IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 23 November
23-11-2007
by Sylvia Leatham
Cisco director fired in Brazil | Fujitsu's net profit falls 62 percent in Q2
The Irish Times reports on the launch of a 'Web Innovation Fund' by Eircom. Read more on this story on ENN.
The paper also says that the US state department has admitted it has a three-person "digital outreach team" who post entries in Arabic on "influential" Arabic blogs to challenge misrepresentations of the US and to promote alternative futures for Islamic youths besides terrorism. "Our bloggers speak the language and idiom of the region, know the culture reference points and are often able to converse informally and frankly, rather than adopt the usually more formal persona of a US government spokesperson," Duncan MacInnes, from the state department's bureau of international information programmes, told the House armed services subcommittee on terrorism and unconventional threats.
The Financial Times reports that BT is aiming to export its expertise in health IT and electronic patient records to the Middle East and Africa on the back of the key role it played in the NHS's STG12 billion IT programme. BT will shortly meet the government of Qatar and its business community to discuss e-health in Qatar and neighbouring states. It will also talk to the Singaporean government, which has major e-government plans.
The paper also says that a director of the Brazilian unit of Cisco Systems has been fired after being formally charged with tax fraud and other crimes involving evasion of up to USD845 million in import duties and other taxes. Carlos Roberto Carnevali, director of operations at Cisco's Brazil unit, was charged along with 15 other people, mostly connected to Mude Comercio e Servicos, Cisco's main distributor in Brazil. Cisco said Carnevali's employment "has been terminated" due to the nature of criminal charges against him as well as the company's internal review, which found a failure to comply with Cisco's code of business conduct.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Fujitsu said its net profit fell 62 percent in its fiscal second quarter on a heavier tax burden. Group net profit fell to JPY5.44 billion (USD50 million) in the quarter ended 30 September, down from JPY14.18 billion a year earlier. However, revenue and operating profit at the computer and software maker grew during the quarter, suggesting its underlying business remains robust, driven by growing demand for computer servers, data centres and other IT services.
The paper also says that Samsung Electronics has announced a KRW2.06 trillion (USD2.22 billion) investment in liquid-crystal-display panels to help meet growing demand for large flat-screen TV sets. The world's No. 1 LCD maker will expand its eighth-generation LCD production line, which can produce panels for 46-inch and 52-inch televisions. It will invest the money in 2008.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 