Batelco Denies Sacking Rumors
Ahmed Al-Janahi, corporate affairs general manager of Bahrain telecom Batelco, has stated that reports in the local media of impending job losses at Batelco are baseless. The company did advise however that Telecommunications Regulatory policy decisions, as they relate to Batelco’s competitors obtaining access and interconnecting to Batelco’s network infrastructure, additional local access providers and potentially additional mobile service providers, will result in the need to re-evaluate overall new investments in network infrastructure and, ultimately, may result in a lower number of employees.
Al-Janahi added that it is natural for any competitive business, including Batelco, to review the total headcount as its business evolves.
“Batelco is continually benchmarking its operations with its peers and aims to become one of the best performing telecommunications companies in the Middle East,” he remarked. “No program for headcount reduction exists and should jobs become redundant for various reasons, the few employees who may be affected will receive benefits, according to Batelco’s policy dealing with surplus employees.”
Batelco employs more than 1,600 men and women in Bahrain of which 96 percent are Bahraini nationals. Al-Janahi commented that it is unfortunate that baseless rumors of potential job losses persist, even though Batelco has denied such stories.
“Such inflammatory reports tarnish Batelco’s reputation,” he said. “Batelco will investigate whoever is behind spreading baseless rumors and reserves the right to take legal action.”
Sun Appoints MENA Marketing Manager
Sun Microsystems Middle East and North Africa has appointed Deena Habib as Marketing Manager for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. In her new position, Habib will be responsible for the positioning and promotion of the Sun Microsystems brand across 19 countries including Saudi Arabia, the Gulf (including Pakistan) and Levant (including Egypt) markets. Moreover, Habib will drive the marketing of Sun’s products and services, vertical industry and partner initiatives, PR and marketing communications, and direct marketing and events throughout the region to support Sun’s business goals.
Habib’s career at Sun Microsystems spans three years. As a graduate in telecoms engineering, Habib has spent 18 years in the Middle East. She has held various marketing positions in the region including previous roles at IBM and Cable & Wireless.
Avaya Recognizes ME Channel Partners
Avaya has chosen 10 regional companies and individuals for its Business Partner Awards which were presented on the sidelines of Avaya’s annual Business Partner Conference. UAE-based IT distributor Al Masa was presented with the “Power of One” award for 2006 with Future Technology being awarded Partner of the Year 2006 for Excellence in IP Telephony. Egypt’s Orascom won Partner of the Year 2006 for Expertise in Contact Center Applications. Aptec from the UAE and Libatel from Lebanon both won SME Distributor of the Year 2006, while Saudi Arabia’s A.S. Bugshan & Bros. (WESA) was named as Avaya’s SME Reseller of the Year 2006.
The Project of the Year award went to Qatar’s Momenta for its work on the Avaya Contact Center at the Asian Games. East Meets West (EMW) was recognized as Avaya’s Partner of the Year for Converged Solutions, while Jordanian partner Artelco took home the Partner of the Year award for Delivering Customer Satisfaction.
National Database of Indian Manuscripts
The National Mission for Manuscripts, set up by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, is working to locate, preserve and promote the manuscript wealth of India. A conservative estimate puts the number of manuscripts in India at five million. The mission has already documented 1.8 million of these.
To celebrate is fourth anniversary, the National Mission for Manuscripts has launched the National Database of manuscripts, along with the proclamation of 45 selected manuscripts as the Manuscript Treasures of India. The database hosts information on individual manuscripts, manuscript collections and printed catalogs. The database is accessible in both Hindi and English. The National Electronic Catalog of Manuscripts, Kritisampada, is available on the Internet through the mission’s website — www.namami.org.
The mission has recognized as “Vijnananidhi: Manuscript Treasures of India,” manuscripts that contain insights and discoveries and that have, at different points of time, broken new ground in India’s knowledge systems.
Among the Islamic manuscripts denoted Manuscript Treasures of India are:
• Diwan-i-Hafiz (Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library, Patna)
• Tarikh-i-Khandan-i-Taimuria (Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library, Patna)
• Kitab Al-Hashaish (Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library, Patna)
• Kitab Al-Tasrif (Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library, Patna)
• Al-Qur’an Al-Majeed (Rampur Raza Library, Rampur)
• Kalila-wa-Dimna (Rampur Raza Library, Rampur)
Search for Your American Idol
American Idol fans can now access categorized search results through Hakia’s American Idol Gallery, to discover even the smallest details about the program. By going to www.hakia.com and typing in “American Idol,” fans can find organized web search results including the categories: Headlines, Television Profile, Show Description and Premise, Episode Guides and Plot Summaries, Cast and Crew, News and Interviews, Photographs, Fans Sites and Weblogs, Show Trivia, Criticism and Myths and Controversies.
Hakia is a meaning-based search engine. Unlike Wikipedia or Answers.com, Hakia Galleries presents pure web search results which are neither edited by Hakia, nor by site visitors. Each gallery category displays the web search results with a link to its source which is essential in judging the credibility of the information.
