| Reporter to Be Freed From Clinic
A reporter who wrote critical articles about military actions in Chechnya has been ordered released from a Yaroslavl region psychiatric hospital where he was kept against his will for nine months. Andrei Novikov was one of several journalists and opposition activists who have been committed to psychiatric hospitals in recent years -- reviving a punitive practice widely used in the Soviet era. Novikov was working as an online reporter for Chechen Press, a news service connected with the Chechen separatist government, in December 2006 when he was convicted of sedition and inciting violence for two e-mail messages he sent to newspapers. He was sentenced to three years in prison, but in January a psychiatric commission determined that he had "anti-social behavior" and on Feb.
Moving lots of money fast is Job. 1 for MasterCard exec
Entering MasterCard's campus in the newly built-up area in St. Charles County east of Highway 40 (Interstate 64) is more complicated than clearing security at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport or entering secured government offices. Guards require a visitor to drive over spikes that can rise up and puncture the rear tires if the driver suddenly hits reverse. Walking into the large reception hall means having futuristic sliding glass walls do a dance as they dip and move out of the way to allow a visitor to pass through. The Pentagon could hardly be more secure, but that is understandable, since MasterCard processes purchases in 210 countries. Roy Dunbar's office, on the other hand, is a simple room. Behind his modest desk were stacks of documents. We talked at a small conference table nearby.
Bahrain launches debit card payment for eGovernment services
Previously, only credit card users could make payments online for services such as traffic fines, electricity and water bill payments etc. Over 70% residents of Bahrain will now be able to pay the fees for services available on the eGovernment portal - www.e.gov.bh. This facility is available, at no additional cost, to the users. An agreement to enable the debit card payment facility has been signed between the Ministry of Finance and Ahli United Bank which would be using the Benefit system. This is in continuation with the progressive leadership of Ministry of Finance to leverage the latest developments in Information Technology for the benefit of the Kingdom. In January 2007, the ministry celebrated ten years of introduction of the Financial Management Information System (FMIS) that enables the government organizations in maintaining their accounts efficiently.
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