High-level US delegation visits Dubai Customs
March 13, 2006 A high-level US delegation comprising Senators and Representatives visited Dubai Customs recently, as part of an official visit to the UAE. The delegation was received by Ahmed Butti Ahmed, Director General, Dubai Customs, and other senior Dubai Customs officials.Members of the US delegation included Senators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson, and Representatives John Gingrey and John Linden. The 16-member delegation was accompanied by Michele Sison, US Ambassador to the UAE, and Jason L. Davis, Consul General at the US Consulate General in Dubai.
The US delegation held a series of discussions with senior officials at Dubai Customs, focusing on various issues including measures to tighten port security and stepping up bilateral cooperation in facilitating secure and legitimate international trade. “The visit by the US delegation, which has in its ranks such eminent personalities as Senators Chambliss and Isakson, is in keeping with the close nature of interactions we have followed through the years with US authorities,” said Ahmed Butti Ahmed. “Dubai Customs has initiated exchange programmes with the authorities of various countries, including the US, UK and France. These programmes have proven to be mutually beneficial, as they facilitate the exchange of information and expertise.”
Saxby Chambliss said, “We have traditionally had close relations with the UAE authorities. The visit gave us a fuller appreciation of the significant leaps UAE has made in terms of securing the country’s ports, and the technology and procedures they have in place to ensure that Customs inspections are adequately rigorous.”The US delegation’s visit closely follows another official visit to Dubai Customs by a group of US dignitaries headed by David H. McCormick, Undersecretary of Commerce.
During the meeting, Butti Ahmed gave a detailed account of the progress Dubai Customs has made over the past decade, especially in the last few years. Central to this progress has been the implementation of the latest technology systems and adoption of innovative inspection techniques to ensure a more fail-safe inspection process. Dubai Customs has deployed a range of state-of-the-art solutions to cope with the increased volume of goods coming in as a result of a dramatic improvement in container handling capability at the Dubai Ports.
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Inadequate protection for women' fuels Lebanese sex trade
BEIRUT, 13 March (IRIN) - BEIRUT, 13 March 2006 (IRIN) - One of the last things that Rima (not her real name), a 31-year-old commercial sex worker, said to the staff at Beirut-based NGO Dar al-Amal was that she wanted to be buried with her mother.Three days later, a drug addict shot her six times in the shabby room in which she lived and worked in the Sabra refugee camp on the city's outskirts, according to Dar al-Amal staff. The women she had been talking to identified her body and buried her the following evening. The murderer's motive remains unknown.
According to social worker Rania Mansour, who manages the Arab world's only centre devoted to working with and rehabilitating sex workers, Rima, a Turkish Kurd, was an orphan who had been rejected by her relatives as a child. Violence, powerlessness and social marginalisation are common themes in the stories of the roughly 50 current and former sex workers who are now seeking help at Dar al-Amal, which means "House of Hope". The centre provides moral support, medical services, literacy courses and legal advice. Most of the women, some of whom started working in the illegal sex trade when they were only 11 years old, are Lebanese. Others are Palestinian, Syrian, Jordanian, Egyptian and North African.
Sex work the only option
While women's and girls' rights in Lebanon are generally more protected than in other Arab countries, local women's groups say that patriarchal social values leave many vulnerable to exploitation."The man is like God - he can do anything, and beat a woman. It's also society - girls have to do what their fathers or husbands say," said Jaqueline, 54, a former sex worker who regularly visits the centre for moral support."The marginalisation of women in our society is a main reason women turn to prostitution.In some families, the girl isn't allowed to make choices about work or study or decide who to marry," said Mansour. "So she runs away."
She added that girls often resorted to running away from home because of forced marriages, which is not prohibited by law, parental unwillingness to support girls' education and forced work as domestic servants.
Meanwhile, abusers regularly go unpunished. Amal Ftouni, vice-president of the Lebanese Council to Resist Violence against Women, recalled taking a victim of domestic violence to the police: "Her face was black and blue after a beating from her husband. You should have seen the excuses they came up with not to file a report. They couldn't find a piece of paper, the man who usually files them wasn't there. they told her to just go home to her husband."
One woman at the centre said she ended up on the streets after her father tried to rape her. Several others described how they had been put to work as live-in maids, some younger than ten. Most were sexually abused as children. One said her parents sold her at the age of eight to work as a servant with a family who beat and burned her.
Jaqueline said she married at 18 to escape life with an aunt who wanted her to prostitute herself: "She said I must go out like her and sleep with Gulf and Saudi men for money," she said. "I didn't want to."Later, her husband turned violent, eventually throwing her out but keeping their five children: "I worked in a bar, selling myself," she said. "I had a boyfriend who took all the money I earned." One of her sons, she added, now follows his father's example and beats his own wife.
Institutional discrimination
A damning 2004 report from US-based watchdog Human Rights Watch on women's rights in the Middle East noted that inequality was institutionalised in Lebanon, pointing out that family matters tended to be governed by religion-based personal-status codes. "Many of these laws treat women essentially as legal minors under the eternal guardianship of their male family members," the study found. "They deny women equal rights with men with respect to marriage, divorce, child custody and inheritance."
These notions, the report stated, were supported by family courts in the region that often reinforce the primacy of male decision-making power. Legal discrimination, meanwhile, put women at increased risk of violence.Although Lebanese women can theoretically file charges against violent family members, rights groups say few abused women are aware of their legal privileges. Many, they say, are too afraid of divorce, ostracism or having their children taken away to report attacks. Compounding matters, a commonly held perception is that female victims of domestic abuse must have "asked for it".
In 2002, the UN Population Fund conducted a three-month, nationwide survey of over 1,400 women aged between 14 and 80 years old. Of these, 494 - some 35 percent - had been exposed to some form of abuse, while 307 - 21 percent - knew of a family member who had been abused. In 65 percent of cases, the perpetrators were the husbands of the victim.
In 2005, police registered more than 2,844 reports of violence against women, including 31 rape cases, 177 attempted murders and 85 murders. Women's groups, however, call these figures gross underestimations.
Parallel to this discrimination and violence, Dar al-Amal Director Hoda Kara believes that prostitution is also on the rise, although accurate statistics are non-existent. "Due to the economic crisis here, it's getting worse," Kara says. "If economic and social difficulties increase, prostitution and [juvenile] delinquency also increase. If parents are in need, they might send their children to work - even to work as prostitutes."Last year, Dar al-Amal counted 1,080 sex workers in Lebanon, although it believes many more work behind the scenes.
In the meantime, unemployment and economic deprivation continue to drive both supply and demand. "The marriage age is going up because sons don't have the money to buy a house," explained Kara. "So men are living with their families for longer and some solve their sexual needs with prostitutes."For women who find themselves forced into the illicit trade, there is seldom a way out. "The economic situation is difficult for all Lebanese," said Mansour. "Many are finding it hard to get a job - so how do we persuade a prostitute to stop work?"
Roads and Transports Authority announces launch of call center to enhance customer service
24/7 center implemented in partnership with Etisalat to provide comprehensive range of public transport, parking and fines services
March 13, 2006 -Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), Dubai, has announced the launch of its call center that aims to significantly enhance customer service by providing broad-based customer services. The fully-equipped call centre has been set up in partnership with Etisalat and will take customer calls on a 24/7 basis, offering a range of services pertaining to public transport, parking, fines, traffic congestions and maintenance. The public can call the toll-free number 8009090 to avail information on bus services, bus routes and timings, bus station locations, smart cards for buses, boat transportation services, accidents and traffic congestions, parking services, maintenance of roads and traffic lights, fine payment and enquiry and working hours of departments within RTA.
"Creating a smooth and safe transport system for all lies at the core of RTA's objectives. Setting up this call center will perfectly complement our vision, as providing important information to the general public on matters related to public transport and traffic will significantly help them in planning their travel within Dubai. The call center will serve as a central point of contact for the public who wish to avail information from the RTA," said Dr.Aysha Al Busmait, Director of Marketing and Corporate Communications Department at RTA."Roads and Transport Authority is pleased to partner with Etisalat to set up our call center, which will operate round-the –clock to serve our customers. We will be launching se4rvices in phases, with the first phase catering to public transport and paid parking facilities," she added.
Mohamed Bamakhrama, General Manager, The Contact Centre, a Business Unit of Etisalat said, "We are happy to work with the RTA, to custom design a call center solution. Over the next few months, we will transform the service from a simple call centre to a sophisticated multimedia contact center, handling everything from simple inquiries to supporting online transactions.
In the second phase, the call center will provide detailed information on the services offered by RTA, such as documents required for applying for a service and instructions on forms to be filled. Details on traffic diversions, especially in the wake of the Dubai Metro project will also be provided to help road users in Dubai commute with the least inconvenience. An advanced communication system has been developed by RTA’s Strategy & Organizational Performance Department to enable effective communication between the call center and RTA. The department is also assuming responsibility for handling suggestions and complaints received from the public. In the future the public will be able to receive information and response to their requests and queries through SMS, email, fax or via post.
United States Urges Saudi Arabia To Allow More Foreign Ownership -
Indo-US To double Bilateral Trade in Three Years
NEW DELHI - India and the United States will aim at doubling bilateral trade to a level of US $ 40 billion within three years and collaboration between small and medium enterprises of the two countries will play a major role in augmenting the trade flows. This was indicated by Shri Kamal Nath, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, and Mr. Rob Portman, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) following a meeting they had here today to discuss bilateral trade relations. The two-way trade between India and the US in 2004-05 stood at US $ 20 billion. Underlining the vast potential for increasing the trade volume, Mr. Portman mentioned that USA’s merchandise trade with China alone was valued at US $ 300 billion annually, whereas USA’s trade with India covering both goods and services would amount to around US $ 30 billion.
Mr. Portman was accompanied by Mr. Karan Bhatia, Deputy USTR, Mr. Peter Allgeier, Deputy USTR and other US officials. Shri S.N. Menon, Commerce Secretary, Shri Ajai Dua, Secretary (Industrial Policy & Promotion), Shri G.K. Pillai, Special Secretary, Ministry of Commerce & Industry and other senior officials participated from the Indian side. The Doha Development Agenda also figured in the talks.
The discussions focussed mainly on a review of the activities of the India-US Trade Policy Forum, especially in the context of issues and priorities being addressed by the five focus groups on agriculture, tariff and non-tariff barriers (NBT) in industrial products, services, investment and innovation and creativity. The first meeting of the India-US Trade Policy Forum was held in November 2005 in New Delhi, co-chaired by Shri Kamal Nath and Mr. Rob Portman, where it was decided to set up the five focus groups. More recently, a meeting of the India-US Trade Policy Forum was held in Washington on 16-17 February 2006, which was co-chaired by Shri Menon from the Indian side and Shri Karan Bhatia from the US side.
The US is India’s largest trading partner and foremost export destination. At present, it accounts for 16.48% of India’s exports and around 6.26% of India’s imports. India accounts for only about 1.06% of the USA’s total exports and imports. Growth of India’s exports to the US in the year 2004-05 over the previous year was 15.50% while the growth in the US exports to India was 35.72% over the previous year. During the 8 months of the current financial year (April-November 2005), India’s exports to the USA at US $ 10,064.94 million registered a positive growth of 15.05% over the corresponding period of the previous year when the exports were US $ 8747.97 million. During April-November 2005, India’s imports from the US at US $ 4589.39 million registered a positive growth of 16.74% over the corresponding period of the previous year when the imports were US $ 3931.18 million.There is huge untapped potential to increase bilateral trade. The major items of Indian exports to the US are: gems & jewellery; readymade garments (cotton) & accessories; manufactures of metals’ primary and semi-finished items and steel; and drugs, pharmaceuticals and fine chemicals.
On the initiative taken by Govt. of India to sensitize the Medical Schools in USA about the strength of Ayurveda as a medical system, a few Medical Schools in US indicated interest in hosting short term courses on Ayurveda for their students, medical staff and physicians. However, it was only from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine that a firmed up response has been received. Under the International Exchange Programme - for Training/ Fellowship/ Exposure visits etc., Dr. Manjari Dwivedi, a Professor from BHU and an expert of Ayurveda was deputed to USA from 4th April to 3rd May, 2005 to conduct a short term summer course on Ayurveda for the Medical Students of the University of Connecticut.This information was given by Smt. Panabaka Lakshmi, Minister of State for Health & Family Welfare in a written reply to a question by Shri Santosh Gangwar in the Lok Sabha today.
Bush Arrives....with Wife and....any hidden agenda?
The President of the USA, Mr. George W Bush and his wife Ms. Laura Bush coming out from Air Force One aircraft, at Palam Technical Area, in New Delhi on March 1, 2006.
The Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh receiving the President of the USA, Mr. George W Bush on his arrival at Palam Technical Area, in New Delhi on March 1, 2006.
Young Arabs want stricter gun control, study finds
BEIRUT, 1 March (IRIN) - Young Lebanese, Palestinians and Sudanese want tougher gun control regulations, a survey by a group of NGOs revealed.The findings of the study, which was conducted over the last six months by the Middle East North Africa Network on Small Arms (MENSAA), an umbrella group of Arab NGOs concerned with the misuse and proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons, were released on Tuesday in Beirut."Each of the studies confirmed that a majority of participants felt there were too many guns in their societies, and that this lessened their security," noted the study, which represented the first public opinion poll on the effect of the preponderance of light arms on local communities.Small arms include revolvers and self-loading pistols and rifles. Light weapons refer to heavy machine guns, hand-held under-barrel and mounted grenade launchers.Local NGOs carried out surveys on about 200 people aged between 20 and 35 in Lebanon's capital Beirut, the Bekaa valley and in the south; in Ramallah in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, West Bank and the northern Gaza Strip. Also in the area of Al-Haj Yousif near Khartoum, Sudan.
Asked whether they wanted stricter state controls on private gun ownership, 82 percent of respondents said yes. This suggests that attitudes might be changing in a region where there has historically been extensive ownership of guns and a reliance on security provided by tribe and family, rather than a central authority, the study noted.MENSAA similarly studied Yemen and Jordan last year, and there are plans to broaden the study to include Iraq and Syria later this year.
Although most participants wanted tougher gun laws, however, they also revealed a mistrust or lack of confidence in their respective governments. The need for personal security where rule of law had broken down was found to be a main motivation behind private gun ownership.
Fear of instability was another factor, the study found. "Most people appear not to want to possess arms, but feel they are forced to by existing circumstances, or feel they should continue to keep them, just in case conflict flares up," the study noted.
Fadi Abi Allam of the Permanent Peace Movement Lebanese NGO, which conducted the Lebanese surveys, said about two million people were believed to possess guns in Lebanon, which has a population of nearly four million. Civil war tore Lebanon apart from 1975-1990, and the country remains riven by sectarian differences.
Lebanese survey participants blamed the high number of private weapons to fears of instability, given the country's recent history. Thirty-seven percent of Lebanese questioned said they owned one gun; 22 percent said they possessed three or more. Survey participants, however, differentiated between guns held for reasons of national security, political resistance or for other uses, such as hunting.
Under the Taif agreement that ended Lebanon's civil war in 1990, only political/religious group Hizbollah was allowed to maintain its weapons to fight Israel's continued occupation of the south. "As for the other militias in Lebanon, they were disarmed of their heavy and medium weapons, but not the light ones," Abi Allam said.
Nevertheless, Hizbollah has come under increasing international pressure to disarm after Israeli troops withdrew from most of the occupation zone in 2000. UN Security Council resolution 1559, adopted in September 2004, calls on all armed militias in Lebanon to give up their weapons.
The study further found that extreme poverty, political insecurity and the absence of the rule of law have led to prevailing gun cultures, especially in the Palestinian territories and in areas of Sudan.
Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza have suffered conflict with Israel for decades, and have lived under occupation ever since the Jewish state seized the territories in 1967.
While Israel pulled out of the Gaza Strip last year, the territory's borders are still controlled by Tel Aviv, and the area remains poor and unstable.
According to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, a publication devoted to international security issues, there are some 10,000 to 15,000 guns in the Palestinian territories, ranging from World War II-vintage guns to modern AK-47 assault rifles.
The area of Al-Haj Yousif near Khartoum, meanwhile, has a large number of internally displaced persons who have escaped either a long-running civil war in the south that ended in 2005 or the conflict in Darfur, which broke out in 2003, the report said. Unemployment stands at 40 percent in the district, although figures for gun ownership remain difficult to ascertain but is believed to be high.Among Sudanese survey participants, high crime rates were cited as the main reason for owning guns. "However, most respondents agreed that the most common use of firearms in Al-Haj Yousif is related to marriage celebrations where ammunition is fired, and in many cases the result is fatal," the report pointed out.
Alukkas, THE One, Jennyfer and BurJuman among winners at RetailME Awards 2005
Dubai: It was a night to remember for 11 retailers as each emerged winners in RetailME Awards 2005. The first of its kind in the region, the event, held yesterday (February 26) at Dubai's Emirates Towers Hotels, Godolphin Ballroom, was held under the patronage of Her Excellency Sheikha Lubna Bint Khaled Al Qasimi, UAE Minister of Economy.Ilyas & Mustafa Galadari Group, developers of the City of Arabia, were the event's title sponsor; category sponsors for RetailME Awards 2005 included: BurJuman, Mall of Arabia, Ernst & Young, Apparel group, In Retail, AME Info, Crystal Gallery, The Emirates Evening Post, Masterkey Systems, The Millionaire Co and Hewlett Packard.
The RetailME Awards were introduced in the publication's ongoing pursuit to becoming an invaluable resource to retailers and suppliers from the retail trade, said Pierre Pereira, Director, Concept Media - publishers of RetailME.
Retail standards in the region are high, what the RetailME Awards will do is ‘raise the bar' even higher by stimulating competition, said Saeed Mohammed Al Nabouda, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) and Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS), and a member of the international panel of judges. “RetailME Awards 2005 is extremely important at this stage as the Middle East retailing industry is growing rapidly. We, as organisers of the Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) and Dubai Summer Surprises (DSS) are working towards showcasing the regional retail industry and setting benchmarks to meet global standards. Our success would not have been possible without the support of our retail community,” he said.
Commenting on the entries, Peter Walichnowski, CEO, Skylan Properties, Seoul, Korea, (ex CEO of MAF Investments) said: “I am very impressed by the quality of submissions received for the awards. It made my job as a judge very difficult and I wish I could give each participant an award. These awards have demonstrated that Middle East retailing has come of age, and it positions this region as a major force in international retailing,” he added.
Winners in each category are:
New Retail Brand of the Year – Biotherm
Business Excellence of the Year – Splash
Store Manager of the Year – Claire Andow (THE One)
Grocer of the Year – Choitram
Customer Service Initiative of the Year – Jennyfer
Loyalty Programme of the Year – Mega Mart Bravo card
Rising Star of the Year – Crossover Bollywood Se
Mall of the Year - BurJuman
Online Retailer of the Year – Jacky's
Marketing Campaign of the Year - BurJuman
Store Design of the Year – Magrabi Opticals
Lifestyle Retailer of the Year – THE One
International Retailer of the Year - Jennyfer
Local Retailer of the Year – Alukkas
The RetailME Awards 2005 is an exclusive property of RetailME, the first B2B magazine in the Middle East dedicated to the retail industry. With clearly defined sections, RetailME focuses on local and international aspects of retail from sourcing and supply chain issues through logistics, merchandising, in-store design, category management, information technology, property issues and consumer behaviour.Published by Concept Media, RetailME operates under license from Emap Communications, UK's second largest publishing house, and shares an exclusive relationship with their two leading titles – Retail Week and Retail World.
Roads & Transport Authority launches Road Safety Awareness Program in Dubai
Series of activities planned at various levels to bring down the increasing number of road accidents
Engineer Hashim Al Hashimi, Director of Traffic Department, RTA and Dr. Aysha Al Busmait, Director of Marketing and Corporate Communications, RTA
March 01, 2006 In an effort to reduce escalating road accidents in Dubai, the Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) today (Wednesday, March 01, 2006), announced the launch of a Road Safety Awareness Program for 2006, at a press conference held at RTA? premises in Al Rashidiya. The program consists of a number of campaigns that will target the different road user groups with specific messages, in order to positively influence their behaviour on the road and reduce the number of fatalities and injuries. The program will be delivered to the community in partnership with the private sector and various community organisations.
RTA will kick-off its road safety program with the ?ids are Safer Behind·campaign, which is being organised in partnership with Dubai Transport and MotherCare. As part of this campaign, around 100 taxis in Dubai will be fitted with child restraint safety seats to increase awareness among parents about safety of children in vehicles. Speaking at the press conference, Dr. Aysha Al Busmait, Director of Marketing and Corporate Communications, RTA, said, ?ecognising the gravity of the traffic conditions and accident rates in Dubai, RTA has decided to take up measures to bring down the number of road accidents, which very often lead to serious injuries and death. While the Government of Dubai has been investing heavily in road infrastructure to provide a world class road network, RTA has been stepping up its efforts to ensure a safe and smooth road transport system for all. Creating awareness among the general public on road safety is one of the ways we wish to achieve our objectives, and in this regard, RTA is proud to announce the launch of its Road Safety Awareness Program 2006.·SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes">
Engineer Hashim Al Hashimi, Director of Traffic Department, RTA, said, ?ince its establishment in late 2005, the Roads and Transport Authority has recognised safety on roads as a major community issue. RTA has prepared plans to address the lack of awareness in the community on the risks drivers pose for themselves and other road users due to their negligence. These programs also aim to build the right attitude and approach to driving.·SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes" Over the coming months, RTA will be launching a series of activities and programmes at various levels to promote road safety, such as lectures in schools and hospitals, community events and media campaigns.
?oad Peace· ?afe Kids·and ?eat Belt your Chance for Survival·are few of the campaigns that RTA will organise in the near future, in partnership with companies from the private sector and community organisations. ?e urge all drivers to abide by the traffic laws and regulations, avoid exceeding the speed limits, use seat belts and become responsible drivers to ensure the safety of all road users,·concluded Al Hashimi.
Islam-West conference on Mohammed caricature row opens in Qatar - Industries Qatar plans listing on Dubai, Abu Dhabi markets
Mumbai-Karachi Passenger Ship
In technical level talks on Shipping between India and Pakistan held in Karachi during 8-10 December, 2005, Pakistan side indicated the need for starting ferry service between Mumbai and Karachi. Indian side requested the Pakistani side to forward a viable proposal for consideration. No proposal has been received from Pakistan as yet.This information was given by the Minister of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, Thiru T. R. Baalu in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
Saudi Arabia: Copies of "Girls of Riyadh" Novel Mysteriously Disappear from Book Fair
