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In a gruesome happening, two teenaged students of a reputed school in north-east Delhi, India, were kidnapped and allegedly murdered by four persons.

The suspects have been arrested.

The bodies of cousins Chetan Swaroop, 14, and Sahil Goyal, 13, students of Sarvodaya Vidyalaya were found late on Monday night in a wooded area, police said on Tuesday.

The two children, residents of Gokulpuri, did not return from school on Monday following which their parents approached the local police. The police registered a case of kidnapping.

The families started receiving telephone calls in the evening demanding ransom. The police tracked the calls to a locality in Gokulpuri.

Sensing danger, the four assailants allegedly killed the children and dumped their bodies in a wooded area.

The arrested are Vijender Singh, Mohd Nadeem, Vinod, and Shakeel.

Labels: Society

posted by a correspondent @ 8:51 PM 0 comments

Google accused of aiding promoters of movie piracy

A few major media companies have alleged that internet search engine giant Google has benefited from the sale of pirated movies and providing business support to two websites suspected of offering access to illegal film downloads.

The companies have accused Google of being too close with two websites accused of providing access to illegal download, the Wall Street Journal has reported.

Meanwhile, Google has assured the group of media companies that it would take measures to prevent a recurrence of the episode.

The media companies are considering launching their own service to compete with Google’s popular YouTube video web site, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The Journal reported that Google sold advertising to two men who allegedly marketed an application designed to find and download pirated movies online, a business relationship that has angered big movie and TV studios.

The extent of Google’s involvement with this allegedly rogue operation has been detailed in sworn depositions taken as part of an ongoing civil lawsuit major Hollywood studios filed against these two men in October 2005.

The defendants said, under oath, that Google assigned them account representatives who assisted them with their Google advertisement campaigns, including offering them credit and suggesting they use keywords like “bootleg movie download” and “pirated” to promote their websites.

EasyDownloadCenter.com and TheDownloadPlace.com generated New Zealand $1.6 million in revenue between 2003 and 2005, and Google received $1.2 million for advertising, the Wall Street Journal reported.

On learning that the defendants used Google to market their software, the plaintiffs – which include News Corporation, Viacom, Sony, NBC Universal, Time Warner and Disney – complained to the search engine company.

The accusation comes amid negotiations between Google and the big film and TV studios over the unauthorised use of copyrighted programming by YouTube, a free video website that Google bought in 2006 after the site quickly became a cultural phenomenon.

Media companies regard internet piracy – the unauthorised online transfer of movies, music and other copyrighted content – as a major threat to their businesses and claim it has already cost them billions of dollars.

Yet, Wall Street Journal says, the media companies acknowledge that consumers want the convenience of downloads and the companies do not want to miss out on a potential business opportunity or try to block downloads completely, as the music industry for a time unsuccessfully sought to do.

Labels: Tech

posted by a correspondent @ 8:44 PM 0 comments

North Korea agrees to take steps for nuclear disarmament

North Korea agreed to take steps towards nuclear disarmament under a groundbreaking deal struck in Beijing on Tuesday.

The deal will fetch the impoverished communist state over $300 million (154 million pounds) worth of aid.

Under the agreement, which was reached by six countries in Beijing after nearly a week of talks, Pyongyang will freeze the reactor at the heart of its nuclear programme and allow international inspections of the site.

The proposed plan – put into place by South Korea, North Korea, the United States, Japan, Russia, and China – will only be the first step in locating and dismantling North Korea’s nuclear arms activities, leaving many crucial questions to future negotiations.

“This is only one phase of de-nuclearisation. We’re not done,” Christopher Hill, chief negotiator of the United States, said.

Japan voiced its doubts whether any agreement could be made to stick.

John Bolton, former US ambassador to the United Nations and a conservative, decried the pact as a “very bad deal.” He said the communist state should not be rewarded with “massive shipments of heavy fuel oil” for only partially dismantling its nuclear programme.

“It sends exactly the wrong signal to would-be proliferators around the world,” John Bolton remarked.

Under the agreement, North Korea must take the steps within 60 days, and in return it will receive 50,000 tonnes of fuel oil or economic aid of equal value.

It will receive another 950,000 tonnes of fuel oil or equivalent when it takes further steps to disable its nuclear capabilities, including providing a complete inventory of its plutonium – the fuel used in Pyongyang’s first nuclear test blast in October 2006.

The 1 million tonnes of fuel would be worth around $300 million at current prices for heavy fuel oil, which is used in power stations, shipping and elsewhere.

The steps, for the time being, do not involve the provision of 2,000 megawatts of electricity that South Korea pledged in a September 2005 deal reached by the six countries. South Korea would do so after the completion of de-nuclearisation of North Korea.

The electricity, at an estimated cost of $8.55 billion over 10 years, would be almost equal to North Korea’s current output.

The Beijing talks had focussed on how to begin implementing a September 2005 accord that offered Pyongyang aid and security assurances in return for dismantling its weapons capabilities.

The United States would contribute to the infusion of oil and aid for North Korea. For this, US President George W Bush must win Congressional approval.

Labels: International Politics

posted by a correspondent @ 8:39 PM 0 comments

Monday, February 12, 2007

Internet TV broadcaster JumpTV adds 11 more channels

JumpTV Incorporated, world's leading broadcaster of ethnic television over the internet, announced on Monday that it has signed 11 new exclusive internet broadcast agreements with channels from Pakistan, Thailand, Lebanon, Nigeria and Benin.

The new agreements expand JumpTV's network to 270 channels under licence.

The channels by signed JumpTV include ORTB (Benin), Channels TV, Lagos TV and MiTV (Nigeria), Zam TV and Rung TV (Pakistan), Popper, Rak Thai TV, Panorama 07 and Thai Cable Channel (Thailand), and Mlive (Lebanon).

The 11 new channels are expected to be individually priced at US $ 9.95 a month when launched commercially, and some will become a part of the country/region-specific channel groups at later dates.

The addition of the 3 Nigerian, 4 Thai and 2 Pakistani channels brings JumpTV's Nigerian, Thai and Pakstani channel lineup to 7 channels, 9 channels and 12 channels, respectively. Bundles will be launched for each of these countries soon.

The additional Lebanese channel is to be included in JumpTV's Pan Arab package, which currently includes 23 top Arab channels, for US $ 29.95 a month.

On the partnership with JumpTV, M Julien Pierre Akpaki, general director of ORTB said: "JumpTV is enabling ORTB to grow from a number one national channel, that is available only in Benin, to a global channel overnight. Since a majority of our programming is in French, we believe there is a real market for our content not only among the people of Benin, but anyone interested in West African television."

Sila Celik, head of content acquisition and global operations at JumpTV said: "JumpTV is thrilled to announce the addition of 11 channels from countries like Nigeria, Thailand, Pakistan and Lebanon. We understand that our subscribers want an array of content from their country or region of origin and these channels add substantially to our offerings."

Kaleil Isaza Tuzman, chief executive officer and president of JumpTV International said: "The first phase of JumpTV's business strategy has always been to aggregate the most television content from around the globe. Now, with 270-channel partnerships, JumpTV continues to solidify itself as the largest broadcaster of ethnic programming, providing its subscribers with live television, when and where they want it."

JumpTV, the world's leading subscription-based broadcaster of ethnic television over the internet, has over 250 channels from 70-plus countries. It delivers its subscribers full-screen news, sports and entertainment content on a real-time basis from all over the globe.

JumpTV has subscribers from over 80 countries who view channels on the JumpTV online network via high-speed internet connections on their home computers, laptops, internet-enabled televisions and mobile phones.

Labels: media, Tech

posted by a correspondent @ 9:21 PM 0 comments

Websites of big travel firms, hotels, airlines go multi-lingual

Here is good news for those in different parts of the world who travel internationally. Big travel companies of the United States are moving fast on their way to become multi-lingual.

Large hotel chains and major airlines are launching foreign-language websites to expand their international appeal and to boost e-commerce.

Luxury hotel operator Ritz-Carlton will launch Chinese and Japanese sites in March 2007.

Starwood, which includes Sheraton, plans to add Chinese and Italian sites to four other languages, in 2007.

Marriott is working on Chinese and Spanish sites, adding to its German website.

Hilton recently launched a Spanish site, adding to German and Japanese. It will add Chinese in 2008.

InterContinental hotels, which includes Holiday Inn and Crowne Plaza, launched Arabic, Portuguese and Korean in the last two years, adding to its eight other languages. Before the company spent anything to promote its Japanese-language site, InterContinental customers had booked $250,000 in stays in its first two weeks.

According to an official of InterContinental, the Atlanta-based hotel chain, "our customers come from everywhere. To serve them, we needed to be able to speak their language."

Meanwhile, airlines have focused mainly on Spanish speakers, both inside and outside the United States.

American Airlines, for example, launched 18 Spanish sites tailored to different countries.

Delta has added more languages since becoming the United State's biggest trans-Atlantic carrier. It recently added French, German, Italian and Portuguese sites and will soon add Japanese, Chinese and Russian.

The move to use multiple languages on the Web promotes one goal shared by all travel companies -- to boost internet sales, which cost less to process than those handled by people. The companies also say that connecting with customers in their native language can generate greater loyalty and brand awareness.

"Many companies are moving in this direction as their businesses becomes more global," said an official of Colin Kinsella of Avenue A Razorfish, a leading online marketing agency that recently translated Singapore Airlines' website into new languages.

However, the process of translating hundreds or thousands of Web pages into different languages is not easy.

Ritz-Carlton, for example, could not translate "It's my pleasure" into Japanese because of sexual innuendo in that language. As a result, the phrase is used only in English on all its foreign language sites, explained an executive of Ritz-Carlton.

Also, customers on foreign-language travel websites still may need to understand a little English. United Airlines' Spanish site and Marriott's sites require customers to complete purchases in English.

Labels: Tech, Travel

posted by a correspondent @ 9:20 PM 0 comments

UK warns travel companies over hidden charges and misleading advertisements

The United Kingdom has decided to take tougher action against holiday and travel companies which jack up the price of trips with hidden charges.

UK's Office of Fair Trading says it expects companies to clean up their act and change their advertising within three months, or they will possibly be taken to court for breaching consumer protection laws.

The pledge, issued with the full backing of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), aims at ending the bane of misleading pricing.

A spokesman of the Office of Fair Trading said: "They are getting three months to change their advertising. We expect any new advertising to comply straight away. Under the Enterprise Act 2002, we can go to court if we feel consumer protection laws are being infringed."

"As a last resort, erring holiday and travel companies will be taken to court. We will use these powers if we receive further evidence after that three-month period," the spokesman said.

Holidaymakers, who are fed up with hidden charges, often find that some fixed non-optional costs are not included in basic advertised holiday and travel prices. These include fuel supplements, which can add up to £65 a person to the price of a flight or holiday.

ABTA members sell 90% of foreign package holidays in the United Kingdom. The organisation's code requires it to show clear and transparent pricing.

But, more recently, the law has not been enforced on airlines and companies outside of ABTA membership, which meant that ABTA members were put at a commercial disadvantage, it claims.

The Office of Fair Trading now expects all holiday and travel suppliers, including non-ABTA members and airlines, to ensure that they include all fixed non-optional costs in their basic headline prices.

Labels: Travel

posted by a correspondent @ 9:19 PM 0 comments

Brunei travel: Brunei lags behind in SE Asia's tourism sector

Brunei has been warned that it may be left out of the growth of South-East Asia's booming travel and tourism industry if the tourism sector does not take swift action immediately.

A comprehensive, 10-year economic forecast brought out in 2006 by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) forecast that Brunei's travel and tourism industry would be among the lowest in demand in the South-East Asian region.

The report defines South-East Asia as comprising all 10 members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as Papua New Guinea.
It assessed Brunei's share of the world travel and tourism market at 0.0% in 2006, with a future growth rate of 2.9% a year between 2007 and 2016.

A chapter on the trends in South-East Asia's travel and tourism industry, beginning in 1988, predicted a steady rise from 3.6% at the start of 2005 to nearly 4% in 2008.

The report by the World Travel and Tourism Council ranked Brunei as having one of the slowest growth rates in the world.

Out of the 174 participant-nations in the study, Brunei was projected to stand at just 167 for the next several years, the lowest-ranking of the South-East Asian countries.

In contrast, Vietnam ranked the sixth fastest-growing in the world, with its travel and tourism industry calculated to be worth $5.6 billion.

Travel and tourism in South-East Asia was expected to generate economic activity worth $361.2 billion in 2006, and eventually to hit $800.7 billion by 2016 at the rate of 5.7% a year.

The World Travel and Tourism Council report described Brunei -- especially in terms of data source confidence, forecast and margin of error -- as being subject to "high uncertainty and/or with limited access to data."

A nationally accredited analysis for 2006 foreign arrival statistics in Brunei is yet to be released.

Labels: Travel

posted by a correspondent @ 9:18 PM 0 comments

Queensland's tourism website whereelse.com receives record hits

The new, state-of-the-art tourism website of Queensland, Australia, has already created a record, with 55,000 hits in the four days since its launch.

The website www.whereelse.com.au was launched in the first week of February 2007 to coincide with the government-funded, $6.5-million television and outdoor advertising campaign.

Queensland's Tourism Minister Margaret Keech said the massive number of potential holidaymakers who have already visited the website indicates that it could be the state's most successful tourism campaign.

Keech added: "In just four days, the website experienced record traffic. People are becoming increasingly time-poor and the way people make decisions and book holidays have changed. By using the latest in internet technology, we are making it extremely easy to visit Queensland."

The new website, titled Where Else But Queensland, has been designed to allow holiday decision-makers to interact with a unique range of Queensland holiday experiences," according to Keech.

Tourists spend about $18 billion annually in Queensland and the state's tourism industry employs 136,000 people.

Labels: Travel

posted by a correspondent @ 9:17 PM 0 comments

Cave tourism catching up in Turkey

Turkey has found a novel way to attract tourists. Both big and small investors in alternative tourism are turning to what may be called ‘cave tourism' as a profitable new venture.

The Mineral Research and Exploration Institute (MTA) of Turkey has been studying caves for the past 28 years. Dr Lutfu Nazik, a researcher, says that the demand for cave management has been on the rise.

According to Nazik, the MTA Cave Research Group has been conducting studies with a team of 10 people, who spend about seven or eight months in a year in the field, thanks to the high demand by the private sector.

The MTA has developed cave projects for 15 out of the 22 caves since the 1990s, ensuring that the caves are protected and managed properly.

There are no laws in Turkey at present regulating the utilisation of caves, so those interested in renting them for tourism purposes are required to apply to the local administrations and not the Culture and Tourism Ministry.

If the cave is in a forest, then it is the Forestry Ministry that oversees the procedures. If a cave is on Treasury's land, then it falls under the National Real Estate Management.

So far, only the Tinaztepe and Dim caves have been assigned to private businesses. All the others have been rented by private or local administrations.

"We are preparing a legislative proposal with the Culture and Tourism Ministry and the Environment and Forestry Ministry that encompasses many issues ranging from the preservation of caves to their development. If it is passed, it will help investors," Dr Nazik said.

The number of local and foreign visitors to the caves is increasing. Tourists from the Arab countries are especially interested in the caves.

Tinaztepe Cave, Turkey's longest and the world's third longest cave, was opened for tourism by a private operation. The 22-kilometre-long cave is located in the Konya district of Seydisehir.

Recently, the Tinaztepe Cave found a place in famed explorer Jacques Cousteau's list of "wonders of the world."

The first visitors to the Oylat Cave, 20 kilometres outside Bursa's Inegol district, began arriving only five months ago. The cave, made up of two connected floors, currently offers its guests 650 metres of visiting space. Another 200 metres will be added.

One of the main attractions in the Oylat Cave is the colourful stalactites and stalagmites, which have taken thousand of years to form.

The environment inside the cave, accessed by stairways and pathways made of steel, resembles a film studio. As one goes deeper into the cave, one is met by columns made out of stalactites and stalagmites, which also resemble statues like a man with turban, a grandmother and a child.

Tilting labyrinths and hidden corridors also await the visitor.

Millions of bats live in the Oylat Cave, where photography is not allowed in order not to scare away the bats and to protect the stalactites and stalagmites. Lights are turned on only during visiting hours.

Labels: Travel

posted by a correspondent @ 9:16 PM 0 comments

Chinese media and restrictions: China initiates points based penalty system against ‘muck-raking' print media

The Propaganda Department of China's Communist Party has launched a points-based penalty system in an effort to contain the increasing incidents of muck-raking the print media.

Media outlets will be allocated a dozen points that the propaganda department, and the government media regulator can deduct one, three, six or all 12 at a time, a Hong Kong newspaper quoted unnamed sources as saying.

It was not clear how the severity of a perceived infringement would be judged, but penalties would range from warnings and dismissals to closure of the publication.

The Communist Party of China has always exercised control over the media. After some relaxation, control has been tightening in recent years.

The propaganda officials regularly issue lists of banned topics or coverage guidelines for certain subjects.

Later in 2007, the Communist Party of China holds its five-yearly congress, at which leaders are reshuffled and policies are set.

"The new system is a clear message that the top leadership wants a peaceful social environment ahead of the 17th Party Congress and next year's Olympic Games," the newspaper quoted a senior state media executive as saying.

The media point system is similar to China's driver licence point system whereby points are deducted for violations.

Labels: media

posted by a correspondent @ 9:14 PM 0 comments

Iraq bomb blasts: 55 killed, over 100 hurt as bombs go off in Baghdad

In continuing violence in Iraq, two car-bombs and a bomb hidden in a plastic bag exploded in the market districts in central Baghdad on Monday.

At least 55 people were killed and over 100 others were wounded in the blasts, police said.

The violence started around 11.50 a.m. when a parcel-bomb exploded in a crowded area near a popular take-away restaurant in the Bab al-Sharqi area. At least nine people were killed and 19 others wounded in that blast.

About 30 minutes later, two cars packed with explosives blew up in quick succession near the Shorja market district, smashing a building and setting stores on fire.

The two blasts occurred within 100 metres of each other.

Mohammed Najaim, a shop owner, whose business caught fire, said one of the cars was parked in a garage under a two-story market called Al-Arabi, next to the Iraqi Central Bank. Flames were coming out of the garage, which holds hundreds of cars, he added.

The attacks came as Iraq's top Shiite cleric urged followers not to take revenge against Sunni Arabs on the first anniversary of the bombing of a Shiite shrine that took the country to the brink of civil war.

Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani said the bombing of the Samarra mosque, which has been blamed on Sunni militants, had plunged Iraq into a cycle of "blind violence" and called on Shiites to exercise restraint during a day of mourning.

Tens of thousands of Iraqis have been killed in a wave of sectarian attacks triggered by the destruction of the al-Askari mosque, one of the holiest in Shiite Islam. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced to flee sectarian cleansing.

The reclusive Sistani, who lives in the holy city of Najaf, is regarded as a voice of moderation. Sistani, who heads the Shiite religious establishment, or Marjaiya, has repeatedly urged Shiites not to get sucked into sectarian conflict.

Sectarian violence triggered by the Samarra bombing has complicated Washington's plans to withdraw about 130,000 troops from Iraq.

Over 3,100 American soldiers have been killed since the US-led invasion to of Iraq topple Saddam in 2003.

Labels: iraq

posted by a correspondent @ 9:13 PM 0 comments

West issues tough warning to Iran over nuclear weapons plans

Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, has declared that the international community is determined to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons.

She said there was "no way around" the need for Tehran to accept demands from the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the global nuclear watchdog.

Iran's top nuclear negotiator is set to tell a summit in Munich, the Munich Conference on Security Policy, a gathering of about 250 of the world's top security officials, that Iran wants nuclear power, not nuclear weapons.

Earlier, the International Atomic Energy Agency said it had frozen about half of the technical aid projects involving Iran.

The IAEA says its move is to comply with the UN sanctions imposed on Tehran late in 2006 over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's speech opened the Munich Conference on Security Policy, which is expected to include Iran's nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani.

It would be Larijani's first meeting with European officials since the collapse of the talks in 2006.

Key figures present at the summit also included Russian President Vladimir Putin and United States Defence Secretary Robert Gates.

"What we are talking about here is a very, very sensitive technology, and for that reason we need a high degree of transparency, which Iran has failed to provide, and if Iran does not do so, then the alternative for Iran is to slip further into isolation," Angela Merkel said.

The conference this year also focuses on NATO's changing role, the Middle East peace process, the West's relations with Russia and the fight against terrorism.

Putin, who spoke after Angela Merkel, criticised the United States for the "almost uncontained" use of force in the world, and for encouraging other countries to acquire nuclear weapons. "We are witnessing an almost uncontained hyper use of force in international relations," Putin said.

Meanwhile, European officials are hoping to hold informal talks with Larijani on the Iranian nuclear standoff on the sidelines of the conference.

Earlier, an IAEA report said 22 technical aid projects involving Iran has been suspended to comply with the UN sanctions, which call for an end to programmes that could be exploited by Iran to develop nuclear weapons.

The IAEA gives technical aid to dozens of countries on the peaceful use of nuclear energy in fields such as medicine, agriculture and power generation.

The IAEA has been reportedly under pressure from the United States to take a tough line on Iran.

A senior UN official said the freeze constituted a "substantial cut" in technical aid to Iran.

Labels: International Politics

posted by a correspondent @ 9:12 PM 0 comments

Saturday, February 10, 2007

Sky digital terrestrial TV DTT subscription service launch un UK

Sky, the satellite television broadcaster of the United Kingdom, has announced its plans to launch a new digital terrestrial television (DTT) service in the summer.

The new service will allow customers to receive some of Sky's most popular programmes -- including sports and movies -- through a conventional rooftop aerial and a DTT box for a monthly subscription.

The array of channels on the new terrestrial service will offer a range of content including sports, movies, entertainment and news. The sports service will include live coverage from the Barclays Premiership.

This new foray into terrestrial TV will make use of the existing capacity that Sky currently uses to broadcast Sky Three, Sky News, and Sky Sports News on the Freeview DTT service. Consequently, these channels will cease to be available free-to-air via DTT in advance of the launch of the pay-TV service.

Sky also plans to broadcast its pay-TV channels on DTT using the more efficient MPEG4 as opposed to MPEG2 used on Freeview, enabling Sky to offer four video streams in place of the three Sky channels currently available. Further improvements are expected in the future.

The pay-TV service will use the highly secure conditional access (CA) system similar to the one that is in use for Sky's current digital satellite television system.

To access the service, customers will need to buy a new set-top box (STB) that includes the relevant CA software and MPEG4 decoder.

If Sky DTT is being launched with four channels, the STB will also incorporate traditional MPEG2 decoding to view the current Freeview channels. This would be similar to the recently launched BT Vision which allows downloadable content from BT plus standard Freeview channels.

But, if Sky is releasing an STB that allows Freeview channels, Premiership Football, good Sky One programming, and up-to-date movies without the need for a dish as well as better top-up TV on Freeview, people are going to buy the Sky-backed STB, especially if it is not necessary to buy the subscription.

It is highly likely that Sky will also add a similar video-on-demand service that will be strongly coupled to the new Sky broadband provision, again adding incentive to buy a Sky-branded STB as opposed to a bog-standard Freeview box.

In short, Sky could not only be the only satellite service in the UK but also the main dominant player in the DTT pay-TV spectrum.

Of course, all this is conditional on Ofcom allowing the service to go ahead. It remains to be seen whether Sky would be allowed to segment further and dominate the market.

Labels: media

posted by a correspondent @ 11:33 PM 0 comments

China eases regulations that curb operations of foreign travel companies

China is to ease regulatory restrictions that prevent foreign travel companies from operating in the country as a part of the Chinese government's effort to create a friendlier environment for foreign players.

Shao Qiwei, director of the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA), had announced in January 2007 that foreign travel agencies would be permitted to set up branch offices nationwide from July 1, 2007, as a part of a commitment the country has made to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to open the tourism sector by 2007.
China's move has been welcomed by both travel experts and foreign travel companies.

Setting up of branch offices had been forbidden to foreign companies except in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Xi'an.

"The deregulation is meaningful. The foreign companies could strengthen networks, reputation and brand awareness in China," Li Mingde, senior researcher with the Tourism Study Center at the China Academy of Social Sciences, remarked.

"This means that travel industry will then be fully open six years after China's accession to the WTO, as scheduled," according to Liu Zinan, director of sales and account management with Hogg Robinson Group (HRG) China.

HRG, one of the top-three business travel agencies worldwide, entered China in 2004, setting up the only foreign-funded travel management company in the nation with a majority stake when it joined hands with Shanghai Jinjiang International Hotel Group.

However, there are still hurdles on the way to local business expansion. Approval of air ticketing licence is one of them. To run a travel business in China, international travel agencies need air ticketing licences besides travel agency licences.

The General Administration of Civil Aviation (CAAC) has given ticket licensing rights to the China Cargo Transportation Association. Under the current regulations, full ticketing licences can only be awarded to travel agencies that are wholly or mostly Chinese-owned.

"This means that we can neither get tickets for domestic flights nor can we conduct business there even if we set up branch in a city until we rent the air ticketing licence from a local company or take a partner," HRG's Liu Zinan explains.

Yet another problem is the computer reservation system. TravelSky, a monopoly with major domestic State-owned air carriers as equity holders, is the only entity that the CAAC permits to issue tickets for travel agencies and air ticketing companies.

The international computer reservation system -- known as Global Distribution Systems (GDS), which is believed to be more technologically advanced -- is not permitted to issue tickets.

"This is a big problem for international travel agencies because we have a range of well-developed technical systems, such as highly customised self-service reservation engines, traveler tracking and reservation quality checks that could be interfaced with the GDS, but not TravelSky," Liu says.

Most international travel agencies are developing local systems that could be interfaced with TravelSky, but the best solution is deregulation of the CRS sector, according to Liu.

The outbound tourism sector is also a restricted area for international players in China.

Labels: Travel

posted by a correspondent @ 11:32 PM 0 comments

Medical tourism in Kerala, state to become global destination for healthcare tourism

Kerala, the scenic, southernmost state in India, is all set to project itself as an international destination for healthcare tourism.

Road shows will be held in Sri Lanka, Maldives, and West Asia to showcase the possibilities and attractions of Kerala's medical tourism.

There are also plans to include the United States and several destinations of the Europe in the medical tourism drive, according to E K Bharat Bhushan, Principal Secretary, Kerala Tourism.

Kerala's health tourism policy envisages a huge investment opportunity for the non-resident Keralites (NRKs), making it a venture promising them considerable profits in the long term.

The new policy aims at introducing Kerala on the international tourism stage by 2010. The Kerala government intends to achieving this by raising the budget allocations to the public health sector and allowing private participation.

The Kerala government, Bharat Bhushan said, is ready to help NRKs who invest to set up any kind of healthcare facility. But only those hospitals which comply with the terms of the National Accreditation Board (NAB) for hospitals and healthcare providers would be given official recognition.

The growth of tourism in Kerala has been phenomenal -- there was a huge growth of 31% in Kerala's tourist traffic in 2005.

A report released by the RNCOS, an industry research firm incorporated in 2002, titled Opportunities in Medical Tourism in India (2007) says: "Kerala, since beginning, has been the most-preferred destination for those looking for the rejuvenating magic of ayurveda. But, the current trends show that Kerala is emerging as a modern healthcare provider due to evolving collaborations of enterprisers in the private healthcare sector and the tourism industry which are advertising medical tourism belligerently. Hospitals are also setting up special divisions and support systems for their foreign clients."

The market research report also addresses the following critical facts and issues: An overview of worldwide and Asian medical tourism industry, section-wise performance of the medical tourism industry in India, emerging trends and growth driving factors, key regulations and policy environment, government initiatives to promote medical tourism, opportunities and challenges, and key players in the field of healthcare tourism.

The RNCOS report provides extensive research and rational analysis of the medical tourism industry in India.

Labels: Travel

posted by a correspondent @ 11:31 PM 0 comments

Chinese movie industry news: China film industry record growth in 2006

China achieved a quantum jump in the field of cinema in 2006, making it the country's most successful year ever.

Cinema showed signs of great health, with 330 feature films made in the country in 2006 -- a rise of 70 from the previous year.

The cinema industry has never before made so much money -- in 2006, box office revenues rose by nearly a third to hit $336 million. And, five of the top 10 films shown in 2006 were Chinese, not Hollywood.

The Chinese are going to the movies in numbers never seen before, and there have been some landmark rulings against pirate DVD makers.

The Chinese government is making strong efforts to encourage the movie industry, such as easing state funding for production and making sure that Chinese movies get a clear run in the cinema free of competition from foreign movies.

With stock markets looking up and with overall wealth increasing, many are keen on investing in film.

The standard of cinemas -- which were once dull, vermin-infested places -- is improving quickly as Chinese flock to the new cineplexes.

Reform in China is a process of give-and-take, and advances often can appear to be rolled back a bit before further change is implemented.

China claims to have opened up its film market to foreign involvement, but there is confusion about whether China wants foreigners in the entertainment business or not.

Recently, Zhu Hong, a senior official in the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, China's film and TV watchdog, said Beijing was not planning to halt new foreign investment in film and TV production companies and remained committed to opening up the business.

But critics say Beijing wants foreign input, but only on its own terms, and they make comparisons with more traditional industries, such as engineering or technology, where foreign firms are invited to form joint ventures with Chinese firms to allow the local partner access to the knowhow of the foreign partner.

Censorship and the quota system remain major hurdles to greater investment in China. Just 20 foreign movies are allowed in China every year, though this restriction does not apply to co-productions, but it is still an obstacle to the growth of the market.

Foreign filmmakers have already begun the tortuous process of seeking approval from the censors for their movies this year. The procedure is too hard for the majors who are not used to political bans or editing.

The previous 20 foreign quota films -- including The Da Vinci Code, King Kong and Miami Vice -- brought in $102 million at the Chinese box office. The Da Vinci Code was removed from theatres early after apparently angering religious groups in China, despite its popularity with the audience.

Mission: Impossible III was slated for a day-and-date release in 2006, but entered Chinese theatres months after its US release. The movie was banned because it was determined that laundry on a Shanghai washing line painted a poor image of the city.

Filmmakers in China believe that if the strict censoring is replaced with a reliable ratings system, producers could take more risks with content and story, which would ultimately attract bigger audiences.

Labels: movies

posted by a correspondent @ 11:30 PM 0 comments

Hamas, Fatah agree to form coalition govt

Hamas and Fatah, the rival Palestinian factions, have agreed to form a coalition government.

However, there was no immediate guarantee that the agreement would be sufficient to lift an international boycott on the Palestinian government.

After two days of talks in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the leaders of Hamas and Fatah agreed on a list of ministers for a new national-unity Cabinet and called for a halt to factional fighting that has claimed over 100 lives in the occupied territories in recent weeks.

The deal, which Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas described as "a new era," appeared to have averted a slide into civil war.

Hamas, the Islamic militant movement voted into government a year ago, apparently had the upper hand in the agreement. Ismail Haniyeh, Prime Minister and Hamas leader, will stay on.

An independent candidate, selected by Hamas and approved by Fatah, will be given the key position of Interior Minister, which includes control of the thousands of security forces.

Israel and the quartet of Middle East negotiators -- the European Union, the United Nations, the United States, and Russia -- had insisted that, in order to lift an international boycott, the new government had to meet three conditions: recognition of Israel, renunciation of violence, and acceptance of previous peace deals.

Before the Mecca agreement, it appeared that both Israel and the quartet were reluctant to accept any flexibility on those requirements. However, there was apparently no deal for recognition of Israel; it was agreed only to "respect" past peace agreements.

The new government would reportedly follow an agreement known as the prisoners' document, a programme drawn up jointly by jailed Fatah and Hamas figures in June 2006. It called for a Palestinian state within the land captured by Israel in 1967, with its capital in Jerusalem, and for continued "resistance" to Israel within the occupied territories.

The agreement stopped short of recognisng Israel, but said Hamas should work towards joining the Palestine Liberation Organisation, currently a Fatah-dominated umbrella group which has formally recognized Israel.

Shortly after the agreement was announced, a spokeswoman of the Israeli government said Israel still expected a Palestinian government to meet the conditions set by the quartet of negotiators. She did not say whether her government accepted the deal reached in Mecca.

The Mecca pact comes 10 days before US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is due to arrive in Jerusalem to chair a meeting between Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Abbas.

Israel's rejection of the new Palestinian government's programme could endanger the chance of restarting peace talks.

Labels: International Politics

posted by a correspondent @ 11:28 PM 0 comments

Thursday, February 08, 2007

Rising violence in Kenya: US, UN issue travel advisories

An increase in the crime rate in Kenya has compelled the United States and the United Nations to issue travel advisories to US citizens and UN employees, respectively, visiting the country.

In separate statements, both the US and the UN condemned the high rate of insecurity in Nairobi, the capital, and other parts of Kenya.

"Violent criminal attacks, including armed carjacking and home invasions and burglary, can occur at any time and in any location, and are becoming increasingly frequent. The Kenyan authorities have limited capacity to deter and investigate such attacks," a statement from the US Embassy in Nairobi said.

The advisory was distributed to thousands of delegates attending an international conference at the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), headquartered in Nairobi.

Both the US and the UN are alarmed by increasing violent attacks on diplomats by armed gangsters. In the last one month alone, 53 people, among them an American woman and her daughter, have been killed in carjacking incidents.

Several other diplomats have been seriously injured in violent robberies and incidents of carjacking.

But diplomats are not the only target. In the first week of February 2007, young gangsters murdered Professor Job Bwayo, Kenya's leading AIDS researcher and university don. Prof Bwayo was the lead researcher at the ongoing HIV/AIDS vaccine trials being jointly conducted by the Kenya Aids Vaccine Initiative (KAVI), the Oxford University, and the United States National Institute of Health.

The US has, in act, maintained a travel advisory against Kenya since 1998, the focus has mainly been on terrorism. In August 1998, US embassies in Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam were simultaneously bombed by suspected Al-Qaeda terrorists, resulting in the deaths of about 300 people, most of them Kenyans and Tanzanians.

In November 2002, terrorists struck at an Israeli-owned hotel located in coastal Kenya, in which 15 people lost their lives.

The negative travel advisories have always hurt the Kenyan tourism industry, a leading foreign exchange earner.

Following Wednesday's travel advisory, the Kenya government accused the US and the UN of blowing matters out of proportion, stressing that South Africa is more violent-prone than Kenya, yet no travel advisories have been issued against it.

Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki has ordered the police to seize illegal arms in an effort to check the rising tide of insecurity. He said the country has the capacity to deal with crime.

However, both Kibaki's Cabinet colleagues and the Opposition have demanded the resignation of Security Minister John Michuki following the rising sense of insecurity in the country.

Labels: Travel

posted by a correspondent @ 11:19 PM 0 comments

6-nation talks start: N Korea ready to discuss N-disarmament

International negotiations on North Korea's nuclear programme resumed in Beijing, capital of China, on Thursday.

Pyongyang's envoy said he was ready to discuss initial steps toward nuclear disarmament, raising hopes for the first tangible progress at the talks since they began over three years ago.

"We are prepared to discuss first-stage measures," North Korean nuclear envoy Kim Kye Gwan said on arriving in Beijing for the six-nation negotiations.

United States' experts, who had visited Kim in Pyongyang last week, said North Korea would propose a freeze of its main nuclear reactor and a resumption of international inspections in exchange for energy aid and a normalisation of relations with Washington.

Kim said on Thursday that any moves by North Korea would depend on the United States' attitude. "We are going to make a judgement based on whether the United States will give up its hostile policy and come out toward peaceful coexistence," he said. "The US is well aware of what it has to do."

North Korea has twice boycotted the nuclear talks for more than a year, alleging that various US policies show that the Bush Administration intends to topple its communist government.

"I am not either optimistic or pessimistic because there are still many points of confrontation to resolve," Kim said in Beijing.

Still, his comments marks a change in North Korea's position from the last round of talks in December 2006, when Kim refused even to discuss disarmament and demanded the lifting of US financial restrictions against a Macau bank where North Korea held accounts.

Earlier on Thursday, the main US envoy said he sensed "a real desire to have progress" by the North Koreans at the talks.

However, US envoy Christopher Hill denied a Japanese newspaper report that the United States and North Korea had signed a memorandum during bilateral talks last month agreeing that the North's first steps toward denuclearisation and the US' energy support would begin simultaneously.

At the formal opening of the meeting, Chinese envoy Wu Dawei highlighted the contacts between Washington and Pyongyang since the six nations last gathered, which he said would "provide a more solid basis for this session."

Japan's envoy Kenichiro Sasae demanded that North Korea should halt operation of its reactor and allow inspections as initial steps "within a reasonably short period of time."

The lack of any on-the-ground results on disarming North Korea has raised the issue of the credibility of the six-nation talks, which involve China, Japan, Russia, the US and the two Koreas.

Since 2003, they have produced only a single joint statement, in September 2005, on principles for North Korea to abandon its nuclear programme in exchange for aid and pledges that Washington would not seek the regime's ouster.

South Koreas envoy said on Thursday that the negotiations were at an "important crossroads" and needed to move beyond words to actions.

"The latest nuclear standoff with the North was sparked in late 2002 after Washington accused North Korea of having a secret uranium enrichment programme in violation of a 1994 deal between the two countries. North Korea ousted international nuclear inspectors and restarted its reactor -- moves that culminated in the country's first-ever test atomic detonation in October 2006.

posted by a correspondent @ 11:19 PM 0 comments

Heavy snowfall stops England, Wales on their tracks

Travel chaos prevailed all over England and Wales on Thursday morning as passengers were left stranded at airports, schools were closed, and commuters suffered rush-hour travel jam after as much as four inches of snow fell within just hours in the morning.

Luton and Stansted, Birmingham, and Cardiff airports were all shut because of snow on their runways.

Commuters going to their workplaces by car and train in rush hour were also hard-hit after the heaviest snow fell at 5 a.m.

Trains around major urban centres and long-distance inter-city services were either delayed or cancelled, while major motorways were blocked or slow.

Scotland and northern England were the only areas unaffected by the blast of snowfall, with southern and central England suffering the worst.

Some of the worst chaos was suffered by passengers at airports.

At Stansted Airport in Essex, no flights left from or arrived at the terminal on Thursday morning because of blocked runways.

Luton Airport was closed for up to four hours because of bad weather at 7 a.m.

Bristol Airport was closed in the morning even as eight flights were waiting, fully boarded.

Cardiff and Birmingham airports also suffered from snow on runways.

Commuter trains all around London were affected in the morning. Rail services into London from Kent and Sussex were running late.

Long-distance trains from major Midlands cities to London and the south were also cancelled on Thursday morning.

In London, the Underground reported serious delays on the Central and Metropolitan Lines. There were minor delays on the Bakerloo Line, and part-suspensions in the Jubilee, Northern and Piccadilly Lines.

Motorway chaos was reported on the M25 in Hertfordshire after a lane was closed because snowfall had rendered it unusable.

Labels: Travel

posted by a correspondent @ 11:18 PM 0 comments

Seychelles for slow growth of tourism to protect environment

Seychelles, the tiny, picturesque island-nation in the Indian Ocean, is encouraging tourism in a big way to earn the badly needed foreign exchange, but not at the cost of environment.

The country favours a slow growth of the tourism industry to protect environment for the sustainable growth of its economy.

With white sand beaches, blue sky and beautiful tropical scenery, Seychelles attracts hundreds of visitors every day, bringing a huge amount of hard currency to the country.

Latest official figures show that Seychelles -- with a land area of just 455 square kilometres, scattered over 115 islands -- received in 2006 a record number of 140,627 tourists, who brought in about US $ 200 million. This happened despite the threat of chikungunya epidemic and high prices for hotels and other accommodation.

The boost in Seychelles tourism had led to the opening up of the local market to other airlines such as Emirates and Qatar airways in 2005, a relatively stable exchange rate between euro and the rupee (Seychelles' currency), and the construction of new and luxury establishments. All this helped Seychelles discard its former reputation of providing three-star service at five-star prices.

The island-nation is used to receiving more visitors than its population of 82,000.

The Seychelles archipelago, which covers a vast tract of the western Indian Ocean, has an exclusive economic zone of over 1.3 square kilometres.

Seychelles Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Patrick Pillay says the 2006 figure was near the peak the tiny nation could offer to foreign visitors because of concerns over environmental degradation.

Seychelles is famed for its sound environmental protection policies and its land under protection is over 50 percent of its total area -- the highest proportion of protected land in the world.

So, with limitations on further development of tourism, the Seychelles government's policy is to attract what Patrick Pillay calls high-level tourists, that is, the rich visitors around the world.

Advocating eco-tourism, Seychelles President James Michel had once described that natural environment as the butter and bread for Seychelles and environment degradation meant less visitors and fewer hard currency.

Though tuna replaced tourism as Seychelles' leading foreign exchange earner in 2000, development of the tourism sector have a far greater impact on the economy because of its direct links to a range of service activities.

The opening of the international airport in 1971 laid the foundations for future expansion of the tourism industry in Seychelles, and the number of visitors reached 130,865 in 1996, compared to just 771in 1967.

Labels: Travel

posted by a correspondent @ 11:17 PM 0 comments

Net income of Murdoch's News Corporation drops

News Corporation, the media conglomerate controlled by media baron Rupert Murdoch, has reported lower net income for its second fiscal quarter of 2006, compared with the results a year ago.

The company, which owns MySpace, Twentieth Century Fox and the Fox News Channel, earned US $822 million in the three months ended in December 2006, down from US $1.08 billion a year ago, when it had a one-time gain from selling an educational publishing business.

Without that gain of $381 million, the earnings of the previous would have been $694 million. On that basis, earnings from continuing operations rose by18% in the latest quarter from a year ago.

While earnings from movies at the box office and home video jumped by 57%, television earnings dropped by 39% on weaker ratings for post-season baseball on Fox and losses related to the launch of MyNetworkTV, a mini-network on Fox stations.

Rupert Murdoch said the company was "disappointed" with the results at MyNetworkTV, where ratings have been "far below expectations."

He said new management has been brought in and will introduce new programming.

MyNetworkTV has stumbled since its launch with a strategy of relying heavily on prime-time soap operas. Peter Chernin, News Corporation's chief operating officer, said the network would move the ‘telenovela'-style soap operas to two nights a week, add a martial arts fighting show and show movies on Thursdays and Fridays.

Revenue from Fox Interactive Media rose to $125 million in the quarter, mainly from gains at MySpace, where revenue rose by over $50 million.

MySpace, the largest social networking site on the internet, is poised to earn good revenue in fiscal 2007, with profitability increasing dramatically in the following year, Peter Chernin said.

Much of MySpace's future growth is expected to be driven by an advertising deal with online search leader Google Incorporated, which has promised to share $900 million in revenue with the social networking site in the next three years.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that the six-month-old deal still has not been finalised because of tensions raised by MySpace's talks with EBay Inc. to tap into the online auctioneer's technology and online payment system. Doing so could make it easier for MySpace's users to buy and sell items from each other.

A MySpace partnership with EBay may hit Google's own efforts to build its own merchandise listing service and payment system.

However, Chernin has said MySpace remains "absolutely comfortable" with the Google deal.

Murdoch said the company was close to announcing its long-awaited plans to launch a business news cable channel as a rival to CNBC, which is owned by General Electric Company's NBC Universal.

News Corporation's revenue during the quarter rose by 18% to $7.84 billion from $6.67 billion.

Movie and TV production earnings climbed by 57% to $470 million.

Cable network programming profits rose by 5% on more gains from the Fox News Channel, and profits from newspapers more than doubled to $170 million from $69 million a year ago.

Labels: media

posted by a correspondent @ 11:10 PM 0 comments

blogsearch indexing not working right now

The past post which I had added to this blog was about the allegations on Rahul Gandhi. For some strange reason, despite pining several times, the post still has not appeared in google blogsearch. This is the first time that I am seeing an indexing delay of more than 24 hours. I wonder why!

Labels: Tech

posted by a correspondent @ 11:04 PM 0 comments

Rahul Gandhi vs Hinduunity.org: Unsubstantiated allegations lead to ban, ezboard removes forum on Rahul

I woke up, and first thing in the morning, what catches my eye is this report in Rediff US Web site's discussion forum on Gandhi family banned.

Fine, typical media report which doesn't want to mention the specific allegations against Rahul Gandhi. Or so I thought till I reached the last paragraph. What the.. ?

"We will not back down under any circumstances. A complete and an independent investigation into this rape case must be launched immediate