keralamonitor.com News Bureau SPECIAL CRIME MONITOR September 16, 2002. - 250 Indonesian Housemaids await Deportation, 10 per cent sexual molestation cases. -UAE Central Bank employee arrested for financial embezzlement -Salary of Indian staff in Riyadh Hospital delayed for months.Two in UAE court for taking female picture using mobile phone cum digital camera.
Indian Housewives Alerted against Sexual Offenses by Gas Vendors Indian media neglected rape of Muslim women in Gujarat - KM --It is advised that Indian housewives who are alone at home remain cautious about possible sexual advances, harassment or even rape committed by gas cylinder vendors, plumbers, electricians etc who visit their apartments when other family members are away from home. KM advises the expatriate housewife in the Gulf countries to remain vigilant when they call gas vendors to fill the empty cylinders, especially if their men are at work or children are away in the school. It is not advisable to call strangers, especially Arabs, to come to your reisdence and replace the empty gas cylinder.
- It is learned that recently an Indian housewife in a Gulf country had a bitter experience when three gas boys allegedly assaulted her in her middle class apartment. The lady reportedly called the gas company to replace the empty gas cylinder and unfortunately the delivery boys came when nobody else was at home. According to unconfirmed reports, the lady was sexually assaulted by the culprits. The Indian housewives did not worry much about such boys earlier, but recent changes replaced Indians with Arabs. However, we do not think that all the gas vendors are potential dangers, but some bad guys like the one who assaulted the Tamilian lady are clearly a bad mark on other good Arab culture. In order to avoid such crimes, the men should ensure that all such work involving outsideers should be completed when they are present at home. Such crimes can happen anywhere in the world. Even in our home country, such crimes do happen.
When calling gas vendors, make sure that the rest of family members are in the house. Also keep an additional cylinder so that there is no emergency situation, that compels lonely housewives to call strangers at odd hours. Another precaution is to keep the front doors open when strangers -Indian or Arab, enter your residence. Alert your neighbours about what is happening inside the apartment. Also make sure that ladies and grown up girls are dressed properly. It is avised to avoid sexy dresses and gowns. Women should properly cover their body when they are in the presence of adult strangers. It is also advised that grown up girl child should not be left alone in school buses without sufficient escort by other students. The local police has reportedly arrested the culprits and the lady had to be treated in a hospital. It is better to remain alert so that such crimes can be prevented. Dont hesitate to report such crimes to the local police. (KM Special)The Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee meeting with the members of GOPIO (Global Orgnization of the People of Indian Orign) in New York on September 13, 2002 (Friday).
Anxiety at police raid on media house-Foreign Diplomats allowed access to polling centres in J&K Elections -CAMEROON-CHAD: World Bank sticks with pipeline project Nigeria: Plateau urges calm after church blast -LIC announces bonus rates for policyholders for 2001-02 D-Link adds image upload and recording capabilities to internet cameras in a free download -Zimbabwe: Focus on links with Libya, Arab Countries.
Engineers urged to adapt latest technologies in Building Construction
New Delhi - Sharad Yadav, Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution has called upon professionals and engineers to study the latest available options in construction of buildings worldwide for their best possible adaptation in the country. Speaking as Chief Guest at the inauguration of a Seminar on "Revision of National Building Code of India" organised by the Institution of Engineers (India), Delhi State Centre here today, the Minister pointed out that a revolution had taken place in the construction industry globally through appropriate mechanism based on codes and regulations.
The Minister emphasised the need for reviewing the building bye laws and building code for bringing transparency in operation in the context of changing scenario in building operations.Codes and standards should be promoted in such a fashion that the local resource based planning is effective and progressive. Building code has to ensure that the low cost technologies are in no way inferior and the materials used are worth the investment while building houses for the poor.It has become imperative to have a re look at the national building code to have a proper and well laid down standards, in construction activity, the minister added.
The National Building Code of India (NBC), formulated by the Bureau of Indian Standards, is a single document which lays down comprehensively the requirements for safety of buildings with regard to structural sufficiency, fire protection norms, sanitation, materials, structural design and construction, etc. It contains administrative regulations, development control rules and general building requirements. BIS has now taken up the mammoth exercise of revising the National Building Code of India. This ambitious exercise shall involve more than 150 experts and is to be completed over a period of two years.
The two-day seminar is being attended by more than 200 leading engineers, architects , building materials manufacturers and administrators
KnowledgeView demonstrates state-of-the-art cross-media publishing and syndication Solutions at GITEX Dubai 2002
Innovative solutions used by international clients including CNNarabic.com, Elaph.com, Digitorial, Boeing USA, Al Hayat, EMI
Ali Al-Assam, Chairman, KnowledgeView
September 14, 2002
Dubai -keralamonitor.com. KnowledgeView, the UK-based leading technology developer of cross-media content management and syndication systems for content providers, media companies, government, web communities and information portals, is showcasing its open-platform content management and syndication solutions at GITEX Dubai 2002 as part of the Oracle World stand. KnowledgeView will be highlighting the new versions of RAPID Publish and RAPID News products, developed to serve the media, governments and information markets. In addition, the company will demonstrate the advanced solutions that it is implementing for leading organizations that include CNNarabic.com, Al Hayat Newspaper, Emirates Media Inc., the Yemen e-Government, Boeing USA and Digitorial (UK Newspaper Licensing Agency).
"KnowledgeView is deeply committed to the Middle East market, as reflected by our recent expansion plans of opening development offices in Dubai Internet City, Beirut and Riyadh," said Ali Al-Assam, Chairman, KnowledgeView. "In fact, the new KnowledgeView Saudi Arabia, which will be announced at GITEX Dubai 2002 will have a full-fledged sales, marketing, development and customer support team to cater to the large Saudi market potential."
"GITEX Dubai 2002 provides us with a strategic platform to showcase and demonstrate our award-winning RAPID systems for media, government, and enterprises. It enables us to pursue our goal of consolidating our position in this market, following a number of new prestigious wins in recent times. KnowledgeView's RAPID Publish has won a number of
high profile customers worldwide and in the Middle East, that include CNNarabic.com and Dubai Press Club who launched its portal www.dpc.co.org. This enables us to ensure that RAPID Publish is made available with a short implementation cycle and affordable costs for on-line publishing by newspapers, enterprises, broadcasters and governments," said Ammar Al Assam, Director of the Middle East operations of KnowledgeView. "We will use this event to highlight our unique solutions that enable our customers to collect news content from multiple sources, enhance it editorially, and create targeted and personalized value-added content services delivered to multiple channels such as web, PDA, SMS, Email, 3D Avatars, syndication etc."
KnowledgeView has developed the RAPID products suite, to handle all aspects of content acquisition, management, publishing and syndication. RAPID Publish is a powerful, lightweight news management engine for automating acquisition, classification and enhancement of news and media content as well as creating packages for cross-media publishing and syndication, designed to streamline production and create additional revenues.
The core strength of the RAPID Publish systems is the high degree of automation to acquire and auto-classify and deliver news. It provides tools for publishers and enterprises to provide customized and targeted services to countless groups of information consumers. It makes its possible for different editorial and business units to collaborate, while retaining control and ownership of their content.
RAPID Publish performs several functions that make it easy to classify and display news. It collects content from multiple sources, including editorial systems, photo workstations, wire feeds, legacy systems, online-databases and remote authors. It normalizes text, photos and graphics to industry standard formats and XML representations (such as NITF, NewsML and RSS). It edits and combines content items to create value-added, context-specific articles. It facilitates creation of targeted services, such as public and private websites, email newsletters and syndication feeds. It can deliver content anywhere, anytime, via the web, email, wireless or back to print.
Lebanon-based event management company to expand its activities to the UAE
September 14, 2002
Events Plus, a leading event management company based in Lebanon, has announced
its intention to expand its activities to the UAE because of the services infrastructure
and business environment that prevails in the country.Expressing her appreciation for the professional business atmosphere in the UAE,
Rania Charouk, Managing Director, Events Plus said that the well-planned infrastructure
in the UAE had enabled the company to organize events here, on par with international
standards in a very short time. "The UAE has excellent infrastructure for event
management, and the presence of a multinational population and a varied mix of
cultures makes it an ideal place for event management companies operating along
professional lines to conceive and execute highly satisfying projects in the
space of a very short time," said Charouk.The professional business atmosphere in the UAE and the high potential for managing
events has begun attracting outside agencies specializing in event management
and entertainment. Market research estimates the annual growth in the field of
event management in the UAE at 20 per cent. Booming business has led to a high
demand for specialists in managing activities such as special events, conferences,
product launches, corporate functions and social events. A number of foreign
as well as regional event management firms are now eyeing the UAE as a potential
field for expanding their activities.Events Plus offers a fully comprehensive service from concept to delivery of
all social events including product launches, corporate hospitality, conferences
and presentations or theme events. The company selects the venues and suppliers,
theme and presentation graphic and display contractors, photographers, catering,
musicians and entertainers in addition to planning and co-ordinating the event.Events Plus was responsible for organizing all the aspects of the recently-held
management meeting for Emirates Computers, one of the leading IT companies in
the Middle East. The meeting, which was attended by more than 20 Vice-Presidents
and managers from Emirates Computers, was held to devise the company's corporate
and business strategy for 2003 and discuss major plans to be made at Gitex Dubai
2002.The meeting combined business with fun and had several unique aspects centered
around team building and other management concepts. One of the highlights of
the meeting was the handing over of the Seven keys of Success to the management
team and the Seven Keys of Leadership to the General Managers of the Company
by Hani Harik, President of Emirates Computers."It was a challenge to conduct the event for Emirates Computers' Management Meeting in Dubai," said Charouk. "But we were able to achieve remarkable success in such a short space of time because of the world-class facilities available in the UAE. The infrastructure and sub-contracting facilities to organize the event was readily available, so all we had to do was use our creative ideas to turn the meeting, into a memorable occasion. We hope to see more of this transfer of expertise in which creative talent from Lebanon and other countries can be harnessed to execute projects in the UAE which is a professional market with a high business potential."
"Encouraged by the success of our first event in Dubai, we are seriously considering opening a representative office here to serve this flourishing market," added Charouk
TOGO: Prison term for journalists
The publishing editor of Togolese weekly Nouvel Echo, Julien Ayi, was sentenced on Friday to four months in jail and fined FCFA 100,000 (US $150) for defamation against President Gnassingbe Eyadema. The weekly's editor in chief, Alphonse Nevame Klu, who has gone missing, received a six-month jail sentence and FCFA 100,000 for an article claiming that Eyadema was one of the world's richest man. The paper claimed to base its article on the Forbes Magazine ranking of the world's richest people.Press freedom watchdog, Reporters sans Frontieres, condemned the sentencing and called for the immediate release of the journalist. Suspected fuel pump problem: Oman Air takes proactive steps
Salary of Indian staff in Riyadh Hospital delayed for months.
JEDDAH, 15 September — Indian staff of King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center (KFSHRC) in Jeddah are not getting their salary for several months Al-Watan newspaper reported . Despite repeated complaints from some expatriate staff members about delay in salary payment none of them has submitted resignation papers. The hospital is functioning normally, he added.
Some hospital staff are planning to seek employment in the United States and Europe as they could not cope with delayed payments at the hospital. The hospital had issued a memo last week to its staff informing them of an indefinite delay in the payment of August salaries. The authorities, which required SR22 million to pay its 1,800 employees did not give a reason then for the delay. The Saudi Ministry of Finance and National Economy owed the hospital more than SR500 million in unpaid bills.
The hospital, which help reduce pressure on the King Faisal Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh, employs internationally known specialists in all medical specializations and offers services to thousands who cannot afford to go to Western countries to get advanced treatments. The hospital authorities made arrangements to cover employees’ food and long distance phone calls.
Indian media neglected rape of Muslim women in Gujarat
Ahmedbad --September 16. The Gujarat holocaust has officially claimed over 1,000 lives but independent sources put the toll at over 2,500. The victims are mostly Muslims. The media reporting of the carnage deliberately ignored the violence and brutality against the helpless womenfolk of the community. They failed to highlight the pain and agony suffered by hundreds of Muslim women. The excuses given for this by a few leading Indian journalists is unconvincing and hollow.
The horrors were macabre. The pitiless brutality against women and small children by organized bands of armed men is more savage than anything witnessed in the riots that have shamed India sporadically during the past century. Harsh Mander, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer who was posted in the state during riots and later quit the service in disgust, has also written about the barbaric attacks on Muslim women.
“I have never known a riot which has used the sexual subjugation of women so widely as an instrument of violence in the recent mass barbarity in Gujarat. There are reports everywhere of gang-rape, of young girls and women, often in the presence of members of their families, followed by their murder by burning alive, or by bludgeoning with a hammer and in one case with a screw driver. Women in the Aman Chowk shelter told appalling stories about how armed men disrobed themselves in front of a group of terrified women to terrorize them further.”
What can we say about Kausar Bano, an eight-month pregnant woman, who begged to be spared? Her assailants instead slit open her stomach, pulled out her fetus and threw it into a blazing fire before her eyes. What can we say about a family of 19, mostly women and girls, killed by having their house flooded with water and then electrocuting them with high-tension electricity?
What can we say about Farzana, 13 and Noor Jahan, 12, of Chara Basti, Ahmedabad, who were gang-raped? The rapists later put a rod in Farzana?s stomach and then burned her alive. A 13-year-old boy Azharuddin is an eye-witness to this bestiality.
Take the case of Sultana of Eral village of Panchmahal district. Sultana and her group were attacked by a Hindu mob on the main road. They ran toward a nearby river but since Sultana was carrying her child Faizan, she fell on the road and then, “They caught me and stripped off all my clothes and I was left stark naked. One by one all of them raped me, I lost count after three. Then they cut my foot with a sharp weapon and left me there.”
Saira, 12, Afsana, 11, Naina, 12, Anju, 12, Rukhsat, 9, Nilofar, 10 and Hena, 11, are all survivors from the horrors of Naroda Patiya in Ahmedabad where 80 people were burned alive and many women and girls raped, maimed and some brutally killed in what is probably the worst carnage in the current spiral of violence.
These girls are young and for them making sense of what they have seen and heard seems impossible. They have been scarred for life, their trust in Hindus shattered. They will naturally speak of “evil Hindus.” The Hindus who burned their houses, the Hindus who did not let them escape, the Hindus who unleashed terror on them, the Hindus who raped them, the Hindus who raped their mothers and sisters before their eyes and threw them alive into a blazing fire.
These girls became friends only in the relief camps, although they all grew up and lived in Naroda Patiya. Now they will probably share a lifelong bond of victimhood. But they are children still, resilient survivors, their eyes still bright and curious.
Will they ever forget what had happened to them? Will these girls who earlier had scores of Hindu friends, ever again make friends with Hindus? For the crimes of a mad and misguided minority, the whole Hindu community has become an object of hatred for these victims.
Women are feeling an acute sense of betrayal. They feel betrayed by neighbors, friends, people they had lived with, celebrated festivals with, conducted business with. These people along with the mob looted, killed and burned their houses and families. How do we rebuild their trust?
These stories are only the tip of the iceberg. There are hundreds of rape victims who survived and are living in a precarious condition in relief camps in and around Ahmedabad. They embody the numerous experiences of evil that were felt by Muslim women and girls in Gujarat at the hands of the Hindu criminals.
There are hundreds of Kausars and Sultanas whose stories have not been brought before the public. Women forced out of their burning homes, running for their lives on violent streets, were not only chased and attacked by Hindus but far worse, by the police, whose job was to protect them. Rather the police provided protective shields to crowds bent on pillage, arson, rape and murder, and were deaf to the pleas of the desperate Muslim victims, many of them women and children.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi admitted the involvement of the police force in the communal violence but exonerated them by saying “police are human beings as well and not inured to the sentiments of society.” This is hardly surprising because butchers like Modi are not only being tolerated but protected by the central government to continue with their nefarious and criminal activities.
Even the External Affairs Ministry came to the rescue of the murderers and their cohorts when it declared it to be an “internal affair” of the country and called upon European Union and others to keep out of it.
Encouraged by the support Modi got from his bosses now he has embarked on a “Gaurav Yatra” (Pride Rally) to celebrate the pride of what has happened in the state under his leadership in the past few months.
While Modi insists the rally is meant to highlight the government?s achievements, it is clearly designed to revive communal hate and cash in on Hindu support ahead of assembly elections.
The fact-finding teams have given graphic details of the police complicity in the violence against Muslims. They have reported continuing police atrocities against Muslim women on one pretext or the other.
Those who visited Gujarat in the aftermath of the genocide say that the impact of fear on Muslim women can be seen clearly. With the entire community under threat, women in particular are paying the price with their freedom and mobility. Mothers fear for the safety of daughters. Husbands fear for the safety of wives.
These incidents are a pointer that in many ways women were the central character in the Gujarat pogrom, and their bodies the battleground where Hindu forces waged a war of supremacy.
Ironically, there is virtual silence in the media about the incidents of sexual violence and bestiality against Muslim women. None of the newspapers or TV channels have given voice to the pain and agony suffered by these unfortunate women.
The explanation for this indifference is that rape stories were provocative, and that in the early days of the violence, the media “had to play a socially responsible role, and not incite more violence.” However, the media censors the rape stories even now.
Senior journalists have been quoted by fact-finding groups as saying that they would have been accused of rumor-mongering if they had carried stories about rape, given that most of the victims were dead and that those who survived neither had medical examinations nor lodged police complaints. Why has the media not carried stories saying that women on the run from marauding mobs cannot be expected to undergo medical examinations within 72 hours of their abuse? To expect them to undergo examinations is even less credible when no Muslim in Gujarat today can enter a police station confidently that he will get a hearing and lodge a complaint. How come the media expected a rape-victim to lodge a complaint?
Due to the indifferent attitude of the media the crimes against women in Gujarat have been grossly under-reported and the exact extent of these inhuman acts in both rural and urban areas demands thorough investigation. If the government does not investigate promptly, independently and thoroughly, those who perpetrated these violence will remain free to repeat it.
What happened in Gujarat was a grave human tragedy. It would be both tragic and criminal negligence in the extreme if the perpetrators of this “Tandav” or the dance of death are not brought to justice. (courtesy -- Arab News)
Two in UAE court for taking female picture using mobile phone cum digital camera.
Two men who had surreptitiously photographed six girls in the UAE with their mobile phone-cum-digital camera made their first appearance yesterday at the Dubai Court of First Instance. The judge announced the court would issue a ruling on September 21. The Prosecution had charged two UAE nationals, Khalid M.A., 25, and Yousif K.S., 21, with breach of privacy. Both denied the charges. Khalid claimed he did not know how to use the camera in the mobile. He submitted to the court the purchasing invoice dated August 24. As he was arrested on August 25, he said he did not have a chance to master operations of the built-in camera.
Yousif also pleaded innocent, claiming he was unaware that his companion was allegedly photographing the women. According to court reports, six girls were secretly photographed in a restaurant on Oud Metha road.
Fatima M, who carries no nationality, Huda A, Samira A, Iman M, Rawya A and Farida L, all UAE nationals, went to a restaurant on August 25.Undercover policemen alerted them that Khalid and Yousif had shot eight pictures of them as they were having lunch. Iman dropped the case on September 10. Rawya, Fatima and Farida dropped their lawsuit on September 9.
250 Indonesian Housemaids await Deportation, 10 per cent sexual molestation cases.
RIYADH, 16 September — More than 250 Indonesian housemaids are currently stranded in a temporary shelter in Riyadh awaiting deportation. Their cases, which must be settled before their repatriation, are still pending with no sign of immediate settlement as they have to undergo a cumbersome process of scrutiny by the police department, labor department and Indonesian Embassy, reported newspapers. In most cases, their Saudi sponsors are either not responding to official calls made by relevant departments and the embassy or they are absent, said M Sugiarto, labor attache at the Indonesian Embassy here. Sugiarto said that 60 percent of all complaints received at the embassy are from Indonesian maids. About nine percent of the complaints filed by maids at the embassy are related to sexual abuse and harsh treatment at the hands of the sponsors. Male sexual abuse alone accounted for two percent of the casesThere are over 169,000 Indonesian housemaids in the 25-40 age group currently working in Saudi Arabia. Most of them are working under individual Saudi sponsors. Since Indonesia is Muslim country, Gulf countries have been preferring housemaids from Indonesia and Malaysia. Their repatriation is delayed because most of them are runaway maids, who have also been blamed by their sponsors or have other obligations. Cases of complaints of sponsors have to be resolved before they can board a plane back home. Many of the sponsors file false police case and absconding cases against such housemaids.
The embassy has been coordinating with governmentagencies for their immediate repatriation. Though nine percent of the complaints lodged by the maids are related to sexual abuse and harsh treatment, the labor attache said there was no plan to phase out Indonesian housemaids from this country. Instead, he called for imposing tighter restrictions on employers and recruiting agents. He said 12 percent of the complaints pertained to housewives using foul language. In order to reduce the number of incidents of physical harassment, he said the embassy had recommended increasing the minimum recruitment age of Indonesian maids from 25 years to 30 years.
He also suggested that the minimum salary be raised from SR500 to SR700 per month for an Indonesian maid. This should be in addition to suitable accommodation, air ticket and vacation. He said new regulations must be introduced soon to monitor the activities of recruiting agents in Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, who, he said, have also been playing foul during the whole process of hiring maids.
New regulations, which are currently under discussion, should also ensure that maids to be deployed in a foreign country must be adequately educated and trained for the job and should be matured enough to imbibe the culture and family traditions in the foreign country concerned. The Kingdom is home to more than 500,000 Indonesian workers, including housemaids.
UAE Central Bank employee arrested for financial embezzlement
Dubai Police have arrested a Central Bank employee for allegedly embezzling Dh3.2 million ($870,000), WAM news agency reported yesterday. It quoted a Central Bank statement as saying that the employee, who was not named, was suspected of misappropriating Dh3,182,000 from a Dubai branch of the bank. "Part of the amount was stolen from a box of new banknotes, while the other part was misappropriated through not crediting certain bank deposits." It gave no further details. The employee was said to have admitted the charges and that he had deposits in several banks. "The State Auditing Department was informed of the incident and an inventory of the strongrooms has been taken," said the statement
FOURTH MALAYSIA-INDIA DEFENCE COOPERATION MEETING CONCLUDES
India and Malaysia have re-affirmed their interest in greater military training exchanges. Exchanges will also take place for participation in defence related seminars. Specific proposal on exchange of instructors would also be worked out by both the countries. This was agreed to at the fourth Malaysia India Defence Cooperation (MIDCOM) meeting that concluded here today. Both sides affirmed their intentions to strengthen bilateral defence cooperation.
During the meeting, it was agreed to give wider scope for mutually beneficial cooperation for spares and servicing of defence equipment which are common to both the countries.The Malaysian side indicated that they had constituted a sub-committee on Military Cooperation and requested India to constitute the same on an ex-officio basis. This was agreed to by the Indian side.The 22 member Malaysian delegation was led by Mr. Tan Sri Dato Hashim Meon, Secretary General, Malaysian Ministry of Defence and the Indian delegation was led by Subir Dutta, Secretary, Ministry of Defence.
India and Malaysia have a long tradition of a close and cordial relationship. The mutual quest for closer defence relationship led to the 1993 initiative of the mechanism of Malaysia-India Defence Cooperation Meeting. The 3rd MIDCOM in Malaysia held in January 2001 gave a new impetus to India-Malaysian defence cooperation. This meeting witnessed the setting up of the sub-committees on cooperation in the military, defence industry and science and technology sectors. Many other specific areas have also been identified by these sub-committees.
An invitation has been extended to the Malaysian delegation to attend the International Seminar on SONAR Technology to be organized by Defence Research and Development Organisation at Kochi in December this year and also to the forthcoming Aero-India 2003.The Malaysian delegates are slated to visit Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited in Bangalore and the National Defence College in the capital.The fifth MIDCOM is scheduled to take place in Malaysia next year. keralamonitor.com
FOREIGN DIPLOMATS ALLOWED ACCESS TO POLLING CENTRES ALSO DURING J & K ASSEMBLY ELECTION
The Election Commission of India has issued special passes and authority letters so far for 28 diplomats of various countries on their requests to see elections in Jammu and Kashmir. The diplomats have also been allowed access to polling and counting centres. The diplomats are from Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Luxemberg, Netherland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, U.S.A., U.K. and European Commission. In Kashmir region, 16 diplomats will be going for the first phase of poll in Kupwara and Baramulla Districts, 11 diplomats will be going for the second phase, 12 diplomats for the third phase while two diplomats will be going for the fourth phase of poll.
In Jammu region, 2 diplomats will be going for the first phase of poll in Punch and Rajouri Districts, while 4 diplomats will cover the second phase of poll in the region.The Commission has also decided to change the hours of poll from 8.00 AM - 5.00 PM to 7.00 AM - 4.00 PM for all four phases of poll in the State to ensure enough daylight.
BURUNDI-TANZANIA: New influx of Burundi refugees
DAR ES SALAAM, 13 September (IRIN) - Following a recent increase in
fighting in Burundi, over 300 refugees have crossed the border into
western Tanzania over the last three days, a humanitarian agency told IRIN
on Friday.This influx of refugees, most of whom are young men, is the biggest in
several months and corresponds with recent reports of further clashes
between the forces of the transitional national government and Hutu
rebels, said Jesse Kamstra, project coordinator for Tanganyika Christian
Refugee Service in Kibondo."These refugees started arriving a few days after reports of increased
fighting," Kamstra said. "From the initial impression we are getting,
there are some women and children, but 65 percent of these refugees are
young men, about 18 years old, or even younger.""They are from both sides - rebels that are losing and the also the
national army. It appears that President Pierre Buyoya's army is using
many of the young men as frontliners and when they get a chance to, they
flee."This surge of Burundians follows a period of relative calm, during which
the number of new arrivals in Kibondo had been as low as 25 a month and
the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) had been able to facilitate the repatriation
of a number of refugees to Burundi."There is definitely an influx. We have handled much larger numbers in the
past - up to a 1,000 a day - but if this continues, there will be
thousands more," Kamstra warned. "Among those that came, there were
several that had repatriated in May or June, but, because of the increased
levels of violence, had felt that it was not safe to stay."The renewed level of uncertainty comes just days before the next round of
peace talks are due to begin in the Tanzanian commercial capital, Dar es
Salaam, on 16 September. keralamonitor.com
CAMEROON-CHAD: World Bank sticks with pipeline projectABIDJAN, 13 September (IRIN) - World Bank directors have approved a
management action plan suggested by independent experts to support three
projects of the Chad Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project.The action plan addressed concerns raised by an independent inspection
panel within the Bank on four areas: environmental and social compliance
with the Bank's policies and procedures, economic issues, poverty
reduction issues, and monitoring and supervision."The findings of the panel will lead to improvements in the ongoing
implementation of this challenging project, which has enormous potential
to bring great benefits to the people of Chad and Cameroon," said World
Bank President James Wolfensohn.Thursday's approval of the new action plan meant the World Bank was
standing by the project to build an oil pipeline between Chad and
Cameroon, despite its experts' earlier concern that the project could harm
the environment and fail to meet other goals, according to analysts.The new management action plan is a way to "help ensure the project gets
back on track" after the issues raised in the inspection panel report,
they added.Environmental and human rights groups have suggested that the project - to
build a 1,050 km pipeline connecting the Doba oil fields in southern Chad
to Cameroon’s Atlantic coast - raises serious concerns about the treatment
of local and indigenous people in both countries, as well as its
environmental
consequences. [see http://www.amnesty-usa.org/justearth/actions/]The World Bank said on Thursday that it hopes to work with the relevant
Chadian agencies to prepare regional development and environmental
management plans.With regard to economic benefits, it said more than 80 percent of the oil
revenues accruing to the Chadian government would be directed to
expenditures in the priority sectors of health, education, rural
development, infrastructure, environment and water, as by law.Some 10 percent would be saved in a fund for future generations, the Bank
added.The oil-producing region is to receive five percent of these resources to
be managed locally, in addition to what it will receive through the
national budget, according to the Bank's statement on Thursday.It said the Bank placed the highest priority on assisting Chad to achieve
its poverty reduction objectives through this project and through other
elements of its assistance to Chad.For the complete Inspection Panel Report, and the World Bank Management
Report and Recommendations in Response, go to:
http://www.worldbank.org/afr/ccproj
Inspection Panel website: www.inspectionpanel.org
IAG-GIC website: www.gic-iag.orgSee also, Cameroon Chad Pipeline Monitoring Project at
http://www.catholicrelief.org/where_we_work/africa/cameroon/pipeline.cfm
Anxiety at police raid on media house
ABIDJAN, 13 September (IRIN) - A raid by 10 policemen on a publishing
house in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, on Monday 9 September was on Thursday
condemned by Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF), which described it as
"worrying" for press freedom in the West African country.Mayama Editions publishes two daily newspapers: Le Patriote and Tassouman,
which are believed by the Ivorian government to be close to the opposition
Rassemblement Des Republicain (RDR) party.RSF, an international lobby group for media freedom, wrote to President
Laurent Gbagbo on Thursday to protest against the raid.It urged the president to "respect" his commitment to freedom of the press
and called for punitive measures against the police who conducted the
raid."This incursion of the police is worrying for freedom of the press in Cote
d'Ivoire. We hope that this will remain an isolated case," Robert Menard,
RSF Secretary General, wrote to President Gbagbo.It is believed the raid was conducted in connection with an article
published in Tassouman which reported an increase in car-jacking in Cote
d'Ivoire.The report said the car of the Minister of the Interior, Emile Doudou, was
among those to have been stolen. The minister denied the report.According to the local press, the newspaper offices were turned upside
down by police. A number of people, including journalists, were reportedly
injured in a scuffle in which the police used tear gas.Local newspapers in Abidjan reported on Wednesday that two cabinet
ministers, Sery Bailly (Communications) and Victorine Wodle (Human
Rights), had visited the Mayama offices and expressed regret over the
incident.NIGERIA: Plateau urges calm after church blast
LAGOS, 13 September (IRIN) - The Plateau State government in central Nigeria on Thursday urged residents of the state capital, Jos, to remain calm after a bomb attack on a church gave rise to tension in the city. The explosion at the Church of Christ in Nigeria, in the Laranto suburb to the north of the city, on Wednesday caused slight damage but no injuries were reported. However, there was a surge of tension in the city in which more than 1,000 people died exactly a year before in sectarian violence involving Christians and Muslims.
Since the September 2001 violence, clashes have occurred on a smaller scale between adherents of both faiths in different parts of Plateau State, claiming numerous lives. "The state government wishes to reassure all citizens to remain calm [sic] and go about their normal businesses as this isolated incident is being tackled by the relevant security agencies," Ezekiel Gomos, secretary to the state government said on Thursday. Those threatening the peace of the state would be dealt with decisively, he added.
Security agencies in Plateau State, including the police and military, have been put on alert. Police bomb experts and detectives have launched an investigation into the bombing.Abraham Yiljap, spokesman for the Church of Christ in Nigeria, said the huge explosion on Wednesday morning shook buildings in the surrounding area and covered the church premises with thick, dark smoke.
LIC announces bonus rates for policyholders for 2001-02
Total Valuation Surplus Declared – Rs.8637.50 Crore Government’s share of Valuation Surplus Rs.431.88 croreSeptember 11 , 2002, Mumbai: S.B. Mathur, Chairman, Life Insurance Corporation of India , today announced the Bonus rates for its policyholders for the year 2001-02 pursuant to the Actuarial Valuation as on 31st March, 2002 . The Valuation of the Corporation’s Assets and Liabilities is an annual exercise. A surplus of Rs.8,637.50 crore has emerged as a result of valuation. Out of the Surplus declared, 95% i.e. Rs.8,205.62 crore is distributed as Bonus to the holders of with profit policies which were in-force as on 31st March 2002 and 5% of the surplus i.e. Rs.431.88 crore is to be given to the Government of India as yearly dividend, Government of India being the stakeholder of LIC of India. The number of in-force policies under Individual Assurance and Individual pension plans has gone up from 11.30 crore to 12.81 crore as on 31st March, 2002 .
The Bonus Rates per thousand Sum assured in brief for the various types of policies depending upon the term etc. are as follows:
Bonus rate for Whole Life Policies is Rs.100.00
Bonus rates for Endowment Type Policies range from Rs.49.00 to Rs.71.00
Bonus rates for Money Back, Anticipated Endowment range from Rs.48.00 to Rs.65.00
Bonus rates for Jeevan Mitra, Jeevan Sathi, Limited Endowment Policies range from Rs.60.00 to Rs.72.00
Bonus rates for Jeevan Surabhi Policies range from Rs.51.00 to Rs.72.00
Bonus rates for Jeevan Anand plan range from Rs.40.00 to Rs.65.00.
The Corporation has reduced minimum period for accrual of bonus from 5 years to 3 years for in-force policies.
In general, policies of longer term acquire higher bonuses than policies of shorter term. Despite the lowering of the returns on the Government Bonds, Securities, Bank rates and Post Office Schemes, the Bonus Rates declared show marginal adjustment over last year. In fact the Bonus Rates in case of Whole Life Policies and Final Additional bonus have gone up.D-Link adds image upload and recording capabilities to internet cameras in a free download
D-Link, the worldwide leader in the design, development and manufacturing of high-performance networking solutions, today announced the release of a free Firmware upgrade and a free IPView Software Version 2.0 upgrade for the D-Link DCS-1000 Internet Camera and the D-LinkAir DCS-1000W Wireless Internet Camera.
September 11, 2002, Irvine, CA: The free Firmware upgrade adds the ability to upload images to an FTP site, while the free IPView Software Version 2.0 upgrade enables the cameras to record video streams. Users can download the new firmware and software from the D-Link support web site at (support.dlink.com).The new v1.26 Firmware upgrade provides the cameras with the ability to upload still images to an FTP site in addition to sending them to an e-mail address. Users input the URL or IP address for their FTP site into the cameras’ management interface then configure the images to be taken on timed intervals or on triggered events. The images can then be sent to the FTP site for later retrieval or for automatic posting to a web page.
The IPView Software Version 2.0 upgrade provides users with more new features, including the ability to record the cameras’ video streams. When the video streams are recorded they will be saved to the user’s hard drive as an .AVI file. Using IPView software the size, name and storage location of the AVI file can be defined. The new software will even allow multiple video streams to be recorded at the same time. IPView 2.0 also enables the ability to rotate the angle of the camera image. This is beneficial for users that must install their camera hanging from the ceiling or in any other oddly angled position.
The new Firmware upgrade, v1.26, and the IPView Software Version 2.0 upgrade, can be downloaded for free from the D-Link Tech Support site (support.dlink.com). Details on how to install the new firmware can be found in the user’s manual for the D-Link DCS-1000 and D-LinkAir DCS-1000W.
Zimbabwe: Focus on links with Libya, Arab Countries.
JOHANNESBURG, 13 September (IRIN) - Libya has renewed a US $360 million financing facility for Zimbabwe to cover the importation of fuel for another year, as queues formed this week outside filling stations in the capital, Harare, amid fears of petrol shortages.
The state-run The Herald newspaper reported that the deal was signed on Monday, following a visit to Libya by President Robert Mugabe. The Zimbabwean delegation included Finance and Economic Development Minister Herbert Murerwa, Energy and Power Development Minister Amos Midzi, and Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe chief executive Gideon Gono.
The Herald said the financing facility, a repeat of last year's agreement, involved the Libyan Arab Foreign Bank, the Libyan Arab Investment Company and the state oil company Tamoil. The facility would deliver quarterly tranches of $90 million as part of a "trade, investment and fuel supply" agreement. Tamoil reportedly supplies about 70 percent of Zimbabwe's fuel needs, with the remainder provided by the Independent Petroleum Group of Kuwait. However, analysts said it remained unclear what Tripoli wins in return for the financial lifeline to Zimbabwe, which is suffering severe foreign exchange shortages and has almost zero aid flows.
Murerwa, who signed the agreement with his Libyan counterpart Ageli Breni, was quoted as saying that Libya would "invest in the mining, tourism and agricultural sectors and infrastructure development in the oil industry". The independent Financial Gazette reported that Libya would enter joint ventures in Zimbabwe and reopen gold mines that had closed as a result of the country's economic difficulties.
"Libya is looking for investment in hotels, tourism and the service sector. They are trading equity stakes for repayment of the loans. But the difficulty is giving them stakes that are remotely close to the financial commitments they have made," Patrick Smith, editor of the London-based newsletter Africa Confidential, told IRIN.
The nature of the Zimbabwean economy, with close links to South African private industry, limits how far the Libyans can buy in. "That leaves Zimbabwe with only the option of privatising chunks of the economy for the benefit of Libyan interests," Smith added.
The new financing agreement cements Libya's growing involvement in Zimbabwe, despite reports that the north African country had been pressing hard for repayment of earlier loans. According to Ahmed Rajab, editor of the London-based newsletter Africa Analysis, behind the new-found friendship between the two geographically distant countries is a shared anti-West ideology, with both regarding themselves as part of a "progressive, pro-liberation, anti-imperialist front".
Smith noted that Zimbabwe in the past had reservations over Libya's role in Africa. Harare, for example, had been a long-standing supporter of the Sudanese People's Liberation Army, whereas Tripoli has backed the Sudanese government. "But as Mugabe has had more and more problems with the West, [Libyan leader Mu'ammar] al-Qadhafi has made himself more and more useful. [There is now] a web of commercial, economic, political, diplomatic and security connections," Smith said.
The Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee meeting with the members of American Federation of Muslims from India (AFMI) in New York on September 13, 2002 (Friday).
