of its life. The new system will replace the current rescue submarine based on the LR5 submersible, which is reaching the end of her design life. The project will help sustain around 85 jobs across the country.

Minister for Defence Procurement Lord Bach said: "This system will give us and our partners the most effective submarine rescue system available. Our submarines are painstakingly designed with safety in mind and their safety record is impeccable, but they operate in the harshest of environments and it is vital we have an effective rescue capability.

"This project is a fine example of how working with partner nations can bring great benefits by sharing both cost and expertise." The NSRS will be based in HM Naval Base on the Clyde, where it will be able to respond to emergencies anywhere in the world within 72 hours. The new system is scheduled to enter service at the end of 2006 and
will have a life of 25 years. -Keralamonitor.com

WHO News

Geneva, June 14: The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) today welcomed the G-8's endorsement of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise, a virtual consortium proposed by an international group of scientists that is being established to accelerate HIV vaccine development.

HIV/AIDS vaccine development has been slow, due mainly to the enormous scientific, logistical and financial challenges involved. Since the discovery of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as the cause of AIDS in 1983/84, multiple vaccine candidates have been tested in more than 70 human clinical trials with moderate success. So far, only one vaccine candidate has concluded the stage of definitive trials and it did not show any noticeable level of efficacy. This indicates a need to consolidate and intensify all international efforts to ensure further progress in this field.

"I welcome the G-8's endorsement of this initiative. The Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise will bring a new political and financial dimension addressing the complex challenge of developing a safe and effective HIV/AIDS vaccine," said Dr LEE Jong-wook, Director-General of WHO.

The Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise would enhance coordination, information sharing and global collaboration amongst the world's HIV vaccine researchers in industrialized and developing countries in both private and public sectors. It would prioritize the scientific challenges that need to be addressed, coordinate product development efforts and encourage greater use of information sharing technologies. Existing resources would be better aligned and would be channeled more efficiently. Its work would also promote more effective synergies between research into new technologies and global efforts to scale up the preventive and therapeutic interventions for HIV/AIDS which already exist.

"AIDS has always challenged us to do business differently, and this is no less true with development of a vaccine,"said Dr Peter Piot, Executive Director of UNAIDS. "The G8's endorsement of the Global HIV Vaccine Enterprise is a vital boost to help it forge the strategic planning, collaboration, and global investment of resources by governments and industry that is commensurate with the intensive effort required to develop a globally accessible and affordable HIV vaccine".

To achieve these goals, the Enterprise will develop a strategic plan for development, testing and production of HIV candidate vaccines in collaboration with major national and international partners, as well as vaccine manufacturers. Partners in the Enterprise include the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Vaccine Research Centre at the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), the European Research Institutes, the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI), European Union and national HIV vaccine programmes and research institutions from developing countries.

WHO and UNAIDS are committed to supporting the Enterprise, by contributing to capacity building in developing countries in conducting clinical trials at the highest scientific and ethical levels, addressing issues such as future access to HIV vaccines as part of HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care programmes. -Keralamonitor.com