Israel to participate in WSIS conference in Tunis

07/10/2005

Israel will participate in the UN-sponsored World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunis 16-18 November, Israeli online business daily Globes reported on Thursday (6 October). The event marks the first time Israel is participating in a large international summit in an Arab country since September 2000. The nation did attend a World Economic Forum meeting in Jordan, but did not participate in the public conference. The WSIS is expected to gather nearly 15,000 delegates representing governments, the private sector and academics from 180 countries. (Globe Online)

Bad weather prevents Algerians from seeing annular solar eclipse

03/10/2005

An annular solar eclipse, which began Monday (3 October) in Algiers, could not be observed due to bad weather conditions. The Research Centre in Astronomy, Astrophysics and Geophysics and associations for the observation of this astronomic phenomenon had planned to broadcast the event live on television. (APS)

First Algerian laptop computers to hit market in November

02/10/2005

The first laptop computers produced in Algeria will hit the market in the beginning of November. The Zala line is produced by an assembly company founded by Algerian Internet service provider EEPAD as part of the Ourastic government programme, which is aimed at providing a computer for every Algerian household by 2010. The Zala is equipped with a 1.6 gigahertz Intel Pentium Centrino, a 60-gigabyte hard disk, a DVD reader and a Wi-Fi system for wireless Internet connection. EEPAD plans to sell the computers with an asymmetric digital subscriber line pack at a price of around 100,000 dinars. Initially, 300,000 computers will be produced annually, but the number is expected to reach 1 million in 2010. (El Watan)

Laptops for under $100 to be presented at WSIS in Tunisia

30/09/2005

[File]

Nicholas Negroponte, chairman and founder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Labs (MTI), has unveiled designs for a PC costing less than $100. A prototype of the machine should be ready in November for the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in Tunisia.

MTI plans to have up to 15 million machines in production within a year. Children in Brazil, China, Egypt, Thailand, and South Africa will be among the first to get the low cost computers, Negroponte told an Emerging Technologies conference. (Babnet, BBC, Tech World)

UN defends Tunisia's right to host World Summit of Information Society

29/09/2005

Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, defended Tunisia's hosting of a UN summit about Internet access in the developing world, though the country has been repeatedly accused of abuses such as censoring web sites.

"These kinds of international conferences can be beneficial to the people in the country hosting them", Dujarric said on Wednesday (28 September). "It opens up the country to the outside world and such a spotlight of attention gives the government strong incentives to try to meet international standards, including on human rights."

The UN Summit on the Information Society, scheduled to take place from 16-18 November in Tunis, will focus on bridging the digital divide between countries to make online information accessible to all. (AP)

Preparatory talks for WSIS in Tunisia start in Washington

28/09/2005

The question of Internet governance is the focus of talks that started in Washington on Monday (26 September) in preparation for the second World Information Society Summit (WSIS) to be held in Tunis in November.

A British official speaking on behalf of the EU at the talks, told the Washington Times that governments "should not seek involvement in day-to-day operational issues, nor should they interfere in technical decision making processes". (Washington Times)

Tunisia launches project enabling low income families to buy PCs

27/09/2005

Tunisian low-income families will soon be able to buy a home personal computer (PC) at a reasonable price, Le Quotidienreported Tuesday (27 September). The presidential project, launched at the beginning of the year, will involve eight companies supplying PCs at a price not exceeding 700 dinars for a desktop and 1,200 dinars for a laptop.

The project is financed by the Tunisian Solidarity Bank, which will provide nearly 25,000 one-year loans to eligible families for the purchase. Families with incomes less than six times the statutory minimum wage are eligible for the programme. The project should make it possible for nearly 20 per cent of the Tunisian population to have a computer by 2009. (Le Quotidien)

TArchaeologists discover human skeletons dating back 12,000 years in Morocco

27/09/2005

[File] Tafoghalt Cave

A group of Moroccan archaeologists discovered human skeletons dating back 11,000 and 12,000 years ago in a cave in Tafoghalt. They also discovered tools made out of rock and bone. The finding will give scientists a better idea of the funeral rites of the prehistoric populations of the superior Paleolithic era, notably the Iberomaurusian culture.

At another site, scientists discovered tools made out of rocks, pottery works and remnants of ostrich eggs dating back between 5,100 and 5,500 years ago. (MAP, Le Matin)