Afghanistan: No justice and security for women

The international community has failed to fulfil its promises to bring freedom and equality to the women of Afghanistan, Amnesty International said in a report released today.
(For the full text of the report, please go to: http://amnesty-news.c.tep1.com/maabwrGaa02Ggbb0hHSb/ )

"Nearly two years on, discrimination, violence, and insecurity remain rife, despite promises by world leaders, including President Bush and US Secretary of Sate Colin Powell, that the war in Afghanistan would bring liberation for women," the organization emphasized.

The new report "Afghanistan: No one listens to us and no one treats us a human beings. Justice denied to women" documents Afghan women's concerns about widespread domestic violence, forced marriage, and rape by armed groups. In some cases underage girls as young as eight years old are married to much older men."This situation is unacceptable and calls for urgent action," Amnesty International said.

The report also highlights how women in Afghanistan have no recourse to justice. Despite the lifting of rules limiting their freedom of movement, women are prevented from seeking redress because of barriers in society and in the community in many areas. Even when a woman is able to approach the police or the courts, she faces extreme discrimination.

"The current criminal justice system is simply unwilling or unable to address issues of violence against women," the organization continued. "At the moment it is more likely to violate the rights of women than to protect and uphold their rights."

The new report outlines a number of immediate steps the Afghan government and international community should take to begin to deliver on its promise of ensuring justice for the women of Afghanistan. Foremost is the provision of security through an expansion of an international peace keeping force outside Kabul to create an environment in which the rule of law can be established. "Women's rights protections cannot be meaningfully established without the rule of law." The organization further calls on the international community to coordinate efforts to integrate the protection of women's rights into the reconstruction of police, legal reforms, and the establishment of courts.-keralamonitor.com

First oil shipment reaches international market

ABIDJAN, 6 October (IRIN) - Cameroon and Chad, two of the world's poorest countries, began to sell oil on Friday as the first shipment of 950,000 barrels of crude from their joint pipeline reached the international oil market. The event marked the culmination of a project that started in 1996 when
Chad and its southern bilingual neighbour, Cameroon, signed a treaty to construct a 1,070 km long oil pipeline that runs from southern Chad to Cameroon's ports. The Chad-Cameroon Petroleum Development and Pipeline Project is expected to generate an annual income of US $80 million for Chad and $20 million for Cameroon over the next 25 years, the World Bank said in June when
oil production started. According to the Bank, the oil money should in the short-term increase government revenues by as much as 50 percent in Chad where per capita
income among the country's eight million people is $200 and illiteracy
is over 50 percent.

"The Chad-Cameroon project represents an unparalleled opportunity for creating a much brighter future for Chad. At present, the country cannot afford to provide the minimum public services necessary for ensuring a decent life for its people," the Bank said. Cameroon too counts on reaping benefits to alleviate similar socio-economic ills that have plagued Chad. At its peak, the pipeline will produce 250,000 barrels per day, about one tenth of the production of West African oil giant Nigeria. The pipeline was developed by an international consortium in which ExxonMobile holds 40 percen of the stakes, Malaysia's Petronas 35 percent and ChevronTexaco 25 percent.

The World Bank has invested close to $93 million in the $3.7 billion-project and others including the European Investment Bank and the US Export-Import Bank have invested in it. Human rights groups and environmentalists have however raised an alarm over the potential for misappropriation of funds, saying should that happen then the poor may not benefit from the oil money. They also warn
of possible environmental degradation. According to the United Nations 2002 Human Development Index, Chad ranks 166 out of 173 countries while Cameroon was 135th on the index.

16.5% increase in tourist arrivals to India.

Foreign tourist arrivals during September this year registered 16.5% increase over the arrivals in September, 2002. During the month 189999 foreign tourists visited the country in comparison to 163089 September, 2002 tourists in this year till September, total arrivals has recorded 14.5% increase.
During January-September, 2003 foreign exchange earnings through tourist arrival also registered 19.9% increase over the earnings of corresponding period of last year.

"Wonder Drug" for Kala-Azar and Systemic Mycosis

A preparation known as "Wonder Drug" for the treatment of Systemic Mycosis and Kala-Azar, which was under development has now been commercialised. The wonder drug Liposomal Amphotericin-B will be available in the market under the brand name "Fungisome". This is much superior to the imported one and cost-effective.

Conventional preparations of Amphotericin-B, which is a suspension of the drug in Bile salt, carry the serious risk of nephrotoxicity, cardiotoxicity and other adverse effects. But the new wonder drug not only removes toxicity but also prevents any interaction with human cells as well as raises the specificity to target fungal cells, thus making it the safest formulation proven internationally. The Wonder Drug matches with the best of the imported options in terms of therapeutic efficacy and the treatment costs as little as, one tenth of the imported option.

The drug developed indigenously, with support from the Department of Bio-technology, has been licensed to Life Care innovations by the National Research Development Corporation. Availability of the drug will prove to be a boon for patients, who until now had difficult options, either unaffordable or unsafe.

Government advises oil companies to keep selection of dealers in abeyance in the States going to poll

The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas has advised oil marketing Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) to defer the process of selection of dealers/distributors of Petroleum products till the election process in the five States which are going to poll in the coming months, is declared over by the Election Commission of India. These States are Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Rajasthan and the NCT of Delhi. It may be recalled that the oil PSUs have commenced the process of selecting dealers after Government gave them freedom to select dealers on their own following de-regulation of oil sector. Similarly, the selection process is also to be kept in abeyance in the districts of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh where bye-elections have been announced for the State Legislative Assemblies.
The model code of conduct has come into force in Chattisgarh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan where voting is scheduled to take place on December 1 and in Mizoram where voting will take place on November 20. The bye elections will be held for assembly constituencies in Bihar (3) and U.P. (2). The schedule of election was announced by the Election Commission of India yesterday. The oil PSUs would be at freedom to re-start the process of selecting dealers after the election process in the above mentioned States is declared over by the Election Commission of India.