Please help us to find the relatives of late Mr. Narasayyah....Photograph is attached with this. Dubai: Mr. Narasayyah (29yrs) who hails from Karimnagar of Andhra Pradesh, India died in the Rashid Hospital, Dubai due to Tuberculosis. He came to Dubai on a visit visa. From the numbers with him, we,the Valley of Love came to know that he worked with several construction companies and we are unable to trace his family. Those who can help us in finding his whereabouts must contact us at 050—3090506 so that cremation must be done at the earliest. CP Mathew Adoor social worker./chief coordinator THE VALLEY OF LOVE (SNEHATHAZHVARA) committed to humanity www.thevalleyoflove.org pravasy@yahoo.com mail@thevalleyoflove.org contact no. 00971 50 3090506 fax. 009714 2678601 Qatar resolves citizenship issue DNRD and DATEL announces sponsorship of Dubai International Racing Carnival Authority mulls eGate information drive at the carnival highlighting the benefits of the world’s most advanced automated passport control system 07 February 2006 Dubai Naturalisation and Residency Department (DNRD) and DATEL, a technology and professional services company have jointly announced their co-sponsorship of the events of Dubai International Racing Carnival (DIRC), to be held on February 10, 2006 at the Nad Al Sheeba race course. The racing carnival which began on January 19, 2006, encompasses of 11 race fixtures culminating with the US$ 21 million purse of Dubai World Cup, the world’s richest horse race on March 25, 2006. The carnival attracts over 200 horses from 17 countries representing over 100 international owners and trainers. DNRD alongside DATEL is co-sponsoring various races under DNRD Trophy, DATEL Handicap, DNRD Stakes, DATEL Cup, DNRD Plate and DATEL Race categories. DNRD will also be highlighting its various services including the eGate card to the visitors to the races. Speaking at a press conference organised to announce DNRD’s sponsorship, Brigadier Saeed Bin Belailah, Director, DNRD said, “DNRD is a frontal organisation that provides the visitors of the Dubai, the first taste of the hospitality in the Emirate. During the time of the carnival we are ensuring that enough resources are at our disposal to ensure that each visitor to the carnival is enriched with a unique and warm experience that is exclusive to Dubai. Our sponsorship of the carnival reflects our commitment to the sport of horse racing, which is ingrained culturally in the Arabic world.” Commenting on the eGate information drive that DNRD is planning to host at the carnival, Lieutenant Colonel Khalid Majid Lootah, Assistant Director Information Technology and Quality, DNRD, said, “The races give DNRD the opportunity to reach a large number of frequent visitors to Dubai, who will be benefited by this service. In December 2005 alone, DNRD recorded 732227 entries and 686901 exits from Dubai through the Dubai International Airport. With such staggering numbers, DNRD is actively involved in streamlining our processes to ease passenger traffic. eGate is such an initiative which was piloted with success in Dubai. The decision to raise awareness about eGate at the races is a reflection of DNRD’s consistent efforts to highlight the benefits of using eGate, which is a global benchmark in advanced border control,” he added. DNRD’s co-sponsors of the event, DATEL is a solutions provider and integrator of eGate. Tania Barton, Management Consultant, DATEL, said, “eGate is an advanced passport control system that ensures quick passenger clearance by utilizing a smart card. The technology allows pre-registered travellers to complete passport control procedures in in a fast and efficient manner. Our presence in the races is solely intended to raise awareness about the system that is geared to provide visitors to Dubai with a unique travel experience by replacing repetitive checks of their documents with a new streamlined system that is time- and cost –efficient.” Dubai International Airport (DIA) is the first airport in the Middle East and the third in the world to install eGate. eGate recorded a tremendous success with more than 3,500 residents from over 45 nationalities applying for an eCard in the first month of its operation. To date there are over 400,000 frequent users of eGate. Weekly ordered to pay heavy damages in continuing court harassment Reporters Without Borders condemned the continuing judicial harassment of the Moroccan weekly TelQuel after a Casablanca court today ruled on appeal that it must pay 500,000 dirhams (50,000 euros) in damages in a libel suit brought by the director of a child aid association, Touria Bouabid. "It is now clear that the Moroccan courts want to strangle TelQuel financially, as it was already ordered to pay an equally disproportionate fine a little more than a month ago," the press freedom organisation said."The appeal court did, it is true, reduce the amount of damages awarded by the lower court but it is still exorbitant and more than five times the maximum damages mentioned in the press code for defamation cases," Reporters Without Borders added. TelQuel's lawyer said the newspaper would appeal to a yet higher court. A lower court in Casablanca ruled on 25 October that TelQuel should pay a fine of 10.000 dirhams (915 euros) and damages of 900,000 dirhams (82,300 euros) for a report in May that Bouabid had been summoned by the police for questioning about embezzlement within her NGO. The information came from police sources and was reported in three other newspapers as well as TelQuel - Al Ahdath Al Maghribiya, Al Ayam and Al Ousbouîya Al Jadida. All four newspapers published retractions after the information turned out to be false, and the other three got off with minor fines. On 29 December, the Casablanca appeal court ordered TelQuel to pay 800,000 dirhams (72,000 euros) in a separate libel case. So the total sum the weekly is now supposed to pay is 1.3 million dirhams (130,000 euros). India and US To Jointly Fight Human Trafficking India and US have agreed that a project on “Stregthening the Law Enforcement Response in India against Trafficking in Persons through Training and Capacity Building” be taken up . The Project will be taken up through the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), with the US Government providing funds to the tune of $2 million for implementation of the same. The related Project Document was signed today by representatives of the Government of India in the Ministry of Home Affairs, the US Government and the UNODC Regional Office for South Asia. Through a series of a training programmes the Project will, over a two year period, raise the awareness of law enforcement officers (police and prosecutors) on the problem of trafficking in persons, and further build up their capacity to better investigate the crime and prosecute the offenders perpetrating this crime. The Project will be taken up in the States of Maharashtra, Goa, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh, and such other States as may be decided by the Project Steering Committee that will be constituted for steering, guiding and monitoring of the project. The Project Steering Committee will comprise of representatives of the Government of India, the UNODC and the US Government. The Government of India and US Government have been on concerned about the crime of the trafficking in persons, especially women and children, for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Dialogue has been on for sometime between the two Governments on the possibilities of mutual cooperation in combating this crime. After a series of discussions, both the governments agreed to sign today the project document. India Serbia Trade Agreement India and Serbia & Montenegro today entered into a ‘Trade and Economic Cooperation Agreement’, which includes grant of Most Favoured Nation (MFN) treatment in mutual trade of goods and services originating in their respective territories, and setting up of a Joint Economic Committee to explore new areas for bilateral trade and to recommend measures for removal of obstacles, if any. The Agreement was signed here by Shri Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce and Industry on behalf of the Government of India and by Dr. Predrag Ivanovic, Minister of International Economic Relations, on behalf of Republic of Serbia and Montenegro. India and Serbia Exchange Most Favoured Nation Status Welcoming the new initiative, Shri Kamal Nath recalled the traditional friendship and cooperation between India and the erstwhile Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in spearheading the Non-Aligned Movement. There is immense potential for a mutually rewarding economic cooperation between the two countries in Information Technology, drugs and pharmaceuticals, auto components etc., he said. Shri Kamal Nath also referred to the ‘India Expo 2005’ organized by the Embassy of India In Belgrade in September 2005 in which many Indian companies participated and were able to secure orders of fairly large amounts. Expressing happiness at the steps being taken by the two countries to renew and revitalize their bilateral relations, Dr. Ivanovic said the interest of Indian industry in Serbia and Montenegro had remained limited so far due to lack of information about the prevailing economic climate. He expressed confidence that the Agreement would provide a big boost to the comfort level of Indian companies wanting to explore their market for trade in goods as well as services. The bilateral trade between India and Serbia & Montenegro during the year 2004-05 was of the order of US $ 13.07 million, comprising exports from India of US $ 9.02 million and imports of US $ 4.15 million. Higher Education admission rates approach world record levels in GCC states February 7, 2006 The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are set to achieve the world's highest levels of admission rates to institutions of higher education, reveals a recent study on the GCC's public expenditure on education. According to the Dubai-based Madar Research Group, riding on high oil revenues, and recognizing the importance of upgrading regional educational systems, GCC governments have upped the expenditure on education to an approximate US$ 26 billion during 2005. Leading this trend was the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that hiked its budgetary allocation for education from 17.08 per cent in 2004 to 17.20 per cent in 2005. The country invested US$ 1.11 billion into education out of its US$ 6.5 billion annual budget during 2004. This rose proportionately in 2005, with the UAE spending US$ 1.07 billion from its reduced US$ 6.22 billion annual budget. The region's impressive progress in the education sector is the result of continuous large-scale investments in education and training of manpower made by GCC state governments, who collectively pumped 22 per cent or US$ 23 billion of the combined US$ 109 billion GCC budget in 2004 into the education sector, says the study. The demand for higher education in the GCC region is also fuelled by the increasing number of students attending public schools and the decreasing student attrition or drop-out rates. "The region's growing demand for internationally recognized undergraduate, post-graduate and career advancement courses in diverse disciplines such as banking and finance, the arts, humanities, sciences, information technology, marketing, management and tourism, augurs well for the rapid qualitative and quantitative expansion of the education sector across the GCC and the Middle East," said Anselm Godinho, Managing Director of International Conferences and Exhibitions, which organizes the region's leading annual education fair, Gulf Education and Training Exhibition (GETEX) in the UAE. The event's 18th edition, GETEX Dubai 2006 will be held from April 12 to 14 at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Nahayan bin Mubarak Al Nahayan, UAE Minister of Education. GETEX Dubai 2005 attracted over 27,000 visitors and 438 exhibitors offering a vast array of choices from 38 countries.Responding to regional needs, GETEX Dubai 2006 will focus on innovative solutions and technologies that cater to the increasingly significant segment of Education Training, Technology and Supply. The exhibition will also highlight emerging trends and methodologies in the Corporate Training and Human Resource Development sector. A separate segment dwelling on Special Needs Education is being introduced for the first time this year. Dubai Customs International signs MOU with COMESA DCI and COMESA to develop and modernise customs rules and procedures February 7, 2006 Dubai Customs International (DCI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) today (Tuesday, February 7, 2006), in order to develop and modernise its Customs administration, including Customs procedures and rules, electronic systems, financial systems and procedures, human resources systems and organizational charts and business processes between the two entities. Under the terms of the MoU which was signed between Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman, PCFC and Sindiso N. Ngwenya, Assistant Secretary General, COMESA, DCI will provide consultancy to COMESA and upon request will co-manage Customs Administration and Customs IT solutions within COMESA. The MoU also calls for providing expertise in human capital training and management as well as setting up an international gold exchange with refining capacity within the COMESA gold producing countries. Commenting on the MoU, Sultan Ahmad Bin Sulayem, said, "The partnership with COMESA is very strategic for Dubai Customs International as we seek to expand our presence in Africa. DCI is already in active engagement with Djibouti and the current partnership spelt out under the terms of the MoU will help us to serve other important African nations that come under the umbrella of COMESA." Hamed Fadhil Al Mazrooi, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Customs International, said, "DCI will work in close co-ordination with COMESA to develop and modernize its customs administration, procedures, rules and electronic systems. The mutually beneficial of expertise and resources will not only abet DCI in furthering its efforts towards modernization, but will also further DCI's commitment to be a globally responsible and socially beneficial organization that takes pride in promulgating best practices and standards." COMESA representatives visited DCI on February 6th, 2006 and finalized the terms of co-operation under the agreement proposed. COMESA's visit came as member states look to further their goal of benefiting from sustainable economic growth via trade liberalisation and regional integration. Sindios N. Ngwenya, Assistant Secretary General, COMESA, said, "COMESA's integration and regional policies are aimed at providing significant levels of economic growth and compete in a world market which is becoming increasingly dominated by large trading blocs. Integration tends to promote higher growth through such channels as improved resource allocation, greater competition, technology transfers and learning and improved access to foreign capital. Our MoU with DCI will be mutually beneficial, and will allow us to co-operate on a range of key issues while working towards common goals and objectives. It will also help us make use of Dubai's rich experience in various customs procedures and practices." The 20 member COMESA was established in 1994 with the aim of promoting regional economic integration through trade and investment. Its main focus is on the formation of a large economic and trading unit that is capable of overcoming barriers that are faced by individual states.