US Urges Saudi Arabia to Allow More Foreign Ownership IRAQ: Increased protection for children following attacks BAGHDAD, 5 March (IRIN) - The Ministry of Interior has announced it will increase security measures to protect children from ongoing violence after a recent report cited shocking figures for children killed and injured in the past four months."We'll intensify security in schools and universities with checkpoints, and alert parents not to let their children walk alone, at least until the situation is under control," said Abdel Amir Mahmoud, a senior ministry official. The report, issued on 1 March by the Ministry of Education, also appealed for better security for children. "The report showed that children in our country are being innocently killed," said Kamal Muhammad, a senior education ministry official. "We urge the Ministry of Interior to take measures to protect them." According to Muhammad, the report states that 64 children were killed and 57 injured in a total of 417 attacks on educational institutions since November 2005. Additionally, more than 47 youngsters were kidnapped on their way to or from school for the same period. The report also noted that 311 teachers and government employees had been killed and another 158 wounded in attacks. "These numbers are scandalous, and urgent procedures should be taken to protect our children and guarantee their safety," Muhammad said. The latest incident was reported on 15 February, when three children were killed by a bomb while on their way to school. According to experts, such a violent atmosphere can deeply affect the psychology of children and their families. "Children are traumatised from the violence because all this terror is happening in front of their eyes," David Singh, communications officer for UNICEF-Iraq, said from the Jordanian capital, Amman. The Primary Students Association (PSA) in Baghdad also noted that such violence can produce feelings of aggression in children. "When you speak with students about the violence, the main feeling is of revenge, because their loved ones or friends have been killed," said PSA spokeswoman Mariam Omar. "They say their dream is to be able to shoot whoever was responsible. Urgent psychological help should be offered these children."Observers, meanwhile, are at a loss to explain the motivations behind attacks on schools and schoolchildren. "There's no confirmed evidence of why schools are being targeted," said Singh. "But whatever the reason, it doesn't justify the reality that children are losing their lives. The government should take urgent measures to restore their safety." Road Transport Authority Road Safety Awareness Campaign 100 taxis fitted with child restraint safety seat at no extra cost to commuter. March 05, 2006.The launch of a Road Safety Awareness Campaign last week in Dubai in an effort to reduce escalating road accidents has been hailed as an enormous success. As a part of the program, a campaign called 'Kids are Safer Behind' was executed wherein around 100 Dubai Transport taxis were fitted with child restraint safety seats and have been available at no extra costs to commuters.In addition to this, the taxi drivers have also been distributing safety brochures in order to educate and positively influence parents and guardians, thus aiding them in reducing the number of fatalities and injuries. The campaign has received a tremendously positive response and has been an eye-opener to many commuters. "Recognizing the grave situation caused by the ever increasing traffic and the alarming rate of accidents, Roads and Transport Authority is committed to developing strategies to combat the twin menace of aggressive driving and lack of safety awareness. We are also taking concrete steps towards upgrading road infrastructure. Our core objective is creating and increasing awareness among the general public and increase the adoption of safety measures," said H.E Matter Al Tayer, the Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of the Roads and Transport Authority. "Dubai is one of the fastest growing cities in the world and we are looking to ensure viable means of commuting in order to take pressure of the road infrastructure. We are investing heavily in projects such as Water Taxis and the Dubai Metro to allow for travel substitutes," he added. Engineer Hashim Al Hashimi, Director of Traffic Department, RTA said," The Road Safety Campaign includes a number of programs and is just one of our steps to achieve our goals of increasing road safety and highlight pertinent risks. Our first Kids are Safer Behind campaign has been highly successful, and we will build on our success to ensure safe and easy travel in Dubai.'Road Peace', and 'Seat Belt your chance for survival' are among the campaigns that RTA will organize in the near future in partnership with the private sector and other governmental bodies."We have a responsibility towards society to educate people about how abiding traffic rules and regulations, avoiding exceeding speed limits, using seat belts and limiting the number of cars on the road will pay off enormously," concluded Al Hashimi. BoB plans to expand in Gulf Countries -Author Riz Kahn Discusses ALWALEED: Billionaire, Businessman, Prince. UNEP delegation visits Jebel Ali Free Zone Delegation studies the compliance with environmental protection guidelines of chemical manufacturing companies February 24, 2006 Environment, Health & Safety (EHS) and Federal Environmental Agency (FEA) recently organised a visit to Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZ) for the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) GC/GMEF (Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum). The purpose of this visit was to witness the compliance with environmental protection guidelines of chemical manufacturing companies in JAFZ and observe their production, transport, storage, use and disposal related issues of chemicals. The GC/GMEF delegation visited EMALAB, SASOL Dubai, Reichhold Chemicals and other chemical manufacturing companies of JAFZ. The delegation members showed their keen interest and were very pleased to observe three chemical industries operations in JAFZ, which comply with strict regulations of Jafza and PCFC. ?CFC has a dedicated EHS business unit which supervises local industrial Free Zone companies as well as port operations from the EHS point of view. It has been implementing its own environmental rules and requirements and health & safety regulations since 1990. It has adopted a policy of source control in which operations are conducted in an environmentally sound manner,·said Ahmed Hussain, CEO of EHS. New major projects are required to submit detailed Environmental Impact assessment (EIA)/ RA studies for pollution prevention, efficient use of energy, modern technology use, materials recycling and re-use and recovery (RRR) options to be used by clients. All necessary measures are in place to ensure sustainable development. ?nvironmental Management is an important part of control, which is fully recognized and implemented by PCFC, which has been certified for EMS ISO-14001 Certification and we urge all our Free Zone clients to achieve the same,·added Hussain. There are currently 24 companies within Jafza who have been certified for EMS ISO 14001 Certification. Many others are currently in the process of achieving the same as PCFC encourages and assists all clients to achieve this certification. The ninth special session of the Governing Council /Global Ministerial Environment Forum of the United Nations Environment Programme was held in Dubai from February 4th to 9th, 2006. This GC/GMEF event was coordinated by FEA and held under the patronage of Zayed International Prize for the Environment. NRIs Cheat Indian Wives The Government is taking measures to educate parents as well as prospective brides and to create awareness on the issue of protecting the interests of wives who have been deserted or being humiliated by their NRI husbands. The measures include publishing a guidance booklet on marriages to overseas Indians. The other measures under consideration are establishing overseas Indian centres in select locations with high overseas Indian population, setting up a gender advisory group to advise on gender issues related to the diaspora and support helplines to assist those in need. The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs had invited suggestions from the states in which this problem is acute for improving the guidance booklet. A national consultation was also held on 18th February, 2006 to which states in which the problem is acute were invited and their views on the issues were noted, he added. This information was given by the Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs, Shri Vayalar Ravi in the Rajya Sabha today in reply to a question by Shri Ravula Chandra Sekar Reddy. A journalist may have made prison suicide attempt Reporters Without Borders is very concerned about a journalist on the weekly Tamadone Hormozgan, Elham Afrotan, imprisoned since 23 January 2006, after some reports obtained by the organisation said she was in a coma after a suicide attempt."We urge the Iranian authorities to provide information about Afrotan's fate. We have had no news of her since the first day of her detention," the press freedom organisation said. "She has not been allowed to see a lawyer, or her colleagues and family. We hold the Iranian government responsible for anything that might endanger her physical wellbeing," it added. "The case of Elham Afrotan reminds us painfully of that of another woman journalist, Zahra Kazemi, who died from torture in prison. Her death was only announced more than 20 days later," it added.Since her arrest on 23 January, Afrotan and six other colleagues on the newspaper have been harassed in an attempt to get them to confess that "they were receiving orders from abroad inciting them to insult the Ayatollah Khomeini".Misled by the headline of an article on a website dedicated to combating AIDS, the staff reproduced it in the newspaper's health section. It turned out to be a satirical piece comparing the advent of Ayatollah Khomeini to AIDS. The journalists were arrested in the southern city of Bandar Abbas, where the newspaper is based, as soon as the issue appeared on the streets. Pro-government media, governmental organisations and Koranic schools reacted by staging demonstrations that ended with the newspaper's offices being ransacked and torched.According to the daily Hamabasteghi, the governor of Hormozgan province Abdolreza Shikholeslam confirmed the journalist's "suicide" but provided no further information about her.Elsewhere, Ali Afsahi, cinema critic and former editor of the cultural and sports magazine Cinama-Varzech, which was shut down in 2000, was arrested on 12 February.He had previously been arrested on 30 December 2000 and sentenced to four months in prison by a special clerical court. A few days before his arrest, he had been summoned and questioned for several hours about his journalistic and humanitarian work.Afsahi is a colleague of Emadoldin Ebaghi, journalist and founder of an organisation that champions the rights of prisoners of opinion. JORDAN: Limited access to justice for women AMMAN, 23 February (IRIN) - A three-month long rights campaign in Jordan has revealed that women are unable to seek access to justice due to financial burdens and social norms."Either because of limited financial resources or social stigma, some women abandon their rights," said Jordanian rights advocate Najah Enab from Mizan, a local NGO which organised the campaign. "It's not easy to have access to justice when you're poor. You need a lawyer, and not everyone can afford this." According to Mizan, lawyers usually charge between 300 and 500 Jordanian dinars (US $375 and US $625) per case. While a 1972 Bar Association Law guarantees the provision of legal aid to low-income citizens, human rights activists say that in practice women are often deprived of it. The campaign, which is to finish on 27 February, was launched by the Ministry of Political Development and Parliamentarian Affairs in cooperation with Mizan. "Our goal was to raise awareness about each person's legal rights and obligations," said Rula Haddadin, campaign manager at Mizan, also known as the Law Group for Human Rights. "Since the first days of the campaign, the number of phone calls we've received has increased considerably." In addition to a telephone hotline offering free legal advice, hundreds of billboards, CDs and pocket calendars were distributed in the capital, Amman, and at universities throughout the country aimed at informing citizens of their legal rights as enshrined in the constitution. Newspapers, television and radio spots were also used to spread the message. Mizan is one of a handful of NGOs offering free legal aid, and the only one whose lawyers can legally represent people in court. Between 15 and 20 cases are referred to the NGO per week, mostly related to family issues such as divorce, children's custody and domestic violence.Earlier this week, women's rights groups handed a petition with hundreds of signatures to Parliament calling for draft laws to protect women from domestic violence. "We urge parliament to be our partner in this national effort since the House is the legislative body that can support our initiatives," said Fotouh Younis, project coordinator at the National Forum for Youth and Culture. "It is important to build bridges between civil society and parliament on the issue of domestic violence," she added. There are many gaps in Jordanian law with regard to women's rights, according to US-based democracy watchdog, Freedom House (FH). There are no laws specifically defining or criminalising domestic violence and few enforcement mechanisms to ensure gender equality. Gender-discriminatory language can also be found in provisions regulating economic rights, such as retirement and social security, as well as in laws governing the family. Jordan ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 1992, with a number of reservations. These preclude the government from being legally obliged to observe the equal rights of women in a number of areas, including with regard to the nationality of their children, freedom of movement, rights and responsibilities during marriage and at its dissolution, and the right to choose a family name and profession. Hajj Orientation The Minister of State for External Affairs, Shri E. Ahamed told the Rajya Sabha today that the orientation/training of the pilgrims is a regular feature of Haj arrangements. Haj Committee of India in coordination with State Haj Committees and other Voluntary Organisations, who are involved in the Haj arrangements, has been conducting orientation camps throughout the country. In these specially organised camps of the prospective Haj pilgrims, Haj Committee lays special emphasis, among other things, on the performance of Haj, especially on safety measures, methods to deal with the emergencies such as accidents and stampedes etc. These are explained in detail by the specially trained resource persons. He further informed that greater stress will be given to educate the prospective pilgrims about the safety measures in these specially arranged orientation classes at the district level throughout the country in future. The Government of Saudi Arabia have already commenced redesigning of Jamarat so as to meet the future contingencies and to stream line the security measures for the coming Haj seasons. Regarding the number of Haj pilgrims, Government approves them at the The above information was given by the Minister in reply to a question by Shri B.K. Hariprasad. Jeevana TV to start News week on 24th February 2 PM The Weekly News Analysis in JEEVAN TELEVISION Dear Sir, We, JEEVAN TELEVISION, the Complete Family Channel in Malayalam Satellite Channel Industry, is immensely happy to inform you that THE NEWS WEEK – one of our prestigious programmes begins on 24th February, Friday, 2 PM (UAE). It’s a Weekly News Round-Up, which reveals some told and untold episodes of the Expatriate Community in the UAE and neighbouring countries. This programme is Conceived, Anchored and Directed by Mr. K.K.Moideen Koya, The Programme Director (UAE) of Jeevan TV who is the towering personality in the Media-Socio-Cultural fields of Expatriate Keralites. This programme will comprise the following segments:- Hot Spot: An exclusive analysis on any relevant contemporary issue related with expatriate life. Humanity: A narrative segment based on any human interest story which would be enabled some charity inspirations. Scoop: Any exclusive scoop with some sensational peripheral. Scope: Any motivating topic, which torches to the future. Off-cam: Some interesting story, which is unusual and unreeled. Interesting scenes behind the curtain and arch-light. Guest Room: A small interview with any dignitary from land or abroad. Voice of Media: A brief comment on any contemporary issue by any one of the prominent media personalities from land or abroad. Voice of Mass: Brief comments on any contemporary issue by the representatives from the common mass. At A Glance: News in brief from all GCC during the week. Accolades: Stories of any achievement or accolades for anybody from our community. Vision 'n' Mission: Any special story which is having a particular positive vision and mission. • This programme will be having a positive focus, even if its contents are sensational or sensitive. • First telecast will be on Fridays at 2:00 PM (UAE) and repeats on Wednesdays at 10:00 PM (UAE). We hope that it will be applauded widely, with a massive participation of the expatriates in the UAE to be watched globally by the entire Malayalee Community. So we would now kindly invite your entire supports. Warm Regards JIJO JALAL General Manager (UAE) JEEVAN TV