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KILINOCHCHI, Sri Lanka (IRIN) – Former female combatants in northern Sri Lanka face a tough time returning to civilian life, with fewer marriage, education and job prospects due to stigma, say aid workers and activists.

“Former female child soldiers are just not being perceived positively by society,” said Thaya Thiagarajah, a senior official with the Jaffna Diocese of the Church of South India, noting how cultural and social barriers are the biggest barriers to their smooth reintegration.

Marriage prospects for female former rebels who fought with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are bleak, said Selvanayagam Selvantha, a local aid worker with the same church, located in the former conflict zone.

“Tamil society is very traditional. Parents do not want their sons to marry women ex-fighters,” he added, noting how important marriage is to being accepted in the community.

Stigma will be the biggest hurdle in reintegrating female fighters, said women’s rights activist Sunila Abeysekara, based in Sri Lanka’s capital, Colombo.

“Women cadres are seen as women who [value] marriage [less because they] took up arms,” she added. As a result, most female ex-combatants are “struggling to find normalcy” due to the weight of such judgment and suspicion.

She estimated there were about 3,000 female former rebels, but could not say how many were single.

“LTTE [was] a violent organization; many in society had suffered because of LTTE. Now LTTE is not there, society is free to express themselves against people who have been linked with LTTE. This problem is common for both men and women [ex-fighters],” Abeysekara said.

But it is women who are criticized most harshly, she noted.

Tamil Tiger separatist rebels waged a decades-long war – declared over in May 2009 – that displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians in northern Sri Lanka.

Female ex-combatants face social stonewalling even at the earliest stages of their return to civilian life, according to Clive Jackniek, a disarmament, demobilization and reintegration senior programme manager with the International Organization for Migration.

“The biggest challenge I faced after returning home was the lack of employment, educational and future options to live a good life,” said Jeya Kamalrajan, 18, who fought with the Tamil Tigers from 2007 to 2009.

“People do not want to hire me because they see me as a bad woman who joined the Tigers… I do not have a lot of plans – I want to live a decent life forgetting everything that happened in my past,” she said.

Nalini*, 19, from Mullaitivu District, told IRIN she feared the Tamil Tiger “label” would be “stuck” with her for ever.

“I really want to move on – but I am not sure how to in this cultural setting because people distrust me for something I am not.”

*Not her real name

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The Future Group is reportedly set to enter an agreement with Carrefour to bring the French retailer to India.

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Every city has its own cuisine, something that reflects the culture of its people, mastered by chefs over the years, and serving its loyal customers a gastronomical relief from the mundane everyday life. Some say that food is the way to the soul; it replenishes us and makes us whole. Though no empirical data exists to prove this theory; one can safely say that good food, served in a good ambience, is just what is needed by a tired soul.

However, Noida restaurants are an exception to this rule; they do not have any particular cuisine to call their own. Rather it has an eclectic mix of many tastes, flavors, fragrances, each catering to its particular constituency. The young and the restless favor fast food restaurants like the Dominos, serving an appetizing fare consisting of pizzas, pasta, oven-baked sandwiches, wings, boneless chickens, salads, breadsticks, cheesesticks and much more, wrapped in a cool just-out-of-collage ambience. Indeed restaurants like Dominos are successful not just because of the food, which is delicious by the way, but also because of the crowd, the ambience, the happy faces behind the counter and the décor. Domino’s mission has been to become the best pizza delivery company in the world; committed to bringing happiness, festivities right at the doorsteps of its burgeoning consumer base. The Domino’s outlet in India is customized to Indian tastes and its crusts and toppings are a unique mix of Indian flavors. The fast food outlet was the first to offer free if the pizza was not delivered within 30 minutes.

Restaurants in Noida offer something for every palate; there is something for everybody, and if it has something new to offer, it entices all with a barrage of sounds, smells, and sights: The open air barbeques; the puris frying in oil-browning gently in the heated oil; the momos quietly cooking in their Chinese stoves.

With the opening of the economy, and the booming of the economy, people suddenly had cash to burn, resulting in this sudden craze to experiment. The Chinese Restaurants like Bercos were lucky as Indians had encountered the Chinese Cuisine earlier; courtesy, the neighborhood purveyor of chowmein and momos. Due to this prior experience, it was comparatively easy to set shop in a busy neighborhood and watch the customers pour in. The tag line of Bercos goes like- Bercos-If you like Chinese-encapsulating the idea behind the restaurant. The restaurant is one of the distinguished names in the Chinese food segment since 1982; serving a sumptuous spread of Chinese and Thai delicacies like Veg. Fried Wonton, Veg. Spring Rolls, Crispy Chilli Potatoes, Lotus Stems, Peking Soup, Thukpa, Mongolian Hot Pot and so on. The fare is delicious and served in a pleasing ambience making it a must visit place for families and friends alike.

Mumbai, India (AHN) – A recently-released Hindi film about a middle class family’s struggle to live a better life has inspired cricket maestro Sachin Tendulkar to seriously consider acting in films as an alternative career.

Sachin, who triumphed yet again with his 49th Test century in Bangalore recently, approached acclaimed Bollywood filmmaker Vidhu Vinod Chopra with a request for a screening of “Do Dooni Chaar” for his family and close friends. Chopra, who himself is very impressed with this debut work of director Habib Faisal, promptly arranged a screening of the film in Mumbai, where Sachin, his wife Anjali and close friends enjoyed the light and frothy film.

In fact, so overwhelmed was Sachin after watching the movie that he even expressed his desire to work with Faisal whenever the opportunity arises.

Do Dooni Chaar, which means “Two Two Are Four,” is a working class comedy about the travails of a family of four. The father is a mathematics teacher with limited means while his wife and children dream of a better life, replete with all amenities, including a car.

It is this dream to own a car that drives the teacher to extreme means in order to realize his family’s ambition.

If Faisal’s views are anything to go by, it is the middle class ethos of the film, which inspired the cricketer’s wish to act. Says Faisal, “Sachin did express a wish to relax with my film after his triumph last week. Vidhu Vinod Chopra is a good friend of Tendulkar’s. And luckily for us, Vinod too loved Do Dooni Chaar.”

He further said that the cricketer seemed to have connected to the film because he is still grounded in his middle class roots despite having become a cricketing icon himself.

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Mumbai, India (AHN) – Just like every season, this season of the Indian version of the reality TV show, Big Brother, called “Big Boss” will spring many surprises upon its inmates as well as the audience. The first among such surprises is the entry of world wrestling champion Dalip Singh Rana, better known as “The Great Khali.” Khali is scheduled to enter the Big Boss house as its 12th inmate on Saturday, October 16.

Talking about his wild card entry into the show, the producers of the show said that they had arranged for a special bed for the 7 feet plus wrestler, although no extra arrangements were made for his exceptional diet.

It would be interesting to see how Khali will manage to do with limited rationing in the house, where other inmates have already started fighting over cuts in food budget.

However, this will not be the first time that the 190kg wrestler will appear in front of the camera. Before Big Boss, Khali has done cameo roles in Hollywood as well as Bollywood films.

Andrew Whitaker, Executive Vice President of the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) International, said, “He (Khali) is known for his strength in the wrestling ring but, with this show, his fans will get to see a part of his life as they watch him eat, sleep, laugh and interact with other contestants.”

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The Indian government has changed its rules on foreign investment in the country’s wholesale cash-and-carry channel to allow overseas-backed wholesalers to sell to their retail counterparts.

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New Delhi, India (AHN) – Delhi just got costlier on the global retail barometer as one of its most posh markets, the Khan Market, moved up three rungs to become the 21st most expensive shopping street in the world.

The rental at Khan Market is calculated to be $284 per square foot in comparison to the $1,850 per square foot on New York’s Fifth Avenue, which continues to be the world’s costliest retail street, according to a survey.

The survey, carried out by real estate consultants Cushman & Wakefield, tracked rents across the top 269 shopping locations in 59 different countries, to arrive at its global list of most expensive retail districts.

Other high streets famous for retail transactions in the Indian capital, like Greater Kailash and South Extension, did not record the same fervour as Khan Market. In fact, some areas of the national capital region, like Basant Lok, even recorded a huge decline of 38 percent in their rental values.

In comparison, Khan Market recorded a hike of more than 15 percent in its rental figures over the previous year.

Speaking on the survey, Executive Director Kaustuv Roy said, “With the markets gaining momentum and retailers, both national and international, revising their expansion plans in India, we are seeing a gradual resurgence in values. As before, key cities such as New Delhi and Mumbai will be seeing a faster rate of growth in values against others due to greater interest in these markets.”

While New York’s Fifth Avenue was predictably the world’s costliest shopping street, in the survey, titled, “Main Streets Across the World 2010,” Hong Kong’s Causeway came a close second and Ginza in Tokyo, Japan was third, leaving behind London, Paris and Milan.

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Indian retailer Reliance Retail is planning to enter the country’s cash-and-carry channel, with the opening of at least three outlets in the next six to eight months, according to reports.

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BPO Outsourcing means shifting of internal job to external Company, with different geographical location, sometimes. BPO Outsourcing is generally done at different geographical location by USA and UK. These countries find it feasible enough to get their job done from countries like India, as they provide same services at much lower cost.

Through Call Centers India, Companies in Usa and Uk are able to reduce their procurement cost, substantially. Secondly, Small Companies can procure services with ease. Business Process Outsourcing is involved with back-end jobs like billing, payroll processing, data entry, and the like. These jobs are performed with full competence through BPOs, within the stipulated time period.

BPO Outsourcing is absolutely competitive and up to the mark, so clients do not have to worry over any type of services, whatsoever. The best part is that they are able to reduce their cost of services to bring down cost, substantially.

Different benefits of BPO Outsourcing are:

Time Saving: Processing of all the services, by oneself is cumbersome and time consuming. Promoters might lose on their main business tract due to extra time-spending in related activities. When you are an expert in your field, then it is not essential that you are aware of all activities, related to your business. It saves time when you opt for BPO Outsourcing of all essential jobs from some reputed outsourcing Company.

Money saving: BPO Outsourcing is done to reduce cost of operations involved in those services. This is so because, outsourcing partner is apt in services and produce better results at comparatively much lower cost.

Professional touch to services: One business unit may not be best in all related services. One need to go for outsourcing of to service their customers with best possible services. BPOs are filled with professionals who provide their services with maximum efficiency. A professional touch to services creates better response and expertise in your work.

BPO Outsourcing is one of the best options for offshore clients. Offshore Companies are able to generate best results at lowest possible prices. BPO Outsourcing is done for various activities. Clients can take advantage from such offerings and enhance their services.

Jack Morkel is well known author has written article on Call Center Customer Service, Inbound Call Center, Offshore Call Center, International Call Center and many other subjects.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/customer-service-articles/bpo-outsourcing-shifts-internal-job-to-external-company-1281119.html

The restaurant industry is one of the industries impacted the most by the bad economy. The reason is simple – restaurant face rising costs, while consumers looking to save money cut out discretionary spending. Fuel costs make all prices go up especially food, which must be transported to restaurants, and when trying to trim the budgets, many consumers start cooking at home to save money. Restaurants will need to get pretty creative to entice patrons to part with their cash. Here is a look at some restaurant trends you can expect to see next year.

Locally Grown Food

Expect to see more locally grown food next year. With recent scares from tainted food, especially the salmonella incident which mistakenly fingered tomatoes as the culprit, restaurants will need to be extra careful with the food it serves its diners. After all, even though they do not know if they bought tainted food, if it makes a customer sick that customer will always remember them as the restaurant that gave them food poisoning. More restaurants will end up sourcing their food from local farms and Farmers Markets to ensure fresh ingredients.

More Pasta Please

Pasta is one of the most inexpensive menu items for a restaurant to make. For the most part, sauce ingredients are cheap, so restaurants can get away with charging $15 for an entree that probably only cost them $1. And they can get away with hardly putting any meat in the dish as patrons fill up quickly on pasta. (more…)