States to receive Rs. 108 crores for High Court Infrastructure Dubai e-Government joins hands with Dar Al Sada to launch first Arab-centric online media syndication portal The President Shri K.R Narayanan and the Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee receiving the visiting King of Nepal Shri Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev and the Queen Komal Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah at a Ceremonial reception in New Delhi on June 24, 2002. The First Lady Smt. Usha Narayanan in also seen. Financial recovery norms for banks revised New Delhi; June 24, 2002. Keralamonitor.com The President has promulgated an Ordinance titled "The Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Ordinance, 2002." This comes into force with immediate effect. This follows approval of the Union Cabinet on June 18, 2002. The Ordinance will deal with three distinct actions in respect of financial assets held by banks and financial institutions in the form of securitization of financial assets, setting up of asset reconstruction companies and enforcement of security interest. The Ordinance is based on the recommendations of the Narasimham Committee I and II and Andhyarujina Committee reports for enacting a new law for regulation of securitization and reconstruction of financial assets, enforcement of security interest and formation of asset reconstruction companies. This would enable the banks and financial institutions to recover their debts expeditiously from the defaulters . Meanwhile, the Debt Recovery Tribunals (DRTs), over a period, registered a substantial improvement in the recovery of debts due to banks and financial institutions. The amount recovered through DRTs increased from Rs. 752 crores in 1999-2000 to Rs. 1185 crores in 2000-2001 and to Rs. 2153 crores during 2001-2002. The size of debts for recovery before DRTs is of the order of Rs. 110,000 crores as against the size of the Union Budget at Rs. 450,000 crores. The Government of India and the Reserve Bank of India have advised banks and financial institutions to take several steps for recovery of dues by evolving and implementation of recovery policy, compromise settlements through Settlement Advisory Committee and Monitoring and follow up of Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) at various levels in the banks. The banks have also been advised to use the forum of Lok Adalats for compromise settlement of their NPAs and guidelines have been issued by the Reserve Bank of India in May 2001 for making increased use of Lok Adalats to settle disputes involving outstanding balance in NPA accounts upto Rs. 5 lakhs. Besides, Credit Information Bureau (CIB) is being set up to disseminate information on borrowers to the banks. States to receive Rs. 108 crores for High Court Infrastructure New Delhi; June 24, 2002 Keralamonitor.com The Centre has provided Rs. 108 crore for infrastructural development of courts in States including High Courts under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme during the current financial year 2002-2003 as against Rs. 77.90 crore provided during 2001-2002. The matching amount on 50:50 basis is to be provided by the States. Under this Scheme, 63 extension buildings in various High Courts have been completed and work on eight extension buildings was in progress. About 107 Judges’ residences of various High Courts have been completed and work in respect of 150 residences was underway. As for subordinate judiciary, 625 district court complexes have been completed and construction work in respect of 617 rooms in district courts was in progress. In addition, 1531 residential quarters for judicial offices have been completed and work on 1248 residential quarters was in progress. The Centrally Sponsored Scheme for improving judicial infrastructure in States was introduced first in 1993-94 and since then it has been going on continuously. However, of late, there have been persistent demands from several States for increasing allotment of funds for the construction of new High Court buildings or for additions to or extension of the existing buildings. The demand for funds projected to this effect by Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Kerala, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Uttaranchal is of the order of Rs. 420.74 crore Khartoum reacts to Bush call for it to end war NAIROBI, 24 June (IRIN) - The Sudanese government has said it will send a letter to US President George W. Bush to clarify its position after his call last Thursday, 20 June, on Khartoum to demonstrate more serious commitment to ending the Sudanese civil war. Minister for External Relations Mustafa Uthman Isma'il said the government welcomed without reservations Bush's call for an end to the war, but was displeased that he had not touched on the need for the other warring party - the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A) - to do the same. Speaking at a public function in Washington DC, USA, Bush said there was no question that the Khartoum government had made "some useful contributions in cracking down on terror" since the 11 September events, but also that it "can and must do more". "Sudan's government must understand that ending its sponsorship of terror outside Sudan is no substitute for efforts to stop war inside Sudan," Bush stated. "Sudan's government cannot continue to talk peace but make war, must not continue to block and manipulate UN food deliveries, and must not allow slavery to persist," the US president added. The SPLM/A stated on Monday that an Antonov bombing raid on Malual Kon, northern Bahr al-Ghazal, on Sunday morning (in which four people were allegedly killed and five more seriously injured) was intended to interrupt humanitarian assistance, and was "a blunt response" to Bush's statement. Isma'il called on the US to direct its call for an to end the Sudanese civil war to all parties involved, and not restrict it to the government alone, the Arabic language newspaper Al-Ra'y al-Amm reported in Khartoum on Monday. He also reiterated the Sudanese government's frequently stated commitment to reaching a comprehensive ceasefire agreement. US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Walter H Kansteiner testified at an American Congressional hearing on Sudan on 5 June that Washington was committed to pushing all the actors involved "to a serious, comprehensive and, hopefully, lasting peace process". [See: http://www.state.gov/p/af/rls/rm/10925.htm] Al-Ra'y al-Amm on Monday quoted the Sudanese presidential adviser on political affairs, Dr Qutbi al-Mahdi, as saying that Bush's statement, which was "prejudiced and biased" against Khartoum, could be understood in terms of "the magnitude of pressure being exerted on the US administration" by rightist Christian groups because of Washington's involvement in peace issues in Sudan. Al-Mahdi insisted that relief aid was going to the victims [of the civil war] and not the government, in contrast to what he called "the rebels' usurpation of relief food and imposition of taxes on affected war victims, for whom the aid was meant". He also took issue with Bush's reference to slavery, saying that talk of slavery was "meaningless" since international groups had refuted its existence in Sudan, the report added. A US-led eminent persons group on slavery, abduction and forced servitude in Sudan reported in late May that "abductions of civilians and forcible recruitment by the armed forces of all sides in the war is commonplace". Of particular concern, the panel said, was a pattern of abuses occurring in conjunction with attacks by pro-government militias known as murahilin on villages in areas controlled by the SPLM/A near the boundary between northern and southern Sudan. The experts urged Sudanese President Umar Hasan al-Bashir to "take the lead in launching a campaign to make clear to all his government's firm opposition to these practices in all their forms". Bush said on Thursday that his special envoy for peace in Sudan, John Danforth, had "made progress toward a ceasefire and improved delivery of humanitarian aid to such places as the Nuba Mountains region in Southern Kordofan, south-central Sudan. The US would continue its search for peace in Sudan, seek to end Sudan's sponsorship of terror, and would "promote human rights and the foundations of a just peace within Sudan itself". Washington wanted all sides to "work diligently" towards peace, delivering deeds rather than mere words, Kansteiner told the US Congressional hearing on Sudan on 5 June. In this regard, he said, the government in Khartoum would have much to prove, since "the US considers the onus of ending the civil war rests squarely on the shoulders of the government". The surest way Khartoum could now display its peaceful intentions would be to "fully collaborate with US and UN humanitarian initiatives by providing unrestricted international humanitarian access to civilians in need", Roger Winter, Assistant Administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), told the same US Congressional hearing. Iranian Foreign Minister discusses peace in Horn ADDIS ABABA, 24 June (IRIN) - At a press conference in Addis Ababa on Monday Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin and his Iranian counterpart, Kamal Kharrazi pledged to cooperate in trying and achieve peace in war-ravaged Somalia and southern Sudan. Both said peace in the two countries was vital to ensure stability in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin said Ethiopia and Iran were committed to "cooperate and consult" to bring about stability in the region. Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi also welcomed a new initiative for increased economic ties during a high-level visit to Ethiopia. He said both counties acted as "gateways" for major economic development within the two regions (Central Asia and the Horn of Africa). "I think there is great potential for the two sides to develop," he said. "The two countries can be gateways to the two great regions for economic cooperation. I believe there is a very positive prospect for cooperation between Iran and Ethiopia." Seyoum said he and his Iranian counterpart had discussed how best to help promote the peace process through the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD). "We have discussed Somalia - not only discussed but also extended our discussion to how best we can cooperate in assisting peace to be achieved in Somalia within the framework of IGAD and in supporting the regional framework of national reconciliation in Somalia," he told a press conference at the foreign ministry in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. He also said ending the civil war that has devastated Sudan was of vital importance to ensuring stability in the Horn of Africa. "The question of southern Sudan is also of concern to the subregion, and a concern to Iran as a close friend to the African regime [in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum]." Kharrazi also paid tribute to the international community for its help after an earthquake hit his country. "It is a tragedy that earthquakes happen, and unfortunately Ethiopia is [also] located on an earthquake belt." He said his government was trying to alleviate the suffering of families hit by the quake, but that this took time. "Different countries all over the world have been quite kind to help us and extend their assistance to us, and we appreciate that," he added.Kharrazi is on a two-day visit to Ethiopia and will meet Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and President Girma Wolde-Giorgis. He will also give a keynote speech at a conference being organised by the Ethiopian Institute for Peace and Development. Dubai e-Government joins hands with Dar Al Sada to launch first Arab-centric online media syndication portal ViewArabia.com offers photographic and news content on Arab history and current issues to media organizations online June 24, 2002 Dar Al Sada Press, a leading publishing house in the UAE, and Dubai e-Government have teamed up to launch ViewArabia.com, the region's first portal that offers Arab-centric photographs, news, editorial contents and archival video clips online to media organizations across the globe. ViewArabia.com is designed to fulfill the need for a professional and integrated one-stop online photo and news aggregrator that will carry content from diverse sources across the region, to be reproduced by newspapers, television stations, publishing houses, research centers and academic institutions. The portal has acquired rare archival material, including photographs, on the history of the UAE as well as the rest of the Arab world, with the objective of becoming the leading content provider to media organizations. Salem Al Shair, Director of e-Services, Dubai e-Government, said: "We are pleased to support and work closely with the ViewArabia.com venture because this initiative is in keeping with our objective of facilitating business enterprises and empowering businesses, governments and citizens by maximizing benefits from technology. Our endeavour is to ensure that all community groups move away from the conventional methods to electronic services." "ViewArabia.com is the first portal to set up a system that brings content and photographs of Arab history, culture, development and current affairs on a single platform, thus filling a vacuum that was felt for a long time in this region. This venture will not only provide easy access to Arab-specific content but also help correct the imbalance in the coverage of Arab issues by providing authentic and original commentary on happenings in the Arab world," Al Shair added. Dubai e-Government is providing ViewArabia.com with access to its Government Information Network (GIN) that facilitates a fast and secure system for online services, as part of its efforts to support public and private sector organizations that promote e-services. Saif Al Marri, General Manager of Dar Al Sada, said: "We are proud to launch ViewArabia.com as the first portal in the region to offer a full spectrum of media content and photographs to media organizations online. We are aiming to provide a large collection that offers content on every conceivable subject, including photographs that have not been published before. We are also the first Arab portal to offer video clips that can be used by media organizations in their documentary films or advertisements." "We have put together a system that makes it extremely easy for exchange of material between the provider and the recipient in a highly professional and secure manner. The requested material, which is available at attractive rates, can be either directly downloaded after signing a deal, or we can send it by ordinary mail, depending on the buyer's preference," Al Marri added. "The most innovative idea we implemented in ViewArabia.com is to establish a media forum that enables content providers, photographers, artists, freelancers and local writers an opportunity to post their material on the website," added Al Marri. "We don't have to rediscover the alphabet, it's all over there. All we do is invite content providers to host their material on our site and become our partners." "ViewArabia.com is the ideal platform for creative people and intellectuals who did not so far have the tools to market their intellectual property. We are committed to fulfill this role of becoming a bridge between them and media organizations from around the world," Al Marri added. ViewArabia.com has already attracted Arab media partners wishing to promote their content on the portal. The London-based Quds Press International, considered one of the most important pan-Arab news agencies, has agreed to post content of nearly 50 million words on ViewArabia.com. In addition, daily news content is being added on the website. "We can make use of the infrastructure provided by ViewArabia.com to deliver our news more effectively and reach new customers. We believe this is an ideal way of putting our archive online against a stable and secure environment," said Ahmad Ramadan, General Manager of Quds Press International. Vision for Art Production from Jordan, winners of several international awards, was the first TV production house to join by planning to host its video archives on the site. "We are proud that it will be the first company to provide our valuable video archives of Petra, the ancient city of mystery and beauty in Jordan," remarked Abdullah Jawdat, General Manager of Vision TV Productions. Another partner is Bayt Al-Sahafa from Jerusalem in Palestine, which specializes in photographic content. "We regard ViewArabia.com as a vital channel that will promote our photographic content and carry the voice of Palestine to the world," said Khaled Al Zeghari, Manager Bayt Al-Sahafa. Artists and calligraphers are also interested in hosting their innovations on ViewArabia.com. Mohammad Fahmi, the well-known artist, was among the first to host his paintings. Dr. Salah Shierzad, the famous UAE calligrapher, says: "As ViewArabia.com will be promoting Arabic calligraphy, I am hosting my archives on the portal. I would like to invite all my friends to make use of this facility." Referring to copyright pertaining to the content posted on ViewArabia.com, Al Marri said: "We have put in place a legal and secure system to supply content to the buyers. The project is backed by legal institutions that have examined all aspects of copyright laws. One of them is the Talal Abu Ghazali Institute for Copyright, which handled the registration of the ViewArabia.com trademark. Taking the content from the website in a legal manner will ensure top quality reproduction, and bring home the message that respecting copyright laws has many benefits." Some prestigious IT corporations and international firms are involved in setting up the infrastructure of ViewArabia.com. The servers have come from IBM, while Microsoft has provided systems for quick and secure Internet access. Televisual is the search engine that powers the portal and the storage tools have come from FlexStorage. The archiving library and back-up copy support have been handled by Qualsar, based on management systems of Veritas. Firewalls from Sun Microsystems are in place to control hacking. Cisco Systems has provided the hardware, while the video cameras and photo scanners offering high quality resolution have come from Nikon.     Media Monitor Saudi Ship Caught fire killing sailore, injuring several passengers. K.M.Ashraf Riyadh: June 24, 2002; A Saudi vessel with 896 passengers on board caught fire on its way to the Egyptian port Safaga, leaving one Egyptian sailor dead and several injured due to suffocation, reported Saudi newspapers today. The ship, Al-Salam-90, was hit by a massive fire about 30 minutes after it had left the northwestern Saudi port of Dhuba Saturday evening. The ship returned to port and the passengers were evacuated as firefighters battled the blaze. The report said several people were taken to hospital for treatment, said reports quoting the Saudi Ports Authority. According to Arab News, the ship owned by Al-Balagha Shipping Company was on its daily trip to Safaga carrying 896 passengers, 68 sailors and 60 cars and trucks. The fire destroyed all vehicles on board. The fire broke out as a result of electrical short circuit. The ship is returned to Dhuba port. "All passengers were evacuated soon after the ship was brought back to port," claimed the Saudi officials. The ship was made of wood, iron and sponge which sources said worsened the intensity of the fire. The ship's maximum capacity was 5,000 passengers and 150 cars. The shipping company refused to give any information on the ship's safety conditions and facilities. Recently, Saudi Arabian girls schools were hit by fire, killing some of the students.--keralamonitor.com Attacks--Saudi Arabia is not target of Al-Qaeda Attacks -Saudi Arabia arrested 7 Al-Qaeda men who were planning bomb, missile attacks inside the Kingdom-CBSE Award for Malayali lady teacher in Saudi Arabia-Power Struggle to control Indian Schools in Saudi Arabia: Saudi devote billions to promote education Saudi Arabia to build more colleges to solve admission problems 25-year plan for education to accommodate students returned from western universities. The Higher Education Council of Saudi Arabia will prepare a long-term plan for university education for at least 25 years. Steps are also taken to solve admission problems at Saudi Universities and other higher education institutions. Saudi Government would establish new technical, medical and community colleges within the next four years. Following the September 11 attack on US, a large number of Arab students, especially from Saudi Arabia faced racial distrimination and alleged harassment from the western intelligence agencies and police. While many of them returned to Saudi Arabia, there is no sufficient number of seats available in the Saudi Universities to accommodate them. Thousands of Saudi citizens are enrolled in Western Universities, especially the US. Many of the Arab students go to Indian, Malaysian and Indonesian universities for higher education but the communal tension in some part of India, especially Gujarath has created a bad image about India abroad. Anti-Muslim rhetorics by Hindu religious fanatics like Ashok Singhal and other Hindutva leaders strengthens this perception among a section of people. It is realised that in the long term Arab students will have to depend on their own universities and colleges for getting education. Saudi education sector needs budget allocation of SR80-90 billion by the year 2020, when the Kingdom's population will reach 30 million and the number of students more than eight million. There are 4.8 million students enrolled at the Kingdom's schools, colleges and universities.keralamonitor.com