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Hewitt’s passage to India to promote ties LONDON, Oct 29: British Minister in Charge of Information Technology Patricia Hewitt embarks on a week-long visit to India from tomorrow to "promote trade and investment" between the two countries particularly.....more World’s first free trade DUBAI, Oct 29: Dubai Internet City (DIC), the world’s first free trade zone for electronic business......more Norwegian MPs LONDON, Oct 29: Four Norwegian MPs are currently under cloud following a report in a Norwegian . ....more Indians figure DUBAI, Oct 29: Three software wizards from Pune, who were part of a team that developed the world fauters, were among the three winners in the Dubai Internet City e-biz challenge for world . ...more |
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Malik had plans
to flee to Pak: Paper WASHINGTON, Oct 29: Ripudaman Singh Malik, arrested in connection with the bombing of Air India........more New Zealand PM snubs TARAWA, KIRIBATI, Oct 29: New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark today cancelled a pacific....more
Dalai’s visit to Korea SEOUL, Oct 29: A group of religious activists held a rally in downtown Seoul today to press the.....more WHO declares 37 nations, TOKYO, Oct 29: The World Health Organisation today declared 37 countries and areas in the West......more |
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Patricia Hewitt’s passage to India to promote ties LONDON, Oct 29: British Minister in Charge of Information Technology Patricia Hewitt embarks on a week-long visit to India from tomorrow to "promote trade and investment" between the two countries particularly in information and communication technology sector. "The new e-economy offers tremendous opportunities for both countries to work together, particulary in the Information, Communications and Entertainment (ICE) sector. Telecommunications is opening up this sector and I want the UK and India to collaborate and mutually benefit," Hewitt told newsmen on the eve of her departure for Calcutta. Recalling the strong cultural and historical links between the two countries, the e-minister said relations have never been better and "our trade partnership is heading for record levels." The UK-Indian bilateral trade is growing by an impressive 30 per cent plus year on year and more Indian companies are listed in London than with any US exchange. "The UK is a leader in many information age sectors — mobile telephony, digital television, games and other creative industries. We are the number one destination for inward investment to the EU and the word’s largest overseas investor, according to the latest information from the United Nations. That is why I believe we are the natural partner of choice for India’s fast growing information, entertainment and communications sectors," she said. The visit, part of a series of ministerial level missions to India, starts in Calcutta tomorrow with a meeting with the Chief Minister designate of West Bengal Buddhadeb Bhatacharya, who is in charge of information technoogy in the state. After the meeting at the writers building, Hewitt would undertake a river tour to witness the redevelopment potential on both sides of the hooghy and attend a roundtable meeting on collaborative e-commerce with select group of top chief executive officers organised by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII). From Calcutta, she will fly to delhi where she will inaugurate the Indo-British Coal Forum with Indian Minister for Coal N T Shanmugham on Tuesday and hold separate discussions with Small Scale Industries Minister Vasundhara Raje, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Omar Farooq Abdullah, Union Minister for Information Technology Pramod Mahajan and Minister of State for Revenue Ramachandran. The next stop of Hewitt’s itinerary will be Bangalore —the showcase of India’s it boom — where she will speak at the invest UK seminar, and attend the Bangalore Dotcom Fair. Hewitt will be in Ahmedabad on November two evening and spend the next day meeting the Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel and Industries Minister Suresh Mehta. She will also open British trade office in Ahmedabad. She will attend a round tabe discussion with CII IT committee before leaving for Mumbai from where she will leave for London on Saturday. During the visit, Hewitt will be accompanied by 20 prospective British investors and officials of the India desk from the Department of Trade and Industry. (PTI) |
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World’s
first free trade zone for electronic DUBAI, Oct 29: Dubai Internet City (DIC), the world’s first free trade zone for electronic business, was launched here last night as part of the Emirate’s initiative to become a regional hub for technology firms. At a glittering ceremony last night, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince and UAE Defence Minister, formally inaugurated the Internet City, spread over an area of 25 sq km. "In the future, all commercial actions will be in cyberspace. But the cyberworld will need a ground base in this physical world. Internet companies will need physical offices, a community and on the ground technology I want Dubai to be the best location in the world for any and every individual company", Sheikh Mohammed said, inaugurating the Internet City. The city built at an astounding cost of more than 270 million US dollars has taken just 364 days to be completed. Already,over 190 companies, including Microsoft, Oracle, Compaq, Commerce one and Mastercard, have been licensed to operate in the Internet City. More than 3000 qualified professionals are expected to function from this complex. Officials at the internet city said the DIC would offer foreign companies 100 per cent ownership and long-term land leases. And would be essentially a free-trade zone for e-commerce. They said plans for the city included the establishment of an internet university—offering short courses in e-commerce,design and management—a research and development centre, as well as a science and technology park. The officials pointed out that the Internet City would enable the smallest of the companies to sell into hundreds of markets without having any physical presence there. They said that with zero bureaucracy, the city would have hassle- free registration laws, company laws and a business-friendly legal framework. The launching of the Internet City was timed with the inauguration of the Gulf Information Technology Exhibition here in which more than 500 exhibitors, representing some 2000 companies from all over the world, are participating. The five-day exhibition, said to be one of the three leading it events in the world, offers a complete array of information technology-related products and services. It features the latest in computer hardware and software, multimedia, corporate solutions, office automation, multi-lingual applications, office systems, on-line information services, networking, mobile computing, telephony, internet products, computer accessories, business communication tools and graphic design products. (UNI) |
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Norwegian MPs victims of sex rumours: Daily LONDON, Oct 29: Four Norwegian MPs are currently under cloud following a report in a Norwegian daily that a member of the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) Government had supplied two of them with alcohol and prostitutes during their visit to Islamabad. The Daily VG, extensively quoted a Pakistani newspaper which claimed that "a member of the PoK Government has supplied the MPs with alochol and prostitutes to such an extent that they were incapable of participating in important meetings." The controversial visit took pace in April last year. The Norwegian MPs, however, categoricay dismissed the allegations in the newspaper, stating they were being "misused in a Pakistani power struggle." The Editor-in-chief of the Pakistani newspaper Sahafat, Khushnood Ali Khan claimed, according to the Norwegian daily, "the paper has solid sources and that the content of the article is correct." "I have also discussed PoK Prime minister’s exploits with women here in Pakistan," Khan claims. According to VG, it was in the winter of 1998-99, PoK Prime Minister Sultan M Chaudhry, started the campaign aimed at getting international attention to Pakistan’s view on the Kashmir issue. In Pakistan, the general opinion is that PoK Prime Minister Chaudhry, who visited Norway earlier in 1998, has a "personal morality that leaves a lot to be desired, dominated by indulgence in western vice," the Norwegian daily said. (PTI) |
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Indians figure in all 3 e-biz challenge wins DUBAI, Oct 29: Three software wizards from Pune, who were part of a team that developed the world fauters, were among the three winners in the Dubai Internet City e-biz challenge for world class innovative business ideas. The team led by Vijay B Bhatkar with members Deven B Sheth and P R Eknath invented a new broadband metropolitan network called RAMNET (Remote Access Metropolitan Network) that provides low cost broadband internet access. In fact Indians figured prominently in all the three winning teams which will get a reward of $ 150,000 worth of incubation support each to develop e-business plans at the Dubai Internet City that was opened here yesterday. The winners were selected from among 1385 entries worldwide in a tough contest and the Indians’ domination highlighted the paradigm shift in the profile of their country which is now the emerging global source for software brains. "Our international jury and the 21 venture capitalists and incubators who came to Dubai to meet the teams have been impressed with the quality of ideas and potential for genuine business application," the Dubai Internet City Chief Imagineering Officer Avi Bhojani said. An international jury sifted through entries received from 34 countries and considered 23 teams from 11 countries this week before announcing the winners. (PTI) |
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Malik had plans to flee to Pak: Paper WASHINGTON, Oct 29: Ripudaman Singh Malik, arrested in connection with the bombing of Air India Jet Kanishka had plans to flee to Pakistan prior to his arrest, according to a leading Canadian daily Vancouver Sun. The newspaper report yesterday that Malik had told people a few days before his arrest that he would be travelling to Pakistan. An airline ticket was found by the investigating officials in his import export company office giving a new twist to the case. Meanwhile, another controversy has broken out about British Columbia Provincial Education Minister Penny Priddy having received a campaign donation of one thousand dollars from Malik and his wife in 1996. The ministry, which gave grants to the tune of three million dollars to one of the Khalsa schools run by Malik, will determine his status as the president of the institution following his arrest. Malik is also the president of the Khalsa Credit Union, the Satnam Trust and an unlicensed Punjabi language radio station. Another accused Bagri is a mill worker and is constructing a Gurudwara in his area. He was also recently busy in a liberal nomination race in the Kamloops area where he lived. The newspaper said the reaction of the Indo-Canadian community to the arrests was mostly joyous. Balwant Singh Gill, president of a local Gurudwara, said people have been waiting impatiently for years and everyone is relieved and now there will be peace. Gurnam Singh Sanghera, a community activist said "it was a greatest day in my life. The fingers have been pointed out at our whole community. Now people can see that it does not involve 99.9 per cent of the Sikhs". Indo-Canadian broadcaster Shushma Datt said people were losing faith in canadian police. Friday’s arrests would at least help to restore faith and give some closure to a heinous crime, she added. (UNI) |
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New Zealand PM snubs Fiji counterpart TARAWA, KIRIBATI, Oct 29: New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark today cancelled a pacific leaders summit lunch here because she did not want to host Fiji’s interim Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase. "I could not agree to hosting a lunch to which a non-constitutional Prime Minister of Fiji turned up," she told New Zealand reporters. Clark is also refusing to go to the summit of the 16-nation forum next year if it is held, as planned, in Fiji. She said Fiji was still unstable after the May 19 coup by failed businessman George Speight which eventually led to the formation of a military Government. Not a month goes by without us hearing there might be another coup. "So you can’t rule out that at some point forum interest might be triggered again in Fiji." (AFP) |
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Dalai’s visit to Korea hit snag amid protest SEOUL, Oct 29: A group of religious activists held a rally in downtown Seoul today to press the Government to allow Tibetan spiritual leader, the dalai lama, to visit South Korea in November. The religious group which has pushed for the Dalai Lama’s visit to Seoul said today the Korean Government has formally declined to allow the visit. "Diplomatic authorities told us they could not issue visa to the Dalai Lama yesterday, shattering the Korean people’s expectations (about the visit)," the Dalai Lama invitation organising committee said in a statement today. Diplomatic sources in Seoul were not available for comment on Seoul’s position on the issue. The alleged formal rejection came after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in September asked the organising committee to postpone the invitation until 2001. "How come President (Kim Dae-Jung) who won the nobel peace prize himself would not allow another nobel peace laureate to come to South Korea?" the committee supporting the visit of the Dalai Lama to South Korea asked. President Kim Dae-Jung won the nobel peace prize on October 13 for his drive for democracy in Asia and for closer ties with stalinist North Korea across the world’s last cold war frontier. The Dalai Lama won the nobel peace prize in 1989 for his non-violent campaign to free his homeland after China occupied it 50 years ago. The controversy in Seoul was first sparked in early June when representatives of the preparation committee flew to India to deliver a letter of invitation to the Dalai Lama to visit Seoul for one week from November 17. Local media earlier reported the tepid reaction from the Korean Government towards inviting the tibetan spiritual leader was largely due to Seoul’s concern about how China would respond to the sensitive issue. The Korea Times said in its editorial on Saturday the Chinese Embassy in Seoul allegedly expressed strong displeasure with the invitation of the exiled Tibetan leader last month. The English-language daily went on to criticise the Government’s stance in handling the invitation: "Not only the members of the private citizens’ groups who invited the religious leader, but the general public will doubt the nation’s diplomatic ability against the arrogant pressures by the Chinese authorities." The Dalai Lama’s visit to Seoul drew keen interest from abroad in recent weeks. US actor Richard Gere, the Chairman of the Board of the International Campaign for Tibet and an Ardent Buddhist, wrote a letter to President Kim Dae-Jung on October 10, protesting against the Dalai Lama not being granted a visa. "It is mystifying that this supremely respected teacher and man (the Dalai Lama) would not be embraced by the nation of Korea, a country with a proud and long-standing Buddhist heritage," Gere said in his letter. (REUTERS) |
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WHO declares 37 nations, areas
in Western TOKYO, Oct 29: The World Health Organisation today declared 37 countries and areas in the Western Pacific region polio-free, claiming a victory against the highly infectious disease for 1.6 billion people. The west Pacific became the second region to be certified polio-free after the Americas in 1994, who said at a meeting held in Kyotogha, Western Japan. "Today, we are celebrating a major public health victory in the Western Pacific region," said Shigeru Omi, Regional Director of WHO in the Western Pacific. "Tomorrow, our work does not stop. We must maintain our polio-free status through vigilant monitoring and surveillance. We must apply our victory and our lessons learned toward the goal of a world certified as polio-free by 2005," he said. The last confirmed case of polio in the region, home to one-third of the world’s population, was in 1997, when the disease was contracted by a two-year-old girl in Cambodia. Who noted the polio-free declaration did not include North Korea and Indonesia. Polio is a highly contagious virus transmitted by direct person-to-person contact, contact with infected secretions from the nose or mouth, or contact with infected fecal matter. (AFP) |
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