Eastern Networks: First SME in the Middle East to Adopt Hosted eCRM

India and China Rapidly Expanding TB Control: WHO--Conservative Malawi grapples with sex education

India Vows to fight terrorism, but not with Nuclear Weapons

The Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee meeting the Chairman of the Interim Administration of Afghanistan Mr. Hamid Karzai in Almaty during his visit to Kazakhstan on June 3, 2002

The Indian government has made a statement that it will not use nuclear weapons in a possible war with Pakistan. "'Attention of the Ministry of Defence has been drawn to some media reports about the possible use of Nuclear weapons in the current India-Pakistan stand-off,' said a short statement. 'The Government makes it clear that India does not believe in the use of nuclear weapons. Neither does it visualize that it will be used by any other country. India categorically rules out the use of nuclear weapons. India is a responsible country and it feels that it will be imprudent to use such weaponsm' the statement said categorically. Meanwhile the low intensity boarder warfare in the Indo-Pak boarder continued unabated. 'In Batalik, Kargil and Dras Sectors, enhanced Artillery and Mortar fire exchanges took place between Indian and Pak troops. In Dras Sector heavy damage was caused to the Pak posts and 13 bunkers were destroyed. A Pak post opposite Sunderbani area was set on fire by Indian retaliatory fire. Indian troops carried out retaliatory fire assaults in Naushera, Rajouri and Poonch Sectors, " said Defence Ministry officials.

At the Kazakaztan capital Al Matty, Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee made a strong statement against international terrorism. 'We discussed the tension in South Asia which cross-border terrorism has created. We have the same perspectives on firmly countering international terrorism," Vajpayee said, adding that the two countries agreed to form a a Joint Working Group for cooperation against terrorism. "I am happy that the CICA Summit will also issue a declaration tomorrow condemning international terrorism," he said.

 

The President of Kazakhstan Mr. Nursultan and the Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee unveiled a plaque naming a street after Mahatma Gandhi at Almaty on June 3, 2002

The two countries agreed to intensify economic co-operation. "India is prepared to make a major investment in the oil and gas sector in Kazakhstan, as we did last year in the Sakhalin oil field of Russia. We have agreed to promote joint ventures in Information Technology. India will extend full support to the establishment of a Software Technology Park in Kazakhstan," he said. 'We have also agreed to upgrade our co-operation in the pharmaceuticals sector and in small-scale industries. Our agreement to promote tourism will enrich bilateral relations through closer people to people exchanges. Our military technical co-operation should expand beyond a buyer-seller relationship into transfer of technology, research and development," he added.

The presence of the Ispat group in Kazakhstan is a good beginning for greater Indian economic presence in that country. More and more Indian companies are setting up representative offices in Kazakhstan. A large business delegation accompanying the prime minister reflects the growing interest in forging closer links between the business communities of the two countries. Several hundred Indian students in Kazakhstan endeavour to build a long-term relationship of friendship and trust with Kazakhstan, encompassing co-operation in several spheres, for the benefit of our peoples and for peace and prosperity in our region, he said.

Eastern Networks: First SME in the Middle East to Adopt Hosted eCRM

 

Teams from Eastern Networks and ACCPAC. From left to right: Sajid Gani, -Business Implementation Manager for Eastern Networks. Luay Aburub - Product Manager for Eastern Networks. Hazem Mulhim - Group Managing Director for Eastern Networks. Shaila Chandrasekhar - Project Manager for ACCPAC. Geoff Land - Area Manager for Eastern Networks. Nouman Bokhari, Project Manager for Eastern Networks.

Dubai, 3rd June 2002- Eastern Networks, a leading regional IT propriety solution developer and integrator, today signed a hosting agreement with ACCPAC, a world leading vendor of end-to-end e-business solutions, that allows Eastern Networks to use ACCPAC's hosted applications, a software deployment model commonly referred to as Application Service Provision - ASP. "Using hosted applications helps us concentrate on our deliverables and avoid unnecessary investment in extra hardware, software, security, networking and integration with our back office, not to mention the personnel administration which would be needed for such a project if implemented at our facilities," says Hazem Mulhim, Group Managing Director of Eastern Networks. Along with ACCPAC's Advantage Series, a software that handles accounting and operations needs, Eastern Networks will be the first company in the Middle East to use a hosted eCRM solution. ACCPAC has assigned Raqmiyat, its Emirates-based partner, to handle the project.

"Few companies in the region have adopted the hosted applications model for their software use and even fewer have eCRM capabilities. The project with Eastern Networks sets a precedent in the way small to medium sized businesses in the region are looking at their IT needs today," comments Marc Van der Ven, regional manager for ACCPAC.

To illustrate the benefits of hosted applications in achieving the operational and customer focused objectives of Eastern Networks, Mulhim explains that: "with 14 branches in the Middle East serving the financial sector, our mobile support engineers need to have access at anytime from anywhere to customer files for better decisions so as to optimise their time and effort." He continues:" as well as being used by the support engineers, it will also apply to our sales and marketing teams who will be able to access as well as assess opportunities thanks to the installed base."

Along with the expected efficiency boost and superior customer support, the deal, according to Eastern Networks, allows unmatched cost-cutting features for all aspects of such a project. "The expected long term benefits result in an accessible data base which will allow us to serve our customers throughout the region according to their needs and requirements. Of course, implementing the workflow is a continuous challenge since we wish to incorporate the expected results in such a way as to converge our requirements at a management level. Once the database is in place it will serve marketing, sales and customer support as well as augmenting our revenue stream," says Mulhim.

"To remain competitive, mid-market businesses must harness and leverage the same cutting-edge technology as their larger counterparts. Our ACCPAC Online Hosting Services gives the region's mid-market businesses the tools they need to compete in the new economy," ends Van der Ven.

India and China Rapidly Expanding TB Control: WHO

Keralamonitor.com June 3, 2002.

Washington/Geneva: India and China have demonstrated how the strategy
promoted by WHO for control and treatment of tuberculosis known as DOTS* can be rapidly and effectively expanded, according to two studies just published in the Bulletin of the World Health Organization.

Both these countries - which account for more than a third of all TB cases in the world - have achieved high rates of case-identification and cure
even where the technology and public health infrastructure are inadequate.
"The benefits of large-scale DOTS expansion for the individual patient and
society at large are obvious," conclude Xianyi Chen and colleagues of
China's Ministry of Health.

WHO and its partners are leading the global effort against tuberculosis by
expanding DOTS, which is now used in 148 countries. The Global Plan to
Stop TB has set two main targets for 2005: to identify 70% of estimated
new infectious TB cases, and to cure 85% of cases identified. "These
studies clearly show that even in huge countries with a heavy burden of TB
it is possible - with strong political commitment, adequate financial
resources and sound technology - to achieve very high levels of cure,"
says Jong-Wook Lee, Director of WHO's Stop-TB Programme. The DOTS
expansion projects in both China and India were funded with loans from the
World Bank. The progress of both countries will be discussed at the 4th
World Congress on TB from 3 to 5 June in Washington, DC.

The study on China analysed the effects of the DOTS strategy 10 years
after it was put into operation. It found that the health authorities had
succeeded in expanding use of DOTS from 5 pilot counties in 1991 to 1208
counties, representing half of China's population, by 1995. By the year
2000, 8 million suspected TB cases had been evaluated, 1.3 million
smear-positive cases were treated under DOTS, and 90% of the treated cases
were cured. In the areas where DOTS is being implemented, 30 000 deaths
have been averted each year and the percentage of previously treated TB
cases among all smear-positive patients has decreased.

In India, DOTS coverage expanded by more than 350 million people to nearly
half of the national population over a three-year period which began in
October 1998. During this period, the number of patients started on
treatment under DOTS increased from 80 per day to over 1300. The quality
of diagnosis is good: only 5% of districts have an unexpectedly high
proportion of cases that are not confirmed in a laboratory. Cure rates
exceed 80% and identification rates in DOTS areas are 55-60% of estimated
new infectious cases.

By early 2002, more than a million TB patients in India had been started
on DOTS. According to the Bulletin study, the rapid expansion of DOTS
coverage has saved nearly 200 000 lives and more than $400 million in
indirect costs.

While the two studies highlight the effectiveness of DOTS, they also
underline the difficulties of implementing it. In both countries nearly
half the population are not yet covered by the strategy. Case
identification rates for TB in both countries remain below the global
target of 70%. "This means that both programmes need to reach more TB
patients in the areas they cover", says Mario Raviglione, WHO's head of TB
Strategy and Operations. "For that, innovative approaches are needed, such
as involving health workers in other settings in the care of TB patients,
in hospitals in China, for instance, and private practices in India."

The study on India found there were 10 key ingredients for successful DOTS
expansion: 1) ensuring appropriate technical excellence; 2) building
commitment supported by the necessary funding with flexible utilization;
3) maintaining focus and priorities; 4) systematically appraising areas
before starting service delivery; 5) ensuring uninterrupted supply of
drugs; 6) strengthening existing infrastructure and staff; 7) supporting
the infrastructure required in urban areas; 8) ensuring full-time
independent technical support and supervision, especially during early
phases of implementation; 9) monitoring intensively and giving timely
feedback; and 10) continuous supervision.

ISA ARRESTS YOUNG PALESTINIAN WOMAN INVOLVED IN MARCH 21 JERUSALEM BOMBING
Keralamonitor.com June 3, 2002.

Jerusalem The Israel Security Agency (ISA) on Friday, May 24, 2002 arrested
Sanaa Muhammed Hassin Shehada, 27 year old resident of the Kalandiya
refugee camp, who was involved in the infiltration of the terrorist
who committed the suicide bombing of Jerusalem's King George street
on March 21, 2002 in which three Israelis were killed and dozens
wounded. She was arrested on the basis of information obtained during
the questioning the interrogation of Abd el Karim Aweis, a senior
Tanzim leader in the West Bank who was arrested during Operation
Defensive Shield.

Sanaa revealed under questioning that she was the friend and
collaborator of Nasser Shawish, a senior Islamic Jihad figure in
Jenin who was responsible for the organization of the Jerusalem
attack, and agreed to his request to infiltrate the suicide
terrorist, Muhammed Hashaika, into Jerusalem with the assistance of
another woman named Kahira, and two other men.

Sanaa reconstructed the events of the attack for the ISA
investigators including the pre-attack preparations, the methods used
to get around the IDF road blocks, the props and disguises used to
blend in with the surroundings and the method of escape.

Conservative Malawi grapples with sex education

Keralamonitor.com June 3, 2002.

LILONGWE, 3 June (IRIN) - The Malawi Censorship Board has ordered the removal of a controversial condom advertisement that it has declared offensive and pornographic.The advertisement, for the Chishango brand, features a couple smiling shyly at each other in a market. But the photograph of the condom's packaging at the bottom right of the billboard has caused an outcry. It is an image of a scantily-clad woman's torso, one hand on her revealed thigh, the other suggestively hovering below her navel.

Hotly debated in the country's press, and condemned by religious groups, civic bodies and women's organisations, the main objections are that it goes against Malawian values, and will tempt the youth to have sex. The manufacturers of the condoms, Population Services International, have also put the advertisement on taxis, and at the Mwanza border post welcoming visitors to "Chishango Country".

A joint statement to the local media by 20 ministers of religion said: "While sex education is imperative in the wake of [the] HIV/AIDS pandemic, this does not warrant wanton display of naked figures." Sheikh Dinala Chabulika from the Muslim Association of Malawi said: "The new face of Chishango is offensive, pornographic and degrading. It reduces women to nothing but sex objects."

The Nation newspaper quoted church leaders as saying: "Enticing the population towards sex to promote the sale of Chishango is like happily dousing us with petrol for the sake of promoting fire extinguishers." One youth organisation invoked Article 17 of the UN Convention on child rights, which it says emphasises the role of the media in disseminating information to children which respects their well-being and cultural background.

The row erupted in the same week that the Malawi National Human Development report said about half of children and adolescents are sexually active before the age of 15. In the 15 to 19 age group, about six times as many young women have AIDS as young men, it said.

"This is partially explained by the active searching out of schoolgirls and younger women by older men putatively because they believe, despite the statistics, that they are less likely to be infected," the report added. The infection rate is four to six times higher for women than men in the 15 to 24 age group. The numbers continue to grow, even though 90 percent of the population is aware of HIV/AIDS. The report said the pandemic is poised to undo all the socio-economic gains made over the past years. With most infected people being in the 15 to 49 age group, it is striking people in their prime years. Chronic poverty, which is rampant in Malawi, contributes significantly to its spread and impact.

"Pre-existing health conditions in Malawi, including chronic malnutrition, endemic bilharzia and vitamin A and iodine deficiency are increasing the vulnerability of people to HIV infections," said the report. Opportunistic diseases have also become more common because of high HIV infection levels and the number of tuberculosis cases has grown from 5,000 in 1985 to over 23,000 at present. Most of these increases are due to HIV.

Life expectancy has dropped to 40 years due to the upsurge of diseases such as TB and HIV/AIDS.Cultural beliefs, which subordinate women and girls, aid the spread of HIV/AIDS. In marriage, women are often powerless to protect themselves even where the risk of infection is obvious.

According to the report, some communities in Malawi still observe certain cultural practices that promote high-risk behaviour. The most common are initiation ceremonies, widow inheritance and death cleansing. Dire predictions include setbacks in the agricultural sector which will lead to food shortages and the draining of household resources for medicines. The education sector is also reporting disruption through the death and absenteeism of teachers either through illness or because they have to go home to care for sick relatives.The report concludes: "While the majority of Malawians are still HIV-negative, they are still very vulnerable to HIV infection. The challenge of HIV/AIDS prevention efforts, therefore, should be to keep all these people HIV negative."