Dubai e-Government to showcase online job search innovations at Careers UAE 2003 Iraq : Experts Suspect Art Looting Was Planned Muslim woman's body found in hospital morgue covered with bacon
Muslim woman's body found in hospital morgue covered with bacon
18 April 2003LONOND - A £5,000 reward is being offered by police after the body of a Muslim woman was found in a hospital mortuary, covered with rashers of bacon. The desecration was discovered when the family of the grandmother, aged 65, was waiting to see her body after she lost her fight with cancer. The Metropolitan Police's racial crime task force was called in to investigate the incident, at Hillingdon Hospital in west London, and an extensive inquiry was launched.
It is strictly against the Muslim religion to touch or eat pork and the woman's family, who do not want to be identified, have been left deeply traumatized, Reported the Independent. Detective Chief Inspector Tony Hester, of Hillingdon police, said: "This is a particularly grotesque act which has outraged the family as well as the whole community.
"Because of the nature of the incident a criminal investigation was immediately initiated and is still ongoing. DCC4 - Racial and Violent Crime Task Force - was involved in the initial investigation and officers from the Community Safety Unit are in constant liaison with them. "We are also, of course, keeping the family and local community informed of developments." The crime was discovered as staff arranged for the body to be viewed by family members. Police have viewed CCTV footage and speaking to staff and others captured on video outside the mortuary. Forensic experts have also examined the bacon and the gown the woman was wearing. A member of the woman's family told BBC London News the incident made them feel "physically sick. It was like a horrible nightmare. I get flashbacks, my brain goes numb."I witnessed her passing away and then for me to witness that again, it's traumatic. I feel emotionally raped."The woman's daughter said it was like a nightmare that was still deeply affecting the family. "I thought someone who did this hated Muslims especially. I don't know why they chose my mum. "In life you expect a lot of things, but something so shocking, you couldn't even think it up in the worst horror movie. Evil, evil, people." David McVittie, chief executive of Hillingdon Hospital NHS Trust, expressed sympathy for the family and said everything would be done to find out who was responsible.
"I am extremely sorry for the distress that the family of the lady concerned suffered as a result of this despicable incident and for any distress it has caused to the Muslim community. "I am shocked and outraged that such a thing has happened and will not rest until we have found the perpetrators of this crime." The £5,000 reward has been offered by Scotland Yard and the hospital. The family is being represented by human rights solicitor Imran Khan.Dubai e-Government to showcase online job search innovations at Careers UAE 2003
e-Government's role in supporting emiratisation to be highlighted
18 April, 2003
Dubai e-Government will use the Careers UAE 2003 exhibition to get closer to the young educated nationals, by highlighting the long-term vision of the distinctive project and the job opportunities that can be drawn on through the www.dubai.ae <http://www.dubai.ae> portal.
Careers UAE 2003, to be held Airport Expo Dubai from April 20 to 23, 2003, is the country's largest dedicated career fair for UAE nationals, bringing under one roof several public sector and private sector companies to offer a rare opportunity for the young nationals to feel the pulse of the
employment market and choose their careers."Careers UAE 2003 presents us with an opportunity to showcase what Dubai e-Government is planning to offer to young graduates looking to start a career. As the Dubai e-Government portal offers an integral solution to access every major government department and government-owned
corporation, it essential that young UAE nationals are familiar with its content and facilities," said Salem Al-Shair, Director e-Services, Dubai e-Government. "We have assembled an expert team to help the young visitors and offer them guidance and consultancy."The Dubai e-Government stand at Careers UAE 2003 will convey an overview of the entire project and its current status, as well as highlight its achievements. Students will be introduced to the mission and vision of Dubai e-Government through posters and written material in a bid to clarify purpose and functionality of e-Governance. "Being a project dedicated to the task of promoting excellence in the
delivery of public services, Dubai e-Government shares the responsibility to induct bright young students into government departments and corporations according to their ability and qualifications," Al-Shair added. "We are strongly committed to Emiratisation and are tailoring our portal to make it
user-friendly to students looking for careers in the public sector.""As Dubai continues to develop, it becomes increasingly important for Emiratisation to take place. Careers UAE 2003 is a wonderful opportunity for young educated nationals to meet employers, and for employers to meet enthusiastic students who are looking for an opportunity to join the work force in the UAE," stated Dr. Howard Reed, the Director of Dubai Women's College.
Apart from providing a window to the career opportunities in government sector companies, the stand will highlight the availability of jobs at Dubai e-Government. "Dubai e-Government is the driving force behind Automation and integration of government e-Services. The back-end solutions that
run Dubai e-Government need to be managed by young specialists and these openings are set to rise further as we expand our operations by adding more channels and diversifying our offering," said Al-Shair.The Dubai e-Government stand at Careers UAE 2003 will also showcase the online recruitment facility on the www.dubai.ae <http://www.dubai.ae> portal, designed to integrate all government vacancies into a single gateway and allow candidates to browse all available vacancies by accessing an
automated search. In addition, the departments can access a central pool of Curriculum Vitas (CVs) and respond to a particular candidate instantly."The biggest transformation on the job search front is reflected in the technological solution available for candidates in today's Digital Age," said Al-Shair. "Dubai e-Government is eager to demonstrate the online career facility to our future leaders, to enable them to take their CVs to the widest possible audience through one channel."
Careers UAE 2003 is the country's largest dedicated career exhibition for UAE Nationals, organised by the Dubai World Trade Centre LLC (DWTC) in association with the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), Zayed University and the National Human Resource Development and Employment Authority
(TANMIA) participating organizations are looking forward to providing real job opportunities and training to UAE Nationals who are interested in pursuing a career.IRAQ: Experts Suspect Art Looting Was Planned
Experts convened in Paris yesterday by UNESCO said the massive looting of archaeological treasures from the National Museum in Baghdad may have been organized in advance, possibly with the involvement of international criminal gangs."It looks as if ... at least part of the theft was very, very deliberate, planned action," said the head of the American Association for Research in Baghdad, University of Chicago professor McGuire Gibson (Elizabeth Bryant, United Press International, April 17)."I have a suspicion it was organized outside the country -- in fact, I'm pretty sure it was," Gibson said.Curators at the museum found glass-cutting tools on the floor after the looting took place, and replicas were left untouched as genuine artifacts were taken even from locked vaults, which were opened with keys (Globe and Mail, April 18).Professional criminals were not behind all the looting, though, experts said.
They said many impoverished Iraqis probably took part in a bid to acquire objects they could sell to feed their families.The experts expressed disappointment with the U.S.-British failure to protect the museum, saying U.S. President George W. Bush's administration was given detailed information before the war that could have prevented the looting."The military has a responsibility, but we don't know what was happening at the time and what the priorities are," Gibson said.
"Obviously, the priorities did not include cultural sites. I feel let down, because I thought we had made our point. And I thought we had been understood" (Bryant, UPI).Two cultural advisers to the Bush administration have resigned over the affair, saying the military had advance warning that the artifacts were in danger and failed to protect them (Reuters/New York Times, April 18).The 30 or so experts at the UNESCO meeting issued a statement calling on "the forces in place" to immediately secure all museums, libraries, archives and other sites of importance to cultural heritage in Iraq.They also asked for an immediate ban on the export of "all antiques, antiquities, works of art, books and archives" from the country; a ban on international trade in "objects of Iraqi cultural heritage"; a call for the voluntary and immediate return of "cultural objects stolen or illicitly exported from Iraq"; the immediate dispatch of a UNESCO-led fact-finding mission to the country; and the "facilitation of international efforts in assisting cultural institutions in Iraq" (UNESCO release, April 17).UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura said at the meeting that he plans to ask U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to submit the matter to the Security Council in order to establish an embargo that applies to all U.N. member countries.
Matsuura also called for the creation of "a nationwide 'heritage police'" by "the authorities on the ground" in Iraq and proposed that a database of "all the archives, lists and inventories relating to the Iraqi heritage" be compiled to aid customs officials, police, art dealers and others in identifying looted Iraqi artifacts (UNESCO release II, April 17).The FBI said yesterday that it has sent agents to Iraq to aid in the looting investigation. FBI Director Robert Mueller said, "We are firmly committed to doing whatever we can to secure these treasures to the people of Iraq." He added that the bureau is cooperating with Interpol by issuing alerts asking all Interpol member countries to track the movements of Iraqi artifacts "on both the open and black markets" (Globe and Mail).Interpol said today that it is forming a "special incident response team" to help find the artifacts and arrest the thieves. The team is to travel to Kuwait and other countries in the region later this month and "will travel to Iraq as soon as this can be arranged with military officials," Interpol said.
It added that it has alerted all its member countries to make border guards, customs officials, art dealers, auction houses and others "aware of the situation.""Interpol is calling on organizations and institutions involved in conservation and trade of antiquities to categorically decline any offers of cultural property originating from Iraq. In case of doubts concerning the origin of certain items, these bodies should immediately contact Interpol and seek expert evaluation of what is being offered for sale," said an Interpol art theft expert, Karl-Heinz Kind.
The police agency is also convening a meeting May 5 and 6 in Lyon, France, where it is based, at which representatives of Interpol, UNESCO, the International Council of Museums and the World Customs Organization will seek a common strategy on Iraqi artifacts (Interpol release, April 18).Artifact looting is also being reported in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, where looters reportedly carted hundreds of one-of-a-kind items away from an archaeological museum. The city is known among archaeologists as the center of a region with many significant digging sites (Douglas Birch, Baltimore Sun, April 18).--keralamonitor.com
