Google aims for bigger Arab audience

Google aims for bigger Arab audience

By Simeon Kerr

Published: April 27 2009 17:00 | Last updated: April 27 2009 17:00

When it comes to the internet, the Arab world punches well below its weight.

Less than 1 per cent of the internet’s content is in Arabic, while the world’s approximately 370m Arabs form more than 5 per cent of the global population.

Internet usage has jumped 1,000 per cent over the past seven years in the Middle East, yet it still lags well behind other regions. Overall internet penetration has reached 10 to 12 per cent, although with the region’s large number of shared connections, up to 50 per cent of the population is estimated to have access to the net.

Google, the internet company, hopes to provide the tools that will help users to increase the amount of Arabic content online.

The regional engineering team, based in Switzerland, is adapting existing Google products to the Arabic language while also developing new bespoke products, says Ahmad Hamzawi, Google’s engineering manager for the Middle East.

Google News, Blogger and the company’s new browser, Chrome, have Arabic versions. The company’s suite of “cloud applications”, such as Google documents and calendar, has also been changed to include regional features. More innovative is Ta3reeb, which allows users who do not have an Arabic keyboard or cannot write Arabic script to transliterate phonetically into Arabic text through an English keyboard.

“For me the impact of it is very powerful because people can start publishing in a very easy, simple manner, directly in Arabic,” says Gisel Hiscock, the company’s director of new business development for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

While penetration may lag behind, the region is quickly adopting social media trends, such as Facebook, the social networking site, and Twitter, the micro-blogging site.

Google is also looking to expand its presence in mobile technology, says Ms Hiscock. However, while the absence of a free media across the Middle East has helped boost the appeal of blogs and networking sites, internet censorship leaves the company in an uncertain position.

Governments in the region have been keen to tap into the economic benefits of the internet but are also wary of it being used by dissidents and critics. A number of bloggers across the Middle East have been jailed as blogs have developed into an important source of news and comment, given the constraints placed on traditional media.

And, after years without censorship, Dubai Internet City, the free-zone where Google has based its United Arab Emirates’ operations, recently went behind the veil of the UAE’s “proxy”, which blocks access to what the telecommunications regulator deems culturally inappropriate content, from pornography to politically charged material.

“We do believe in democratising information,” says Ms Hiscock.

While Google does not release specific data, officials say the region boasts strong uptake of its Arabising tools.

Ultimately, Google’s hope is to facilitate smaller businesses’ migration on to the internet, says Husni Khuffash, country manager for Google in the UAE. “If you give them the right tools, then you can make it financially viable for them,” he says.

Ahmed Nassef, general manager of Arabic web portal Maktoob.com, says cultural tweaking is as important as translation when launching regional products. “Besides just offering up an Arabic interface, companies need to take the time to really understand cultural and social factors – what works in London may not work in Cairo,” he says.

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「ＦＸ倍率制限の議論は慎重に」　東京金融取引所社長

　東京金融取引所の斎藤次郎社長は27日の記者会見で、同取引所が提供している外為証拠金取引（ＦＸ）サービスの証拠金倍率について「（高い倍率に対する）投資家の需要はある」と述べた。金融庁はＦＸの証拠金倍率の上限を20―30倍前後に規制することを検討している。同取引所は米国などの事例を参考に最大100倍に設定しており、証拠金倍率の上限規制には慎重な議論が必要だとの認識を示した。(07:00)

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国際石油帝石、エリーパワーに出資　再生エネ分野の蓄電池製造

　国際石油開発帝石はリチウムイオン電池の量産工場を建設するエリーパワー（東京・千代田）に出資する。太陽光や風力など再生可能エネルギーを導入する際に必要となる蓄電技術を獲得する狙い。再生可能エネルギーへの関心を強めている産油国へ蓄電池を提供していく。国際石油帝石が石油、天然ガス以外の分野に進出するのは初めて。

　エリーパワーは2006年9月に住友銀行元副頭取の吉田博一社長が創業したベンチャー企業。工場や公共施設などの非常用電源などとして使うリチウムイオン電池を開発している。7月をメドに川崎市内で工場建設を始め、2010年4月の稼働を目指している。(07:00)

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Worst over for Japanese economy: business chief

1 hour 42 mins ago
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Japan's economy has come through the worst of its biggest crisis since World War II, the head of the country's top business lobby said in an interview published Tuesday. Skip related content
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"Major industrialised nations are using all their fiscal and financial tools to rebuild their economies, and some signs of life are beginning to emerge," Japan Business Federation chairman Fujio Mitarai told the Nikkei daily.

"Although the sun has not risen yet, we are finally beginning to see what is ahead. In this regard we have come through the worst," he said.

Mitarai, who is also chairman of high-tech giant Canon Inc, said the world's second-largest economy could turn a corner later this year.

"In the ideal scenario, the economy will hit bottom in the July-September period and grow slightly in the following quarter," he said, while forecasting a contraction of some three percent in this business year to March.

Tokyo said Monday it expected the economy to shrink 3.3 percent in the same period, its worst slump in at least half a century, as the government presses ahead with a record stimulus package.

Recent data have sparked hopes that the slump in the Japanese economy may be easing, with exports showing signs of bottoming out.

Tokyo is also planning 15.4 trillion yen (150 billion dollars) of stimulus spending that it says should boost economic output by two percent this year.

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04:29 GMT, Tuesday, 28 April 2009 05:29 UK
Nuclear claims heard in Polynesia

French nuclear test area, French Polynesia, file pic from 1995

A court in French Polynesia has begun hearing complaints from former workers at France's nuclear weapons test sites.

The cases, being heard for the first time, relate to work in Mururoa and Fangataufa and seek recognition and compensation for ill health.

Eight cases have been lodged, although five of the workers have already died of what have been called radiation-linked diseases.

In March, the French government enacted legislation to allow compensation.

This could apply in cases relating to nuclear tests in the Pacific and Africa.

Radio New Zealand reported that questions have been raised about whether the hearing would be impartial.

Before the hearing started, the French Polynesian president, Oscar Temaru, met some of the veterans' representatives.

They plan a march and to sing and pray outside the court to publicise their mistrust.

In a bid for transparency, they had asked for the court proceedings to be filmed but they were told that eight days is not enough to organise such a recording, Radio New Zealand reported.

Mr Temaru said the matter should be judged by an international court.

Roland Oldham, president of Moruroa E Tatou, which represents the former workers, says former French employees in the same situation have been compensated, and his members want to be treated equally.

"It would be unbelievable if Polynesian people in the same situation cannot win their cases," he told Radio Australia.

France tested nuclear weapons in the South Pacific for 30 years until 1996, exploding almost 200 nuclear bombs on the island.

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8:48 GMT, Tuesday, 28 April 2009 09:48 UK
Greek Cypriots 'can reclaim land'

breaking news

A European court has backed the right of a Greek Cypriot to reclaim land in Turkish-controlled northern Cyprus that has since been sold to a UK couple.

Meledis Apostolides was one of thousands of Greek Cypriots who fled his home when Turkish forces invaded in 1974, following a Greek-inspired coup.

The land was later sold to Linda and David Orams, who built a villa on it.

The European Court of Justice says a ruling in a Cypriot court that the villa must be demolished is applicable.

Even if the ECJ ruling cannot be enacted because the land is under Turkish Cypriot control, it means Mr Apostolides will be able to pursue a claim for compensation in a British court.

It could also open the way for hundreds more Greek Cypriots to demand restitution for properties they were forced to flee.

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13:02 GMT, Monday, 27 April 2009 14:02 UK
Jerusalem settlement 'extended'

Israeli settlement in east Jerusalem

Construction has begun on approximately 60 new homes in a Jewish settlement in Israeli-occupied East Jerusalem, the Israeli campaign group Peace Now says.

The work, in East Talpiot settlement, is aimed at creating a belt around East Jerusalem that would sever it from the rest of the West Bank, the group says.

Settlements on occupied land are illegal under international law.

Israel disputes this and also argues that East Jerusalem is not subject to its pledge to freeze settlement work.

Israel's claim is based on its annexation of East Jerusalem, unrecognised by the international community, which it captured along with the West Bank and other Arab territory in the 1967 war.

'Not one centimetre'

Peace Now's Hagit Ofran said the work in East Talpiot in south-east Jerusalem aims to build "housing units for Orthodox religious Jewish families right next to the Palestinian neighbourhood of Arab al-Sawahra".

The housing complex is made up of three blocks of flats containing about 60 homes, Peace Now says.

"We are against this project, which is harming the hopes for peace," Ms Ofran said in remarks to AFP news agency.

Jerusalem municipal officials declined to comment about the building work, which Peace Now said began two months ago.

Successive Israeli governments have asserted that East Jerusalem is an "eternal, indivisible" part of Israel.

In a speech in Ramallah, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said he would not give in to Israeli or international pressure to resume negotiations if settlement construction continues.

"All I know is that there is the state of Israel, in the borders of 1967, not one centimetre more, not one centimetre less. Anything else, I don't accept," Mr Abbas said.

About 200,000 Israeli Jews live in homes in East Jerusalem, with a further 250,000 settlers living in other parts of the West Bank, on land Palestinian negotiators have sought as part of a future Palestinian state.

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20:22 GMT, Monday, 27 April 2009 21:22 UK
Settler injures West Bank youth

West Bank map

A Palestinian teenager has been shot and seriously injured by a Jewish settler in the northern West Bank.

Palestinian officials said the boy had been working on his family's land near Madama when he was shot by settlers. There are no reports of any arrests.

The incident took place near the Yitzhar settlement. The boy was later taken to hospital in Nablus.

An Israeli police spokesman said a settler had opened fire after coming under attack by stone-throwers.

The settler was due to be questioned by police, the spokesman told AFP news agency.

Late in 2008, Israeli security officials raised concerns about an increase in violence by settlers.

These attacks targeted both Palestinians and Israeli security forces in the West Bank.

There are frequent reports of settlers harassing Palestinians and human rights groups have captured some of these attacks on video, bringing the issue to greater prominence.

All settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, are considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.

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15:05 GMT, Sunday, 26 April 2009 16:05 UK
'Israeli oranges' faked in China
By Andre Vornic
BBC News

One of the oranges allegedly found in Iran (photo from the Iranian news agency Mehr)

A twist has emerged in the story of Israeli citrus fruit reportedly sold in Iran in defiance of a ban on commercial dealings between the two enemy states.

It has now been revealed the fruit, a type of orange-grapefruit hybrid marketed as Jaffa Sweetie, were not Israeli in the first place.

The Sweeties were brought to Iran from China, where faking the origin of goods is a common practice.

The discovery of apparent Israeli origin caused a stir in Iran.

Outrage followed, distribution centres stocking the fruit were sealed and accusations were traded.

Such is the infamy of dealing with Israel that an Iranian official went so far as to accuse the opposition of a "citrus plot".

However, Tal Amit, the general manager of Israel's Citrus Marketing Board, told the BBC the fruit had not originated in his country.

Prestigious fruit

"First of all, it's a bit annoying that somebody is using our brand name and registered trademark without our permission," he said.

Chinese boxes allegedly containing Israeli oranges found in Iran (photo from the Iranian news agency Mehr)

"Apart from this, I would like very much the Iranian people to eat Israeli fruit straight from the origin and not via China.

"But the politics is not allowing us to do any commercial relations with Tehran at the moment while back 30 to 40 years ago, Tehran was a superb market for our fruit."

The genuine Israeli Sweetie is primarily exported to the Far East's richest markets, Japan and South Korea.

That could explain the prestige of the fruit in the eyes of Chinese exporters and the temptation to counterfeit it.

It is not the first time, however, that citrus fruit have found themselves at the heart of an international political row.

Back in the 1980s, as the most visible of South Africa's consumer exports, oranges became the key target of anti-Apartheid boycott campaigns.

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10:15 GMT, Monday, 27 April 2009 11:15 UK
Saudis clamp down on women's gyms

Saudi women in Hofuf

Many women-only sports clubs and gyms in Saudi Arabia face closure under a government clampdown on unlicensed premises, Saudi media have reported.

Women's gyms have become popular in the ultra-conservative Muslim country where the sexes are heavily segregated.

But only clubs linked to medical groups can get licenses and others will be closed, the Arab News newspaper said.

Saudi women were reported to have launched an online campaign in protest called Let Her Get Fat.

Government departments are not allowed to issue licenses for commercial gyms and sports clubs for women, unlike facilities for men, the newspaper reported.

Beauty salons

It quoted club manager Bader al-Shibani, who tried to open a women's sports club along with the one he runs for men in Jeddah.

"I ran into a stone wall at every turn. Every department I visited denied that they had the authority to give permission to establish a women's club," he said.

Many clubs are registered as beauty salons, and offer fitness facilities and even exercise classes in addition, the newspaper said.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Municipal and Rural Affairs told the newspaper that commercial clubs do not have registration for the provision of sport and health services.

"It's clear that one department is now taking the decision to put an end to the increasing number of unlicensed clubs," lawyer and community activist Abdulaziz al-Qasim told Arab News.

A group of women launched an internet campaign in protest against the move, saying facilities linked to medical clinics were too expensive, and their health would suffer as a result of the closures.

Women in Saudi Arabia are banned from driving, must wear a head-to-toe cloak when out in public and must obtain permission from a male relative to work, travel, study or marry.

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Reform in Gaddafi's Libya is still shrouded in ambiguity

By Heba Saleh in Tripoli

Published: April 28 2009 03:00 | Last updated: April 28 2009 03:00

The western part of the waterfront in downtown Tripoli looks like a massive construction site. Cranes tower over the landscape, while armies of labourers, many of them migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, scurry around doing the heavy menial work.

Some 20 major building projects, including international luxury hotels and swish office blocks, are to be completed in the area in the next few years transforming the appearance of the city and confirming Libya's emergence from four decades of isolation.

Residents say the scale of the new construction is a response to soaring demand for office space, hotel rooms and housing as more foreign companies turn their attention to opportunities in the oil rich North African state.

The demand increased after the last remaining problems between Washington and Tripoli were resolved in November.

No longer an international pariah, Libya has been knitting closer ties with the outside world, but there is still uncertainty about how much real change will be allowed internally.

"In the last few years there have been more foreign companies coming and more Libyans travelling, creating a slow change," said a western diplomat. "There will be no going back, because people see the benefits that resulted from opening up the economy and from opening up to the west."

But shaped by the views and whims of Muammar Gaddafi, its maverick leader for the last 39 years, Libya remains a quasi-socialist state where political parties are banned and no dissent is tolerated.

Libya's heavily centralised economy remains dominated by the public sector, even if in recent years foreign banks have been allowed into the country and the private sector has been given a bigger role. Mr Gaddafi is understood to be wary of businessmen becoming influential enough to pose a challenge to his rule.

Now, however, Farhat Bengdara, governor of the central bank, says: "We will start working on preparing a comprehensive reform programme, aiming at reforming the economy, from a state-controlled economy to a more private and co-operative sector economy."

But in a sign of the ambiguity that still surrounds reform, he cautions that privatisation in Libya may not follow the same models as elsewhere. Libya, he explains, wants "people's capitalism" which means "you don't have a few tycoons and the rest of the people are just poor". His expectation is that limits would be placed on how many shares an individual could own in a company.

Political reform, too, appears to be off the agenda despite plans to introduce a constitution - an initiative of Seif al-Islam, the son of the leader who played an instrumental role in improving Libya's relations with the west and in pushing for greater participation by the private sector.

Like much else in Libyan politics, Seif al-Islam's role remains shrouded in opacity. He does not have an official position, yet he has been able to wield enormous influence over sensitive issues. Many believed he was being groomed to succeed his father but, in a surprise move last year, he announced he was stepping back from politics.

"The struggle is between opening up and conservatism," said another Tripoli-based diplomat. "I think Seif went too far for his father's taste in terms of political rights, freedoms and human rights. The leader thinks there are enough economic problems now that they can't address political ones too."

The diplomat argues that a plan last year by Mr Gaddafi to abolish ministries and distribute the oil proceeds directly to the people was meant to address popular resentment over the widening income gap in society. But while some Libyans have benefited from the increased presence of foreign companies, the majority have seen their incomes eroded because of inflation.

The foreign influx has brought good jobs to a narrow class of well-educated Libyans. It has also benefited the politically connected who acquired land in the suburbs and built houses, renting them out to the expanding expatriate community.

Inequalities are rising, says the diplomat, even if there are still few public signs of wealthy lifestyles.

"Consumption is not conspicuous yet," he said. "Here you don't want to appear too much. You are in limbo still. People are getting their BMW's, but the revolutionary committees still exist. As a Libyan you want to keep a low profile."

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東京・足立の「時効殺人」、賠償が確定　最高裁、除斥期間認めず

　1978年に東京都足立区立小学校教諭、石川千佳子さん（当時29）を殺害し、殺人罪の時効成立後に自首した男（73）に、遺族が損害賠償を求めた訴訟の上告審判決で、最高裁第3小法廷（那須弘平裁判長）は28日、「損害賠償義務を免れるのは著しく正義・公平に反する」として男の上告を棄却した。男に約 4200万円の賠償を命じた二審・東京高裁判決が確定した。

　判決によると、男は78年に石川さんを殺害。遺体を自宅の床下に埋め、自宅周囲をブロック塀で囲むなど隠し続けた。犯行から26年後の2004年に自首したが、時効（当時15年）が成立しており起訴されなかった。(17:17)

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最高裁「体罰」と認めず　講師、児童の胸元つかみ注意

　男性臨時講師が小学2年の男児の胸元をつかんだ行為が「体罰」に当たるかどうかが争われた訴訟の上告審判決で、最高裁第三小法廷（近藤崇晴裁判長）は 28日、「講師の行為は教育的指導の範囲を逸脱せず、体罰に該当しない」として、体罰を認定した二審判決を破棄、男児側の請求を棄却した。

　判決は、教師が直接手を下す「有形力の行使」が学校教育法の禁じる体罰に当たらない事例があり得ることを示した最高裁の初判断で、教育現場に影響を与えそうだ。

　同小法廷は体罰の認定にあたり、目的、態様、継続時間などを考慮すべきだと指摘。胸元をつかむ行為について「やや穏当を欠くところがなかったといえない」としながらも、「男児が悪ふざけをしないよう指導するためのもの。肉体的苦痛を与えるためではないことは明らか」と述べた。(15:20)