KERALAMONITOR.COM NEWS BUREAU SEPTEMBER 23, 2002
Ram Naik urges Middle East Oil Producers to Rationalise Official Selling prices
IRAN TO DECIDE AWARD OF FARSI EXPLORATION BLOCK TO ONGC SOON
keralamonitor.com September 23, 2002.In his bilateral meetings with the Oil Ministers of middle east oil exporters Ram Naik Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas urged for equalization of FOB official selling prices for the western markets and the consumers east of Suez. Presently middle east crudes under the term contracts from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran etc. for the consumers east of Suez, including India, are priced higher by US Dollar 1.5 to 2.00 per barrel, on FOB basis, than the prices for the North American and European markets. Naik, who is attending the 8th International Energy Forum being held from September 21-23 at Osaka, Japan, had bilateral meetings with Saudi Petroleum Minister Ali I.Naimi and Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zangenah. Naik had discussed this issue with his Kuwaiti counterpart on Saturday the 21st September. The middle east Oil Ministers appreciated the Indian concern and assured to examine the issue.
Naik urged his Iranian counterpart for an early decision and approval by the Government of Iran to the offer of ONGC for Farsi exploration block in Iran. Iranian Oil Minister assured Naik that his government would try to clear ONGC’s proposal by the end of October, 2002. The two ministers also reviewed the progress made on the survey for the offshore route for the proposed Iran-India gas pipeline.
Earlier in the day Naik met Brigadier General Lun Thi Myanmar’s Minister of Energy. The two ministers discussed export of fuels from Assam refineries to the northern provinces of Myanmar and award of an exploration block to ONGC, preferably in the vicinity of the block where ONGC is already working. Responding to the Indian request, Brigadier General Thi assured that his government would favourably consider both the proposals on receipt of a formal communication from the Indian side. Indian Petroleum Minsiter agreed to examine Myanmar’s request for imparting technical training to their officers in Indian technical institutions and extended invitation to Brigadier General Thi to visit India.
Turkmenistani Minister of Oil and Gas Mr. G.Nazarov and Vice President of European Commission Ms. Loyola de Palacio also met Naik. Mr. G.Nazarov sought cooperation of the Indian government in the ADB feasibility study for laying a gas pipeline from Turkmenistan to the South East and South Asia. EC Vice President proposed to evolve a common consensus among the oil importing countries on the issues relating to the security of supply, stability in oil prices and envirnomental issues related with the use of fossil fuels. EC will share with India the experience of EC countries in respect of commercialization of bio-diesel.
Naik also had a bi-lateral meeting with Mr. Abdullah bin Hamad Al-Attiyah Qatar’s Minister of Energy and Industry. The two ministers reviewed the progress of LNG project under implementation in Qatar and India. Progress of finalization of various commercial agreements also came up for discussion.
RAM NAIK PRESSES FOR STABLE OIL PRICES AT SUSTAINABLE LEVELS AT THE INTERNATIONAL ENERGY FORUM
keralamonitor.com September 23, 2002 Ram Naik, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, speaking at the First Session of "World Energy Situation and Outlook", at Osaka, Japan on Monday while highlighting the concerns of the consuming countries, stressed the need for sustainable and stable oil prices. The session was chaired by Saudi Oil Minister Ali I. Naimi with Oil Ministers of US, China, panelists from witnessed views by oil producers represented by OPEC and major oil consumers like US, China and Netherlands and OPEC and International Energy Agency. The International Energy Agency also presented a paper during this session. The discussion was focused on current international energy issues like price volatility, limited transparency and reliability of data as well as long term energy situation over the next 2 decades.
Naik stated that the oil market is in turmoil as the OPEC quota had fallen from about 5 million barrels/day between 1998 and 2002 while oil demand during the corresponding period has grown by 2.5 million barrels per day. Speculative activity thrives in a market with deficit supplies and low inventories and there is a need for the oil producers, with substantial spare capacity, to increase production and bring prices down to reasonable levels and minimize price volatility. He also reiterated that in a high price scenario, there is a need for oil producers to extend concessional pricing and liberal credit terms to developing countries and to redress the different pricing for different region mechanism so that Asia Pacific which comprises most developing countries gets the most favourable price.
Suggesting ways of reducing price volatility, the Minister also suggested that OPEC implement Caps and Floors for physical cargoes when the price band mechanism is breached besides adjustment of supplies. He also suggested ignoring the abnormal price movements arising from speculative action while pricing physical cargoes. The mechanism for these could be decided by an expert body set up by the International Energy Forum for this purpose.
Earlier in the day, Naik had bilateral meetings with the Vice Minister of International Affairs, METI of Japan, Acting Oil Minister of Kuwait, Minister of Energy and Mining of Sudan and the UAE Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources. In the bilateral meeting with the Japanese Vice Minister, investment opportunities in India in which the Japanese companies could participate were discussed. The areas for investment suggested by the Indian side included joint participation in oil exploration and production projects in India and third countries, LNG projects and the downstream petroleum infrastructure in India.
An important issue taken up by Naik with the Japanese Vice Minister related to the pricing pattern by the Middle East producers for North America, Europe and the countries located east of Suez. It may be recalled that as per the extant methodology for fixation of official selling prices by the Middle East producers, on FOB basis, Middle East crude costs $1.50 to $2 per barrel higher in comparison to North American and European markets. The Japanese side shared the Indian concern and suggested that major consumers east of Suez like India, Japan, China, South Korea along with other ASEAN consumers need to take up this issues, if necessary jointly, with the Middle East oil exporters.
In his bilateral meetings with his UAE and Kuwaiti counterparts, Naik invited investments from the Kuwaiti and UAE companies in India’s hydrocarbon sector including oil refining and LNG projects. Participation of the Indian oil companies in the petroleum sector projects in Kuwait and UAE was also discussed. The Kuwaiti side agreed to receive an Indian technical delegation to discuss the issue of the crude pricing methodology for the consumers of different regions.
With his Sudanese counterpart, participation of Indian oil companies in Sudan’s upstream petroleum sector was discussed. The Sudanese Energy Minister suggested that a number of exploration blocs are still available for award and that an Indian delegation should visit Sudan early to have an on the spot assessment. Based on the interest of the Indian side, Sudanese government could consider granting exploration concessions including on negotiated basis. It was agreed that an Indian delegation would visit Sudan over the next one month.
FORMER VANCOUVER, WASHINGTON, RESIDENT PLEADS GUILTY TO THEFT OF TRADE SECRETS FROM MICROSOFT CORPORATION
keralamonitor.com September 23, 2002
John McKay, United States Attorney for the Western District of Washington, and Charles Mandigo, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced that former Vancouver, Washington, resident ROBERT R. KEPPEL, entered a guilty plea today to Theft of Trade Secrets, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1832(a)(2).
According to the plea agreement and other court records in the case, beginning sometime in 1999, ROBERT R. KEPPEL began selling Microsoft Certified System Engineer (MCSE) and Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD) exams and answers via the Internet websites www.cheet-sheets.com and www.cheetsheets.com.
Microsoft Corporation has certification programs for network engineers, called Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), and Microsoft Certified Solution Developer (MCSD), which involve passing approximately 28 exams that test expertise in different MS software areas. Many of these areas include MS operating systems, data bases, and networking issues. MS has this certification program so that when a third-party user of their software hires an individual who is certified as a MCSE or MCSD, that individual will have a known level of expertise in order to properly administer the MS system. The MCSE and MCSD certifications are difficult to acquire, but once an individual has the certification, that individual is highly marketable to companies that use MS products, and just having the MCSE or MCSD certification usually raises salaries substantially. These exams are administered on Microsoft’s behalf world-wide.
When the tests are administered, there are two separate "banner" pages that the test-taker encounters before the test starts. These "banner" pages require the test-taker to agree to certain terms regarding the test material including an agreement not to copy or release the test material. By the terms of its contracts with the testing sites, MS does not allow the test material outside of the testing locations for any reason. Consequently, the sale and distribution of KEPPEL’s “cheat-sheets" violated Microsoft copyright and constituted a conversion of Microsoft proprietary information for personal gain. Microsoft’s development costs for each test is approximately $100,000.00. In addition, when companies hire people who have obtained MCSE and MCSD certificates by cheating, but who, in fact, cannot install and maintain the systems correctly because they have neither experience nor expertise in the Microsoft products commensurate with the certificates, those companies tend to blame the Microsoft product, and become reluctant to buy further products.
Beginning sometime in January 2001, ROBERT R. KEPPEL began to purchase, from an individual in Pakistan, actual copies of the Microsoft MCSE and MCSD exams and answers, which that individual obtained by photographing and/or videotaping the actual tests at a site in Pakistan. ROBERT R. KEPPEL marketed those exams and answers via www.cheet-sheets.com, fully realizing that they were copies of the actual exams and answers developed by Microsoft Corporation.
Between July 2000 and October 17, 2001, ROBERT R. KEPPEL marketed numerous copies of MCSE and MCSD exams and answers via his website www.cheet-sheets.com, selling them to persons throughout the United States, including persons residing in the Western District of Washington.
U.S. Bankcorp bank records reflect that there were three bank accounts and one credit card listed for ROBERT KEPPEL and Keen Interactive, including a personal checking account and a money market account, both in the name of ROBERT KEPPEL; and a merchant account listed in the name of KEEN INTERACTIVE. U.S. Bank records reflect that among the Internet billing companies that were disbursing funds into the merchant account was NOVA, a company that does billing for VISA and MASTERCARD. NOVA records reflect that an account was opened by ROBERT KEPPEL, as owner of Keen Interactive, on or about July 6, 2000. Since the NOVA account was opened, there was a total of approximately $756,633.03 deposited into the merchant account. All of those funds constitute proceeds from the sale of MCSE and MCSD exams and answers, as well as other exams that were proprietary information belonging to Microsoft Corporation, Cisco, and other businesses, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1832(a)(2), and Section 2.
In addition, during the time period covered by the Information, ROBERT R. KEPPEL caused numerous transfers of monies from the merchant bank account to KEPPEL's personal checking account, and savings (money market) account. In total, KEPPEL transferred $200,200.00 to his personal checking account and $167,000.00 to his money market account.
U.S. Bank documents also reveal that, on September 14, 2001, KEPPEL opened a new merchant account number in the name of CHEET SHEETS. The ensuing deposits into this account were from credit card receipts constituting proceeds from the sale of MCSE and MCSD exams and answers, as well as other exams that were proprietary information belonging to Microsoft Corporation, Cisco, and other businesses, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1832(a)(2), and Section 2.
On February 26, 2001, KEPPEL wrote a check number drawn on his Money Market account, to Lexus of Portland, in the amount of $38,703.40, for a new, white, Lexus RX300. This vehicle was purchased with proceeds from KEPPEL’s sale of trade secrets, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1832(a)(2) and Section 2.
On or about July 27, 2001, KEPPEL caused a wire transfer in the amount of $112,000.00, to be made from his US Bank Money Market Account to the credit of Premier Financial Services, in payment for a 1997 Ferrari 355 Spider. This vehicle was purchased with proceeds from KEPPEL’s sale of trade secrets, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1832(a)(2) and Section 2.As part of his plea agreement with the United States, ROBERT R. KEPPEL has agreed to forfeit his interest in the 2001 Lexus RX300 and the 1997 Ferrari 355 Spider referenced above, and over $56,000 seized from the various bank accounts referenced above.
Sentencing of ROBERT R. KEPPEL is scheduled for November 1, 2002, at 9:30 a.m., before U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Bryan. The maximum penalties for Theft of Trade Secrets include imprisonment for up to ten years, a fine of up to $250,000.00, and a period of supervision following release from prison of up to five years. his case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Computer Crimes Squad, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes.
FERNANDES CALLS ON ITALIAN DEFENCE MINISTER
keralamonitor.com September 23, 2002
The Defence Minister George Fernandes met his Italian counterpart Mr. Antonio Martino in Rome . Fernandes was on an official visit to Italy.The cordial talks focused on international policy issues of common interest and the present state of bilateral relations. The two Ministers also focused on the present international security scenario including the Asian region and particularly, on the threat of global terrorism in the post-September 11 era.
On this point, Martino and Fernandes reiterated their Governments’ commitment to pursue global stability by peaceful means such as diplimatic action, deterrence and developmental assistance.Stressing on bilateral relations in the Defence sector, they pointed out, the excellent state of relations between the two countries’ Armed Forces, that are jointly deployed in important UN peacekeeping missions.
On this point, the Ministers have agreed on the opportunity to finalize the Collaboration Agreement – that is presently being examined by the two Defence General Staff – which could also include some initiatives in the sectors of staff training, exchange of exercises and experiences.
Ministers Martino and Fernandes also dwelled upon the aspect of cooperation in the field of defence production, which was set in the Draft Agreement of 1994 and is being developed through a special Joint Committee.
LANGUAGE-RELATED MARKET ACCESS FACILITATION INITIATIVE IN JAPANESE IT MARKET LAUNCHED
keralamonitor.com September 23, 2002
Dipak Chatterjee, Commerce Secretary, said that Language-related market access facilitation initiative in the Japanese IT market (LRMAFI) was an innovative instrument for export promotion of knowledge-based IT products and services from India to Japan. While officially launching the scheme, here today, Chatterjee said that the scheme would have far reaching implications on Indo-Japanese business cooperation and strategic partners in the IT sector as Japan is the second largest computer software and services markets in the world. "Keeping this aspect in view, the Department of Commerce has for the first time has approved the language promotion scheme as one of the innovative instruments for trade promotion between countries and regions", he informed. S. Laxminarayanan, Additional Secretary, Department of Information Technology; Deepak Puri, Chairman, Electronics & Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC); and Mr. Hidehiro Ishiura, Director General, JETRO were present in the function, along with senior officials and software professionals, which was organised by ESC.
Chatterjee informed that India’s software exports to Japan had increased to US $ 236.82 million in 2001-02 as compared to US $ 14.96 million in 1994-95. Citing lack of knowledge in the local language, customs, culture and business practices as major market access barriers, the Secretary termed the scheme as relevant and timely. He said that this innovative scheme would help in building up a critical mass of IT professionals/personnel who can understand and communicate in the Japanese language along with enabling the Indian IT firms to overcome language and culture-related market access constraints. He appreciated the ESC for formulating such a scheme as part of its strategy to take India’s IT exports to Japan to new heights.
The LRMAFI scheme encourages exporters registered with ESC, to have their IT professionals/personnel trained in the Japanese language. It also encourages IT students to go in for Japanese language course training side-by-side to increase their employment potential with Indian firms active in the Japanese markets and the Japanese firms whoever setting up their development centers and IT outsourcing operations in India.
MEDIUM TERM LOANS TO FIVE STATESkeralamonitor.com September 23, 2002
The Ministry of Finance has decided to fund the opening deficit of five States through a medium term loan. A total assistance of Rs. 3154 crores is being given to the States of Assam (Rs.750 crore), Manipur (Rs.371 crores), West Bengal (Rs. 878 crores), Rajasthan (Rs.463 crores) and Orissa (Rs.672 crores).
This decision has been taken to ameliorate the ways and means position of these States which have been facing a serious problem of over drafts. In States such as Assam and Manipur, the State treasuries have remain closed for almost 60 days at a stretch leading to a serious erosion of credibility of the State Government as well as fuelling the already unstable law and order problem.
The assistance would be for a period of five years. They will be moratorium on principle repayment till the submission of Twelfth Finance Commission’s recommendations. The coupon on these loans will be the same as the Reserve Bank of India’s ways and means assistance to the States.
STATES ASKED TO COMPENSATE KHARIF LOSS THROUGH RABI CROPSkeralamonitor.com September 23, 2002
Union Agriculture and Cooperation Secretary, J.N.L. Srivastva today urged the States to go for extensive Rabi Crops in order to compensate the loss in Khraif crop affected by the current drought conditions. Addressing the National Conference on Agriculture for Rabi Campaign – 2002, Srivastava said that late rainfall in the month of August and September would help the Rabi crop. He said that certified seeds are available in plenty and so also fertilizer required for Rabi crops. He hoped that the target of production of 220 million tonnes of food grain fixed by the Plannning Commission for 2002-2003 might be achieved. Describing the current drought as widespread and intense, Srivastava said the drought has affected the green belt of the country for the first time. The Secretary asked the States to focus on the integrated watershed programme, especially in view of the drought.
Secretary of the Department of Agriculture Research and Education, Dr. Punjab Singh said that the concept should change from maximum production to optimum production and asked the States to diversity to a mix of food, fuel and fodder crop than only food grain production. The two-day conference would arrive at an estimate of Kharif food production and the final figures of Rabi crop production by tomorrow.
NOTIFICATION ISSUED MAKING DOPING OF ETHANOL WITH PETROL MANDATORY FROM 1ST JANUARY 2003 IN 9 STATES AND 4 UTs
keralamonitor.com September 23, 2002
In view of the need to build up ethanol availability in the country Government has decided to mandate the use of petrol doped with 5% ethanol i.e. Gasohol, in two phases throughout the country. Phase-I, to commence from 1st January 2003, will focus on the major sugar producing States while Phase-II would be taken up subsequently to cover the rest of the regions. The Control Order regulating supply and distribution of petrol has also been amended accordingly. The resolution mandating gasohol supply in the Phase-I States/Union Territories as well as the amendment of the MS & HSD (Regulation of Supply and Distribution and Prevention of malpractices) Control Order, 2002 have been notified in the Gazette. The 9 States covered under the first phase are: Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. The 4 Union Territories are Chandigarh, Daman & Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Pondicherry. The blended fuel i.e. Gasohol would be supplied through 11,538 retail outlets in these States and UTs.
The total petrol consumption in these States and Union Territories was over 4.6 million tonnes in 2001-2002. At this level, the estimated ethanol required for blending with petrol would be approximately in the range of 32-35 crore litres per year. These States have geared themselves up to encourage the sugar industries and distillery units to augment their ethanol production capacity. The Sugar Development Fund Act, 1982 has been amended to fund such augmentation programmes.
It may be recalled that the Government had earlier launched three Pilot Projects – two in Maharashtra and one U.P. for production and sale of 5% ethanol doped petrol. The first Pilot Project commenced operations in April 2001 at Miraj-Hazarwadi Depot in Maharashtra and the remaining two in June 2001 at Bareilly in U.P. and Manmad in Maharashtra. These projects confirmed the suitability of use of gasohol fuel in vehicles without requirement of any modification as also its potential to reduce environmental pollution on account of its oxygenate quality. Added to these, use of gasohol also confers advantage of boosting production in the agricultural and industrial sectors and requires no alteration in the existing specification of petrol notified by the Bureau of Indian Standards.
NETHERLANDS TO HELP RS.165 CRORE WATER & SANITATION PROJECT IN QUAKE HIT DISTRICTS OF GUJARAT
keralamonitor.com September 23, 2002
The Netherlands will assist a community managed water supply and sanitation project in earthquake affected districts of Gujarat at a total cost of Rs.165 crores. Besides this, Netherlands will also assist in the Rs.57 crore expansion phase of NAP II in Vizianagaram district of Andhra Pradesh. The rural water supply and sanitation projects in Alappuzha and Idukki distircts in Kerala are going to be implemented shortly with assistance from Netherlands.
This was announced when the Rural Development Minister Shanta Kumar visited the International Water and Sanitation Centre (IRC) at Delft in Netherlands. The Minister was informed that currently the Ghogha Regional Water Supply and Sanitation Project in Gujarat is under implementation with assistance from the Netherlands government. The Minister thanked the Government of Netherlands for supporting various projects in water and sanitation sector and expressed the hope that such bilateral cooperation will get further boost. He felt that Dutch assistance could be of great help in tackling water problems in hilly regions of the country as well as other water scarcity areas.
The Minister said that the Government has launched a major reform initiative in water and sanitation sector involving community participation and emphasized on effective decentralisation of these infrastructure. Shanta Kumar said we have already covered most of the 1.4 million habitations in terms of drinking water coverage except 1.5 per cent habitation, which is planned to be covered by March 2004.
Earlier on his arrival at IRC, the Minister was briefed by Mr. Jan Teun Visscher, Director of the Centre about the role played by IRC and the technical supports extended by IRC to Water and Sanitation Sector Reform Initiatives in India.
VSP'S GLOBAL RATING UPkeralamonitor.com September 23, 2002Visakhapatnam Steel Plant(VSP) of the Rastriya Ispat Nigam Ltd.(RINL) has been rated 68th among the World's largest Steel Producing Companies producing above 3.0 million tonnes of Crude Steel in the year 2001. The Public Sector Undertaking of the Steel Ministry occupied 72 position in the year 2000 by producing 2.8 million tonnes of Crude Steel. This has been carried in the latest bulletin from the Brussels based International Iron and Steel Institute (IISI). Every year the IISI releases a list of 80 largest steel producing companies in the world. VSP is the only steel plant in the country, which registered a 11% growth in Crude Steel production during 2001-02.
The Commercial Taxes Department of Andhra Pradesh has recently issued a Gold Card to VSP in recognition of its prompt payment of taxes. The card entitles VSP for unhindered transport of its goods on self-certification, door delivery of business forms and other privileges from the Commercial Taxes Department.
ANNUAL AKASHVANI AWARDS' 2001 - CENT PERCENT RADIO COVERAGE TO BE ENSURED IN THE COUNTRY SOON - SAYS SUSHMA SWARAJ
keralamonitor.com September 23, 2002
The Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani has hailed Radio for continuously striving for excellence as a medium of information, education and research. Presenting the Annual Akashvani Award’ 2001 at a glittering function in Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium at Cuttack Saturday evening, he said despite stiff competition from TV, Radio maintains it’s reach and popularity as a mass media. He expressed concern over growing tendency of TV becoming the channel of entertainment and sensationlisation. TV should exercise restraint while showing gory details of incidents, he observed.
In her address, the Information & Broadcasting Minister Smt. Sushma Swaraj said the acceptability and accessibility of Radio have given it an edge over TV in our country. From 6 stations at the time of Independence Akashvani has now 209 Kendras serving 98.4 percent of our listeners. With qualitative improvement of programmes, the government would soon ensure 100 percent coverage by radio network, she added.
Speaking on the occasion, the Orissa Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik lauded the role of Akashvani during the trying time of the state, mostly visited by natural calamities and also in popularizing Odissi music and dance. He demanded expanding the radio network uniformly in the State, particularly in far off districts like Malkangiri and Gajapati where people at present do not get radio reception properly.
The Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting, Ramesh Bais in his welcome address underlined the role of radio as the most popular media in it’s 75 years of long journey in the country.
Among others, the Union Minister for Urban Development, Ananth Kumar, the Orissa Minister for Information & Public Relations Dr. Damodar Rout with his two Ministerial colleagues graced the occasion.
The Akashvani Award presentation coincided with the launching of year-long celebration of Platinum Jubilee of Indian Broadcasting by the Deputy Prime Minister, Advani gave away trophies and certificates to the Award winners in 29 categories. He also felicitated the artists of AIR, Cuttack who presented programmes during the inauguration of the new complex of the Cuttack station of AIR. The new complex was inaugurated by the then I&B Minister, Advani in 1977.
Earlier in the day, launching the Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojna in Bhubaneswar Advani hoped that the yojna would not only benefit the slum-dwellers but help constructing shelters for victims of natural calamities, often faced by the state. He reiterated that the NDA government is determined to turn the country into a complete welfare state by reaping the benefits to the poor, homeless, dalits and downtrodden. Referring to ISI activities and infiltration, Advani said his government is trying to provide Identity cards to all citizens of the country.
The Union Ministers for Urban Development, Ananth Kumar and Minister of Information & Broadcasting also spoke on the occasion.The Deputy Prime Minister, who arrived in Bhubaneswar yesterday morning on a day’s visit to Orissa also reviewed the drought situation with the State Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik and other senior officials in Raj Bhavan.
Islamic Imams trained in campaign against HIV/AIDS
keralamonitor.com September 23, 2002
BANGUI, 23 September (IRIN) - A three-day seminar organised by the Centre National de Lutte contre le Sida (CNLS) concluded on Friday in the city of Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic (CAR), with the aim of training 60 Islamic religious leaders as HIV/AIDS educators.According to Kongovoulou Yahya, Vice President of the Groupe de Predication Islamique, the seminar sought to educate and mobilise the Islamic community in CAR in matters related to HIV/AIDS.
"As an Imam, I have to be aware of the disease, I have to play a mobilising and educating role among my brothers," Kongovoulou told IRIN. Last week's seminar is to be followed by many others conducted by the newly-trained leaders in favour of members of their respective associations.
The seminar, which was led by five doctors specialised in HIV/AIDS care, also included three Imams who addressed the participants on the Koran's position with regard to HIV/AIDS. CAR is the most severely HIV/AIDS-affected nation in the central African subregion and the 10th most affected in the world, with 12 percent of its population HIV-positive.
LG Electronics STarts Customer Care Charter for Middle East North Africa
REGIONAL DIGITAL LEADER TO CLAIM NO: 1 CUSTOMER CARE SERVICE
keralamonitor.com September 23, 2002
Dubai -LG Electronics has today launched a customer charter for the Middle East
and Africa as its regional management prioritises customer service.The six-point regional customer charter, unveiled by Mr M.B. Shin,
President, LG Electronics Middle East and Africa Operations, pledges: to
whole-heartedly listen to customer suggestions; to formulate decisions
and actions with the customer in mind; to provide an honest service
where promises are met; to provide a timely service; to aspire to
‘Customer Delight’ and to provide service excellence in line with LG’s
‘Digital Technology’ theme."LG’s customer service strategy was launched over 10 years ago when our
company laid down a management credo of value creation for customers,"
said Mr Shin. "This has now become a focal point of our management
philosophy and research shows LG is now being perceived as a leading
after-sales carer."In this region where the best of service is now a core competency of
LG, we have average brand awareness of 50%, individual product market
share of between 25-30% and we believe that heightened customer service
will help bring more customers into the LG fold."
Service ? 2Currently LG Electronics has 1,520 service centres in 55 countries
throughout the Middle East and Africa and, earlier this year, it opened
10 new digital service centres, where customers and technicians meet
face-to-face, in five MEA locations, including Dubai.Now LG has stepped up its service offering with the launch of a network
of Customer Information Centres (CIC) across 12 countries throughout the
Middle East and Africa. The launch of the dual-language CICs, which
operate on proprietary LG software, means that one-stop service is just
a single phone call away for LG customers."The CICs have been verified and their launch is in line with our
determination to provide customers with the best possible facilities for
customer care," said Mr Y.R. Roh, Managing Director, LG Electronics
Middle East Company Limited (LGEME), LG’s service subsidiary for the
Middle East and Africa."Our research shows customers want easy access to product information,
to details on where they can purchase, what promotions are taking place,
recommended prices and product maintenance. All this is now available
via one call to the CICs."Once a customer calls a CIC, they also receive a return call which gets
them to rate the service and their satisfaction. This ‘Happy Call’
monitoring has resulted in tremendous customer response," said Roh.
Service ? 3The CICs have been opened in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Iran,
Pakistan, Jordan, Syria, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt and South Africa.The launch of the CIC network means LG now provides service access for
16 hours a day, 365 days a year in the 12 countries."We are actively pursuing an aim of providing same-day service for our
customers in the region. Currently we deliver a same-day service to an
average of 80% of regional customers and we are looking to improve on
that. Also, another four countries will have CICs before the end of this
year. These are Qatar, Kuwait, the Ivory Coast and Algeria," said Roh.LG says customer care service is a pillar of its ethos of respecting
customers."Currently we organise three workshops a year in over 20 countries
throughout the Middle East and Africa which are attended by around 2,000
service providers," said Roh. "These workshops are aimed at improving
not just the technical know-how of our service providers, but also their
customer care manners."In addition, LG offers its market-leading international warranty on
products bought in 17 Middle East and is expected to reach 15 West
African countries in 2003."This means that the warranty moves with customers. If a product is
bought in the UAE and the customer moves to Saudi Arabia, his warranty
moves with him because it is guaranteed by LG," said Roh.Now, LG is looking to launch a cyber CIC service throughout the region
by the end of this year."We intend that the planned open-web CIC for end-users will operate in
both Arabic and English, customers will have 24-hour access to LG
service centres. They will be able to register a request for a
technician and will receive both e-mail and SMS confirmation of the date
and time of the appointment," explained Roh."Overall we are so confident that we can deliver on our service charter commitment that next year we will provide a ‘No Delight, No Payment’ service."THREE ABBEY NATIONAL BRANDS UNITE UNDER ONE ROOF IN DUBAI TO FOCUS ON EXPANSION
keralamonitor.com September 23, 2002
Three of Abbey National plc's Dubai-based subsidiaries - Abbey National
Offshore, Scottish Mutual International and Scottish Provident
International - have relocated to new shared premises in the emirate to
focus on expansion.Ten staff in Dubai are working across the three brands from a new
representative office in the Emarat Atrium, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai
which was officially opened today by H.E. Simon Collis, British Consul
General in Dubai, Mr Mac Millington, Managing Director, Wealth
Management & Long Term Savings Division, Abbey National plc and Saeed
Rashid Al Aabdi, Managing Director of Al Aabdi Travel and Abbey National
plc's local sponsor."Following the acquisition of Scottish Provident International by Abbey
National in August of last year, the bank is keen to ensure that all
three subsidiary groups build on collective resources in all areas of
the business to aid any further expansion of the group in the Middle
East," said Millington."This move is also in line with a recent restructuring of Abbey
National's Wealth Management and Long Term Savings division, designed to
bring areas of expertise together and take advantage of shared
resources. This will enable Abbey National to better serve its customers
both in the UK and the Middle East."Abbey National Offshore, the offshore arm of the UK's sixth largest
banking group, has built a strong brand presence in the UAE and Middle
East offering customers award-winning banking products."The combined move offers an enhanced platform from which to further
develop our presence and we will continue to offer our customers the
highest levels of service, including initiatives such as our Internet
Banking Service," said David Siddall, Director - Retail Bank, Abbey
National Offshore.Scottish Mutual International and Scottish Provident International, the
life divisions of Abbey National said the move demonstrated the group's
commitment to the Middle East."The centralising of all Group companies in Dubai will ensure that we
can grow our businesses while benefiting from shared infrastructure and
resources," said Andy Whyte, Managing Director, Scottish Mutual
International and Scottish Provident International."The new, single location will enable the experienced Scottish Provident
International team to become the sole interface with the broker market
for both the Scottish Mutual International and Scottish Provident
International brands. The combined, complementary product range will
provide our intermediaries with a wide range of investment solutions."Scottish Provident International opened its representative offices in
Dubai to service the Middle East in 1996, while Abbey National Offshore
has had a successful operation in Dubai since 1998, operating under a
representative licence from the UAE Central Bank. Scottish Mutual
International plc has been operating in the region under Abbey
National's licence since November 2000.
Abbey National plc is the UK's sixth largest banking group as measured
by assets and the country's second largest mortgage lender. Abbey
National plc and its subsidiaries offer a comprehensive range of
personal financial services, including savings and investments,
mortgages, banking, pensions, unit trusts, live and general insurance
products, as well as secured and unsecured lending, to over 16 million
customers in the UK. In addition, Abbey National's wholesale banking
arm, Abbey National Treasury Services plc, is a leading participant in
international financial markets.DRC: UN journalist freed
KINSHASA, 23 September (IRIN) - A UN journalist arrested a week ago in the northwestern DRC city of Gbadolite by the Mouvement de liberation du Congo (MLC) was released without condition on Saturday, the UN's Radio Okapi announced.
Franklin Moliba-Sese, who works for the radio, said he had not been physically harmed, but he was tired from his ordeal. The MLC authorities made no comment upon Moliba’s release. The MLC was upset over a report by Moliba on the difficult living conditions of child soldiers of the MLC. During his detention, Moliba was interrogated for having interviewed child soldiers without authorisation and for having "disclosed information of a military nature".
One of the child soldiers interviewed by Moliba complained of ill-treatment and being deprived of food. The MLC came under fire from diplomatic sources, media freedom groups and human rights organisations demanding Moliba’s release. The UN peacekeeping mission in the DRC, MONUC, which had demanded his immediate release, expressed its appreciation for Moliba’s release, as did the UN’s Radio Okapi partner, the Swiss-based Fondation Hirondelle.
Hirondelle also called upon the MLC to provide the necessary conditions in which journalists could work unhindered in a bid to contribute to the return of peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The MLC, a former rebel movement backed by neighbouring Uganda, entered into an uneasy alliance with the Kinshasa government upon conclusion of the inter-Congolese dialogue in South Africa earlier this year.
