• New Report Shows "Sprinkles" are Working to Prevent and Treat Childhood Nutrition Epidemic

telecommunications service provider today reported its telephone tariffs for 2001. Matav's regulated tariffs for 2001 will increase on an annual average by 3.2%.
The 2001 tariff decree of the Hungarian Prime Minister's Office will result in the following changes (the prices are excluding VAT=25%), effective from February 1, 2001:
The monthly subscription fee will increase by 27.2%. The monthly fee for a residential line will rise from the current HUF 1,814 to HUF 2,308 in line with Matav's rebalancing efforts.
The call set up charge will decrease by 36.7% to HUF 3.8 for every successful call.
Traffic charges will change as follows:

- Local call charges will increase by an average of 5.4%; however

factoring in the change of the call set up charge, the average

price of the local calls will decrease by 6.4%.

- The fees of the extended local tariffs (Zone 1 - within a primary

area) have been uniform with the local call charges since 2000.

- Budapest suburb area rates (Zone 2) will increase by an average

of 10.5%. Including the changed call set up charge the average

increase will be 2.7%.

- Domestic long distance (Zone 3) prices will decrease by an

average of 11.9%. Including the call set up charge, the reduction

will reach 14.1%.

- International tariffs will continue to decrease by 14.5% on

average; within that call rates to "Zone 2" and "Zone 3"

(European countries and most developed overseas countries) will

decrease by 19.4% and 21.9% respectively. Including the related

effect of the change in call set up charge the average decrease

in the international call charges is 15.0%.

- In order to simplify the tariff system, Matav will designate 2

uniform time zones in each category of traffic fees, except for

international calls. Peak rate: Monday-Friday 7-18 and off-peak:

the rest of the time.


Our customers also have the option to subscribe for a low user plan. This

monthly fee of this package is HUF 1,290, a 6.6% increase compared to HUF

1,210 last year. An additional element of the service package is an optionally

selected number that the customer can call at any time with normal regulated

tariffs and a free "voice billing" service, that can be used to check the

available discount and the customers' billing balance. A discount of 66.7% -

but maximum HUF 400 (excluding VAT) per month - will be provided from

regulated low user traffic charges (which are three times higher, than the

fees in the standard plan). If the HUF 400 discount is used up, only the

preselected number (mentioned above) can be called at normal tariffs.


The calculation of the tariffs was based on the assumption that Matav will

provide the low user package to an annual average of 12.5% of residential

customers. If the annual average is below this limit, Matav has to compensate

the additional revenue income with discounts on the regulated telephony

services provided to the residential segment.


In addition, Matav has worked out various other tariff packages to meet

customers' demand for customized pricing schemes. They will be introduced

during the first half of 2001 for both business and residential customers.


Matav will introduce new, favorable internet-related telephone tariffs.

Matav will charge HUF 6 /minute during peak time and HUF 3 /minute in the

off-peak period for dial-in ISP numbers, the "51" numbers. Call set up charge

will not be applied for these calls.


The new tariffs meet the goals of both Matav and the regulators to rebalance

prices to bring the tariff structure further in line with underlying cost

levels.


Prices and tariffs applicable on Matav's various services are available on

our website (www.matav.hu).


Matav is the principal provider of telecommunications services in Hungary

and holds the national concession for national and international long distance

telephony. Matav provides a broad range of services including telephony, data

transmission, value-added services, and through its subsidiaries is Hungary's

largest mobile telecom provider. Key shareholders as of December 31, 2000

include the Hungarian State (holder of the Golden Share), MagyarCom, owned by

Deutsche Telekom AG (59.49%), while 40.51% is publicly traded.


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Table 1: Matav'S REGULATED TARIFFS FOR 2001

----------------------------------------------------------------------

VAT exc. (VAT=25%)

Matav has second based billing

2000 From February 1, 2001

Monthly subscription fee HUF / month HUF / month

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Residential

----------------------------------------------------------------------

direct exchange line 1814 2308

party line 600 776

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Business

----------------------------------------------------------------------

direct exchange line 2440 3100

party line 1048 1048

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Call charges

----------------------------------------------------------------------

HUF / call HUF / call

Call set up charge 6.0 3.80

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Local calls HUF / minute HUF / minute

----------------------------------------------------------------------

day (M-F 7-18) 7.2 7.2

----------------------------------------------------------------------

preferential (M-F 5-7, 18-22, S-S 5-22) 3.3 3.6

night (M-S 22-5) 2.1 3.6

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Tariff zone I

----------------------------------------------------------------------

day 7.2 7.2

----------------------------------------------------------------------

preferential 3.3 3.6

night 2.1 3.6

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Tariff zone II

----------------------------------------------------------------------

day 13.2 15.0

----------------------------------------------------------------------

preferential 9.0 9.0

night 5.4 9.0

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Tariff zone III

----------------------------------------------------------------------

day 27.0 24.0

----------------------------------------------------------------------

preferential 14.4 12.0

night 10.8 12.0

----------------------------------------------------------------------

International

----------------------------------------------------------------------

tariff zone 1 72.0 72.0

tariff zone 2 93.0 75.0

tariff zone 3 96.0 75.0

tariff zone 4 255.0 246.0

tariff zone 5 300.0 288.0

tariff zone 6 360.0 348.0

----------------------------------------------------------------------

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Matav's tariffs for internet

access numbers HUF / minute HUF / minute

(non regulated)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

VAT exc. (VAT=25%)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

day (M-F 7-18) 7.2 6

----------------------------------------------------------------------

preferential (M-F 5-7, 18-22, S-S 5-22) 3.3 3

night (M-S 22-5) 2.1 3

----------------------------------------------------------------------


International tariff zones from February 1, 2001


Zone 1: Austria, Croatia, Rumania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Yugoslavia,


Zone 2: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Belgium, Belorussia, Bosnia-Herzegovina,

Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Faroer, Finland, France,

Germany, Gibraltar, Great-Britain and Northern Ireland, Greece, Ireland,

Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Lybia, Macedonia, Malta,

Moldavia, Monaco, Morocco, Norway, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, Spain,

Sweden, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Tunisia, Turkey, Vatican City


Zone 3:, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Columbia, French Guyana,

Georgia, Greenland, Guadeloupe, Hong Kong, Island, Israel, Japan, Kazakhstan,

Martinique, Mexico, New-Zealand, Palestinian Authority, Puerto Rico, Republic

of Korea, Republic of South Africa, Reunion, Russia, Singapore, United States

of America, Virgin Islands of the United States


Zone 4: Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Barbados, Bermuda, Bolivia,

British Virgin-islands, Caiman-Islands, Cameroon, Chile, China, Ecuador,

Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Guinea, Holland Antilles, Honduras, India, Iran,

Jamaica, Kirghistan, Kuwait, Liberia, Malawi, Malaysia, Montserrat,

Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Panama, Peru, Philippines,

Qatar, Saint. Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, Salvador,

Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Tanzania,

Thailand, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zambia, Zanzibar,

Zimbabwe


Zone 5: Benin, Bhutan, Burundi, Chad, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Community,

Dominican Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Jordan,

Kenya, Lebanon Lesotho, Mauritius, Mongolia, Nicaragua, Papua New-Guinea,

Tadzhikistan, Taiwan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Turks-and Caicos-Islands,

Uzbekistan, Yemen


Zone 6: Afghanistan, American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba,

Ascension, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Belize, Bissau-Guinea, Botswana, Brunei,

Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Comores, Congo, Congo

Democratic Republic, Cook-Islands, Diego Garcia, Eastern Timor,

Equatorial-Guinea, Eritrea, external territories belonging to Australia,

Falkland-Islands, Fiji Islands, French Polynesia, Gambia, Grenada, Guam,

Guyana, Haiti, Jibuti, Kiribati, Laos, Macao, Madagascar, Maldives, Mali,

Marshall-Islands, Mauretania, Mayotte, Micronesia, Midway-Islands, Nauru,

Nepal, New-Caledonia, Niue, Northern Korea, Northern-Mariana-Islands,

Pakistan, Palau, Paraguay, Pitcairn Islands, Republic of Green Cape, Rwanda,

Saint Helena, Saint Lucia, Saint. Kitts and Nevis, Samoa, Sao Tome and

Principe, Sierra Leone, Solomon-Islands, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Suriname,

Tokelau-Islands, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Vietnam,

Wake-island, Wallis and Futuna

Document bwr0000020010710dx1o00qr5

P-Com, Inc. Receives 'Big Byte' Award From the Wireless Communications Association
1,099 words

17 January 2001

07:03 AM

Business Wire

BWR

English

(Copyright (c) 2001, Business Wire)
CAMPBELL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 17, 2001--
Award Recognizes P-Com's Point-to-Multipoint LMDS System
for Highest Capacity Wireless Broadband Commercial Deployment
P-Com, Inc. (Nasdaq:PCOM) a high-capacity, fixed wireless access equipment supplier, announced today that it has received the Point-to-Multipoint "Big Byte" Award from the Wireless Communications Association (WCA) for the Highest Bit-Rate Actually Deployed, based on P-Com's Point-to-Multipoint (PMP) LMDS system. The "Big Byte" Award, a breakthrough category award for the highest capacity wireless broadband commercial deployment, is one of the "Wemmies" that recognize the most advanced technologies and/or best broadband service to under-served communities. WCA will confer the award at a January 18th dinner during the 7th Annual WCA Technical Symposium, which convenes the world's leading fixed wireless broadband access technologists. This year's event, to be held January 17-19 at the DoubleTree Hotel in San Jose, Calif., has 80 speakers from carriers, vendors, regulatory bodies and standards groups, as well as other industry representatives from around the world.
"We are honored to receive the WCA's 'Big Byte' award," said Jim Sobczak, president and COO of P-Com, Inc. "P-Com's Point-to-Multipoint LMDS system truly is of 'industrial strength,' providing the largest throughput in the industry. Our LMDS systems are currently deployed in Argentina, Japan, China, Korea, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Ghana and the U.S., both in production and test environments. We are particularly excited about our products' prospects in the Chinese market. China expects to have its frequency plan formalized by mid-year. System tests being conducted in several provinces have enjoyed a high level of success to date. We expect that through our agreement with China PTIC we will begin producing and deploying large numbers of systems throughout China once the frequency assignments are formalized."
P-Com's PMP system, based on ATM platform, is available in 10, 24, 26, 28, 31, and 38 GHz frequencies. The PMP system can cover up to 24 Sectors, and provides throughput of 200 Mbps per Sector, and up to 40 Mbps per Remote within a Sector. Connectivity to LANs, routers, switches, bridges, and PBXs is facilitated through a wide selection of interfaces, including 10/100 BaseT, Frame Relay, T1, E1, and CES Circuit Emulation. Users can select from QPSK, 16-QAM and 64-QAM modulation; and can select TDMA and FDMA technologies, all of which can be supported simultaneously within a sector, thereby providing superior design flexibility to network engineers. P-Com's NMS (Network Management System), which is based on SNMP and HP OpenView, enables and ensures efficient network operations and management. The P-Com design enables CLECs (Competitive Local Exchange Carriers), ISPs (Internet Service Providers), and ASPs (Applications Services Providers) to engineer and expand their networks in a "pay-as-you-grow" fashion. Siemens Carrier Networks LLC incorporates P-Com's PMP system as an integral component of their Quickstream(TM) solution set, a state-of-the-art, end-to-end solution for carriers.
About P-Com, Inc.
P-Com, Inc. develops, manufactures, and markets complete lines of Point-to-Multipoint, Point-to-Point, Spread Spectrum wireless access systems, and through its wholly owned subsidiary, P-Com Network Services, provides related installation, engineering and system maintenance services for the worldwide telecommunications market. P-Com broadband wireless access systems are designed to satisfy the high-speed, integrated network requirements of Internet access providers and competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs). Cellular and personal communications service (PCS) providers utilize P-Com Point-to-Point systems to provide backhaul between base stations and mobile switching centers. Government, utility, and business entities use P-Com systems in public and private network applications. For more information visit www.p-com.com.
P-Com, Inc.'s world headquarters are located in Campbell, Calif., USA. P-Com has offices located in Florida, Virginia, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, China, and Singapore. P-Com is an ISO 9001 certified Company. For additional information, contact P-Com at 3175 S. Winchester Boulevard, Campbell, Calif. 95008 USA. Tel: [phone] -- Fax: [phone]
About WCA & Its Technical Symposium
WCA is the major non-profit trade association for the fixed wireless broadband industry, with 430 member companies on six continents that represent the vast bulk of the world's leading carriers, vendors and consultants. WCA's annual Technical Symposium annually gathers operators who are using group action to provide guidance to vendors, standards bodies and regulators on technical issues that will be vital for successful BWA deployments. This year's Symposium is chaired by Dr. Jay Ramasastry of Winstar Communications, with Nortel Networks (www.nortelnetworks.com) as the lead sponsor. The other major sponsors are Ensemble Communications, ADC, Adaptive Broadband, Thomcast, Aperto Networks and Alcatel. Details, registration and photos of honorees available through WCA's website: http://www.wcai.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
Statements in this release that are forward looking involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause P-Com's actual results in future periods to be materially different from any future performance that may be suggested in this release. Such factors may include, but are not limited to, working capital constraints, fluctuations in customer demand and commitments, both in timing and volume, introduction of new products, commercial acceptance and viability of new products and expenses associated therewith, cancellations of orders without penalties, pricing and competition, reliance upon subcontractors, P-Com's ability to have available an appropriate amount of production capacity in a timely manner, the ability of P-Com's customers to finance their purchases of P-Com's products and/or services, the timing of new technology and product introductions, the risk of early obsolescence, and the pending stockholder class action lawsuit. Further, P-Com operates in an industry sector where securities values are highly volatile and may be influenced by economic and other factors beyond P-Com's control, such as announcements by competitors and service providers. Reference is made to the discussion of risk factors detailed in P-Com's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q.
Document bwr0000020010710dx1h00mk0
COMPAQ COMPUTER STAGING, LOADING, AND IMAGING
1,800 words

2 January 2001

Commerce Business Daily

CNDL

Issue No. PSA-2755

English

Copyright (c) 2001 FIND, Inc.
NOTICE TYPE: Potential Sources Sought NOTICE DATED: 122800 OFFICE ADDRESS: Peace Corps, Office of Planning Budget and Finance, Office of Contracts, 1111 20th Street, N.W., Room 4413, Washington, DC, 20526 ZIP CODE: 20526 SUBJECT: 70 - COMPAQ COMPUTER STAGING, LOADING, AND IMAGING SOLICITATION NO.: SOL PCORPS-QWB-Compaq RESPONSE DEADLINE: DUE 011001 CONTACT: POC Jean Lamb, Procurement Technician, Phone [phone], Fax [phone], Email [e-mail] - Jean Lamb, Procurement Technician, Phone [phone], Fax [phone], Email [e-mail] NOTICE TEXT: The Peace Corps is conducting market research to determine if this service is being provided routinely. If you are currently providing this service to another agency, or you have provided this service in the past, please list the contract numbers, points of contact and phone numbers for validation.
The loading, staging, and imaging are critical elements that must be supported by your past performance documentation. Review the requirement thoroughly and submit questions to me at [phone], or e mail [e-mail]. Your response is required not later than 10 Jan 2001. Again, this is a draft requirement for market research. Thank you in advance for your support and expeditious response. AWARD WILL BE MADE USING FAR PART 8 PRIORITY REQUIREMENTS. Quentin W. Blanchard Contract Specialist STAGING REQUIREMENTS Introduction The Peace Corps requires a vendor to procure, configure, and ship servers and workstations to sixty-two (62) locations overseas as part of the Agency_s project to upgrade overseas post computer infrastructure. The Peace Corps will order each shipment for equipment separately based on the overseas location. Each order will be sent to one overseas location and the average order will include approximately 25 desktops, six laptops, and one server. The Agency will procure a minimum of 300 workstations this calendar year to be sent to approximately twelve locations overseas. The Agency will provide the first seventeen servers to the vendor and thereafter will include servers in each order. The Agency will procure approximately 1500 workstations and 45 servers over the life of the project depending on available funding during the next two fiscal years. Ordering Requirements The Peace Corps will provide the vendor with the following information for each order no less than SIX (6) weeks before the shipment is required to arrive at its Delivery Location: Country of Delivery Express Mail Address (address to send the Bill of Lading to) Delivery Location Date of Delivery (this is the latest date that the product can be received in country) Number of workstations, laptops, docking stations, and servers Country-Specific Configuration Information including: Domain Name Small Business Server Batch User Import Spreadsheet Voltage settings Language Requirements Time Zone Internet Service Provider Information Paper size Hardware and Software Requirements With each order, the vendor will procure the required hardware and software based on the following specifications for desktops, laptops, docking stations, and servers. The Peace Corps will review and may change the hardware and software requirements annually or in the case of discontinued products. Hardware Server Compaq Proliant ML370 Server [Tower Form Factor] PIII _667 Mhz Coppermine CPU/133 Mhz Bus (or current compatible processor available) 512 MB, 133MHz SDRAM [2 DIMMS] Compaq RAID 431 Controller 6 X 9GB 10,000RPM Hot-Swap Hard Drives 20/40 GB DDS4 DAT Drive 40X CD-ROM 1.44 MB Floppy Drive Integrated Management Display Intel 10/100 Pro Integrated NIC Intel 10/100 Pro PCI NIC Redundant Power Supply Module Compaq S710 17_Monitor (16_viewable) Workstations Compaq Deskpro EN _Small Form Factor [Tower] Intel Pentium III 733Mhz/133Mhz (or current compatible processor available) (All workstations within one order should be from the same lot) Intel PIII 733 MHz/133Mhz Bus Intel 815E Chipset 256MB, 133Mhz SDRAM (1 DIMM) 10GB Ultra ATA 66 Hard Drive (7200 RPM) 10X DVD-ROM (requires Audio & No ZIP) 1.44 MB Floppy Disk Drive nVidia TNT2 Pro AGP (with 16MB SDRAM) Integrated Intel audio w/Internal Speaker Embedded Intel PRO/100 NIC Compaq 2-Button Mouse Compaq Easy Access Keyboard Auto-switching Power Supply (If Possible) Compaq S710 17_Monitor (16_viewable) Laptops Compaq Armada E500 PIII - 667 Mhz CPU (or current compatible processor available) 128 MB RAM 8 GB IDE Hard Drive 40X CD-ROM 3.5_Floppy Drive 10/100 Ethernet _56K Modem mini PCI Card 14_Active Matrix LCD Docking Stations Armada Station EM Intel NIC Compaq S710 17_Monitor (16_viewable) Carbon Mouse Carbon Keyboard Software Software Server Microsoft Small Business Server v4.5 . MS Windows NT Server v4.0 _SP4 . MS Exchange Server v5.5 . MS SQL Server v7.0 . MS Proxy Server v2.0 . MS DHCP Server . MS IIS Server v4.0 . MS Index Server v.?.? . Small Business Server Integrated Console . Microsoft Internet Explorer v5.0 Veritas Backup Exec _Small Business Server Suite _v7.3 . Backup Exec Server for Windows NT . Microsoft Exchange Agent . Microsoft SQL Agent . Intelligent Disaster Recovery Norton AntiVirus Corporate Edition v7.0 . Symantec System Console . NAV for Server . NAV for Exchange . Live Update . NAV Quarantine PowerChute Plus v.5.2 Workstations MS Windows NT 4.0 (SP 4) Microsoft Winsock Proxy Client Microsoft Small Business Server Client Microsoft Office 2000 Professional . MS Internet Explorer v5.0 . MS Word 2000 . MS Excel 2000 . MS Powerpoint 2000 . MS Access 2000 . MS Publisher 2000 Aladdin Dropstuff / Expander v5.0 (Peace Corps will provide licensing for this application) Norton AntiVirus Corporate Edition _Client v.7.0 Adobe Acrobat Reader v4.0 HP Laserjet 4050TN PCL6 Drivers Laptops MS Windows 2000 (need to test) Microsoft Winsock Proxy Client Microsoft Small Business Server Client Microsoft Office 2000 Professional . MS Internet Explorer v5.0 . MS Word 2000 . MS Excel 2000 . MS Powerpoint 2000 . MS Access 2000 . MS Publisher 2000 Aladdin Dropstuff / Expander v5.0 (Peace Corps will provide licensing for this application) Norton AntiVirus Corporate Edition _Client v.7.0 Adobe Acrobat Reader v4.0 HP Laserjet 4050TN PCL6 Drivers Configuration Requirements After the vendor has procured the required hardware and software for the order, the vendor will configure each desktop, laptop, and server. The Peace Corps will provide the vendor with one pre-configured server, one pre-configured laptop, and one pre-configured desktop to be used as the images for each type of machine. The vendor will use these Peace Corps provided images to configure all equipment. The Peace Corps can provide new images to the vendor between orders as necessary in order to incorporate changes to the configuration. In addition, each order will require country and user specific configuration requirements for the servers, workstations, and laptops after imaging. The following configuration changes will be required: Server Once imaged, the vendor will make the following changes to the server configuration based on information provided by the Peace Corps for the current order. . Domain Name . User Accounts/Associate Users to Workstations . Time Zone . Exchange Internet Domain Name . Internet Service Provider Information . Incorporate all Workstations into Norton Anti-Virus Group Workstations & Laptops Workstations should be set up with the default image and then configured to work within the Small Business Server environment with the following specific changes to the configuration. Country Specific Changes: . Voltage Setting for Power supply (if not auto-switching) . Language Dictionaries/Grammar . Keyboard Layouts . Paper Size Changes . Domain Name . Time Zone User Specific Changes: . Computer Name = Flast (first initial, last name) . User Folder Alias on Desktop . Default Directories set to User folder . U drive Mapped to User folder Reporting Requirements For each order, the vendor will provide a report no later than one week after the shipment date with the following information to the Headquarters office for each piece of equipment of the shipment: Order Number Country Model User Name Serial Number Peace Corps Property Tag Number License Number of operating system The vendor will send ALL ORIGINAL SOFTWARE LICENSES and ALL ORIGINAL INVOICES to the HEADQUARTERS OFFICE no later than one week after the shipment date. The license information should include Microsoft Small Business Server 4.5, Microsoft Small Business Server Client Access Licenses, Microsoft Office Professional 2000 licenses, Norton Antivirus Corporate Edition Licenses, Veritas BackUp Exec 7.0, and Window NT 4.0 Workstation. Shipping Requirements The vendor will pack all configured equipment with associated manuals, accessories, software, drivers, and peripherals in the original packing materials and label each box with the following information: Model Name (i.e. Desktop, Laptop, Server) User Name Serial Number Peace Corps Property Tag Number Address For each order, the vendor will then pack all of the labeled boxes onto pallets and shrink wrap the pallets. The vendor will ship the pallets for each order to the Delivery Location no later than the Date of Delivery as provided by the Peace Corps. The vendor will send via express mail the original Bill of Lading that will include the serial numbers, property numbers, models, prices, the airway bill number and the flight information for the shipment to the Express Mail Address of the Country of Delivery. The vendor will send a copy of the Bill of Lading via express mail to the Headquarters office. The vendor will track the shipment and guarantee timely delivery of the equipment so that it is received at the Delivery Location by the Date of Delivery. The vendor will make any necessary contingency plans and change any flights as necessary to guarantee the shipment to arrive to the Delivery Location by the Date of Delivery. Service Level Agreement Something about what happens if the delivery dates aren_t met__. Add section about having vendor provide tool for re-imaging workstations to restore them to the standard configuration (this tool can be used by the MIS at post for support reasons) Appendix A Current Peace Corps Posts Armenia Bangladesh Belize Benin Bolivia Bulgaria Burkina Faso Cameroon Cape Verde China Cote D'Ivoire Dominican Republic Eastern Caribbean Ecuador Gabon Ghana Guatemala Guinea Guyana Haiti Honduras Jamaica Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kyrgyz Republic Lesotho Macedonia Madagascar Mali Mauritania Micronesia Moldova Mongolia Morocco Mozambique Namibia Nepal Nicaragua Niger Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Philippines Russia-Moscow Russia-Vladivostok Samoa South Africa Suriname Tanzania Thailand The Gambia Togo Tonga Turkmenistan Uganda Ukraine Uzbekistan Vanuatu Zambia Zimbabwe AWARD WILL BE MADE USING FAR PART 8 PRIORITY INTERNET ADDRESS (URL): /cgi-bin/WebObjects/EPS.woa/wa/SPF?A=R&P=PCORPS-QWB-Compaq&L=2979 - Visit this URL for the latest information about this notice EMAIL ADDRESS: [e-mail] - Jean Lamb RECEIVED: (D-363 SN5097W3)
Provided by Federal Information & News Dispatch, Inc. (FIND) 202-544-4800
Document cndl000020010710dx12000kq
Entertainment - New film-maker on the block.
1,324 words

18 December 2000

The Sun

THESUM

English

(c) The Christchurch Press, INL 2000
By Bissme S ([e-mail])
Criticism has not deterred Metrowealth Movies Production in its efforts to produce high quality local movies.
Metrowealth International Group through its production arm, Metrowealth Movies Production, has embarked on its first feature film, Syukur 21, featuring the popular nasyid group Raihan and is scheduled for screening in cinemas on Hari Raya.
Founded in 1995, Metrowealth offers a wide range of high quality electronic home appliances at its more than 200 stores located in 13 countries worldwide, including Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, China, Singapore, Brunei, Australia, Korea, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Ghana, India and the Philippines.
In keeping with globalisation over the years, Metrowealth has diverted into various businesses such as manufacturing, construction, fashion, multi-level marketing, computer and software, import and export, shipping, telecommunication and higher education. Last year, the group ventured into movie-making - with the setting up of Metrowealth Movies Production.
Besides Raihan, the cast of Syukur 21 includes Mustapha Kamal, Yassin, Man Bai, Umi Kalthum and Mahyon Ismail. With a whopping RM3.5 million budget, Syukur 21 is seen as the most expensive local movie ever made. Other big budget movies are Leftnan Adnan (RM2.5 million), Black Widowand Mimpi Moon (RM1.8 million each).
Some have applauded the bold move but many can't help feeling that Metrowealth Movies Production is taking a huge risk with this investment. With the exception of a few, local movies have difficulty drawing in huge crowd.Besides that, Syukur 21 delves into a religious and spiritual theme - one that is not only unpopular with the local audience but also tough in hitting the box-office record. Several film pundits have predicted that such a hasty business decision may cause Metrowealth Movies Production dearly should the movie fail at the box-office.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun, Metrowealth CEO David C.H. Teo showed no signs of anxiety. If anything, he's beaming with confidence.
"When we decided to make our first feature film, our first priority was not making profits," explains Teo. "We wanted to give something back to the society that has supported our group of companies all these years."
Therefore the aim is to make a movie with a difference... a movie with a message... a movie that will upgrade the local movie standard.
"Syukur 21 has many meaningful messages to impart," he says.
"Initially we thought of a love story. Then we changed our mind. We know a love story has a better chance to make it at the box office but we feel this story is more likely to benefit the society and the film industry.
"I am not saying that Metrowealth will be ignoring the box office aspect in all films that we will be making. But for our first effort, we wanted something different, we wanted something of high standards." He explains that the technology used in the movie is far more superior. 3D animation has been used to create a futuristic atmosphere, as required by the movie.
David also says that Syukur 21 is the first local film to utilise the Dolby Digital Surround or better known SRD-6 Trax, common in most Hollywood films. He adds that the movie's cinematographers Eric Yeong and Ricky Lim, are from the commercial sector. "Therefore Syukur 21 has beautiful and amazing visuals, just like an advertisement,"he says.
Metrowealth Movies Production has held several special previews of this movie, locally and overseas. The feedback has been extremely positive. Some parties have claimed that the movie is on par with Hollywood standards, thus enabling easier foreign market penetration.
"Metrowealth may be new to the film business but we are not total green horns. We have had 15 years of experience handling other business ventures. And we are using those experiences to market the movie."
Syukur 21 will be shown simultaneously in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei, when the movie hits cinemas this Raya."It is not easy to penetrate the Indonesian market," says David. "They don't show much interest in Malaysian movies. When the distributor there watched Syukur 21,they were impressed. They believe the movie will do well there."
In fact, David claims that prior to the interview, he had received a fax from a Thailand distributor who showed keen interest to purchase the movie.
"We have not discussed the deal in detail yet. I didn't approach them but instead they heard about our movie and made the first move. I feel we were doing something good for the society and film industry, then GOD came along and helped us to find more market." He stresses that Metrowealth is also scouting market in the Islamic countries such as Iran and Jordan.
"This movie has all the female characters wearing the tudung. Besides, it emphasises on Islamic values. I am sure these elements will attract them. If the plan to penetrate the foreign market is successful, it will not be surprising to see Metrowealth cover its budget and even make a small profit along the way." David also drives away the speculation that Syukur 21 is a movie preaching Islam. "There are many themes in this movie. There is the love story between two young characters. But the love is portrayed in an Islamic context. Even religious people fall in love.
"The other theme is a son and mother trying to resume their broken relationship. There is also major conflict when locals dislikes when a foreigner enters the picture and taking away their jobs. In the end, you will be entertained while learning a few lesson on life."
Metrowealth Movies Production is already in discussion for their second movie, the camera likely to roll sometime early next year. However David is reserves comments on the project.
"The director and Metrowealth team are still in the negotiating process,"he says. "Nothing is in black and white yet. Once everything is confirmed, I will reveal more about the project."
After much coaxing, David disclosed that a certain well-known composer cum singer will be directing the second film. (The Sun Viva strongly believes that the director could be M. Nasir. But only time will tell) Metrowealth has targeted three films in a year and are looking for suitable scripts.
It appears that those who say Metrowealth Movies Production will gulung tikar may have to eat their words, as the company claims that it is here to stay.
Moral values above all
The year is 2021. The popular nasyid group Raihan runs an organisation called Raudah which is fully equipped with hi-tech facilities.
In Raudah exists housing areas, recreation centres, shopping malls and also an interesting cultural arts academy. Raudah is also a place where moral values are instilled in people who become too materialistic.
The Malaysian-born Kamal (Mustapha Kamal) in his late 50's, is an educated man who has lived in America for 30 years. His luxurious lifestyle has turned him into a materialistic man. Unfortunately, this does not help him maintain his marriage to an American woman. Kamal, a specialist in the field of multi-media is attached to NASA. He is then assigned to Malaysia to attend a technology exchange programme with Raudah. His son, Daneil, (Yassin) who in his early 20's accompanies him.
Kamal notices a big change in his homeland. Although technologically advanced, it still maintains the moral values that brings about peace and happiness. Something he has not felt throughout his 30 years in America. The unusual situation arouses conflict within himself. With Raihan's guidance, Kamal begins to realise that love and care among people is more valuable than anything else. He also reacquittes with his mother - a volunteer at Raudah - whom he had lost contact with.
Meanwhile, Daniel falls in love with lovely girl, Aishah (Eisya) in Raudah. Daniel tries to win her heart. But Aishah holds tight to her religion, culture and morals........
Document thesum0020010818dwci009f7

Many Developing Nations Lack "e-Readiness" - Report
Brian Krebs, Newsbytes

1,035 words

22 August 2000

Newsbytes News Network

NBYT

English

(c) Copyright 2000 Post-Newsweek Business Information, Inc. All rights reserved.
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 2000 AUG 22 (NB). Nations comprising more than three-quarters of the world's population are in danger of alienating high-tech investment and passing up the economic and societal benefits that can be gained through connecting citizens to the Internet, according to a report issued today.
Based on available data and interviews with representatives from government and industry in 42 countries, the study examined each nations' capacity for participating in the so-called "digital economy." The report rated countries based on several areas, including their level of connectivity to the Internet, government initiatives in the IT sector, information security laws, human capital, and the general e-business climate.
The report found that 25 countries, including China, Indonesia, Russia, and South Africa, require substantial improvement in at least two of those areas before e-business and e-government can be expected to flourish. Another 11 countries, however, showed signs of improvement over the next several years, the study notes.
The study was conducted by McConnell International LLC, whose president, Bruce W. McConnell, oversaw the operation of the International Y2K Cooperation Center, a Washington-D.C. -based command post that was used to monitor the critical infrastructures in hundreds of countries as they passed into the year 2000.
"Technology permits countries to leap from the old to the new economy," McConnell said. "But if the gulf between aspirations and accomplishments widens much more, it will be hard to make that leap."
Nations in Central and South America scored relatively high on human capital, defined as having the necessary incentives to attract, train and keep the best technical and managerial talent. However, these countries lack adequate investment incentives and information security practices, the report said. Many Central and South American nations also have low connectivity rates, due in part to slow progress on the privatization of national telephone monopolies.
Costa Rica and Chile were two notable exceptions: Costa Rica recently took steps to eliminate import taxes on computer-related equipment, and has the lowest local, domestic long-distance, and wireless access rates in the region. Chile led the region in connectivity rates.
As evidenced by this year's destructive - and by many estimates extremely costly - "I Love You" virus, the greatest drawback for Asian nations was the lack of adequate information security practices and laws. With the exception of South Korea, most Asian nations have done little to combat cyber crime or software piracy, according to the study.
Fully 80 percent of Asian nations surveyed scored the worst ratings on connectivity than any other nation group, with an average of 1.5 phone lines per 100 persons, one of the lowest "tele-density" measures in the world.
Nations in Central and Southern Europe earned the highest "e-readiness" scores, thanks to a highly skilled population and a focus on information security practices that has helped to cut software piracy to record low levels. The region earned less than average marks, however, for low connectivity rates and for promoting a tech-friendly regulatory environment.
Notable exceptions were Hungary and Estonia, which apparently have invested heavily in IT education and training. Earlier this year, the Estonian government approved a proposal to guarantee Internet access to each of its citizens.
The final region, comprising countries in the Middle East and Africa, scored the lowest rankings in all five categories. The region's biggest hurdle was found to be the fundamental lack of connectivity, and the incredibly high cost of Internet access relative to per capita income.
The lone exception was Ghana, which was the first African nation to gain connectivity to the Internet. Ghana now has two national telecommunications operators, four cellular operators, and four Internet service providers (ISPs).
John Hamre, president and CEO of the Center for Strategic and International Studies and former deputy secretary of defense, said in discussions with senior representatives from dozens of countries he has found that most nation leaders recognize that the future lies in the digital economy.
"The problem is that they go home and bump into the traditional structures of sovereignty, and power structures such as national telecom monopolies aren't prepared to expose themselves to the tough pressures of the international markets," Hamre said.
Hamre's comments raised the question as to whether fostering an Internet economy was high on the list of priorities for developing countries that may have a host of other, more immediate and economically challenging problems to tackle.
Harris Miller, president of the World Information Technology Services Alliance (WITSA), said while the ultimate goal is to connect everybody to the Internet, the phenomenon was most likely to begin in the middle and upper classes and industrialized areas and spread to the less wealthy and more sparsely populated areas later, as has been the case in the US.
"No one ever talked about the VCR divide, or the TV divide or the Model T divide," Miller said. "They realize that a lot of these new technologies start with the middle and upper middle classes. In the US, the early adopters of cell phones were the upper-middle class, and now they're nearly ubiquitous."
Drawing more nations into the digital fold could also raise challenging questions of how to enforce cyber crime across sovereign borders. McConnell said his group and others were in the process of compiling information on each countries' current laws for prosecuting computer crime.
"I think right now most countries are still planning to use laws that don't directly address cyber crime," McConnell said. "But that will change over time as more countries are faced with these problems internally."
The nations examined in the study included Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigera, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, Venezuela and Vietnam.
The text of the report can be found at http://www.mcconnellinternational.com
Reported by Newsbytes, http://www.newsbytes.com
15:38 CST Reposted 19:49 CST
Document nbyt000020010808dw8m0099k

Many Developing Nations Lack "e-Readiness" - Report
Brian Krebs, Newsbytes

1,030 words

22 August 2000

Newsbytes News Network

NBYT

English

(c) Copyright 2000 Post-Newsweek Business Information, Inc. All rights reserved.
WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 2000 AUG 22 (NB). Nations compromising more than three-quarters of the world population are in danger of alienating high-tech investment and passing up the economic and societal benefits that can be gained through connecting citizens to the Internet, according to a report issued today.
Based on available data and interviews with representatives from government and industry in 42 countries, the study examined each nations' capacity for participating in the so-called "digital economy." The report rated countries based on several areas, including their level of connectivity to the Internet, government initiatives in the IT sector, information security laws, human capital, and the general e-business climate.
The report found that 25 countries, including China, Indonesia, Russia, and South Africa, require substantial improvement in at least two of those areas before e-business and e-government can be expected to flourish. Another 11 countries, however, showed signs of improvement over the next several years, the study notes.
The study was conducted by McConnell International LLC, whose president, Bruce W. McConnell, oversaw the operation of the International Y2K Cooperation Center, a Washington-D.C. -based command post that was used to monitor the critical infrastructures in hundreds of countries as they passed into the year 2000.
"Technology permits countries to leap from the old to the new economy," McConnell said. "But if the gulf between aspirations and accomplishments widens much more, it will be hard to make that leap."
Nations in Central and South America scored relatively high on human capital, defined as having the necessary incentives to attract, train and keep the best technical and managerial talent. However, these countries lack adequate investment incentives and information security practices, the report said. Many Central and South American nations also have low connectivity rates, due in part to slow progress on the privatization of national telephone monopolies.
Costa Rica and Chile were two notable exceptions: Costa Rica recently took steps to eliminate import taxes on computer-related equipment, and has the lowest local, domestic long-distance, and wireless access rates in the region. Chile led the region in connectivity rates.
As evidenced by this year's destructive - and by many estimates extremely costly - "I Love You" virus, the greatest drawback for Asian nations was the lack of adequate information security practices and laws. With the exception of South Korea, most Asian nations have done little to combat cyber crime or software piracy, according to the study.
Fully 80 percent of Asian nations surveyed scored the worst ratings on connectivity than any other nation group, with an average of 1.5 phone lines per 100 persons, one of the lowest "tele-density" measures in the world.
Nations in Central and Southern Europe earned the highest "e-readiness" scores, thanks to a highly skilled population and a focus on information security practices that has helped to cut software piracy to record low levels. The region earned less than average marks, however, for low connectivity rates and for promoting a tech-friendly regulatory environment.
Notable exceptions were Hungary and Estonia, which apparently have invested heavily in IT education and training. Earlier this year, the Estonian government approved a proposal to guarantee Internet access to each of its citizens.
The final region, comprising countries in the Middle East and Africa, scored the lowest rankings in all five categories. The region's biggest hurdle was found to be the fundamental lack of connectivity, and the incredibly high cost of Internet access relative to per capita income.
The lone exception was Ghana, which was the first African nation to gain connectivity to the Internet. Ghana now has two national telecommunications operators, four cellular operators, and four Internet service providers (ISPs).
John Hamre, president and CEO of the Center for Strategic and International Studies and former deputy secretary of defense, said in discussions with senior representatives from dozens of countries he has found that most nation leaders recognize that the future lies in the digital economy.
"The problem is that they go home and bump into the traditional structures of sovereignty, and power structures such as national telecom monopolies aren't prepared to expose themselves to the tough pressures of the international markets," Hamre said.
Hamre's comments raised the question as to whether fostering an Internet economy was high on the list of priorities for developing countries that may have a host of other, more immediate and economically challenging problems to tackle.
Harris Miller, president of the World Information Technology Services Alliance (WITSA), said while the ultimate goal is to connect everybody to the Internet, the phenomenon was most likely to begin in the middle and upper classes and industrialized areas and spread to the less wealthy and more sparsely populated areas later, as has been the case in the US.
"No one ever talked about the VCR divide, or the TV divide or the Model T divide," Miller said. "They realize that a lot of these new technologies start with the middle and upper middle classes. In the US, the early adopters of cell phones were the upper-middle class, and now they're nearly ubiquitous."
Drawing more nations into the digital fold could also raise challenging questions of how to enforce cyber crime across sovereign borders. McConnell said his group and others were in the process of compiling information on each countries' current laws for prosecuting computer crime.
"I think right now most countries are still planning to use laws that don't directly address cyber crime," McConnell said. "But that will change over time as more countries are faced with these problems internally."
The nations examined in the study included Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Nigera, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, Venezuela and Vietnam.
The text of the report can be found at http://www.mcconnellinternational.com
Reported by Newsbytes, http://www.newsbytes.com
15:38 CST
Document nbyt000020010808dw8m0098r

Features

Fast As A Rabbit, Patient As A Turtle For tens of thousands of small and medium-sized companies, the Internet offers access to previously unattainable foreign markets. Jack Ma wants to be their guide.

BY Justin Doebele

1,254 words

17 July 2000

Forbes

FB

074

English

Copyright 2000 Forbes Inc.
WE ARE IN A DANCE HALL of a lakeside resort a two-hour drive from Shanghai. It is 11: 00 p.m. The room, done in red velvet drapes and blinking disco lights, is packed with 120 men and women, mostly under 30, all employees of Alibaba.com. They've been waiting an hour to hear their leader, Jack Ma. Suddenly the room erupts in applause. A tiny figure with sunken cheekbones, tussled hair and a mischievous grin grabs the microphone. He's five feet tall and weighs just over 100 pounds.
This imp of a man brought the commercial use of the Internet to China. Although Alibaba.com is legally based in Hong Kong, its roots and most of its operations are in China, and Ma is a Mainland citizen. In March 1995, the same year that Jeff Bezos started Amazon.com, Ma registered China's first Internet company: Hangzhou Hope Networks Consulting. It offered to host Web pages for Chinese companies. Today Alibaba links together importers and exporters from around the world and grosses under $1 million a year.
For Ma that's just a start. Now he has global ambitions. He aims at nothing less than Webifying the $6.8 trillion worth of world trade (retail value). Click on to the Alibaba.com site. It lets buyers and sellers find each other, matching, say, a supplier in Tibet with a buyer in Patagonia.
An American looking to buy 1,000 tennis rackets searches among dozens of potential suppliers and learns their terms of trade. Alibaba claims more than 200,000 registered members from 194 countries, though 70% are Chinese right now. You can buy fishmeal from Ghana or wiper blades from Italy; there are more than 700 different products broken down by category and country. The site is published in Chinese and English, and it recently launched a separate Korean version of Alibaba.
Listing is free, but you can't actually make trades through the site. Alibaba helps you make a connection and deals are struck offline or via e-mail. Alibaba hopes to derive its revenue and ultimately its profits from add-on features. Shipping, trade financing, on-site inspections, quality control services and insurance are a few of the services that could earn money for the site. Ma also hopes to make money by offering a premium service to members and through
advertising and promotions.
Except for some advertising, Alibaba.com doesn't yet offer any of these services, but Ma says he expects to have them on the site soon.
Alibaba already has satisfied customers. One is Robert Guo, of tiny textile and light industrial trading company Wuhu Wanlong Trading in Wuhu, China. "I have gotten three contracts worth $100,000 over the past three months from the site. These are just the big buyers. We also have gotten many smaller deals off the site," says Guo.
Nelson Dy of Van Gils Garments in the Philippines makes T shirts and other garments in Del Monte Quezon City. He gets an average of ten queries a day or more on Alibaba. "Two potential buyers [from Alibaba.com] are coming soon to meet me in the Philippines," says Dy.
"Alibaba has made a big step forward in how business is done in Asia," says Hong Kong-based IDC Internet analyst Matthew McGarvey. "Sites like Alibaba are injecting transparency into the trading process."
Elsewhere, however, it faces lots of competition. Ma isn't the only one targeting this stupendous market. Some are trying to aggregate big buyers across industries, mostly in the U.S. and Europe, as Commerce One and Ariba are doing. Others are verticals for a single industry, such as E-Steel for the metals industry and Covisint for autos.
Alibaba has grander ambitions. Ma wants the site to be both global and horizontal across all products. But he may well have picked the best starting point: Asia, by some estimates, is home to about 70% of all the world's
exporting companies. There are about 400,000 exporters in China alone and more on the way.
Not surprisingly, two of Ma's three biggest rivals are Asian outfits, the Hong Kong-based Global Sources (www.globalsources.com) and the San Francisco-based MeetChina.com. Though MeetChina is based in the U.S., it is focused on building an electronic marketplace for Chinese exporters. China Resources, a public company backed by the Chinese government, holds a minority stake in the Web site.
MeetChina.com says it plans to compete more directly with Alibaba.com by expanding to other Asian markets within a year. "We want to make buying 1,000 bicycles from China as easy as buying a book from Amazon.com," says American Thomas Rosenthal, cofounder of the site.
The third rival, Boston, Mass.-based Industry to Industry, Inc. (www.i2i.com), is backed by a private investment arm of a foundation headed by Klaus Schwab, the founder of the World Economic Forum. It started in late 1998 and has focused on four industries: chemical, energy, retail goods, and
engineering and construction.
Ma compares Alibaba.com's free-for-all approach to a Middle Eastern bazaar, where anyone can lay out their wares and haggle with potential buyers. Alibaba.com's rivals claim this difference is a disadvantage since, like a Mideast bazaar, Ma doesn't do any screening of either his buyers or sellers. Though MeetChina.com also has a free-for-all approach, all three rival sites offer some kind of screening of its member companies.
Ma shrugs. "Let the others go after the whales," says Ma. "We want to catch the shrimp." Since most of Alibaba.com's staff are Chinese and living in China, Ma's personnel and operating costs are relatively low. His biggest office space, in Hangzhou, is 200,000 square feet in size and rents for just $80,000 a year. A Chinese computer engineer with three years of experience can be hired for just $18,000 a year, versus $100,000 in Silicon Valley.
Though the business is chiefly in China, most of Ma's backing is international. His first round of $5 million in funding came from Goldman Sachs, Fidelity Investments, Sweden's Investor AB, Singapore's TDF fund and Hong Kong's Transpac. His second round of financing, at $20 million, came in January 2000 from a group of investors lead by Japan's Softbank. "This company has the potential to be big, as big as Yahoo," says chief technology officer John Wu. He should know. Before joining Alibaba in May, Wu was the chief architect of Yahoo's widely used search engine.
Certainly the potential market is enormous. FORBES figures that about $470 billion a year is spent just servicing world trade--phone bills, invoicing, sales calls, overseas travel. If Web sites like Alibaba can cut that bill by even 20% --and that may be conservative--there is a potential savings pool of nearly $100 billion from which it can draw revenues as profits.
Say this for Ma: He understands his business is one where the future is seemingly unlimited, but the present is a period of red ink and teeming competition. "One must run as fast as a rabbit," he says, "but be as patient as a turtle."
Document fb00000020010805dw7h0016d
Domestic News Items From Xinhua (2).
352 words

10 July 2000

Xinhua News Agency

XNEWS

English

(c) Copyright 2000 Xinhua News Agency
BEIJING, July 10 (Xinhua) - The following is the second part of today's domestic news items from Xinhua:
Domestic News Items From Xinhua (1)
China's Industrial Production Accelerates
Tropical Storm Lands on East China Province
Landslide Kills Nine in Northeast China
Weather Forecast for Major Chinese Cities
Hong Kong Stocks Close Above 17,000
Hang Seng China Enterprises Index Higher
Gold Price in Hong Kong Down
Vice-Premier Wen Jiabao Meets Cambodian Guests
ICBC Makes 54 Billion Yuan Fixed-asset Loans in 1st Half-year
HK Subsector Polls Fair, Open, Honest: Spokesman
Vote-counting for HK Election Committee Ends
Water Supply in Chinese Cities up
Irrigation Expo to Be Held in November
Noted Chinese Painter Dies at 89
China to Reform Medicine Distribution System
PLA's Battle Effectiveness on Plateau Improved
Qinghai Poverty Relief Project Conforms With World Bank Policy
& Charter: Spokesman
Two Flood Peaks Passes Wuhan
Regulation on Real Estate Administration of PLA Issued
Beijing Police Detain Heroin Dealers
Top Chinese Prosecutor Meets Macao Prosecutors
Southwest China Water Plant Project Receives Bank Loan
Siemens Allied with Six Top Chinese Websites
East China's Shandong Reports Robust Growth
Cross-Straits Direct Links Urged: Magazine