- Women protesters hold 700 oil workers hostage in Liberia.
- Business Opportunities in Iran via Dubai-Dubai Media City and Dubai Internet City Communications Infrastructure-Manjushree Infotech deploys Cisco's IPCC solution in Kolkatta-Nokia and IBM collaborate on digital content delivery for mobile devices -Operation launched to induce rain by spaying chemicals into Clouds.-Microsoft and Arcot introduce .NET service for consumer payment authentication -Africa's 2001 growth faster than other developing regions-African Unity summit ends-AU must be relevant to Africans
- Malaria drug caught up in side effect scare
Dubai Media City and Dubai Internet City Communications Infrastructure
Dubai's Technology 'Free Zone' home to one of world's largest commercial IP Telephony systems
10th July 2002DUBAI, keralamonitor.com-- Avaya (NYSE: AV), a leading global provider of voice and data networks to businesses, announced the completion of the communications infrastructure of Phases 2 and 3 of Dubai Media City (DMC) and Dubai Internet City (DIC) respectively, making the free zones home to one of the world's largest commercial Internet Protocol (IP) Telephony systems.
The free zones' entire communications network infrastructures have been built using Avaya's industry leading SYSTIMAX® Structured Connectivity solutions. Ahmad Bin Byat, Director General of the Dubai Technology, E-Commerce and Media Free Zone (TECOM), the holding company of DIC and DMC, said of the phase completion, "From the start we promised to provide DIC and DMC tenants with world class infrastructure. Our vision has always been to supply cutting edge technological support and we are delivering."
The 32,000 square metre regional IT and media hub, is the Middle East's largest IT-build with some 60,000 fibre connections, nearly 87,000 copper connections and 4,500 kilometres of Avaya GigaSPEED® copper cable. "To make DIC and DMC world-class locations for IT and media companies, we wanted to combine the best end-to-end communications performance with the highest possible reliability. The seamless integration of Avaya's SYSTIMAX® cabling solutions coupled with industry leading guarantees made it the natural choice," said Bin Byat.
"Dubai is the regional headquarters of many international organisations. Geographical dispersion means effective communications is paramount. Nowhere else in the region will you find IT infrastructure to match our offering." A total of 15 buildings, including five in the recently completed DIC Phase 3, have been equipped with Avaya's GigaSPEED copper cabling and Avaya OptiSPEED® fibre optic cabling solutions.
"Avaya's industry-leading SYSTIMAX GigaSPEED Solution comfortably supports Gigabit Ethernet and gives customers unprecedented network performance in terms of bandwidth, data throughput and network efficiency, enabling them to operate more efficiently," said Martin Hennessey, Sales Director, Connectivity Solutions Middle East, North Africa, Turkey and Greece, Avaya.
Where high-speed communications capacity is needed, OptiSPEED fibre backbones are used, giving tenants access to broadband Internet gateways and server farms, as well as Voice-over-IP (VoIP) services. Tenants also have the option to use OptiSPEED fibre-to-desk access for ultra-high throughput requirements."By working closely with DIC management, the communications infrastructure design is more than able to cope with the anticipated growth in demand for IT facilities within the free zones," said Hennessey. For interconnection of the fibre infrastructure, Avaya's LC connectors have been used in the data centre and main distribution frames in each building making the free zones the world's largest user of this connector type.
DIC/DMC are also the world's largest Avaya VisiPatch™ installations with more than 15 dedicated communication rooms containing Avaya's 110 VisiPatch™ system. The patching hardware allows network changes, caused by movement of people or provision of new services, to be made with a minimum effort and disruption, as well as making it easier to detect and bypass network faults."We understand IT services play a key role in business operation and offering those services is only half the job. Our tenants need to be able to effectively access these resources. Connectivity is the corner stone of communication and is something we would not compromise upon," added Bin Byat.
Avaya worked closely with DIC to meet tight deadlines, providing the free zones with connectivity solutions together with its regional BusinessPartners, Bond Communications, Seven Seas Computers and Telematics. During the first phase, seven buildings were successfully cabled within 21 days.
Since the launch of DIC and DMC, the free zones have attracted over 650 regional and global technology and media companies and more than 5,000 knowledge workers. Leading international free zone companies include Microsoft, Oracle, Canon, IBM, HP, MBC, Reuters, CNN and CNBC...top
Women protesters hold 700 oil workers hostage in Liberia.
ABIDJAN, 10 July (IRIN) - At least 150 women protesters have besieged Chevron-Texaco’s main oil export facility in Nigeria’s southern oil region to back demands for jobs for their children, company officials said on Wednesday.
A company statement sent to IRIN said the protesters from nearby Arutan and Ugborodo communities first seized a boat at the Escravos export terminal on Monday. They later divided into separate groups and occuppied the air strip, the helicopter pad, the oil storage area and the docks.
More than 700 Nigerian and expatriate employees of the company remained trapped at the facility, officials said. Planes and helicopters have been unable to land while boats cannot dock, making it impossible to bring in fresh supplies to the terminal.
"The protesters, who have barricaded key installations in the tank farm, have disrupted very important operational facilities," company spokesman Sola Omole said.
Most of the crude oil produced by Chevron-Texaco in Nigeria is exported from the Escravos terminal. The company’s US $400 million Escravos Gas Plant is also located at the facility.
Company officials said negotiations have begun with the protesters but added that the security agencies have equally been alerted of the situation. "The management has continued to appeal to the women to embrace peaceful dialogue in the resolution of their demands," the statement said.
Disruptions of oil operations are common in the Niger Delta oil region, where impoverished local people accuse oil companies and their government partners of neglect despite the huge oil wealth pumped from their land. But this is the first such action taken exclusively by women. Chevron-Texaco operates a joint venture in which the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation holds the majority stake. .top
Manjushree Infotech deploys Cisco's IPCC solution
World class contact centre in Kolkata in record time
July 8, 2002, Kolkata: Cisco, the worldwide leader in networking for the Internet and Manjushree Infotech (part of the US$ 1.2 billion BK Birla group of companies) announced the launch of the Manjushree Infotech IP Contact Center based on Cisco's new world IP-CC (IP - based contact center) solution. The contact centre has been setup in record time of under a month. It will provide real time on line customer support services for Hospitals and Insurance companies in the US and support Remote Business Processing activities as well for various US based companies.The Cisco solution not only provides a scalable and redundant architecture/solution which was the need but will also ensure low communications costs (single converged infrastructure) which is essential as the centre will support a minimum of 50,000 calls per day/per shift.
The IP based Contact centre at Kolkata will cater to basic voice handling and several other new age applications such as text chat, collaborative voice and web browsing with capabilities for automated e-mail management. These new world applications will enable Manjushree to offer its customers a superior service as well as give it a simple, manageable infrastructure for operations. Combining Cisco's IP telephony and Contact Center components, the Manjushree Infotech contact center enables agents using the Cisco IP phone to receive both time division multiplexing (TDM) and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls.
Mr. Sam Swaminathan, CEO Manjushree Infotech said "Having no prior infrastructure and experience in the Contact Center business, we were looking for a partner who would not only provide end to end solutions and services but would also consult us through the entire infrastructure setting up phase. In addition we also required a solution that could start out small and yet be highly scalable to address our expansion plans in the future. Cisco with its expertise and end to end solutions was our obvious partner of choice".
Speaking about the deployment, Sudhir Narang, Vice President Cisco Systems India said, "The successful deployment of the Cisco IPCC solution in record time for Manjushree has added significance for Cisco Systems keeping in mind the BPO boom that is expected to create unparalled opportunity for India."
Components forming the solution are the Cisco Call Manager software, Cisco IP Phones, Cisco Intelligent Contact Management (ICM), Cisco IP IVR (Interactive Voice response), Cisco CTI Desktop, Cisco Collaboration server, Cisco 3600 series router (At Florida and Kolkata) and the Cisco Catalyst 4000 Series Switch. A dedicated 512 Kbps leased line via satellite links the Florida and Kolkata locations. .top
Africa's 2001 growth faster than other developing regions
JOHANNESBURG, 10 July (IRIN) - Better macro-economic management, strong agricultural production, and an end to conflicts in several countries, saw Africa grow faster than any other developing region in 2001, according to the latest UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) report.
But, Africa's average gross domestic product (GDP) growth of more than 4 percent in 2001, masked wide disparities among countries, the report said. Moreover, economic growth remained fragile, and at current rates of progress Africa would not achieve any of the Millennium Development Goals set by the UN," said the report, distributed at the launch of the African Union (AU) in Durban, South Africa.
However, there were many reasons for "cautious optimism" about Africa's medium-term prospects - including the opportunities created by the US African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), the European Union's "Everything but Arms" initiative, the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) and the launches of the Doha Development Round and the AU.
"Ultimately, though, Africa's future depends on how it addresses economic and political governance, resolves civil conflicts, and responds to the need for deeper economic and social reforms," the report said.
The global slowdown following the 11 September attacks had a less pronounced impact on Africa than expected, and GDP was estimated to have risen to 4.3 percent in 2001 from 3.5 percent in 2000.
Africa's emerging markets experienced a sharp increase in private sector capital flows - with net private inflows to countries like Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, South Africa and Tunisia nearly doubled from US $4.9 billion to US $9.5 billion. Net equity investment jumped from US $5.2 billion to US $9.3 billion, mainly reflecting large-scale deals in Morocco and South Africa.
Africa's share of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), an important form of external finance, dropped from 25 percent in the early 1970s to just 5 percent in 2000, the report said. South Africa's FDI in other African countries was the continent's most important source of this finance at an average of US $1 billion a year since 1994.
However, Africa's integration had been slow with the average African country conducting only 8 percent of its trade with other African countries - and 92 percent with the rest of the world.
Aid to Africa from most donors fell to almost half the 1991 level of US $32 billion by the end of the 1990s. However, aid from Arab countries had increased.
African economies grew faster than expected. The number of countries with growth rates higher than 3 percent, increased from 26 in 2000 to 37 in 2001. This had positive implications for poverty reduction.
Raising per capita income remained the biggest challenge. Africa's average per capita income growth of an estimated 1.9 percent in 2001 was better, but not enough to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of cutting poverty in half by 2015.
In 2001, 30 African countries achieved per capita income growth above 1.5 percent, this number was expected to increase to 32 in 2002.
The main themes of African economic policy included creating an enabling environment for producers, investors, and employers, and improving governance and public finances.
In many countries, fiscal policy was focused on minimising domestic debt and making government spending more transparent, while monetary policy looked at lowering inflation and exchange rate realignment.
Though the outlook for African economies in 2002 was shaded by the global slowdown, the report said, South Africa's outlook was positive. International investors were also now judging developing countries on their own merits.
The three large North African economies - Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia - which account for 25 percent of Africa's GDP, provided the greatest potential benefits for Africa in 2002 with their low inflation, adequate external resources, debt reduction and structural reforms.
Booming oil revenues saw Equitorial Guinea's GDP rise by 65 percent in 2001. With oil prices likely to stay below US $20 a barrel this year, African countries were expected to grow by an average of 3.4 percent in 2002, the report said.
UNECA also compared the economies of South Africa and Zimbabwe. It said the economic outlook was encouraging for South Africa - with low external borrowing, sound financial sector supervising and stronger export competitiveness improving its external accounts.
The government had met its fiscal and monetary policy targets and inflation remained within the target band.
However, GDP had stalled below 3 percent for the past several years, too slow for robust job creation. But fiscal stability was opening the door to large increases in social spending - particularly in education and health - that should boost the economy's long-term growth potential
By contrast, the report said Zimbabwe's situation was dire. It is estimated that 75 percent of the population lives in poverty.
The economy contracted by an estimated 7.3 percent in 2001 and was expected to shrink a further 5 percent in 2002. The budget left little room for optimism and gave no indication that the authorities would allow market forces to determine interest rates and the value of the local currency. It also provided no timetable for lifting price controls.
"Instead, the government appears to be persisting with the strategies that have contributed to the economic crisis," the report said.
It noted that though poor weather conditions contributed to the serious decline in agricultural production, land invasions were "the straw that broke the camel's back". They also sparked "distress calls" in manufacturing and the financial sector as international investor confidence waned, export receipts slumped and capital inflows tapered off. Zimbabwe was also the only African country to record a decline in international visitors in 2000.
Looking forward, the report said a key to fostering economic well-being in African countries was having credible mechanisms to reduce the risk of policy reversals and implementation failures. It hoped NEPAD'S proposed African Peer Review mechanism would "build on the concepts of African ownership and mutual accountability". .top
Nokia and IBM collaborate on digital content delivery for mobile devices
Nokia and IBM today announced an agreement on digital content delivery for mobile applications and services. Combining their expertise, Nokia and IBM will provide wireless operators and service providers with a complete solution for content management and delivery.
July 9, 2002, Espoo, Finland and Armonk, NY: Nokia and IBM today announced an agreement on digital content delivery for mobile applications and services. Combining their expertise, Nokia and IBM will provide wireless operators and service providers with a complete solution for content management and delivery. According to the agreement, IBM will market Nokia's delivery server software for mobile content downloading. The companies have also agreed to collaborate on secure content delivery solutions, including digital rights management, according to industry-wide open standards and specifications.The solution combines the Nokia Delivery Server with IBM Digital Media Factory framework and enables service providers to offer exciting new content services for mobile users, such as Java based mobile games, polyphonic MIDI ring tones, digital images, graphics, screen savers and icons. The services built on the solution, called Digital Media for Mobile Devices (DM Mobile), will allow users to fully leverage the advanced features of mobile devices such as preview and seamless downloading of new content.
Using a modular approach, future developments of the Nokia and IBM solution will allow support for delivery and protection of a richer set of media types. This will allow operators and service providers to leverage their initial investment and increase their revenue streams.
"We are very pleased to work together with IBM on mobile content delivery and provide service providers with a top-quality solution for rapidly emerging services. Furthermore, we share the same view on an architecture development for protected content and Digital Rights Management in the mobile domain. Both Nokia and IBM have a strong commitment to drive and adopt an open based DRM technology that will result in a rich set of new services that are interoperable throughout networks and mobile devices," said Pertti Korhonen, executive vice president, Mobile Software, Nokia.
"This agreement pulls together the critical components necessary to support the secure delivery of content," said Dick Anderson, general manager of IBM's Digital Media group. "It enables new and exciting applications to be created and delivered to new advanced mobile devices. IBM and Nokia are at the forefront of protecting content from creation to delivery in a wireless environment."
The Nokia Delivery Server will become part of IBM's Digital Media Factory framework, based on a number of IBM core products and business partners, which helps companies create, store, manage and distribute digital content across the digital media value chain. IBM Global Services will sell and support the resulting offering with consulting, installation, and integration.
The Nokia Delivery Server software will also integrate with IBM's Service Provider Delivery Environment (SPDE - pronounced "speed-ee"), an open standards based framework built on IBM's WebSphere e-business infrastructure software designed to give wireline and wireless service providers the flexibility to introduce new revenue generating voice, text and Internet-based services to their customers faster, easier and at a lower cost. The Nokia Delivery Server is to be ported and made available for use on IBM Linux-based eServer* xSeries** systems. Finally, the combined IBM/Nokia Download Server solution will be supported and demonstrated by the IBM Network Integration Laboratory in La Gaude, France as a specific solution that is integrated with the IBM SPDE and Digital Media Factory frameworks.
Both Nokia and IBM are active members of the newly formed Open Mobile Alliance (OMA). OMA is the nearly 200-member company organization charged with delivering open standards for the mobile industry, helping to create interoperable services which work across countries, operators and mobile terminals and are tailored for user's needs.
Microsoft and Arcot introduce .NET service for consumer payment authentication
Alliance Integrates .NET Passport with Arcot TransFort, Offering Consumers a Simple And Secure Means of Online Credit Card Authentication
July 9, 2002, Redmond, Wash and Santa Clara, Calif: Microsoft Corp. and Arcot Systems Inc. today announced an alliance to integrate the Microsoft® .NET Passport with the Arcot TransFort (TM) payment authentication platform. Card-issuing banks that support online authentication, such as the Verified by Visa and MasterCard Secure Payment Application (SPA) programs for Internet purchases, can enable cardholders to seamlessly link their personal .NET Passport account with the secure, online card authentication of TransFort. Cardholders can log on, shop and authenticate online purchases using a simple and familiar Passport sign-in and interface.
With more than 200 million user accounts, Microsoft .NET Passport has been a successful solution for enabling single sign-in on the Internet. Through its card processor, bank, and merchant aggregator partners and customers, the Arcot TransFort solution will enable more than 10,000 merchants and 3,100 issuing banks, and protect more than 300 million cardholders worldwide, making it the leading solution for online payment authentication. TransFort currently supports multiple means of authentication, including user name-password, physical smart cards and the ArcotID (TM) Software Smart Card. With .NET Passport as another option for authentication, consumers can simplify their Internet experience by using a single sign-in and user interface to access .NET-enabled sites and services, including those that employ Arcot's solution for secure online shopping and credit card payment."Authentication continues to be an important enabling technology for the delivery of personalized services over the Internet, and is helping to usher in the next wave of innovation in e-commerce," said Brian Arbogast, vice president of .NET Core Services Platform at Microsoft. "Allowing sites and services that have deployed Arcot's TransFort solution to accept .NET Passport-issued credentials enables Web sites to break down the barriers to e-commerce, making the shopping experience both secure and convenient for consumers."
"Arcot is the solution provider enabling the Verified by Visa Issuer Service for our member banks," said Jon Prideaux, executive vice president of Visa EU. "With the integration of Passport, the Arcot TransFort platform now offers increased functionality and choice for issuers and cardholders with another means of cardholder authentication for Verified by Visa."
"The integration of .NET Passport with our TransFort solution will give consumers a simple, familiar and completely transparent way to secure their online purchases across Internet merchants," said Ram Varadarajan, president and CEO of Arcot. "This will result in online purchasing experiences that are not only safe and fast, but also will help issuing banks eliminate online fraud and its associated liability from unauthorized card use."
"As a leader in computer security and e-commerce, McAfee.com is always looking for new ways to make it easier for customers to get easy, secure access to our products and services," said Doug Cavit, chief information officer at McAfee. "As a customer of the .NET Passport authentification service and the Arcot TransFort solution, we think the integration of Passport and TransFort will break down barriers for customers, making it easier to access and purchase McAfee products and services conveniently and securely."
DURBAN, 10 July (IRIN) - Madagascar's exclusion, new developments on Zimbabwe and the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) were the focus of the last day of the African Union (AU) summit in Durban, South Africa.
African leaders remained resolute in their decision to exclude Madagascar from the AU on Wednesday, at the closing session of the Organisation of African Unity's (OAU) successor.
In a statement, the AU reiterated calls for fresh elections in the country saying that the 16 December elections were not legally constituted and therefore the decision, by the OAU's central organ last week, to bar the Indian Ocean island from taking up its seat, would be upheld.
Several key western countries had moved to normalise relations with President Marc Ravalomanana. Ravalomanana, in the last week, has captured all of the provinces previously under the control of his political rival, former President Didier Ratsiraka.
South African President Thabo Mbeki said that the decision to freeze Madagascar's AU seat was a "matter of principle that was decided on its merits rather than what the rest of the world was doing".
"These elections must be transparent and free and organised with the assistance of the AU and the United Nations," the statement on summit decisions said.
The statement also called on the island's leadership to work together to rebuild the country.
African leaders also stressed the need for the establishment of a single African army. Mbeki has been tasked with setting up a panel of experts to examine the matter and come up with recommendations.
The summit appointed outgoing OAU Secretary-General Amara Essy interim chairman of the AU Commission, for a year.
Meanwhile, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo said he had held positive talks with Zimbabwe President, Robert Mugabe, on Tuesday and urged him to meet with Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon.
Obasanjo said UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan was heartened by the meeting between the two heads of state and had expressed "interest in meeting with Mugabe".
"We are making progress, it may not be as fast as some people would like, but we are making progress," Obasanjo said.
The Nigerian president, Mbeki and Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, constituted the troika that suspended Zimbabwe following the controversial presidential election in March this year.
"We were two African leaders, Mbeki and myself, in the troika. Does this not say something about our commitment to censure other Africans when it is necessary. If we can do that [then] we can do even stronger things, if necessary," he said.
The African Peer Review mechanism allows for sanctions should countries fail to meet criteria under the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).
While being a signatory to the mechanism is not compulsory, countries that chose to remain outside the mechanism would still be subjected to the Peace and Security Council, a key organ of the AU.
The council will have the leverage to intervene in the affairs of member states to assist and monitor human rights abuses and help prevent conflict.
On the sidelines of the summit, Rwandan President, Paul Kagame confirmed his country's commitment to become part of the peer review mechanism.
Kagame also said efforts to resolve the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) "had been stalled and needed to be revisited".
Rwandan and DRC representatives have been meeting on the sidelines of the summit. Rwanda accuses the DRC government of harbouring ethnic Hutu militias who it blames for the slaughter 800,000 minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus in 1994.
In his closing remarks Mbeki said: "Expectations around the continent of the African Union and the New Partnership for Africa's Development are indeed very high. We are all elected to meet those expectations." .top
Operation launched to induce rain by spaying chemicals into Clouds.OUAGADOUGOU, 10 July (IRIN) - Hard hit by insufficient rainfall, Burkina Faso launched on Tuesday "Operation Saaga" in which it is using two planes to drop chemicals into the clouds to induce rain. "Saaga" means rain in local languages.
Lack of rainfall this year has been "frightening and worrying", Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources Salif Diallo said at the launching of the operation in the capital, Ouagadougou. Since April the situation had gotten worse, he added.
Some of the worst hit areas included the central Plateau and northern Yatenga regions. Since the start of the year, Ouagadougou in Plateau and Ouahigouya in Yatenga, had respectively received 85 and 53.2 mm of rain. As a result Ouagadougou was facing serious water shortages that had led to rationing because its three reservoirs had dried up, Diallo said.
Other regions in the country had also received just 150 mm. Nationally 14 provinces have been officially declared water-deficient, Diallo said.
Officials said dry conditions in the country were a threat to food availability. Some 267,000 people were already short of food and urgently needed 5000 to 7000 mt of cereals, Bassiaka Dao, head of the agricultural producers association said.
A similar operation launched for the first time in 1998 by Moroccan experts resulted in a 14 percent increase in water supply, representing a surplus of 850 million cu. mt over 1997. The increased water supply significantly raised Burkina Faso's agricultural productivity in 1998-1999, officials said.
This time Burkinabe experts are conducting the operation themselves. "After the 1998 successful experience we decided to set up our programme through the state budget," Diallo said.
"Operation Saaga" is being implemented using equipment acquired by the Burkina government at about 4.5 billion cfa (US $6.4 million). The chemicals used to gather and shell the clouds are salt-based and environmentally friendly, officials said.Denmark, France, the Netherlands and Taiwan contributed to the purchase of the equipment. .top
AU must be relevant to Africans
DURBAN, 10 July (IRIN) - Civil society organisations have urged that African Union (AU) leaders speed up the implementation of two key institutions, which will ensure the accountability and transparency of the AU following its launch.
At a meeting on the sidelines of the historic summit, which has seen the AU replace the Organisation of African Unity, activists committed themselves to ensuring that the Union fulfilled its promise of being more "people oriented".
Pan-African Movement general-secretary, Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem, told IRIN: "It was regrettable that the initial emphasis was placed on the executive branches of the Union but it is futile to cry over spilt milk. The challenge now is to identify those institutions that will give voice to ordinary Africans."
The proposed pan-African parliament (PAP) and Economic, Social and Cultural Council are expected to "provide the room for enhanced people participation which is vital to making the Union friendlier to Africans".
The PAP will be comprised of five members of each national parliament of the member states, at least one of whom must be a woman. It will advise and consult with the other organs of the AU. It is expected to promote the objectives of the AU, including the promotion of human rights and democracy, good governance, transparency, peace and security and stability in Africa.
The Economic, Social and Cultural Council, analysts said, would also provide a valuable platform to promote social justice and balanced economic development.
Chairman of the Inter-Africa Sustainable Development Group, Mohammed Abdel, said: "This is another institution where civil society experts can have an important role to play in partnership with government actors and the private sector. However, selecting its membership must be inclusive, participatory and generally democratic."
Abdul-Raheem added that one of the key recommendations was the appointment of a commissioner for human rights and governance to build trust between government and the people.They also recommended that the summit increase female representation in the PAP from the proposed 20 to 30 percent.
The civil society organisations also urged that the secretariat of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) establish a permanent mechanism for the participation of civil society."It is important that the political and business leaders behind NEPAD realise the need for broader society's involvement in Africa's economic recovery," Mary Wandia from the African Women's Development and Communication Network told IRIN. .top
Malaria drug caught up in side effect scare
DAR ES SALAAM, 10 July (IRIN) - Tanzania's new first line drug for treating malaria, Sulphadoxine Pyrimethamine (SP), has been embroiled in a high profile media scare over its potential side effects.
Various newspapers have been publishing photos of patients, apparently suffering from skin reactions that they have developed after taking SP. Experts, however, have warned that these might be a few exaggerated incidents that have been blown out of proportion.
"I have been following these things in the press but there is nothing scientific," said Zul Prenji, Professor of Parasitic Infections at the Muhumbili Hospital in Dar es Salaam. "There is a lack of evidence and it is very likely that these are a small number of cases that have been over publicised in the media."
SP was adopted by the Tanzanian government as the frontline malaria drug in August last year after studies revealed that levels of parasitic resistance to the traditional drug, chloroquine, had exceeded 75 percent in some areas of the country.
>From the outset, the potential side effects, a skin reaction known as Stephenson Johnson Syndrome, have been acknowledged, but considered to be minimal given the effectiveness of the drug.
"The data available on potential SP side effects relates to use as a weekly prophylaxis and estimates one case per 5,000-8,000. Post-market surveillance carried out by the manufacturers couldn't find any cases of side effects amongst those that took the recommended dosage for treatment," Alastair Unwin, Technical Advisor for the National Malaria Control Programme, told IRIN on Wednesday.
"So we know there is a risk, but we also know that we are dealing with a potentially fatal infection that, if untreated in children, carries a case fatality rate of anything up to 10 percent," he added.
Unwin explained that, as SP is a cheap drug "and the chances of making a lot of profit on its use and distribution are small", there are those who are prepared to undermine the government's new drug policy and are trying to get SP withdrawn from the market.
"There have been calls for people to go back to use chloroquine which doesn't work and which the government has removed from widespread availability. Then we would be left with a situation where we have many cases of a potentially fatal disease for which there is no drug available," he said.
Professor Prenji agreed that there might be those with vested interests in SP failing, but he added that another factor could be that patients prefer treatment by chloroquine as it eases the symptoms of malaria much faster than SP.
However, given the levels of concern, the consensus is that more research on the issue is necessary. "It is a very explosive situation and I feel there is a need for more research. Let's get some more evidence, then, if what is coming out is true, we can address it," said Professor Prenji.
Meanwhile, according to Dr Ali Mzige, Director of Preventative Sciences in the Ministry of Health, the government intends to tackle press reporting of the issue. "Those people that are shouting are doing so without scientific proof," he told IRIN. "The people that are writing about this think it is sensational news, but in actual fact, you need to bring in scientific fact. We'll be inviting editors of the newspaper to a meeting on the issue because it is a question of reporting the correct thing." .top
Indian Railway Finance Corporation
The "AAA" (pronounced 'triple A') rating assigned to the various bond issues of Indian Railway Finance Corporation Ltd. (IRFC) has been reaffirmed.
The rating reaffirmation of IRFC's debt instruments reflects its strong credit quality, which emanates from its status as the financing arm of the Indian Railways (IR) and the consequent support it receives from the ministry of railways (MoR) for its debt servicing. The rating also derives support from the company's consistent profitability and comfortable capitalisation. The key risk factors influencing the rating include IRFC's dependence on a single customer and its ability to identify suitable options to fund growth.
A dedicated funding arm of India's MoR, IRFC was established in 1986 with the sole purpose of raising resources from the capital markets to finance the purchase of rolling stock. This rolling stock is leased to the MoR's operating agency, the IR. IRFC had gross leased assets of Rs 198 billion as of March 31, 2001 and earned a net profit of Rs 2.54 billion for the nine months ended December 31, 2001.
Mirza Tanners Limited
Rs. 100 Million Commercial Paper Programme P1
The assigned rating reflects Mirza Tanners' comfortable market position, which is characterised by its established presence in the leather footwear exports market, diversified client base and strong brands such as Red Tape and Oakridge. The company's business position is supported by its integrated operations and modern manufacturing facilities. These strengths are, however, offset by its small size and aggressive financial policy. The company's financial risk profile is characterised by high gearing and low interest cover on the one hand and high, albeit declining profitability and high cash accruals in relation to its debt on the other.Mirza Tanners manufactures formal, casual and rough shoes for men. For the financial year ended March 31, 2002, the company reported a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs. 149.2 million (Rs. 145.6 million in the corresponding period last year) on an operating income of Rs. 1888.8 million (Rs. 1399.1 million).
July 10, 2002
Raymond Ltd.
Rs. 1,000 mn Non Convertible Debenture Program AA+
Fixed Deposit Program FAAA (Reaffirmed)
Rs. 905 mn Non Convertible Debenture Program AA+ (Withdrawn)The "AA+" (pronounced 'double A plus') rating is based on Raymond's dominant market share in the poly wool and worsted fabric segments and strong presence in apparels, which are further strengthened by Raymond's strong brand image and wide distribution network. The high level of liquid investments and comfortable debt levels also provide support to the rating. The rating is however constrained by competitive pressures in the poly wool and worsted segments resulting in low volume growth and declining operating margins. In the apparel business also Raymond faces strong competition from established players resulting in limited pricing flexibility and low profitability.
Raymond Ltd., the flagship company of the Vijaypat Singhania group, is engaged in the manufacture and sale of worsted, poly wool and polyester viscose fabrics, denim and steel files. In 2000-01 it posted net profits of Rs. 881 mn on a turnover of Rs. 9,751 mn.
Business Opportunities in Iran via Dubai
Dubai under the visionary eyes of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince, UAE Defense Minister, is pursuing to make the business a reality of Dubai’s future in the new era of business and digital economy With great privilege Datamatix would like to take this opportunity to inform you that the 1st regional business conference of it’s kind the “Business Opportunities in Iran via Dubai” supported by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry and the Dubai Ports Authority with the participations of the two most exiting world speakers the, Rt. Hon. Mike Moor, Director-General of the World Trade Organization – (WTO) and H.H John Bruton, Former (Prime Minister) of Ireland.With the growing awareness among the regional business community about the possibilities that Iran provide to regional trade, the three day event is planned to be an opportunity for Business, Government organizations and professionals to Meet, Discuss, and Network with the regional colleagues on ways and business opportunities with Iran, and how best Dubai can facilitate business operations. Your organization’s presence will bear great testimony to the zealous intent of our region and add more strength to the efforts of the business communities. I am sure you do agree with me that, the new business and economy are expecting a lot from all of us at this stage to participate and present our success.
This conference will be the platform that extensively discusses the range of business that Iran -an emerging regional market- provides, and in what way Dubai - a Leading business center in terms of trade and Infrastructure - can help link and host business operations with Iran. This will be the true convergence of key government decision makers, Business and Trade professionals from the deferent regions. They will engage in quality sessions and fruitful business networking get-togethers bringing out prospective and business partnership strategies. Needless to say the prime focus of the event is to deliver a significant message on immense business opportunities with Iran. We are sure that you will make use of this opportunity; the Agenda, registration and all conference details are available on www.datamatix-dubai.com
