Indo-Iranian warships to carry joint manoeuvres in Arabian sea

New Delhi,Saturday, March 08, 2003: Close on the heels of recent bilateral visits, warships from India and Iran will carry out the first ever Joint Naval manoeuvres and exercises in the Arabian sea from Monday. Two Iranian warships "Bandar Abas", a fleet replenishment tanker and "Lavan", a logistics support ship for amphibious operations, have arrived in Mumbai on a five-day goodwill visit, a Naval spokesman said. "Towards the end of the visit on Monday, the two warships would carry out Joint Naval Manoeuvres and exercises with warships of Indian Western Naval fleet off the Mumbai coast," he said. Describing the visit as an effort serving to nurture special bonds between the two navies, the spokesman said the port call by Iranian Naval ships provided an opportunity for navy to navy interaction and towards fostering mutual understanding at personal and professional levels. On the nature of exercises, the spokesman said "warships from the two navies would carry out basic manoeuvres and exercises".

The port call by Iranian warships assumes significance as it follows the visit here by President Khatami and visit to Iran by Naval Chief Admiral Madhvendera Singh. The visits had fuelled media speculation that Iran and India had reached an agreement on overhaul of Teheran's Russian acquired Foxtrot submarines in India. However, the Government has clarified that there was no such proposal.

Politician killed in Abuja, communal killings in northeast Nigeria

Recent developments in Nigeria include the death of a leading opposition politician in Abuja and the killing of 40 people in an attack by armed men in the northeastern town of Dunme. Marshall Harry, a member of the main opposition All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP), was killed in his home by unidentified assailants. A former member of the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP), Harry had joined the ANPP after falling out with a top PDP official in his home state. He was a member of the campaign team of former head of state Muhammadu Buhari, who is running against the incumbent, Olusegun Obasanjo, at presidential polls in April-May.

The deaths in Dunme occurred in a 28 February attack on the town by armed men thought to be former Chadian rebels. Residents said they believed the attack, in which eight members of the security forces and 32 civilians were reported killed, was linked to a violent dispute over grazing rights between local farmers and nomadic herdsmen in September 2002.

In other news, international agencies have urged Nigeria's authorities to find ways to end resistance to polio immunisation efforts in nine northern states, where 196 cases of the wild polio virus were detected in 2002. The agencies include the World Health Organization, the U.S. Agency for International Development, Rotary International and the UN Children's Fund. They said they were worried because many children in the nine states were not being presented for vaccination during immunisation campaigns.

Resistance to immunisation in parts of the north has been fuelled by allegations by some Islamic preachers that the vaccines cause sterility and contain HIV. To overcome such beliefs the agencies, working with top Muslim doctors in the region, have conducted widely publicised evaluations of the vaccines to prove to the public that there is nothing sinister about immunisation. They plan to conduct three sub-national immunisation drives in the nine endemic states in 2003 in addition to two national immunisation days.

LIBERIA: Two missing aid workers reported dead

ABIDJAN, 7 March (IRIN) - The bodies of two ADRA (Adventist Development
and Relief Agency) workers who had been missing since 28 February were
found close to Toe Town, eastern Liberia, the agency said in a news
release on Thursday.

The release quoted Liberia's Defence Minister Daniel Chea as saying that
the bodies of Emmanuel Sharpolu, acting ADRA Liberia director, and driver
Musa Kita had been found in grave near the town, which is on the
Liberia-Cote d'Ivoire border. It said no details were available on the
whereabouts of Kaare Lund, ADRA director for Norway, who was travelling
with them.

"This news has obviously come as a great shock to all of us as these are
three of our most seasoned workers," Charles Sandefur, ADRA International
president, said. "Emmanuel and Musa have each been with ADRA for at least
10 years and have consistently demonstrated their dedication to the people
of Liberia. Our hearts and prayers go out to their wives and children at
this time."

ADRA, along with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
and the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC), was "tirelessly
seeking confirmation and resolution to this terrible tragedy". "Though
continued unrest in the area has significantly hampered fact-finding
missions, everything humanely possible is being done on both sides of the
border to obtain additional information, Sandefur added.

The three men had been on their way to visit an ADRA project funded by the
Norwegian government, the release said.

Liberia's defence spokesman, Philibert Browne, said on Wednesday that the
ADRA vehicle had been ambushed by "retreating LURD rebels" during weekend
fighting in Toe Town, and that its "eight" occupants were killed.

Toe Town, a transit point for people fleeing fighting in Cote d'Ivoire,
had been captured on Saturday by what the Liberian government described as
"Liberian mercenaries armed and backed by the Ivorian government". Browne
told IRIN government forces had "taken full control of Toe Town as of
Monday". The Liberian government sent a team of journalists to the town to
verify that it had been recaptured.

UNHCR said on Monday that over 2000 Ivorian refugees and other
third-country nationals had fled the transit centre and scattered in
different directions when the town was attacked. "We have reports that
some are fleeing south towards Zwedru and north towards Tappita," UNHCR
Representative in Liberia Moses Okello told IRIN

Zwedru is the administrative capital of Grand Gedeh County, which includes
Toe Town. Tappita is a district in Nimba County, which borders on Grand
Gedeh.

The home most common place for abuse against Women

JOHANNESBURG, 7 March (IRIN) - As women around the world prepare to mark
International Women's Day, a survey conducted in South Africa has shown
that the home is the most common place for abuse against women.

The survey, published by the Institute for Security Studies, found that
half the women who experienced economic, emotional and physical abuse said
the perpetrator was a spouse or partner.

The study, entitled Violence Against Women, found that 80 percent of the
1,000 survivors of abuse interviewed had experienced emotional abuse, 76
percent physical abuse, 63 percent sexual and 62 percent economic abuse.

Women between the ages of 18 to 30 years were more likely than older women
to have experienced abuse, but women between 31 and 50 were most
vulnerable to economic abuse.

The women interviewed tended to define abuse in terms of physical harm.
The report noted that women who had been sexually abused by their partners
often did not identify this as a form of abuse. Although women saw forced
sexual intercourse as rape, they often doubted whether this could be
considered a crime within a marriage.

If women do not realise that the violence perpetrated against them is
problematic, they are unlikely to seek help when it occurs, the survey
said.

The most common form of economic abuse, the researchers found, was having
money taken out of a woman's purse without her consent. This was followed
by being prevented from knowing about, or not having access to, the family
income. Women also reported being forced to become the sole breadwinner
for the household.

Women in rural areas reported money being withheld and then being required
to perform "duties" before the money was released. This could also be
accompanied by threats of eviction from the home.

The type of emotional abuse experienced most often was being threatened
with harm and being humiliated in public. Other types included threatening
harm to children, or limitations placed on a woman's freedom of movement.

Social humiliation was identified by the women as the worst type of abuse
because it undermined her self-image, isolated her from others and
prevented her from seeking alternative feedback on her experience. This
encouraged women to blame themselves for the abuse, the survey found.

Women experienced a wide range of physical abuse - the most common being
slapped or hit, pushed, shoved, punched, having their arm twisted or being
kicked. Some were threatened or attacked with a gun, knife or blade.

As with emotional abuse, survivors of physical abuse were most likely to
have experienced the violence in the company of others.

"It is surprising that so many survivors reported the presence of other
people at the time that the worst incident of physical abuse was
perpetrated and this raised the question of how those present reacted and
whether they took any action," the researchers noted.

A concern was that many of those present were children.

Sexual abuse ranged from being forced to have sex to having their private
parts touched, being forced to behave in a sexual manner for money, being
forced to touch the abuser's private parts and being forced to do what was
seen on videos and in books.

The study found that the survivors were most likely to have experienced
sexual abuse in their own home, followed by the abuser's home, challenging
the notion that sexual abuse occurs mostly in dark alleys at the hands of
strangers.

In contrast to other types of abuse, survivors of sexual violence were
generally alone with the abuser at the time the abuse occurred, but there
was a startling percentage of women who were in the company of others at
the time of the sexual assault.

Of those who were in company, nearly half of the women in urban areas and
44 percent of those in rural areas experienced sexual abuse in the
presence of children.

The main concern for survivors of sexual abuse was contracting a sexually
transmitted disease or HIV/AIDS. Nineteen percent of survivors contracted
an STD, 15 percent became pregnant, and 11 percent had a child as a result
of the most serious incident of sexual abuse.

To mark International Women's Day, Mandisa Kalako-Williams, president of
the South African Red Cross Society released a statement saying: "As the
world celebrates International Woman's Day we are dismayed at the
escalating rate of atrocities that women are facing, ie the increased
incidence of rape, domestic violence and abuse, the effects of conflict
and war, as well as the impact of HIV/AIDS on women."

Kalako-Williams said that as long as gender stereotyping and
discrimination limited the development of girls and women, preventing them
from fully participating in society, they would remain vulnerable.

The Irish Village Serves Up Fast With Wireless Waiters

High Tech Waiters Take Orders Faster And Avoid Mistakes Using New Mobile
Computers from Symbol Technologies

Dubai, UAE – March 6, 2003 – Patrons at The Irish Village, a popular
restaurant and pub at The Aviation Club complex in Dubai, will notice much
faster and more attentive service following the implementation of a new
“wireless waiter” system. Using the Symbol PPT 2800 Pocket PC handheld
computer, staff can take orders faster, make fewer mistakes and lighten
their workload by instantly sending orders to the kitchen over a wireless
network.

Rather than rushing back and forth between tables and the kitchen, waiters
can stay with their customers, maximizing customer service and order size.
The wait staff can serve more tables faster using the handheld computer and
“cash out” the moment the patron asks for the bill, helping The Irish
Village increase turnover and customer satisfaction.
The business benefits of the new system for The Irish Village are
compelling -- not only do customers get better and faster service, but
profits can also rise. The Irish Village is now able to work with as much as
20 percent fewer people on duty at the same time, allowing it to allocate
staff more efficiently.

The Irish Village is one of the busiest and largest social spots in Dubai,
with an extremely popular outdoor section.
“In the past, rather than taking orders and ensuring that the customers had
everything they wanted, the staff were spending a lot of time queuing up to
use one of the four order entry stations,” said Dave Cattanach, The Irish
Village and Catering Services Manager.

“Customers had a perception that the waiters were hanging around and
chatting ratherthan taking their orders, when actually they were waiting to
use a terminal,” he added.

The Irish Village brought in Symbol business partner Key Information
Technology (KIT), a technology integrator catering to the hospitality
industry, to implement a system that integrates the Symbol PPT 2800 handheld
computers and Micros touch-screen terminals (used in the bar area) with a
back-end information system, along with eight printer stations distributed
around the venue for bill printing.

Waiters now enter the patron orders directly into the handheld computer,
which is designed to be flexible enough to cater for “specials” or
variations on menu items. Once the order is complete, it is presented back
to the waiter to confirm and then communicated to the bar or kitchen to be
prepared. Once complete, a runner picks it up and takes it to the
appropriate table.

“Something as simple as saving five minutes per customer order multiplies
out into a huge amount of time saved on a busy evening,” commented Mike
Allen, director of channels for EMEA at Symbol Technologies.
“Having the information systems accessible directly from the point of
activity means staff can use the technology where it’s needed most – when
they are interacting with the customer. Symbol’s solutions in the field
services, logistics and hospitality industries are designed to be rugged,
no-fuss and straightforward to use, letting staff work faster, with less
mistakes,” Allen added.

Symbol products are specifically designed to be ruggedly durable. The Symbol
PDT 2800 is sealed to IP54 standards and is shockproof (designed to
withstand multiple 1.2m drops onto concrete), making it ideal for “high
impact” environments such as the hospitality industry, where drops, knocks
and liquid spills are almost unavoidable. It also works comfortably at up to
90 percent humidity at 50 degrees centigrade, not uncommon in the heat of
the Gulf summer.

Future plans at The Aviation Club include adding card readers or miniature
printers to the handhelds to enable on-the-spot credit card transactions or
directly presenting the bill at the customer’s table. The Club is also
investigating integrating the new hospitality system with its logistics and
inventory capabilities to improve operational efficiencies and introducing
the wireless waiter system at its other outlets.