keralamonitor.com June 12, 2002.

Syria's Zeyzoun Dam Disaster Gets Mobile Satcoms Aid

Karim Saba joins Fujitsu Siemens Computers

Three fold increase in Western Digital business in the Middle East

 

 

Dubai, 12th June 2002 - Western Digital (NYSE:WDC), One of the data storage industry's pioneers and long time leaders, today announced that its EMEA distribution agreement with Tech Data signed last year, is already pulling positive results regionally where Tech Data achieved three-fold growth in Western Digital business in the Middle East. Tech Data Middle East is also ranked second in its EMEA group in Western Digital sales.

 

"A key factor in our growth is a successful distribution strategy with strong distribution partners like Tech Data," said Rauf Baig, regional sales manager for the Middle East, Africa and South East Asia for Western Digital. Earlier this year, Western Digital recorded a 35% share of the regional market for hard disk drives and a 15% growth in sales for 2001 in the Middle East. "One of the important values that the agreement with Tech Data brings to us is the ability of extend the reach of Western Digital to every country in the region, through fast and efficient distirbution, along with a strong support to the brand."

 

Tech Data and Western Digital announced their EMEA agreement in October 2001. The agreement intended to increase the availability of Western Digital's leading edge range of IDE disk drives to systems builders and OEMs throughout Europe and the Middle East and to extend the choice and value available to all of Tech Data customers. Dhruv Srivastava, PC Components business unit manager at Tech Data, explains: "Our sales and marketing strategy on Western Digital focuses on converting preferences in the channel by bringing forward the technology benefits of the brand, coupled with the value proposition that we are able to extend to the channel.

 

This strategy allowed us to converge approximately 75% of the untapped Western Digital potential market." Srivastava explains that Tech Data's value proposition comes with its fastest delivery capabilities, widest reach in the region, along with bundling programs especially with the various PC components brands that the company distributes. "These results make Tech Data a Western Digital ambassador in the region and a key factor in our growth in this market. " ended Baig.

 

Western Digital, one of the storage industry's pioneers and long-time leaders, provides products and services for people and organizations that collect manage and use digital information. The Company's core business produces reliable, high-performance hard drives that keep users' data close-at-hand and secure from loss.

Western Digital was founded in 1970. The Company's storage products are marketed to leading systems manufacturers and selected resellers under the Western Digital brand name. Visit the Investor section of the Company's Web site ( www.westerndigital.com ) to access a variety of financial and investor information.

 

Steps to Revive Indian Automobile and Ancilliary Industries

 

New Delhi; Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises today has offered to set up Ministerial mechanism to oversee speedy implementation and removal of major constraints hindering desired growth in the auto sector. Prabhu was speaking at an interactive session between his Ministry and Indian Automobile Industry represented by its two main associations Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) and Automotive Component Manufacturers Association of India (ACMA). The Minister also announced the setting up of an Inter-ministerial Committee headed by the Heavy Industry Secretary to co-ordinate policy implementation, inter-ministerial issues and suggest ways to remove impediments in making the auto industry a global player. This Committee would meet quarterly.

Prabhu underlined the need for aggressive marketing of 'Made in India' brand through wide overseas publicity involving Indian missions abroad. State-specific issues could be addressed by convening meetings with concerned Chief Ministers, he added. Elaborating the critical necessity to increase the spending on R&D, the Minister announced that his Ministry will organise a "World Best Practices Meet" around November-December this year. This meet to be organised in cooperation with the National Productivity Council and Auto Industry will be attended by global experts, he added.
Dr. Vallabhbhai Kathiria, Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, in his address said that the auto industry is a significant contributor to the national economy with its investment exceeding Rs.50,000 crore and output exceeding Rs.81,000 crore per annum.

 

He said its growth resulting in a wide choice of automobiles for Indian customers is a happy development. Secretary, B.N.Jha underlined the need to enhance productivity and cut costs for making world class automobiles, particularly small cars which can compete globally. He emphasised the need for enhancing the export potential of the auto component industry and the need for showcasing their skills and potential in world fairs and exhibitions.

R.Seshasayee, President, SIAM and L.Ganesh, former President of ACMA made detailed presentations and articulated problems and prospects of the industry. The two other associations thanked the Government for announcing the Auto Policy and welcomed the announcement of setting up of implementation mechanism for its expeditious implementation.

 

Washington State president Pleads Guilty to Selective Attacks against Islamic Idrissi Mosque.

WASHINGTON, D.C.- US Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Ralph F. Boyd, Jr. and United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington John McKay announced that Patrick Michael Cunningham pled guilty to the September 13, 2001 attack of an Islamic Idriss Mosque in Seattle, Washington and targeting Muslim and Arab-Americans for retaliatory violence following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C.

"As this successful prosecution makes clear, acts of violence and vigilantism targeted at individuals because of their race, religion, or national origin will not be permitted in the United States - they will be aggressively investigated, swiftly prosecuted and firmly punished," said Boyd. "The Department of Justice is committed to fighting hate and intolerance, as they tear at the very fabric of our great nation, a fabric that is strengthened by its diversity of races, religions and national origins," said a judgment in the second week of May 2002.

Cunningham, a 53-year-old Snohomish, Washington resident, pled guilty to two felony counts for attempting to obstruct worshipers in exercising their religious beliefs at the Islamic Idriss Mosque in Seattle, Washington on September 13, 2001. Cunningham drove 25 miles from his home to the Mosque and attempted to set fire to two vehicles in the parking lot of the Mosque by dousing the vehicles with gasoline and attempted to ignite the vehicles in an effort to destroy the Mosque and interfere with the worshipers as they worshiped inside. Cunningham arrived at the Mosque armed with a loaded pistol, and upon being discovered in the midst of his scheme, he pulled out the pistol and shot at the worshipers, who were unharmed.

In documents filed today in United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, Cunningham agreed to plead guilty to one count of Attempted Obstruction of Free Exercise of Religion and one count of use of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. In count one, Cunningham faces a maximum sentence of twenty years and a fine of two hundred fifty thousand dollars. In the second count, Cunningham faces a mandatory minimum period of five years, up to a maximum of imprisonment for life, to run consecutively to any other sentence, and a fine of two hundred fifty thousand dollars.
As part of the plea agreement, Cunningham agreed to draft a written apology to the victims and the worshipers of the Idriss Mosque, as well as present an oral apology to the victims and worshipers at the time of sentencing.

This case is one of several federal prosecutions initiated nationwide since the events of September 11 involving threats or acts of violence against persons who are, or were perceived to be, Arab or Muslim. The Department of Justice also has been coordinating with state and local authorities, who have initiated over 70 prosecutions of such incidents under state criminal statutes.

In a successful federal criminal civil rights prosecution in Salt Lake City, James Herrick was sentenced to 51 months incarceration after pleading guilty on January 7, 2002, to setting fire to a Pakistani restaurant in Salt Lake City on September 13, 2001. Also, in Madison, Wisconsin, Wesley Fritts is pending sentencing after pleading guilty for mailing an anthrax hoax letter to an Arab American restaurant. He will be sentenced May 13, 2002.

There also have been guilty pleas in three federal cases where threatening telephone calls were made to persons because of their perceived nationality. Thomas Iverson pled guilty for telephoning a bomb threat on September 29, 2001, against a Jordanian American liquor store in Beloit, Wisconsin. In Hewitt, Texas, Joe Luis Montez pled guilty to placing threatening telephone calls to Sikhs employed at a truck stop on September 17, 2001. And, Justin Scott-Priestly Bolen pled guilty on February 6, 2002, for interfering with the housing rights of a Pakistani-American family in Fenton, Michigan, by leaving a threatening message on its answering machine on October 10, 2001.

Other federal charges are pending against five defendants in three other cases brought in the aftermath of September 11, alleging that the victims were targeted because of their perceived race, nationality, or religion. In Knoxville, Tennessee, Jason and Travis Kitts were charged with assaulting the Indian-American resident managers of a motel on September 24, 2001. Irving David Rubin and Earl Leslie Krugel, members of the Jewish Defense League, have been indicted in Los Angeles for conspiracy to bomb a mosque and the California office of United States Congressman Darrell Issa. Finally, Charles D. Franklin was indicted on April 17, 2002, for crashing a pick-up truck into a Tallahassee, Florida mosque.

The case against Cunningham was jointly investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the Seattle Police Department. The case is being jointly prosecuted by Malachi B. Jones from the Criminal Section of Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and Assistant United States Attorney Donald M. Currie from the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington.

Syria's Zeyzoun Dam Disaster Gets Mobile Satcoms Aid

Télécoms sans Frontières reaches Zeyzoun; places Inmarsat satcom
capabilities at the disposal of the Syrian government, the Red
Crescent and the homeless

Syria, 12th June 2002

Telecoms Sans Frontieres, a French non-governmental organisation that
provides rapid-response telecommunication facilities in relief
operations following sudden disasters, said today that on Saturday 8th June, a
four-person team from Telecoms sans Frontieres left to Syria to be at
the disposal of the Syrian government along with the Syrian Red Crescent in
the rescue operations taking place at Zeysoun region. The team left to
Syria immediately upon receiving the acceptance of the Syrian government.

The TSF team is equipped with Inmarsat satellite phones, which allow
rescuers to co-ordinate their activities in areas where the telecoms
network has been destroyed, does not exist, or is overloaded. The satellite
phones also enable local people to contact friends and family to assure them
they are well.

More than 20 people were killed and several thousands made homeless
when 71 million cubic metres of water thundered out of a six-metre-wide split
in the wall of the dam. Homes were destroyed in the northern area of al-Ghab
and several villages were submerged. Entire crops were lost in the flood
and the streets were littered with the bodies of dead farm animals and
possessions were swept out of homes by the force of the deluge. Telephone and power
lines in the area were also swept away by the raging waters.

As soon as the disaster was announced, Télécoms sans Frontières placed
itself at the disposal of the Syrian government and of the Red
Crescent. The team, led by the président of TSF, Jean-François Cazenave, set off
immediately for the site of the disaster. On the ground, the team has found a devastated area covering about 80km2 . The telecommunication needs were immediately evaluated at the Crisis centre of the Red Crescent, in the town of Hama. TSF then set up in the
temporary camp housing the Zeyzoun survivors, in front of the remains of the dam.
They have installed an Internet hub to be used for coordinating help, and
Offer the stricken population the possibility to phone their families.

Their equipment, including Inmarsat satellite phones and a
video-conferencing system, enables displaced people to contact their
families anywhere in the world and relief organisations to better
co-ordinate the search for missing people and aid assistance in the
field.

"The first casualties of any disaster are often the communication
networks, both fixed line and mobile -- which seriously hampers emergency
services and aid agencies in their attempts to co-ordinate relief efforts," says
Samer Halawi, regional director , of Inmarsat Ltd. "During an immensely
tragic and stressful disaster such as the one at Zeyzoun, we are proud to be
associated with TSF's essential humanitarian efforts."

Disaster relief and humanitarian aid agencies began using Inmarsat
communications in the early 1990s. Today, more than 150 international
disaster relief organisations rely on the company's services, including
the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent, Médecins
Sans Frontières, Oxfam, the Save The Children Fund (SCF), the United Nations
Department of Humanitarian Affairs (UNDHA), UNICEF and the UN World
Food Program.

TSF organisation receives financial support from Inmarsat Ltd, the
international mobile satellite communications company. From May 2000,
Inmarsat Ltd has been investing one million French francs per annum in
TSF for up to three years.

Jean-Francois Cazenave ends: "Satellite is the only communications
technology that can be relied upon when existing communications
infrastructures have been damaged or destroyed. The mini-M and GAN
phones that we use are often the only way of making sure that rescue teams can
make voice calls and send e-mails to and from the rescue centre
headquarters. And they are essential in reuniting families that have been separated when
they have fled from a natural disaster or scene of conflict." The Zeyzoun
mission, according to TSF, should last about ten days but may be
extended.

Karim Saba joins Fujitsu Siemens Computers

June 12, 2002

In keeping with its objective of targeting the high-end enterprise computing market in the Middle East, Fujitsu Siemens has recently appointed Karim Saba as Sales Director, International-Large Enterprise. This strategic move comes at an opportune time when Fujitsu Siemens is increasing its focus in the enterprise-computing sector.

"After our success in the consumer and professional PC and Notebook range, we are now targeting high end users. The Middle East has tremendous potential in the enterprise-computing sector and we are currently looking to make significant inroads into this particular area," said Dirk de Waegeneire, Vice President, International Sales, Fujitsu Siemens Computers. "With a proven track record in business development and valuable expertise in creating strategic alliances as well as developing business opportunities, Karim Saba will add great value to Fujitsu Siemens. We look forward to welcoming him to the team," he said.

Prior to joining Fujitsu Siemens Computers, Saba was the District Manager and Business Development Manager for EMC Computer Systems in the Middle East. He has extensive experience in high end computing as he has worked as with Sun Microsystems in Dubai and in IBM's international offices, in Bahrain and Canada. A recipient of several awards for significant achievement and a member of the Association of Professional Engineers in Quebec, Canada, Saba is a Canadian national of Egyptian origin.