English News

Name : Hendrick Tharnando

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News in USA

Google Goes Back To Iran

Working with the US government, the computer giant Google has announced it will again begin distributing
its products in Iran. Will this make the web safer for Iranian web users?

Doug Bernard | Washington DC  19 January 2011

Photo: VOA

In the wake of Iran's controversial 2009 presidential elections, millions of Iranians took to the web to trade
information, organize, and communicate within their nation and with the rest of the world.  Until, that is,
Tehran decided to tighten the Internet's spigot and began a serious campaign to restrict web and mobile
usage.

Iran still bans many foreign-based websites, such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.  And US law prohibits
the export of most software-based products to Iran.  However this week, following lengthy and complex
negotiations, Google announced its products will again be available to Iranian web users.

"We want the people of Iran to have access to the same information as people in other countries in the world." -
Scott Rubin, Google
Scott Rubin
Scott Rubin is Google's director of public policy and communications strategy.

"The citizens of Iran will be able to download three Google products: Google Chrome, which is our browser,
Picasa, which is our photo-sharing software, and Google Earth, which provides users a 3-D way to scan and
world, and users can add their own layers to earth to create their own version about what they want to share
with people about the world where they live."

The trade and export sanctions against Iran date back as far as the 1980's, but companies such as Google can
apply for narrow trade licenses to the US State Department.  Google still has to abide by the overall
sanctions - it can't offer more products than specifically detailed yet - and per US law, these new Google
downloads will block all IP addresses associated with the Iranian government.

However, Rubin says these three products could greatly enhance how Iranians share information with each
other and the rest of the world online.

"There are millions and millions of people (online in Iran)," says Rubin, "and one of our core missions at
Google is to provide access to information around the world.  For all this time, this particular way to share
information has not been available to the people of Iran."

The three Google downloads - all free - will allow Iranian users to scan and share photos, to document the
physical world around them adding any text or information overlays they wish with Google Earth, and surf
the net with Chrome, which Rubin describes as a very secure browswer.

"If you think about what happened after the elections in Iran in 2009 when foreign journalists were expelled
or their licenses were revoked to practice journalism," notes Rubin, "the people of Iran used tools like
YouTube and Twitter to share what was happening.  This is just one more step to opening up the world, even
in countries where information is restricted."

Interestingly, Google's trade license would have permitted the distribution of Google Chat, but company
officials had too many concerns that security and privacy of users could too easily be breached by Iranian
web snooping.  "It's a balancing act between providing information but doing it in a way that doesn't
compromise people's safety," says Rubin.

The Google downloads are all free and available to users in Iran at www.google.com
News in Asia

Text Message Offers Crop Advice for Philippine Rice Farmers

Simone Orendain | Manila  24 January 2011

Photo: David Swanson/IRIN

A farmer in Laguna Province will soon receive advice on how to increase his rice field's productivity on his
mobile phone.

A new program offers rice farmers in the Philippines advice on fertilizer use via their cell phones.

International Rice Research Institute scientists have spent 18 years refining a computerized system to give
farmers advice on just how much fertilizer to use get the most out of their rice crops.

Last year, they came up with a technology they believe is the first of its kind in the world.  IRRI Senior
Scientist Roland Buresh created an application that brings fertilizer advice to remote farmers via text
message.  The technology is just right for a country where more than 90 percent of the population owns a
cell phone.  

Buresh says each rice field is different and this makes it hard for farmers to gauge just how much fertilizer to
use.

"It could have been different management of crop residues,' Buresh said. "It could contain nutrients that are
recycled into the next crop.  It could be different rotations of cropping.  It could be different varieties.  Each
one of these factors influences the amount of nutrient needed."

Starting Monday, farmers can dial a toll-free number on their cell phones, and answer a list of questions
about their fields, then get tips on the best fertilizer use.  The entire system is automated and delivered in
four languages used in the Philippines, including English:

"You will receive a text message indicating how much fertilizer to apply to your field through more yield
per amount of fertilizer used. Any time you would like to repeat the question press the asterisk key on the
bottom left hand side of the phone’s keypad."
Once the survey is done, farmers receive a text message with the amount of fertilizer needed. If they need
more help, they can call another toll-free number to speak with a specialist at the Department of Agriculture.

Buresh says if the technology is used correctly farmers could yield $100 more per hectare.  Here, as
elsewhere in Asia, many rice farmers plant less than one hectare.

IRRI scientists are working with Indonesian colleagues to adapt the system there, and over the next few
years they plan to take the technology to Vietnam, India and Bangladesh.

The Philippines is the world’s largest importer of rice.  But the Agriculture Department has been pushing to
expand domestic production, particularly after global rice prices rose sharply in 2008.