International and Indian News

Pakistani model Veena Malik’s nude photo causes fury

2011-12-05T11:49:00.001+04:00

A Pakistani actress who posed in the nude for an Indian magazine with the initials of Pakistan’s feared and powerful intelligence agency on her arm has triggered fury across this conservative nation.

Veena Malik’s photo on the website of FHM India, in advance of its publication in the magazine’s December issue, has been lighting up social network website Facebook and Twitter since earlier this week.

Many here anticipate a backlash, as nationalists and Islamists regularly stage rallies against anything they deem an insult to Islam or to the national honour. India and Pakistan have fought three wars, and the Inter-Services Intelligence agency or ISI has been accused of sponsoring terrorist attacks inside India.

Malik has broken Pakistani religious and national taboos in the past. She is a target for conservative ire and a heroine to some Pakistani liberals.

Conservative cleric Maulana Abdul Qawi declared on Aaj TV on Saturday that her latest venture into controversy was a ‘shame for all Muslims.’ Farzana Naz, interviewed by the same channel on the streets of Lahore, said that the actress had ‘bowed all us women in shame.’

Twitter commentator Umair Javed however called on Pakistanis to ‘make copies of the picture and bury it in your backyard. This way, our grandkids will know there were some amongst us who lived free!’

Asked by reporters whether Pakistan would ‘pursue the matter’ legally, the country’s Interior Minister Rehman Malik said Saturday, ‘First, let us see whether it is real or fake.’

Malik for her part says that the photo at the root of the current uproar was published in violation of her agreement with FHM India. In an interview with Pakistani Geo television broadcast Saturday, Malik acknowledged having been photographed for a ‘bold but not nude shot.’ She said the editor of the magazine had promised that he would cover most of the photo with the ISI initials.

Malik said that the photo was intended to poke fun at the Indian fear of Pakistani spies: ‘Whatever happens (in India), people say ISI is behind that.’

Malik said she would ‘probably’ take a legal action against the magazine for violating terms and condition.

Magazine editor Kabeer Sharma said Malik did all with her full consent.

‘We have all the record(s),’ he told the Pakistani television station. ‘Veena was very excited about that ISI idea.’

Malik does most of her work in India. The entertainment sector there is booming, while Pakistan’s is moribund. Her ties to Pakistan’s archrival have landed her in controversy in the past.

During a much-publicized talk show appearance early this year, she lashed out her nemesis Abdul Qawi, who criticised her for having a scripted love affair with an Indian actor on an Indian reality show.

‘What is your problem with me?’ an angry Malik demanded of the scholar, who had accused her of insulting Islam.

GITEX Shopper Prepares for Retail Bonanza of the Year

2011-10-05T13:13:00.000+04:00

3 October 2011, Dubai, United Arab Emirates:With just days to go until the consumer electronics event of the year kicks off, GITEX Shopper exhibitors are in the final stages of preparing the biggest ever retail extravaganza in the show’s history. Unrivalled prices on over 25,000 different up-to-the minute gadgets, bundled deals and an array of exciting competitions has set the stage for the best GITEX Shopper yet.

Taking place from 8 – 15 October 2011 at Airport Expo Dubai and organised by the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), GITEX Shopper brings together over 100 power retailers and leading technology names. The exclusive prices and convenient access to the crème-de-la-creme of technology brands will entice more than 160,000 visitors to the event. CompuMe, Dell, du, Etisalat, E4U, Emax, HP, Jacky’s Electronics, Jumbo Lenovo, Panasonic, Samsung and Sharaf DG are just a few of the leading brands and retailers who will be present at GITEX Shopper this year.

“GITEX Shopper has enjoyed phenomenal success from the show’s very first edition. Anticipation for this year’s show is at an all-time high with exhibitors planning exceptional deals, and advance ticket sales already reaching record levels,” said Trixee Loh, Senior Vice President, Dubai World Trade Centre, organiser of GITEX Shopper.

Access to GITEX Shopper has never been easier thanks to the free shuttle buses from Rashidiya Metro station and the newly opened Qusais Metro stop on the Green Line. Eager shoppers can register online at www.gitexshopperdubai.com, where they will also go in the draw to win tickets to GITEX Shopper and a JVC Camcorder.

At GITEX Shopper, numerous competitions give visitors the chance to win fabulous prizes from Samsung through ‘Shop ‘n‘ Win’ and ‘Visit ‘n’ Win’ daily draws. Consumers also can visit Al Hosani Computer Stand and open one of the locked “Kaspersky” briefcases to win fantastic prizes. Lucky visitors who find and guess the correct code to open the briefcase will win valuable prizes such as gold bars, laptops, iPads and iPhones. Codes will be placed randomly around the stand at GITEX Shopper and can be found inside the 2012 Kaspersky Lab products box available from major retailers across the UAE before the event.

GITEX Shopper 2011 will take place from 8 – 15 October 2011. The show is open from 11:00am – 10:00pm from Saturday 8 to Wednesday 12 October; from 11am – 11pm on Thursday 13 and Saturday 15 October; and from 3pm – 11pm on Friday 14 October.

Tickets are priced at AED 30 per person and are available at the venue and online through Time Out Tickets and select ENOC/EPPCO outlets from mid-September. Entry is free for children under the age of five. Student gadget-lovers are in luck this year – by pre-booking for a group of 50 or more, students pay just AED 10 for entry, a discount of over 60%. This needs to be arranged before 5 October, by emailing shopper@dwtc.com.

Bombing outside Indian court kills 9, wounds 45

2011-09-07T11:34:00.000+04:00

NEW DELHI (AP) — A bomb apparently hidden in a suitcase exploded Wednesday morning outside a crowded gate leading to the High Court in New Delhi, killing nine people and wounding 45 others, officials said.

The blast was the first major terror attack in India since a string of bombs exploded in three busy Mumbai neighborhoods on July 13, killing 20 people. Suspicion for those attacks fell on the shadowy extremist network known as the Indian Mujahedeen, though no one has been arrested.

The bomb Wednesday exploded about 10:10 a.m. near a line of more than 100 people waiting at a reception counter to get passes for entry to the court building to have their cases heard.

The explosion shook the courthouse, sending lawyers and judges fleeing outside, said Sanjiv Narula, a lawyer who was in the building.

"There was smoke everywhere. People were running. People were shouting. There was blood everywhere. It was very, very scary," said Sangeeta Sondhi, another lawyer, who was parking her car near the gate when the bomb exploded.

People ran to the blast site to assist the injured, piling them into auto-rickshaws to take them to the hospital.

Renu Sehgal, a 42-year-old housewife with a case before the court, had just received her pass and was standing nearby with her uncle and mother while her husband parked their car when she heard the explosion.

"The sound was so huge and suddenly people started running," she said. "We were all in such a big panic. ... I'm lucky I survived."The court building was evacuated, constable Sanjay Kumar said.

"It appears that the bomb was in a suitcase because we have the remains of that suitcase," Home Secretary R.K. Singh told CNN-IBN television.The blast killed nine and wounded 45 others, he said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The High Court is an appeals court below India's Supreme Court.Ambulances and forensic teams rushed to the scene, along with sniffer dogs and a bomb disposal unit, apparently checking for any further explosives.

The blast was the second explosion at the High Court this year. On May 25, a small explosion that appeared to be a failed car bomb erupted in the court parking lot.

The attack rekindled memories of the string of deadly bombings that rocked the country in 2008. But that violence had mostly abated after the November 2008 siege of Mumbai, when 10 Pakistan-based militants wreaked havoc across India's commercial capital for 60 hours, killing 166 people.

However, a series of smaller attacks raised concerns in recent months that the violence was returning.
Last Sept. 19, two gunmen on a motorcycle shot and wounded two Taiwanese men outside a famous New Delhi mosque. A few minutes later, a bomb rigged to a nearby car malfunctioned and caught fire. On Dec. 7, a bomb exploded in the city of Varanasi, killing a 2-year-old, and a few months later came the failed attack on the New Delhi High Court.

The July attack in three busy neighborhoods in Mumbai was the worst bombing to hit the country in years. Some analysts feared the smaller attacks were an effort to regroup by the Indian Mujahedeen — a domestic extremist group blamed for many of the 2008 attacks.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh promised a strong Lokpal Bill on the occasion of Independence Day

2011-08-15T09:39:00.001+04:00

NEW DELHI: With government facing attack over multiple scams, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday promised a strong Lokpal to end corruption in high places and asserted that hunger strikes will not help address the problem, in an apparent reference to Anna Hazare's agitation.

Addressing the nation for the eighth consecutive year on the occasion of Independence Day, Singh said no government has a "magic wand" to deal with the problem of corruption which needs to be tackled on many fronts and asked all political parties to "stand shoulder to shoulder" in this fight.

A day before Hazare was to embark on an indefinite fast demanding a strong Lokpal, he made it clear that only Parliament can decide what type of Lokpal legislation can be enacted.

"I am aware of the differences of opinion on some aspects of the bill. Those who don't agree with this bill can put forward their views to Parliament, political parties and even the press. However, I also believe they should not resort to hunger strikes and fasts-unto-death," Singh said.

Acknowledging that corruption is a big obstacle in national transformation, he said the menace should be discussed in a manner that should not create an atmosphere in which country's progress comes into question.

He also admitted that funds meant for welfare of common man end up in the pockets of government officials.

Speaking from a bullet-proof enclosure amid rains, the Prime Minister touched on a variety of subjects including the sensitive land acquisition issue, naxalism, terrorism, economy and inflation.

Unlike in the past, foreign policy issues found no mention in his 40-minute speech on the 65th Independence Day from the historic 17th century Mughal monument of Red Fort.

Judiciary should not be under Lokpal: PM

It is not right to bring the judiciary under the ambit of Lokpal as this would go against the independence of the judiciary, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said.

PM admitted that we do need a framework in which the judiciary becomes more accountable.

"It is not appropriate to bring the judiciary under the ambit of Lokpal. We believe that any such provision would go against the independence of the judiciary.

"It is with this aim that we have introduced the Judicial Accountability Bill in Parliament. I am confident this bill will be passed soon," he said.

Caribbean Airlines Passenger jet crashes - breaks in two

2011-08-01T13:35:00.000+04:00

Flight 523 from New York had just touched down and passengers were applauding the pilot's landing in the South American country Saturday when something suddenly went wrong.The Boeing 737-800 slid off the end of a rainy runway, crashed through a chain-link fence and broke in half just short of a deep ravine. Yet all 163 people on board survived.Officials were starting to probe the cause of the crash even as they marveled at the lack of fatalities.

"We must be the luckiest country and luckiest set of people in the world to escape so lightly," said Health Minister Leslie Ramsammy, who said more than 30 people were taken to the hospital. Only three of those had to be admitted for a broken leg, bumps, cuts and bruises.

The Caribbean Airlines plane had left John F. Kennedy International Airport Friday evening and made a stop in Trinidad before landing in Guyana. The airline said it was carrying 157 passengers and six crew members.Geeta Ramsingh, 41, of Philadelphia, recalled how applause at the arrival quickly "turned to screams."

"The plane sped up as if attempting to take off again. It is then that I smelled gas in the cabin and people started to shout and holler," she said.When the plane crumpled to a stop, Ramsingh said she hopped onto the wing and then onto the dirt road outside the runway fence.

"A fellow who was trying to escape as well mistakenly jumped on my back and that is why my knees are bruised," she said. "So I am in pain, but very thankful to be alive."

Nobody had yet showed up to rescue her, "but a taxi driver appeared from nowhere and charged me $20 to take me to the terminal. I had to pay, but in times of emergencies, you don't charge people for a ride," she said, sitting on a chair in the arrival area surrounded by relatives. She was returning to her native country for only the second time in 30 years.

Adis Cambridge, 42, of Guyana, said she felt the thump of a hard landing but did not think much of it until seconds later."I realized that everything was on top of me, people and bags. I was the second to last person to get off that plane in the dark," she said, surrounded by her two young children who had come to the airport to meet her after a brief holiday in the U.S.

"I hit my head on the roof. It was so scary," she said, and described jumping from the wing to the dirt road below as crews with flashlights and beams from fire engines searched for passengers."I thought I would have died. I just started to cry," she said.

The plane came to rest off the end of the 7,400-foot (2,200-meter) runway at Cheddi Jagan International Airport, which sits on a ridge in forested region just south of the oceanfront capital of nearly 300,000 people.

Authorities struggled at first to remove passengers without adequate field lights and other emergency equipment.

The plane stopped a little short of a 200-foot (60-meter) ravine that could have resulted in dozens of fatalities, said President Bharrat Jagdeo.

"We are very, very grateful that more people were not injured," said Jagdeo, who came to the crash site before dawn.

George Nicholas, Caribbean Airlines chairman, told reporters that officials with the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board are scheduled to arrive Sunday in Guyana to take over the investigation. He said investigators from Guyana and Trinidad, the airline's base, will help.He said the airline is arranging for counselors to meet with passengers.

Authorities temporarily closed the Guyana airport, leaving hundreds of passengers stranded and delaying dozens of flights. The main terminal reopened late Saturday morning to only a couple of small planes, including a LIAT airline bound for Barbados, said Orin Walton, a local representative for the Antigua-based carrier.The crash of Flight 523 is the worst in recent history in Guyana, and only one of the few serious incidents involving the Trinidad-based airline. It is the single largest carrier in the region, operating at least five daily flights.

Google says hackers in China stole Gmail passwords

2011-06-02T10:51:00.001+04:00

San Francisco: Google said Wednesday that hundreds of users of Gmail, its e-mail service, had been the targets of clandestine attacks apparently originating in China that were aimed at stealing their passwords and monitoring their e-mail.

In a blog post, the company said the victims included senior government officials in the United States, Chinese political activists, officials in several Asian countries, military personnel and journalists.

It is the second time Google has pointed to an area of China as the source of an Internet intrusion. Its latest announcement is likely to further ratchet up the tension between the company and Chinese authorities.

Last year, Google said it had traced a sophisticated invasion of its computer systems to people based in China. The accusation led to a rupture of the company's relationship with China and a decision by Google not to cooperate with China's censorship demands. As a result, Google decided to base its Chinese search engine in Hong Kong.
The more recent attacks were not as technically advanced, relying on a common technique known as phishing to trick users into handing over their passwords. But Google's announcement was unusual in that it put a spotlight on the scale, apparent origins and carefully selected targets of a coordinated campaign to hijack e-mail accounts.

Google said that once the intruders had logged into the accounts, they could change settings for mail forwarding so that copies of messages would be sent to another address. The company said it had "disrupted" the campaign and had notified the victims as well as government agencies. Executives at Google declined to comment beyond the blog post. The company recommended that Gmail users take additional security steps, like using a Google service known as two-step verification, to make it more difficult to compromise their e-mail accounts. But it emphasized that the password thefts were not the result of a general security problem with Gmail.

Google acknowledged that it had been alerted to the problem in part by Mila Parkour, a security researcher in Washington who posted evidence of a type of phishing attack on her blog in February. She documented examples of what has recently been described as a "man-in-the-mailbox" attack, in which the intruder uses the account of one victim and his e-mail contacts to gain the trust of a new victim.

Ms. Parkour wrote that the method used in this attack "is far from being new or sophisticated," but that she was posting information about it because of "the particularly invasive approach of the attack."

She highlighted a fake document titled "Draft US-China Joint Statement" that was circulated among people with e-mail accounts at the State Department, the Defense Department, the Defense Intelligence Agency and Gmail. Clicking to download the document directed users instead to a fake Gmail log-in page that captured their passwords.

Caitlin Hayden, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council, said the White House was looking into the matter.

"We have no reason to believe that any official U.S. government e-mail accounts were accessed," Ms. Hayden said in an e-mail.

Google said the attacks apparently originated in Jinan, a provincial capital in eastern China. The city is a regional command center for the Chinese military, one of seven in the country. It is also home to the Lanxiang Vocational School, which was founded with military support. Last year, investigators looking into the attack on Google's systems said they had traced some of the hacking activity back to the school.

At the time, government and school officials strongly denied any connection with the attack, and China's foreign ministry said linking the Chinese authorities to such attacks was "baseless, highly irresponsible and hype with ulterior motives."

That earlier attack appeared to be aimed at gathering information on human rights activists who were involved in political campaigns aimed at China. It was part of a wave of attacks that hit a range of American companies beginning in mid-2009 and that was first publicly disclosed by Google in January 2010.

Chinese government media officials were not immediately available to comment on Google's latest announcement.

Rafal Rohozinski, a network security specialist at the SecDev Group in Ottawa, said it was impossible to lay blame for the campaign on the Chinese government with any certainty. Because of the borderless nature of the Internet, it is easy for intruders to connect through a series of countries to mask their identities. "The fact that someone is harvesting Gmail credentials is not surprising," Mr. Rohozinski said.

This year, the Chinese government has stepped up its controls over the Internet within the country, with increased scrutiny of news and blog sites, particularly in the wake of political upheaval in North Africa and the Middle East.

The government has also apparently crippled some virtual private network services, or VPNs, which have been used by Chinese and expatriates to gain access to corporate e-mail or get around controls that block many Web sites from being entered in China, like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

Security specialists said the Google warning to users was an indication that efforts to place the responsibility for Internet security on individuals was failing.

"I think this is impossible to solve by going to one user at a time and trying to teach them how to behave on the Internet," said Nir Zuck, founder and chief technology officer of Palo Alto Networks. "It doesn't matter how much education you put into it -- you will always have end users that will make a mistake."

Yahsat’s UAE,s First Satellite Hits Its Mark

2011-05-08T13:08:00.000+04:00

Abu Dhabi, 8 May, 2011: Yahsat’s first satellite has successfully arrived at its point of operations, 52.5 degrees east, roughly above the United Arab Emirates. In this operational position, satellite Y1A now looks down on a service area including Africa, Europe, the Middle East and South-West Asia.

“This is a very significant step as we move towards activating Yahsat’s services for our customers across the coverage regions,” says Jassem Mohamed Al Zaabi, CEO of Yahsat and Executive Director of Mubadala Information, Communications and Technology. “Our tests thus far have gone well and the satellite appears to be performing properly. It is safe to say the highest degree of risk is behind us and I am confident we will be prepared to activate our services shortly.”

After its successful launch on April 23rd, (Abu Dhabi time) the satellite performed a series of maneuvers bringing it from an elliptical transfer orbit to its final circular geostationary orbit some 35,786 km above Earth. Now in its final position, controllers will spend the next several weeks testing every aspect of the satellite’s functionality before its systems are activated for Y1A’s duel commercial and civil missions.

Yahsat, the United Arab Emirates-based satellite communications company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company (Mubadala), provides multi-purpose satellite communications services to commercial and governmental clients in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and South-West Asia. With a wide portfolio of voice, data, video and internet connectivity solutions, Yahsat satellites are designed based on market requirements and future applications. Yahsat is partnering with a consortium composed of EADS Astrium, Thales and Alenia Space to build a multi-purpose satellite communications system. Yahsat’s first satellite Y1A was successfully launched in April 2011 and Y1B is scheduled to launch by year-end 2011. http://www.yahsat.ae/

Sri Sathya Sai Baba passes away

2011-04-24T10:16:00.002+04:00

Puttaparthi: Spiritual leader Sri Sathya Sai Baba died at the Sathya Sai super speciality hospital at Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh's Anantapur district today.
Doctors said he died at 7.40 am of cardio-respiratory failure. The 84-year-old was admitted to hospital on March 28 with breathing and heart problems.
His condition since Thursday morning had been described as "very critical" by doctors attending to him. Most of his organs were not responding to treatment. The condition of his liver and his low blood pressure were causing concern, they had said.

As doctors announced his death, they appealed to people to be calm and not rush to hospital. Security has been tightened in the area. All roads leading to the hospital have been blocked and shops have been ordered to close at Puttaparthi.
Godman to some, miracle-man to others and revered as God by lakhs of his followers, Sathya Sai Baba had the rich, famous and powerful from the world of politics, business, films and sport flocking to his doorstep in Puttaparthi, the small Andhra Pradesh village that he made internationally famous.

Born on 23 November 1926 in a modest family in Puttaparthi, Satyanarayana Raju declared himself a reincarnation of Shirdi Sai Baba at the age of 14. From then on his devotees and admirers only grew in numbers over the years.

Though a few controversies did cast shadows on Sai Baba's image and critics have been skeptical about claims that he would produce holy ash, golden rings and mementoes from thin air, Sathya Sai Baba also earned respect for setting up world-class educational and health institutions and also for charitable work like drinking water projects for four semi-arid districts of Andhra Pradesh and in Chennai. The institutions and properties that he built are estimated to be worth over Rs. 27,000 crore.

After a hip fracture in 2006, Sathya Sai Baba was confined to a wheel chair and gave darshan from his car or a portable chair.

Sathya Sai Baba 'very critical,' say doctors

2011-04-21T10:46:00.002+04:00

Puttaparthi: The condition of spiritual leader Sathya Sai Baba, seen as the incarnation of God by his devotees in India and abroad, is "very critical," his doctors have said, adding that "most of his organs are showing very poor response to the treatment."

According to doctors attending on him at Sathya Sai super specialty hospital at Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh's Anantapur district, the condition of his liver and his low blood pressure are causing concern.

"Sri Sathya Sai Baba continues to be in a very critical state of health. Most of his organs are not responding," said a medical bulletin issued by the hospital.

Hospital director AN Safaya said Sai Baba's breathing is still ventilator-dependent and the process of slow hemodialysis has been started in the morning to assist his kidneys.

A panel of doctors is watching him round-the-clock and giving all the necessary treatment to keep him in a stable state of health, added the statement.

The 84-year-old self-styled Godman was admitted to hospital on March 28 with breathing and heart problems. The doctors later said he was suffering from multi-organ dysfunction.

Hospital statement on Sathya Sai Baba's health:

Abdul Kalam urges solutions to make N-plants safe

2011-04-20T15:09:00.001+04:00

India’s former president and nuclear scientist Dr APJ Abdul Kalam said the world should identify solutions to make nuclear power plants safe rather than deciding against them.

“Just because the Titanic sunk, the world did not stop building better ships.

Similarly we need to work towards improving technology and ensure nuclear power plants are safe. There will be accidents, but we need to work towards removing the hurdles, rather than go back,” said Kalam addressing a group of children at the JSS International School in Barsha Dubai.

Stressing the need for nuclear power, the man who was instrumental in India’s second series of nuclear tests in 1998 said: “We need nuclear energy, especially since it is clean energy.”

Even as workers at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant are struggling to contain the radiation leak from the nuclear fuel rods, the world has started to debate on the safety and future of nuclear power plants. Opponents of nuclear power have already started to call upon governments to stop all future plans to build nuclear power plants, especially in earthquake prone areas. According to reports, Tepco the operator of the Fukushima power plants says it will take another six to nine months before the crisis is resolved. People living 20km around the plant have been evacuated.

Kalam who asked students to dream, work hard and persevere to achieve the goal, answered a series of questions that were thrown at him.

Answering a question on corruption Kalam said: “Corruption is an evil that has to be eradicated and is the biggest challenge India is facing. I would advise each and every child to go back home and tell your parents not to be corrupt.”

Apple Sues Samsung For copying its designs on Galaxy Products

2011-04-20T14:59:00.003+04:00

Apple sued Samsung Electronics claiming the South Korean firm's Galaxy line of mobile phones and tablets "slavishly" copies the iPhone and iPad, according to court papers, a move analysts say is aimed at keeping its close rivals at bay.

Apple is one participant in a web of litigation among phone makers and software firms over who owns the patents used in smartphones, as rivals aggressively rush into the smartphone and tablet market which the US firm jumpstarted with iPhone and iPad.

Nokia and Apple have sued each other in numerous courts and as recently as last month Nokia filed a complaint with the US trade panel alleging that Apple infringes its patents in iPhones, iPads and other products.

Samsung is one of the fastest growing smartphone makers and has emerged as Apple's strongest competitor in the booming tablet market with models in three sizes but it remains a distant second in the space.

"If Apple fails to fend off Android, it will within a year or two find itself in a situation like Research in Motion, even if at a higher level (initially)," said Florian Mueller, a technology specialist and blogger on patent battles.

"Apple has realised this already as its new lawsuit against Samsung shows, but given what's at stake, I think Apple would have to do much more than this. It would have to sue more Android device makers and over more patents."

Samsung's Galaxy products use Google's Android operating system, which directly competes with Apple's mobile software. However, Apple's claims against Samsung focus on Galaxy's design features, such as the look of its screen icons, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit, filed on Friday, alleges Samsung violated Apple's patents and trademarks.
"This kind of blatant copying is wrong," Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet said in a statement.

Apple is bringing 16 claims against Samsung, including unjust enrichment, trademark infringement and 10 patent claims.

"...Samsung has made its Galaxy phones and computer tablet work and look like Apple's products through widespread patent and trade dress infringement... By this action, Apple seeks to put a stop to Samsung's illegal conduct and obtain compensation for the violations that have occurred thus far," Apple said in the court document.

Samsung said it would respond to the legal action "through appropriate legal measures to protect our intellectual property."

"Samsung's development of core technologies and strengthening our intellectual property portfolio are keys to our continued success," it said in a statement.

Samsung faces the challenge of moving beyond being a hardware company, clever at copying ideas, to becoming more creative, better adept at software, at a time when consumer gadgets are getting smarter all the time.

It has yet to come up with the kind of original, iconic, market-leading products that powered brands such as Apple's i-series or Sony Corp's Walkman. Nor has it taken the kind of initiatives in software that Google and Apple did to thwart Microsoft.

FORMIDABLE RIVAL

Apple CEO Steve Jobs has criticised Samsung and other rivals in presentations of new products or technology debates. Analysts say Samsung's response to this has been muted, partly because Apple was Samsung's second-biggest customer last year after Sony.

Apple brought in around 6.2 trillion won ($5.7 billion) of sales to Samsung in 2010 mainly by purchasing semiconductors, according to Samsung's annual report.

John Jackson, an analyst with CCS Insight, said Samsung is essentially Apple's only real tablet competitor at this stage. "It's clear that they do not intend to let Apple run away with the category," Jackson said.

"This is more like a symbolic move by Apple that it is quite serious about rivals advancing and it is trying to hold back its close competitors," said John Park, an analyst at Daishin Securities in Seoul.

"Samsung is unlikely to respond aggressively given that Apple is its core client in the component business," Park said.

To better compete with Apple, Samsung redesigned within weeks its new 10.1-inch tablet, first introduced in February, to make it the thinnest in the category after Apple set the trend with its iPad 2.

The global smartphone market is expected to grow 58 per cent this year and Android is set account for 39 per cent of the market, while the tablet market is likely to quadruple to 70 million units, according to research firm Gartner.

Apple's iPad will still dominate, controlling more than half of the tablet market for the next three years, but its share is seen gradually declining to 47 per cent in 2015 from 69 per cent this year, giving way to Android devices.

GCC : inflation to pick up in 2011

2011-04-20T14:52:00.001+04:00

Inflation in Gulf oil producers is expected to edge up to more than four per cent through 2011 because of high global commodity prices but it is unlikely to return to the 2008 double-digit rates, a Kuwait bank has said.

After recording a rate of three per cent in 2010, inflation in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is expected to accelerate to more than four per cent in 2011, National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) said in a study.

“Higher inflation rates are expected across all GCC countries, although with varying degrees. The increase in GCC inflation will be largely driven by rising global commodity prices – and especially food prices, which could remain elevated this year,” the six-page study said.

“Similarly, energy prices may continue to rise in 2011 on the back of growing demand from emerging markets and the current political instability across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This in itself will tend to boost economic growth in the GCC, and sustain inflationary pressures.”

But the report said that even if inflation heads higher in the short run, the rate is still unlikely to reach the double digits recorded in 2008.

“Factors that had largely contributed to the previous peak in prices – notably rapid economic growth rates and soaring housing rents – are currently out of the picture. Moreover, commodity prices are notoriously volatile,” NBK said.

“As fast as they have managed to push inflation higher in recent months, the process could go into reverse if commodity prices begin to flatten out or fall.”

The report recalled that inflation in the GCC, which controls over 40 per cent of the world’s proven oil deposits, rocketed from almost zero at the start of the decade to a peak of more than 11 per cent in 2008.

With the onset of the global economic crisis in September 2008, inflation rates dropped to around three per cent in 2009.

“Nevertheless, the global recovery in 2010 has set the stage for the return of inflationary pressures. Although the average rate of inflation was unchanged from 2009, this masks acceleration during the course of the year,” NBK said.

It noted that the past few months have seen inflation levels generally rise across the region mainly because of rising global commodity prices.

During the past year or so, Saudi Arabia has recorded higher inflation levels than its counterparts in the region, with inflation rising in the first half of 2010 and then lingering at around six per cent, the report said.

Kuwait and Oman also experienced relatively fast price increases last year, with inflation in Kuwait reaching Saudi levels near year-end.

The biggest turnaround though has been in Qatar, with prices there falling by as much as 10 per cent in year-on-year terms in the last quarter of 2009 before starting to rise again over the past few weeks.

Inflation in the UAE has generally risen, albeit at a slower pace while Bahrain was an exception as inflation seems to have slowed in the last few months.

“Although inflation levels have begun escalating once again, they remain modest compared to the soaring rates recorded before 2009. During that period, GCC economies experienced exceptionally rapid economic growth rates,” it said.

“Growth then was propelled by the upsurge in oil prices, which, combined with loose monetary policies, depreciation of the dollar and skyrocketing housing rents, took inflation levels in the GCC to modern-day highs.”

A breakdown showed inflation will rise to around 5.5 per cent from 5.1 per cent in Saudi Arabia, to five per cent from around 3.1 per cent in Oman, 4.6 per cent from four per cent in Kuwait, three per cent from less than one per cent in the UAE and to three per cent from two per cent in Bahrain. In Qatar, the rate could be near zero compared with a deflation rate of more than two per cent in 2010.

According to NBK, global commodity prices affect inflation in the GCC countries in three ways given their heavy reliance on imports:

1 Direct effects: The extent of the direct effects depends on the importance of these commodities in the ‘baskets’ of goods used to calculate consumer price inflation. Generally, commodity prices have a greater effect on overall inflation in countries where food and energy prices comprise a large portion of the consumer price index (CPI). This is often the case in developing countries.

2 Indirect effects: Rising commodity prices may eventually feed into prices of goods and services more generally in an economy. This could happen as a result of higher costs of production inputs or due to wages being pushed up to meet higher costs of living, consequently putting pressure on prices.

3 Effects on demand: Changes in commodity prices may well have varying effects on inflation depending on whether the country is a net exporter or importer of the commodity. If commodity prices rise, net commodity exporters are likely to see higher economic growth as rising incomes boost demand. This would tend to increase inflationary pressures.

However, net importers see their incomes reduced, cutting demand and, subsequently, inflation.

Gold crosses $1,500 on global concerns

2011-04-20T12:37:00.002+04:00

Gold hit a fresh record above $1,500 dollars in Hong Kong on Wednesday as traders sought out the safe haven amid concerns over the global economy.

The precious metal rose to $1,500.70 an ounce in afternoon trade days after Standard & Poor's downgraded its US sovereign debt outlook to "negative" from "stable".

The ratings agency's move Monday challenged Washington's gold-star "AAA"-rated standard as it warned that politicians seemed unable to agree a plan to reduce a huge budget deficit, which is running at around 10 per cent of gross domestic product.

The move sent global shares tumbling and it also comes as concerns grow over global inflation, with China and India struggling to control prices and the European Central Bank also being forced to hike rates to ease costs.

Gold is considered a safe haven bet against high inflation.

Getaway car leads to arrest of gang in $6m robbery

2011-04-20T12:33:00.001+04:00

Dubai Police busted a gang of five Russians who robbed $6million and injured the victims with knives, according to Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Dubai Police Chief.

Two of the gang members attacked the two victims at the parking lot of their building and made away with two bags comprising $6m in a black salon car.

Following the descirption of the suspects as given by the victims, police set out to nab the culprits in an operation dubbed 'the Thin Thread', which involved cooperation from police forces of other emirates, as well, said Lt Gen Tamim.

In a major breakthrough, police found the salon car used by the culprits belonged to an Australian, AD, who was on holiday.

After police sent out the information about the car, two people called to inform that a similar car was spotted in one of the malls and that two people [with similar descriptions] were seen getting off it.

The two suspects were very professional in their conduct, said the police chief, as they had used another stolen car - a Chrysler - in the same operation and spoke on mobile phones very prudently.

Upon their arrest police found more than $10,000 on them apart from more cash from their house as well as tools used to break into cars. They confessed to taking the help of a Russian woman in sending money abroad. Police discovered Dh1,870, $1,048,660, more than 7,000 roubles from her house.

Upon interrogation, she inturn led the police to two other Russians who helped them in their robberies. About Dh3,315 was received from one of the suspects - RA. Police discovered a Mercedes car in which was hidden $4,490,100 in separate bags with the other suspect, JB.

Superbus Shows way to Greener Future

2011-04-19T10:47:00.004+04:00

It moved off almost soundlessly, the only noise a slight whirr from the electric motors at the rear.

At 15 metres long, the Superbus looked impossibly unmanoeuvrable as it took to the road for a spin around Masdar City.

Not so, according to Antonia Terzi, the former Formula 1 aerodynamics expert who was its lead designer and who was behind the wheel for yesterday's first UAE test drive of the prototype. "It drives like a car," she said. "After a couple of laps you forget you have 15 metres behind you. It's really, really responsive and it drives really, really nicely."

That, she said, was thanks to two sets of steerable rear wheels that make it surprisingly nifty around corners. "It's a very important and useful feature that allows the bus to reach almost any destination."

The eco-friendly community that is taking shape next to Abu Dhabi International Airport was a fitting setting for yesterday's test of the prototype of the revolutionary Dutch-designed 250kph electric vehicle. And for the first time the Superbus's batteries were charged up using solar power thanks to Masdar's array of photovoltaic panels.

"Last night it was fantastic because we charged the Superbus with solar energy from here," Ms Terzi said. "It was the first time we could close the loop. The idea is to have Superbus which runs on batteries, which is fully electric. But then the batteries need to be charged up through a sustainable source, so this is great. I'm very, very happy."

The sleek midnight-blue Superbus, which has room for 23 passengers, has been developed at the Delft University of Technology by a team led by the former astronaut Professor Wubbo Ockels.

Last week, as the prototype went on show in Dubai, he said he hoped the UAE would be the first country in the world to operate the vehicle, which could slash the journey time between Abu Dhabi and Dubai to 30 minutes. It is designed to use ordinary roads at either end of its route, but for most of the distance of its journey it would transfer to a purpose-built high-speed track on which it could accelerate to 250kph.

Ms Terzi said she was delighted to have brought the Superbus to Masdar. "Masdar City is a fantastic project because it's all about how to make sustainable energy and make it now, not in the future but now, and I love this approach. It's the same thing for Superbus."

Passengers would call up the nearest Superbus by phone, and it would take them from wherever they were to their destination.

The Masdar City director Alan Frost said the idea would be better suited to inter-city routes than as a means of transport within the community.

Banned 'aphrodisiac' in UAE groceries

2011-04-18T14:02:00.003+04:00

An herbal 'aphrodisiac' banned by the Indian government is available in some supermarkets and groceries in the UAE.

Musli Power Xtra, produced by South India-based Kunnath Pharmaceuticals,claims to offer the complete solution for sexual problems in both men and women. The company currently sells the product online as Indian ginseng.

The medicine is quite popular among Non-Resident Indians, said a market source. It is available in some grocery shops and some pharmacies that sell such medicines. It is illegally smuggled into the country and sold at a high premium as Indian Ginseng. As prices in India have crashed, traders are cashing in on the Gulf markets," said another source.

While approving Musli Power Xtra formulation for commercial production, the main ingredient indicated was the seed of ‘Nilappana’ (Curculigo orchioides). However, Kunnath Pharma made the formulation with the extracts of Safed Musli, violating the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, which clearly states such raw ingredients cannot be used for making any kind of medicine formulations, according to an official.

Advertisements such as “Musli Power Xtra makes first night the best night,” have helped the company make a fortune by selling the brand in India and abroad within six years of its launch.

The Kerala Drug Regulatory Authorities have filed cases against the company under Spurious Drugs Act, and another under Drugs and Magic Remedies (objectionable advertisement) Act, 1955.

Gold price hits another record high, set to cross $1,500 Investors bullish on the outlook; silver at 31-year high

2011-04-17T10:34:00.003+04:00

Gold jumped to another record high on Friday after the dollar fell to its lowest since late 2009 against a basket of major currencies, taking silver to a 31-year high, while inflation pressures in China also helped lift bullion's appeal.

China's turbo-charged growth eased just a touch in the first quarter, while its inflation jumped to a 32-month high, putting pressure on the government to do more to rein in prices and keep the economy on an even keel.

Spot gold rose $1.66 an ounce to $1,474.56 ounce by 0315 GMT, having hit a record high of $1,479.01 an ounce.

Gold is still far below its all-time inflation-adjusted high, estimated at almost $2,500 an ounce set in 1980 as a result of heightened geopolitical pressure and hyper inflation.
"We see gold peaking at $1,500 an ounce. We think there could be some more upside in gold in the short term, especially in this environment of high inflation and rising oil prices," said" Natalie Robertson, commodities strategist at ANZ.

"There is a lot more upside," said Robertson, adding that the peak of $1,500 would be reached by the end of 2011. Dealers said worries about inflation had spurred steady physical demand from China, where the government has vowed to use all tools at its disposal, including bank reserve requirements, interest rates and the yuan's exchange rate, to wrestle inflation under control.

Gold's rise to record high only attracted light selling from Thailand and Indonesia, suggesting that investors remained bullish on the outlook. Premiums for gold bars were steady at between 70 cents and $1 an ounce in Singapore.

"Generally, higher CPI (consumer prices) could still be a boost for gold. Going forward, we will be looking at inflation figures from the US, and if we see an upside surprise, gold can even go higher," said a dealer in Singapore.

"If you look at recent price action when China announces interest rate hikes, it hasn't affected commodities that much.

Also, because of the fact that gold prices are already so expensive, investors are look at silver as a store of value."

Spot silver rose as high as $42.41 an ounce, its strongest since 1980, with physical dealers in Singapore also reporting buying from speculators.

IShares Silver Trust said its holdings edged up to 10,974.26 tonnes by April 14 from 10,969.71 tonnes on April 13. The holdings hit a record of 11,242.89 tonnes hit on April 8.

The dollar dropped to its lowest in more than a year, under pressure from expectations the US Federal Reserve will not cut short its $600 billion debt-buying programme despite the recent surge in oil prices.

US gold futures for June rose as high as $1,480.5 an ounce, a lifetime high.

Popular Indian singer's daughter drowns to death in Dubai

2011-04-14T14:25:00.003+04:00

Dubai: Popular Indian playback singer K S Chitra’s 8-year-old daughter drowned to death on Thursday morning in a Dubai villa, Gulf News has learnt.

Chitra is in the city to attend a tribute concert titled A R Rahman Special Hits on Thursday evening. She along with her daughter Nandana was residing at a private villa in Emirates Hills, where the incident took place.

Nandana was a child with special needs, born to the singer after being childless for several years of her marriage.

The child was rushed to Cedar hospital in Jebel Ali at around 9am after she was found lying in the pool, an official at the hospital said.

"Although the doctors tried to revive her, we could not save her," he said. The body was moved from the hospital to Shaikh Rashid hospital around 12.30pm for embalming. Sources close to the family said that they are trying to fly the body back home in India on Thursday night.

"Chitra was taking a bath. When she came out she saw Nandana lying in the pool,” the source said, adding that the singer is devastated having lost her only child.

Meanwhile, the concert will go ahead as planned at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

"It has shocked us but as of now, the concert will happen because thousands of tickets have already been sold," said Shyam Mohammad of event organiser Media Factory. "We are trying to help Chitra chechi in every way possible. Right now I am trying to arrange everything for her return home. She had come with her daughter and husband to Dubai day before yesterday."

Gulf News was told that the award-winning singer had chosen to stay at her sister's home instead of staying with the rest of the troupe at a hotel arranged by concert organisers. The concert features performances by celebrated Indian musician A R Rahman’s musical troupe and three of his sisters.

"We had arranged a hotel room for them but we cancelled it when she said it would be better if she spends time with her sister," said Mohammad.

India set up Sri Lanka showdown in Mumbai

2011-03-31T11:52:00.002+04:00

India delivered the victory their nation demanded on Wednesday with a World Cup semi-final win by 29 runs over Pakistan in front of a dancing, cheering crowd in the northern Indian town of Mohali.

A fifth win in as many World Cup encounters over their neighbours and fierce foes put the co-hosts into Saturday's final against 1996 champions Sri Lanka in Mumbai.

The first match in India since the 2008 Mumbai attacks by the two neighbours, who have fought three wars since independence in 1947, was attended by the prime ministers of both countries.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistan counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani shook hands with both teams, watched by millions of Indians who took the day off work to follow the match on television. Interest was as intense on the other side of the border.

India's victory means the stage will be set on Saturday for Sachin Tendulkar to complete an unprecedented 100 international centuries in his home town.

Tendulkar fell 15 runs short on Wednesday despite the best efforts of the Pakistan fielders who dropped him four times, catches which could have turned the course of the match as India eventually reached a challenging 260 for nine on a low, slow pitch.

"When we started I was thinking of 315, 310 which was a par score according to me," man-of-the-match Tendulkar said at the victory presentation.

"But the way the ball was stopping and coming to the spinners I thought 260, 270 would be a good fighting total.

"Going back to Mumbai, especially for this event, is a wonderful occasion. All I want to say is we will be focused on our job and (we will) get the job done."

DECEPTIVE LATE FLURRY

A late flurry by Misbah-ul-Haq before he was the last man out, caught on the boundary for 56, lifted Pakistan to 231 all out with a ball remaining. But Misbah's innings was deceptive as he accelerated only when the game was all but lost.

"They played better than us. We played some irresponsible shots," said Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi in a graceful losing speech. "I want to say sorry to our nation. We tried our level best."

Three of the Tendulkar misses came off Afridi, who maintained his composure in a manner which demonstrated how much he has matured as the one-day captain.

Afridi showed no signs of panic when Virender Sehwag sped to 38 from 25 balls with nine boundaries in an innings which threatened to take the game away from Pakistan.

He turned to his strapping left-arm pace bowler Wahab Riaz who responded with five for 46, including the wickets of Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh, who was bowled first ball with a wonderful swinging yorker. Yuvraj had averaged 113.66 before the match.

"It was difficult to rotate the strike and in the middle overs it got very difficult because they were bowling a very good line and length," said Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

"The ball was stopping and we read the wicket wrong. It was one of the reasons we played with three seamers."

Indian coach Gary Kirsten paid tribute to the team's bowlers, who he said had read the conditions correctly.

"It was more and more difficult to bat as the ball got older. All credit to the bowlers, they identified that early on and they knew that taking some pace off the ball was going to make a real difference.

"The World Cup final will be my last game, the players have been fantastic, they're playing exceptional cricket at the moment. If we put it together... we've got the skill to win this thing."

Pakistan all out for 231

It was a fantastic run for Pakistan who came into the Cricket World Cup 2011 as underdogs. No one really gave thema thought of getting anywhere near the Cup.

However, their run ended on Wednesday night in Mohali. The team was let down by a disappointing dsiplay by thebatsmen despite a noteworthy effort by Pakistani bowlers to restrict India to just 260 for nine.

At the post-match interview, Afridi paid tribute to the players and said he was proud to be the captian of such a team that began the cup as uderdogs. "I want to say sorry to my nation. We tried our level best," he said.

"We got off to a fantastic starts, but it got difficult," said Dhoni giving respect to Pakistani bowlers.

"Mumbai is a dream. It is important to peak at the right time. The good thing is we have chased quite a few decent scores. Overall we are ready," he added.

Sachin Tendulkar was declared the Man of the Match

Tendulkar rode his luck as India made 260 for nine against arch-rivals Pakistan in the World Cup semi-final on Wednesday.

India's total would have been considerably less had not Tendulkar been dropped four times on his way to top-scoring with 85 -- an innings that still left him one shy of a hundred international hundreds.

Wahab Riaz kept Pakistan in the match with an impressive display of left-arm fast bowling on his way to a career-best five for 46.

The 25-year-old's performance was all the more admirable as he would have been omitted had Pakistan recalled veteran fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar.

But Riaz, who took a wicket in his first over and later struck twice in two balls, was a constant threat as he surpassed his previous best of three for 22 against Bangladesh in Dhaka three years ago.

"I think 260 will be enough. The wicket's taking spin and if we bowl in the right places it will be very difficult for them," said Suresh Raina, who finished unbeaten on 36.

Virender Sehwag made a typically brisk start after India captain MS Dhoni won the toss, with 21 runs coming off Umar Gul's second over -- the paceman's eight costing 69 in all.

However, a bowling change saw Riaz strike fifth ball when he had Sehwag, hitting across the line, lbw for 38 including nine boundaries.

Tendulkar, opening with Sehwag, subsequently square-drove Riaz for four to become the first batsman ever to score 400 runs in World Cups.

But off-spinner Saeed Ajmal nearly had him out twice in successive balls for 23, a reviewed lbw and tight stumping call both going against Pakistan.

Then, on 27, Tendulkar pulled Pakistan captain and leg-spinner Shahid Afridi hard to short mid-wicket only for Misbah-ul-Haq to drop the two-handed catch.

And Tendulkar was dropped again, on 45, when he mistimed a drive off Afridi and Younus Khan at mid-off failed to hold on.

Tendulkar completed a 67-ball fifty with his eighth boundary, off Afridi, before Riaz struck again.

He had Virat Kohli fending to Umar Akmal at backward point and next ball clean bowled Yuvraj Singh, the hero of India's quarter-final win over champions Australia, for nought on the batsman's home ground with a swinging full toss.

Dhoni survived the hat-trick after the ball just missed his outside edge.

Tendulkar was given a third reprieve by Pakistan on 70 when wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal failed to hold a tough chance off an edged Afridi leg-break.

And he was on 81 when a leaping Umar Akmal at short mid-wicket dropped a checked drive against off-spinner Mohammad Hafeez.

However, Afridi -- who had vowed Tendulkar would not reach the landmark score in this match -- ended his innings when he took a sharp catch at short extra-cover off a hard-hit drive against Ajmal.

Tendulkar faced 115 balls with 11 fours.

When Riaz returned he had Dhoni lbw for 25 to leave India 205 for six before completing his five-wicket haul when Zaheer Khan was caught behind.

The winner of this match will face Sri Lanka in Saturday's final in Mumbai.

Earlier, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni won the toss and elected to bat against Pakistan in their World Cup semi-final on Wednesday.

Pakistan named an unchanged team from the lineup who beat West Indies in the quarter-finals while India brought in paceman Ashish Nehra for off-spinner Ravichandran Aswhin.

Fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar, who will retire after the World Cup, was left out of the Pakistan XI.

The winner of the clash will meet Sri Lanka in Saturday's final in Mumbai.

Teams:

India: Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Suresh Raina, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel.

Pakistan: Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal, Asad Shafiq, Younus Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Afridi (captain), Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz, Saeed Ajmal.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met with his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani on Wednesday to watch the cricket World Cup semi-final between their two countries.

The two men were seated in the VIP box for the national anthems before heading on to the pitch at the Mohali stadium in northwest India to shake hands with players from both sides.

Skies have cleared up with sunshine greeting anxious fans into the PCA Stadium.

With the pressure mounting ahead of the all-important semi final match between arch-rivals India and Pakistan, the weather gods decided to play their part too. Mohali received some heavy rain and thunderstorms last night.

However, no need for fans to get disappointed. The sun was out in full force on Wednesday. The match is expected to begin on schedule. The weatherman though has said that there is a slight possibility of a light shower in the evening. However even if the match is called off due to rain -- there is a reserve day (Thursday) when the match can be played.

The Meteorological Department has forecasted a partly cloudy sky to prevail in this region with a little chance of light rain by Wednesday evening.
According to the MeT's area forecast, including that of entire Punjab, there could be dust storm or thunderstorm with light rain at a few places in the state today.

The MeT said that currently western disturbance is prevailing over Jammu and Kashmir and its neighbourhood while Rajasthan and its neighbourhood has been experiencing an Upper Air Cyclonic Circulation.

According to the Mohali pitch curator Daljit Singh, ball is likely to seam around under the flood lights.

EARLIER STORY:

　

Rain will send Pakistan to final without a ball being bowled

　

Heavy rains and thunderstorm lashed Mohali on the eve of the blockbuster World Cup semi-final clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan at the Punjab Cricket Association stadium.

The Meteorological Department has forecasted a partly cloudy sky to prevail in this region with a chance of light rain by Wednesday evening.

If today's match is rained out, then there is a reserve day - on Thursday when the match can be played. But, if Thursday is also washed out by rain, then the rule states, "If following a tie, weather conditions prevent the one over eliminator from being completed, or if the match is a no result, then the team that finished in the higher position in the Group stage shall proceed to the final."

So, if the weather gods are really unkind, it will be heartbreak for India, and Pakistan will make the finals.

"The local forecast for Wednesday is partly cloudy sky with less chance of rain," an official of the Chandigarh-based MeT Department told PTI.

According to the MeT's area forecast, including that of entire Punjab, there could be dust storm or thunderstorm with light rain at a few places in the state on D-day.

The MeT said that currently western disturbance is prevailing over Jammu and Kashmir and its neighbourhood while Rajasthan and its neighbourhood has been experiencing an Upper Air Cyclonic Circulation.

The maximum temperature at Mohali and Chandigarh is hovering in the range of 30-32 degrees Celsius.

The maximum relative humidity on Tuesday was around 68 per cent and the minimum relative humidity was likely to be around 39 per cent.

According to the Mohali pitch curator Daljit Singh, ball is likely to seam around under the flood lights.

Dubai seen growing 4% in 2011

2011-03-31T11:45:00.001+04:00

Dubai's economy should grow by up to four per cent this year helped by a recovery of trade and logistics sectors, a government economist said on Wednesday.

"Given the vibrant recovery of trade and logistics sectors, growth will accelerate in 2011," Mohammad Lahouel, chief economist at Dubai's Department of Economic Development told a conference on the Gulf emirate's economic outlook.

"A conservative estimate would put growth in 2011 between three and four per cent, but closer to four per cent," he said.

The economic output of Dubai is estimated to have grown by 2.2 per cent last year, after a 2.4 per cent contraction in 2009, its statistics centre said this month.

The International Monetary Fund predicted 0.5 per cent real gross domestic product growth in 2010.

FDI hub status bolstered

Dubai's reputation as an international investment destination has been bolstered by the political upheaval currently sweeping the Middle East, government officials said Wednesday.

"Interest in Dubai as a safe hub for investments has increased during the past two to three years," Sami Al Qamzi, Director-General of Dubai's Department of Economic Development told Zawya Dow Jones on the sidelines of a conference in Dubai. "This interest has increased lately, especially with Dubai offering sound infrastructure and stability for businesses," he added.

Dubai "has been working extensively for the past 15 years to enhance its infrastructure and setting a sound business environment, and that has reflected positively in terms of it becoming an attraction to investors," said Al Qamzi.

Political unrest in the Middle East, which has seen regimes topple in Egypt and Tunisia, has delivered a body-blow to crucial industries like tourism and financial services. Dubai's economy has been the main beneficiary of the regional upheaval however, as it is viewed by many as a relative safe haven for businesses operating in the Gulf.

Abdullah Al Awar, the chief executive of the Dubai International Financial Center, or DIFC, echoed Al Qamzi's optimism about Dubai's ability to benefit from the recent spate of unrest elsewhere in the region.

"We're seeing lots of interest in the DIFC. We've always been supportive to institutions interested in having a regional hub. Dubai's take is always a global stand with a global infrastructure and regulatory framework," Al Awar told Zawya Dow Jones.

Marios Maratheftis, head of research for the Middle East and North Africa at Standard Chartered Bank, said Dubai's appeal in times of turmoil shouldn't come as surprise.

The spreading regional unrest has provided an additional boost to tourist arrivals in Dubai, and left hotels overflowing and resorts struggling to cope with demand.

"During times of tension and elevated risk, it [Dubai] benefits from the flight to quality. This applies to several sectors in Dubai's economy including retail, hospitality and finance," Maratheftis told Zawya Dow Jones.

ICC World Cup 2011 Live Streaming

2011-03-30T16:22:00.002+04:00

http://www.livetvchannelsfree.net/cbncricket.html

World’s Richest Man Opens His Soumaya Museum In Mexico City

2011-03-30T10:05:00.004+04:00

In Mexico City, the world’s richest man has officially given his gift to the city: Carlos Slim Helu’s new Soumaya Museum is now open to the public.

The museum, designed by his architect son-in-law Fernando Romero, is open to the public for free and houses Slim’s vast art collection—reportedly 70,000 pieces, spanning works by Rodin, Leonardo da Vinci and other European artists as well as those by Mexican muralists Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros, to name just a few.

Only a small handful of the world’s 1,210 billionaires can claim to have their own museum, though many have vast art collections. In Los Angeles, billionaire Eli Broad is overseeing the construction of “The Broad,” a new building downtown near MOCA (the museum of Contemporary Art) on Grand Ave. It will house his collection of contemporary art. (He’s also got a museum-within-a-museum at the L.A. County Art Museum, called the Broad Contemporary Art Museum. But he’s amassed enough art to fill more than one spot.) Across the country in Potomac, Maryland, industrialist Mitchell Rales has put his collection of Richard Serra sculptures and works by artists including Jackson Pollock and Robert Rauschenberg in his Glenstone Museum Foundation—a museum that requires reservations to visit. (It’s a rather unusual experience to visit, as this article from the Washington City Paper noted in 2008.)

Other billionaires with their own museums:

Ronald Lauder, investor and heir to the Estee Lauder cosmetics fortune, has the Neue Galerie on Fifth Ave. in New York, a museum dedicated to German and Austrian art.

French retailing billionaire Francois Pinault, whose art collection is estimated to be worth $1.7 billion, owns the Palazzo Grassi in Venice, where much of his work is displayed. Pinault also owns art auction house Christie’s.

Germany’s Reinhold Wurth, who took over his father’s screw business, built an empire of all kinds of fasteners. His Wurth Collection in the southern German city of Kunzeslau, includes 14,000 works of art including pieces by Pablo Picasso, Edvard Munch and Max Ernst.

Lee Kun-Hee of South Korea. The chairman of Samsung Group opened the Samsung Museum of Art in Seoul in 2004. It houses traditional and contemporary Korean and international art.

Victor Pinchuk of the Ukraine opened the PinchukArtCentre in Kiev in 2006 to house his collection of Ukranian and international contemporary art.

Alice Walton, one of the heirs to the Wal-Mart fortune, plans to open her Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas in November 2011.

Hiroshi Yamauchi of Japan. The founder of Nintendo opened the Shigureden Museum in Kyoto in 2006. It displays Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, an anthology of 100 poems by 100 poets, using digital technology from Nintendo.

Carlos Slim has taken heat for his lack of philanthropy (compared to the size of his $74 billion fortune) and his unwillingness to sign on to the Giving Pledge, a movement by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett that encourages the wealthy to give half their riches to charity. The Soumaya Museum is worth just a fraction of Slim’s stake in Latin American wireless phone company America Movil, but it is nonetheless a positive step on Slim’s philanthropic path.

Japan Says 2nd Reactor May Have Ruptured With Radioactive Release

2011-03-16T11:28:00.002+04:00

TOKYO — Japan’s nuclear crisis intensified again Wednesday, with Japanese authorities announcing that a containment vessel in a second reactor unit at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi plant in northeastern Japan may have ruptured and appeared to be releasing radioactive steam. That would be the second vessel to be compromised in two days.
The vessel had appeared to be the last fully intact line of defense against large-scale releases of radioactive materials from that reactor, but it was not clear how serious the possible breach might be.

The announcement came after Japanese broadcasters showed live footage of thick plumes of steam rising above the plant.

Yukio Edano, the chief cabinet secretary, said the government believed the steam was coming from the No. 3 reactor, where an explosion on Monday blew out part of the building surrounding the containment vessel.

The reactor has three layers of protection: that building; the containment vessel, and the metal cladding around fuel rods, which are inside the reactor. The government has said that those rods at the No. 3 reactor were likely already damaged.

A spike in radiation levels at the plant as the steam was rising forced some of the relatively few workers left at the plant to retreat indoors, suspending some critical efforts to pump water into several reactors to keep them cool.
Earlier in the morning, the company that runs the plant reported that a fire was burning at a different reactor, just hours after officials said flames that erupted Tuesday had been doused.

A government official at Japan’s nuclear regulatory agency soon after said that flames and smoke were no longer visible, but he cautioned that it was unclear if the fire, at the Reactor No. 4 building, had died out. He also was not clear if it was a new fire or if the fire Tuesday had never gone out.

There are a total of six reactors at the plant.

The developments are troubling reminders of the difficulties the company is having in bringing the plant, which has suffered multiple explosions since Saturday, under control. And the confusion is emblematic of days of often contradictory reports about what is happening at the plant.

The company, Tokyo Electric Power, says it cannot know for sure what is happening in many cases because it is too dangerous for workers to get close to some reactors.

The situation became especially dire on Tuesday, when releases of radiation led the company to pull most of its workers from the plant.
Among the authorities’ main concerns are pools for spent fuel rods at several reactors at the plant, including Reactor No. 4, where the pool has lost some of the water needed to keep the fuel rods stable. The rods are still radioactive and potentially as hot and dangerous as the fuel rods inside the reactors.

Minoru Ogoda, the official with Japan’s nuclear regulatory agency, said a proposed plan to use helicopters to put more cold water into the pool was looking unlikely.

The hole or holes in the roof caused by an earlier blast did not appear big enough to allow sufficient amounts of water in, he said.

He said Tokyo Electric would probably try to spray water into the reactor building through a gaping hole in the wall blasted open by the explosion.

That explosion on Tuesday was caused by hydrogen gas bubbling up from chemical reactions set off by the fuel rods in the pool, Japanese officials said. Inspectors from the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission said they had been told by Japanese authorities that what was burning was lubricating oil from machinery near the pool.
Concern remained high about the storage pools at two other reactors, Nos. 5 and 6. None of those three reactors at the plant, 140 miles northeast of Tokyo, were operating on Friday afternoon when an offshore earthquake with a magnitude now estimated at 9.0 shook the site. A tsunami rolled into the northeast Japanese coastline minutes later, swamping the plant.

At least 750 workers were evacuated on Tuesday morning after a separate explosion ruptured the inner containment building at Reactor No. 2 at the Daiichi plant, which was crippled by Friday’s earthquake and tsunami. The closely spaced but apparently coincidental explosions at Reactors Nos. 2 and 4 together released a surge of radiation 800 times as intense as the recommended hourly exposure limit in Japan.
But 50 workers stayed behind, a crew no larger than would be stationed at the plant on a quiet spring day. Taking shelter when possible in the reactor’s control room, which is heavily shielded from radiation, they struggled through the morning and afternoon to keep hundreds of gallons of seawater a minute flowing through temporary fire pumps into the three stricken reactors, Nos. 1, 2 and 3, where overheated fuel rods continued to boil away the water at a brisk pace.
By early afternoon radiation levels had plunged, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Workers have released surges of radiation each time they bleed radioactive steam from the troubled reactors in an attempt to manage the pressure inside them, but the reactors are not yet releasing high levels of radiation on a sustained basis, Japanese officials said.

The United States military revised its plans as radiation from the plant worsened. Some American warships that had been expected to arrive at the tsunami-shattered northeast coast of Honshu Island were diverted to the west coast instead because of concerns about radiation, the Navy said.

The Navy also promised to continue relief missions even though several more helicopter crews were testing positive for low-level exposure to radiation, and even as American military personnel and their families at the Yokosuka and Atsugi bases were encouraged to take precautions against radiation exposure.

Late Tuesday morning, Prime Minister Naoto Kan warned in a nationally televised address of rising radiation.

Mr. Edano, the chief cabinet secretary, urged people who live within about 18 miles of the plant to take precautions. “Please do not go outside, please stay indoors, please close windows and make your homes airtight,” he said. Yukiya Amano, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said at the organization’s Vienna headquarters that there was a “possibility of core damage” at reactor No. 2, but that the damage “is estimated to be less than 5 percent of the fuel.”

The sudden turn of events, after an explosion on Monday at one reactor and then an early-morning explosion on Tuesday at yet another — the third in four days at the plant — had already made the crisis at the plant the worst nuclear accident since the Chernobyl reactor disaster a quarter-century ago. It had become impossible for workers to remain at many areas within the plant for extended periods, the agency said. In Tokyo, the metropolitan government said Tuesday that it had detected radiation levels 20 times above normal over the city, though it stressed that such levels posed no immediate health threat and that readings had dropped since then. The explosion in Reactor No. 2, a little after 6 a.m. on Tuesday, particularly alarmed Japanese officials and nuclear power experts around the world because it was the first detonation at the plant that appeared to occur inside one of the primary containment vessels.

Those buildings are fortresslike structures of steel and reinforced concrete, designed to absorb the impact of a plane crash and minimize radiation leaks. After a series of conflicting reports about how much damage the reactor had sustained after that blast, Mr. Edano said, “There is a very high probability that a portion of the containment vessel was damaged.”

Japanese officials subsequently said that the explosion had damaged a doughnut-shaped steel container of water, known as a torus, that surrounds the base of the reactor vessel inside the primary containment building.

Ruptures in the torus are serious, said Michael Friedlander, a senior nuclear power plant operator for 13 years at three plants in the United States, including three years at a General Electric boiling water reactor very similar to the ones in trouble in Japan. But the torus is not as important as the reactor vessel itself, which has 6.7-inch-thick steel walls and 8.4-inch-thick steel for its roof and floor. The vessel is designed to hold very high-pressure steam as well as the uranium fuel rods.

The reactor vessel has 20 safety valves that during a shutdown of the reactor inject steam into a million-gallon “suppression pool” of water in a steel torus immediately underneath it.

“Imagine if you had a big pressure cooker and you had a tube off the pressure cooker into a big tub of water — the suppression pool is the tub of water,” said Mr. Friedlander, a defender of nuclear power who is now a money manager in Hong Kong.

Steam vented into the suppression pool from the reactor vessel is not supposed to be radioactive. But it becomes radioactive, and potentially very radioactive, if the fuel rods in the reactor vessel above have begun to melt.

The atmosphere in the primary containment building, around the reactor vessel and above the suppression pool, is supposed to consist of inert nitrogen, with no oxygen at all. An inert atmosphere is used in the primary containment building to avoid the risk of oxygen explosions with hydrogen if the reactor starts producing much larger quantities of hydrogen gas than usual. Hydrogen gas is highly combustible with oxygen.

Radioactive releases of steam from the crippled nuclear plants in Japan could go on for weeks or even months.

2011-03-14T11:26:00.000+04:00

US and Japanese experts have suggested that radioactive releases of steam from the crippled nuclear plants in the aftermath of an earthquake-cum-tsunami in Japan could go on for weeks or even months.

The also said that the country faces a wide range of problems ahead.

The emergency flooding of two stricken reactors with seawater and the resulting steam releases are a desperate step intended to avoid a much bigger problem, which is to avoid a full meltdown of the nuclear cores in two reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, The New York Times reports.

On Monday, an explosion blew the roof off the second reactor at Fukushima. Officials say that although it did not damage the core, it apparently leaked more radiation.

Japanese officials have been saying so far that the melting of the nuclear cores in the two plants is assumed to be "partial," and the amount of radioactivity measured outside the plants, though twice the level Japan considers safe, has been relatively modest.

Pentagon officials, however, have claimed that helicopters flying 60 miles from the plant picked up small amounts of radioactive particulates, which are yet to be analysed. But it is presumed to include cesium-137 and iodine-121, suggesting widening environmental contamination.

Following a series of intense interchanges between Tokyo and Washington over the weekend, and the arrival of the first American nuclear experts in Japan, officials have said that they were beginning to get a clearer picture of what went wrong over the past three days. One senior official even went to the extent of saying that: "Under the best scenarios, this isn't going to end anytime soon."

The paper quoted Christopher D. Wilson, a reactor operator and later a manager at Exelon's Oyster Creek plant, near Toms River, New Jersey, as saying that "normally you would just re-establish electricity supply, from the on-site diesel generator or a portable one." Portable generators have been brought into Fukushima, he said.

He also said that Fukushima was designed by General Electric, as Oyster Creek, was around the same time, and the two plants are similar. He also said the problem was that the hookup is done through electric switching equipment that is in a basement room flooded by the tsunami, adding: "Even though you have generators on site, you have to get the water out of the basement."

Another nuclear engineer with long experience in reactors of this type, who now works for a government agency, said "To completely stop venting, they're going to have to put some sort of equipment back in service." (ANI)

Nuclear Meltdown at Quake-Damaged Japanese Plant

2011-03-13T11:43:00.001+04:00

A March 12 explosion at the earthquake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Okuma, Japan, appears to have caused a reactor meltdown.

The key piece of technology in a nuclear reactor is the control rods. Nuclear fuel generates neutrons; controlling the flow and production rate of these neutrons is what generates heat, and from the heat, electricity. Control rods absorb neutrons — the rods slide in and out of the fuel mass to regulate neutron emission, and with it, heat and electricity generation

A meltdown occurs when the control rods fail to contain the neutron emission and the heat levels inside the reactor thus rise to a point that the fuel itself melts, generally temperatures in excess of 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, causing uncontrolled radiation-generating reactions and making approaching the reactor incredibly hazardous. A meltdown does not necessarily mean a nuclear disaster. As long as the reactor core, which is specifically designed to contain high levels of heat, pressure and radiation, remains intact, the melted fuel can be dealt with. If the core breaches but the containment facility built around the core remains intact, the melted fuel can still be dealt with — typically entombed within specialized concrete — but the cost and difficulty of such containment increases exponentially.

However, the earthquake in Japan, in addition to damaging the ability of the control rods to regulate the fuel — and the reactor’s coolant system — appears to have damaged the containment facility, and the explosion almost certainly did. There have been reports of “white smoke,” perhaps burning concrete, coming from the scene of the explosion, indicating a containment breach and the almost certain escape of significant amounts of radiation.

At this point, events in Japan bear many similarities to the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. Reports indicate that up to 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) of the reactor fuel was exposed. The reactor fuel appears to have at least partially melted, and the subsequent explosion has shattered the walls and roof of the containment vessel — and likely the remaining useful parts of the control and coolant systems.

National and International Naval Vessels Drive Live Demonstrations as NAVDEX Exhibitors Showcase Latest Sea-Borne Defence Technology

2011-02-22T13:29:00.000+04:00

The latest fast patrol craft, vessel defence tech and the tactical and technological prowess of the UAE’s Navy are among the highlights of this week’s events

Abu Dhabi, 21 February, 2011: The inaugural Naval Defence Exhibition (NAVDEX), running in parallel with the 10th Anniversary edition of the International Defence Exhibition (IDEX), is proving its gravitas as a worthy partner for the region’s leading and largest tri-service defence exhibition.

Opening its doors for the first time to the some 50,000 exhibitors attending IDEX and NAVDEX this week; NAVDEX features exciting live demonstrations, as well as on and off water exhibits from over 80 companies.

Major features of this inaugural edition include live demonstrations, as well as the presence of naval ships including the UAE’s Baynunah Corvette; the UK’s HMS Pembroke and France’s FS Croix du Sud. Beyond warships and demos, exhibits on display include naval workboats and amphibious crafts; fighting equipment; anti-piracy and coastal security systems; and communication solutions.

Live demonstrations this year consist of individual boat demonstrations, anti-terrorism underwater defence, and the official NAVDEX daily demonstration.

Individual boat demonstrations will continue through Thursday. Abu Dhabi Marine will be displaying the quickest vessel with their 15 meter fast interceptor craft capable of speeds in excess of 70 knots. Al Fatan will present their 14.5 meter, 50 knot patrol boat in service with the UAE coast guard. Other participants will include Bin Halil, Cat Group and Great Expectations, each bringing their manoeuvrable 6-7 meter range patrol craft.

At 12pm and 2pm daily, a group of UK companies will present an innovative new demonstration highlighting a range of sophisticated equipment involved in preventing diver attack on a vessel alongside. This dynamic display, entitled “Operation Swimmer,” will take place surrounding the HMS Pembroke and involve divers attacking a ship defended by booms, diver detection sonar and noisemakers. This demonstration will last for about 20 minutes and can be observed from HMS Pembroke, berthed at the middle of the NAVDEX pavilion.

Organised by NAVDEX, two sessions of formal water demonstrations (FWD) take place daily. As part of the FWD, all vessels involved in the exhibition will sail in unison past the ADNEC grandstand before breaking off for a series of short individual demonstrations. Following this procession, the UAE Navy will demonstrate live amphibious landing techniques on the beach across the grandstand.

Looking at the exhibitors themselves; as home to the region’s largest ship building industry, UAE-built interceptor craft and blue water cruising vessels are filling increasingly central roles in anti-piracy and costal defence applications. Notable UAE companies exhibiting include Abu Dhabi Ship Building, the Gulf’s leading ship builders and builders of the Baynunah Corvette; Abu Dhabi Mar, with two industry-leading fast interceptor craft berthed in the marina; and Dubai-based Stellar Composites, which manufactures and maintains a range of civilian and defence vessels.

Major new technologies on display this year from leading global manufacturers and suppliers include vessel arrest and security barrier systems by HALO Maritime Defense Systems, Geobrugg AG and Cortland; communications and management solutions by L-3 MAPPS, Babcock, Raytheon and OSI Geospatial; as well as a range of technologies designed to prevent diver attack on a vessel alongside.

The success of the first two days at NAVDEX 2011 has set the tone for a strong inaugural edition of what is now the region’s largest exhibition dedicated to naval defence and security.

Royal Navy ship HMS Pembroke demonstrate WATER-BORNE COUNTER-TERRORISM MEASURES AT NAVDEX

2011-02-22T13:23:00.000+04:00

Royal Navy ship HMS Pembroke is working with UK companies at Abu Dhabi’s NAVDEX to provide a live demonstration of a range of techniques designed to counter the threat from terrorists at sea.

During a 15 minute scenario, visitors will see measures to detect and deter attacks from underwater swimmers and fast boats. A suspect boat is seen acting suspiciously in the vicinity of the ship. Simultaneously HMS Pembroke’s crew is alerted to the presence of an underwater attacker by the use of a diver-detection sonar. The diver is called using an underwater communications system and ordered to come to the surface. The fast boat tries to make an attack on the ship but is stopped by a protective boom and is then boarded by a specialist team from HMS Pembroke who arrest the crew after identifying them using sophisticated biometric data-capture techniques.

The commanding officer of HMS Pembroke, Lieutenant Commander Angus Essenhigh said,“It is a great privilege to be here at NAVDEX supporting UK industry and demonstrating the world-beating technologies available from the UK defence sector. I hope visitors to HMS Pembroke will enjoy the live demonstration which brings together equipment from various UK businesses and the expertise of my ship’s company.

“The ship has been made to feel very welcome by everyone we have met and we are grateful for the invitation to attend this remarkable exhibition.”

Innovative armoured vehicle technology from South Africa makes an impact in the Middle East

2011-02-21T16:19:00.000+04:00

South Africa’s Paramount Group is using IDEX, the Middle East’s largest defence technology exhibition, to announce a major new joint venture to bolster its presence in the Gulf.

The joint venture, with the UAE’s International Golden Group (IGG), has been signed in response to increasing interest in Paramount’s IED and mine protected armoured vehicles from Gulf State countries.

IGG, with its established international reputation in the introduction of key equipment to the Middle East, will market and distribute Paramount vehicles – including its new revolutionary Paramount Low Profile Vehicle (PLPV) – in the region. The PLPV was launched recently under the name ‘Mbombe’ and IDEX 2011 will be the first time it has been seen outside Africa.

The partnership will focus initially on the market in the United Arab Emirates, with a view to bringing some of the world’s finest armoured vehicles, pioneered in South Africa, to the wider region

Announcing the joint venture, Ivor Ichikowitz, Executive Chairman of the Paramount Group, said: “Our partnership with IGG continues the revolution in armoured vehicle technology and design for which South Africa is world-renowned. By bringing our vehicles to the Middle East, IGG will be presenting one of the world’s most sophisticated defence purchasing markets with the very pinnacle of new technology and design in armoured vehicles.

“Our vehicles are designed, constructed and proven in some of the world’s harshest terrain, very much with the Middle East in mind. Now with IGG we have a superb opportunity to work with the UAE’s acknowledged armoured vehicle experts to build a strong and deep relationship.

“Bringing Paramount’s systems to the Middle East in partnership with IGG very much reflects the realities of current global politics which are driving armed forces and governments to plan for future conflict by sourcing new generations of vehicles to answer the changing threats they face.”

In the medium term the joint venture will be founded on shared technology and the strengthening of economic and political ties between South Africa and the UAE. In the longer term it calls for the establishment of manufacturing bases in the UAE to serve the Middle East and Asian markets.

The UAE has a long standing tradition of commercial, economic and cultural partnership with South Africa, and Paramount’s milestone agreement with IGG is strengthening that relationship.

Fadil Saif Al Kaabi, CEO of IGG said that: “This marks another milestone in the growth path of IGG This technology partnership makes perfect sense for us as a key player in the Middle East defence sector. Paramount’s recent technological advancements in mine- and IED-protection for armoured vehicles represent a huge leap forward in the solutions available to tackle the changing threat in the region. We look forward to a successful partnership with Paramount built on the established mutual understanding and appreciation between our two nations.”

Paramount already has in place manufacturing partnerships with Ashok Leyland in India and to produce Matador and Marauder MPVs in Azerbaijan in partnership with the country’s Ministry of Defence Industries.

The International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) takes place from Sunday 20th to Thursday 24th February at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Paramount Group’s latest vehicle, PLPV, is a revolutionary low profile six wheeled infantry fighting vehicle which can be configured to take on all types of combat roles and is ideally suited to handle a wide range of conventional and non-conventional threats. The ‘Mbombe’ PLPV will be on display on the IGG stand in Hall 5: stand A30.

Yahsat’s - First Satellite owned and operated by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi Arrives Successfully at Launch Site

2011-02-20T16:26:00.000+04:00

Abu Dhabi, 17 February 2011: Satellite Y1A, the first satellite of Al Yah Satellite Communications Company PrJsc (Yahsat), has arrived at The European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Y1A, which will be the first satellite owned and operated by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, arrived according to schedule for the satellite’s Q1 launch.

Y1A was air-freighted using the biggest aircraft in the world (Antonov) from the EADS Astrium construction facility in Toulouse, France on February 15th and is now in the hands of Arianespace, the world’s leading launch service and solutions company. Over the coming weeks, the satellite will be loaded atop the Ariane 5 rocket which will launch the satellite into space and position it in orbit with full visibility for operations from Abu Dhabi’s geographic location. The satellite will have an expansive coverage footprint across the Middle East, Africa, Europe and South-West Asia. Once launched, Y1A will have a projected lifespan of 15 years and will deliver a range of commercial and government satellite service offerings.

Yahsat is wholly owned by Mubadala Development Company, the Abu Dhabi Government’s strategic investment company. The focus on delivering advanced technology services is an important part of The Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030 and a significant step in the Emirate’s plans for economic diversification and development.

Smart City Kochi History

2011-02-03T10:16:00.000+04:00

Smart City Kochi is a planned IT township to be constructed in Kochi, Kerala in India. TECOM Investments, a subsidiary of Dubai Holding is the main investor of the project. This project envisions 8.8 million sq ft of built up space out of which at least 6.21 million Sq. ft will be specifically for IT/ITES/allied services. The project is expected to create over 90,000 direct jobs.

HistoryThe project was originally initiated by Kunhalikkutty, the Kerala IT Minister of A K Antony's Government in 2003. Later when Oommen Chandy was the Chief Minister he invited the Dubai Internet City officials for a feasibility study and later the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed. Due to protest from opposition parties, who alleged that the agreement in not in total interest of the state and due to upcoming state assembly election, he could not go ahead with the project.

After V. S. Achuthanandan took over as the chief minister, he invited the Dubai Internet City team for another round of discussions. He proposed new suggestions and altered the earlier MoU prepared during Oommen Chandy’s time. On 13 May 2007, the officials of the Government of Kerala and TECOM Investments and Sama Dubai signed the updated framework agreement. Then for the next four years the project was in a standstill mode due to few unresolved differences between state government and TECOM. The main hurdle was TECOM's stand on 12% sellable free-hold right, which the state government was not ready to give to the promoter. Government was ready to give this only inside the SEZ, which made it impossible for TECOM to sell that portion to a third party under the SEZ policy from Government of India.

These issues were resolved on February 2, 2011, in meeting between Chief Minister V. S. Achuthanandan and Ahamed Humaid Al Tayer, member of the Supreme Committee for Dubai World Group and Dubai Holding Group, UAE. This breakthrough was arrived as a result of the mediation by the Vice Chairman Norka-Roots and a renowned businessman from the state Mr M. A. Yousuf Ali.

Agreement: According to the agreement signed with the Government of Kerala, the project expects an investment of 1700 Crore. The project would be spread over 246 acres (99.6 ha), On completion Smart City Kochi would be one of the largest IT parks in the country. The project is expected to have 8,800,000 sq ft (818,000 m2) of built up space with a minimum of 6,200,000 sq ft (576,000 m2) set aside for IT/ITES/allied services. It was to be the first Smart City project in India

Approval on 2 Feb 2011In February 2011, an agreement was reached between the Kerala State Government and representatives of the Dubai Government and promoters of TECOM. An agreement was made on nine basic points[11] chief of which had been the status of 12% free-hold land.

According to the agreement, TECOM had agreed to drop its demand for the 12 percent freehold on the project site accompanied with the right to sell it. As per discussions, the 12% of freehold land (246 acres), would be within the special economic zone, and shall "not be alienable", which would mean that it cannot be sold, but can be leased by the promoters. .

TECOM will complete the master plan and present it before the director board within 30 days, after which the 12% land would be converted from a lease-hold to free-hold.

Ahamed Humaid Al Tayer, member of the Supreme Committee for Dubai World Group and Dubai Holding Group said that he was confident that the work on the Smart City could be taken up in as early as three months.

Achuthanandan, the Chief Minister of Kerala, also lauded the services of M.A. Yusuf Ali in bringing the two sides to the negotiation table and working out a solution to the long standing issue

Job opportunities

The initial investment for the Smart City, being executed by the DIC management will be over $400 million. The Smart City would come up in a vast, 1,000 acres of land on the outskirts of Kochi, where the state government has set up the Infopark.

The proposed Smart City is likely to generate direct employment for 80,000 people and provide indirect employment to another 20,000 people

The DIC is a premium information technology park in Asia and West Asia. It is a strategic base for companies targeting emerging markets in a vast region extending from the Middle East to the Indian subcontinent, and Africa to the CIS countries, covering 1.6 billion people and GDP of $1.1 trillion.

States like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh had also roped in the DIC officials offering land and other amenities.A self-contained campus with residential buildings, schools and an entertainment complex, the Smart City will facilitate the functioning of information and communication technology companies.

The Smart City will operate just like the DIC, which offers foreign companies 100 per cent tax-free ownership, 100 per cent repatriation of capital and profits, no currency restrictions, easy registration and licensing, stringent cyber regulations, protection of intellectual

Kerala Cabinet approves SmartCity agreement

2011-02-03T09:47:00.000+04:00

Realising a dream project of Kerala, the state Government Wednesday signed an agreement with its Dubai-based promoters on setting up the SmartCity IT project at a 246-acre in Kochi.

The long-pending dispute between the two sides over the land ownership issues concering the project were settled at the talks between Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan and and Ahmed Homaid al Tajir, member of the Supreme Committee for Dubai World Group and Public Holding Group here Wednesday.

As per the agreement, on completion of the master plan, 12 per cent of the total land would be converted from leasehold to freehold rights within the Special Economic Zone. The Government would also exempt the land from registration fee and stamp duty.

The agreement was later approved by the state cabinet, paving the way for the work on the project to start without further delay, Achuthanandan told reporters. He also lauded the services of leading NRI entrepreneur M A Yusafali in bringing the two sides to the negotiating table and working out an mutually acceptable solution.

The SmartCity was envisaged in 2004 by then Congress-led UDF ministry as a major joint venture project which could generate thousands of direct jobs.

The foundation-stone for the project was laid in 2007 by the present LDF Government, but its work ran into problems over the Dubai-based partner TECOM's demand for freehold right over at least 12 per cent of the 246 acres of land acquired for the project.

Having settled the disputes resolved, state government and TECOM would jointly work to get the SEZ approval from the Centre at the earliest. TECOM would develop the entire 246 acres as an IT/ITES sector specific SEZ.

The Egypt Crisis in a Global Context: A Special Report

2011-01-31T13:29:00.000+04:00

By George Friedman

The Egypt Unrest: Full Coverage

It is not at all clear what will happen in the Egyptian revolution. It is not a surprise that this is happening. Hosni Mubarak has been president for more than a quarter of a century, ever since the assassination of Anwar Sadat. He is old and has been ill. No one expected him to live much longer, and his apparent plan, which was that he would be replaced by his son, Gamal, was not going to happen even though it was a possibility a year ago. There was no one, save his closest business associates, who wanted to see Mubarak’s succession plans happen. As his father weakened, Gamal’s succession became even less likely. Mubarak’s failure to design a credible succession plan guaranteed instability on his death. Since everyone knew that there would be instability on his death, there were obviously those who saw little advantage to acting before he died. Who these people were and what they wanted is the issue.

Let’s begin by considering the regime. In 1952, Col. Gamal Abdel Nasser staged a military coup that displaced the Egyptian monarchy, civilian officers in the military, and British influence in Egypt. Nasser created a government based on military power as the major stabilizing and progressive force in Egypt. His revolution was secular and socialist. In short, it was a statist regime dominated by the military. On Nasser’s death, Anwar Sadat replaced him. On Sadat’s assassination, Hosni Mubarak replaced him. Both of these men came from the military as Nasser did. However their foreign policy might have differed from Nasser’s, the regime remained intact.

Mubarak’s Opponents

The demands for Mubarak’s resignation come from many quarters, including from members of the regime — particularly the military — who regard Mubarak’s unwillingness to permit them to dictate the succession as endangering the regime. For some of them, the demonstrations represent both a threat and opportunity. Obviously, the demonstrations might get out of hand and destroy the regime. On the other hand, the demonstrations might be enough to force Mubarak to resign, allow a replacement — for example, Omar Suleiman, the head of intelligence who Mubarak recently appointed vice president — and thereby save the regime. This is not to say that they fomented the demonstrations, but some must have seen the demonstrations as an opportunity.

This is particularly the case in the sense that the demonstrators are deeply divided among themselves and thus far do not appear to have been able to generate the type of mass movement that toppled the Shah of Iran’s regime in 1979. More important, the demonstrators are clearly united in opposing Mubarak as an individual, and to a large extent united in opposing the regime. Beyond that, there is a deep divide in the opposition.

Western media has read the uprising as a demand for Western-style liberal democracy. Many certainly are demanding that. What is not clear is that this is moving Egypt’s peasants, workers and merchant class to rise en masse. Their interests have far more to do with the state of the Egyptian economy than with the principles of liberal democracy. As in Iran in 2009, the democratic revolution, if focused on democrats, cannot triumph unless it generates broader support.

The other element in this uprising is the Muslim Brotherhood. The consensus of most observers is that the Muslim Brotherhood at this point is no longer a radical movement and is too weak to influence the revolution. This may be possible, but it is not obvious. The Muslim Brotherhood has many strands, many of which have been quiet under Mubarak’s repression. It is not clear who will emerge if Mubarak falls. It is certainly not clear that they are weaker than the democratic demonstrators. It is a mistake to confuse the Muslim Brotherhood’s caution with weakness. Another way to look at them is that they have bided their time and toned down their real views, waiting for the kind of moment provided by Mubarak’s succession. I would suspect that the Muslim Brotherhood has more potential influence among the Egyptian masses than the Western-oriented demonstrators or Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, who is emerging as their leader.

There is, of course, the usual discussion of what U.S. President Barack Obama’s view is, or what the Europeans think, or what the Iranians are up to. All of them undoubtedly have thoughts and even plans. In my view, trying to shape the political dynamics of a country like Egypt from Iran or the United States is futile, and believing that what is happening in Egypt is the result of their conspiracies is nonsense. A lot of people care what is happening there, and a lot of people are saying all sorts of things and even spending money on spies and Twitter. Egypt’s regime can be influenced in this way, but a revolution really doesn’t depend on what the European Union or Tehran says.

There are four outcomes possible. First, the regime might survive. Mubarak might stabilize the situation, or more likely, another senior military official would replace him after a decent interval. Another possibility under the scenario of the regime’s survival is that there may be a coup of the colonels, as we discussed yesterday. A second possibility is that the demonstrators might force elections in which ElBaradei or someone like him could be elected and Egypt might overthrow the statist model built by Nasser and proceed on the path of democracy. The third possibility is that the demonstrators force elections, which the Muslim Brotherhood could win and move forward with an Islamist-oriented agenda. The fourth possibility is that Egypt will sink into political chaos. The most likely path to this would be elections that result in political gridlock in which a viable candidate cannot be elected. If I were forced to choose, I would bet on the regime stabilizing itself and Mubarak leaving because of the relative weakness and division of the demonstrators. But that’s a guess and not a forecast.

Geopolitical Significance

Whatever happens matters a great deal to Egyptians. But only some of these outcomes are significant to the world. Among radical Islamists, the prospect of a radicalized Egypt represents a new lease on life. For Iran, such an outcome would be less pleasing. Iran is now the emerging center of radical Islamism; it would not welcome competition from Egypt, though it may be content with an Islamist Egypt that acts as an Iranian ally (something that would not be easy to ensure).

For the United States, an Islamist Egypt would be a strategic catastrophe. Egypt is the center of gravity in the Arab world. This would not only change the dynamic of the Arab world, it would reverse U.S. strategy since the end of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. Sadat’s decision to reverse his alliance with the Soviets and form an alliance with the United States undermined the Soviet position in the Mediterranean and in the Arab world and strengthened the United States immeasurably. The support of Egyptian intelligence after 9/11 was critical in blocking and undermining al Qaeda. Were Egypt to stop that cooperation or become hostile, the U.S. strategy would be severely undermined.

The great loser would be Israel. Israel’s national security has rested on its treaty with Egypt, signed by Menachem Begin with much criticism by the Israeli right. The demilitarization of the Sinai Peninsula not only protected Israel’s southern front, it meant that the survival of Israel was no longer at stake. Israel fought three wars (1948, 1967 and 1973) where its very existence was at issue. The threat was always from Egypt, and without Egypt in the mix, no coalition of powers could threaten Israel (excluding the now-distant possibility of Iranian nuclear weapons). In all of the wars Israel fought after its treaty with Egypt (the 1982 and 2006 wars in Lebanon) Israeli interests, but not survival, were at stake.

If Egypt were to abrogate the Camp David Accords and over time reconstruct its military into an effective force, the existential threat to Israel that existed before the treaty was signed would re-emerge. This would not happen quickly, but Israel would have to deal with two realities. The first is that the Israeli military is not nearly large enough or strong enough to occupy and control Egypt. The second is that the development of Egypt’s military would impose substantial costs on Israel and limit its room for maneuver.

There is thus a scenario that would potentially strengthen the radical Islamists while putting the United States, Israel, and potentially even Iran at a disadvantage, all for different reasons. That scenario emerges only if two things happen. First, the Muslim Brotherhood must become a dominant political force in Egypt. Second, they must turn out to be more radical than most observers currently believe they are — or they must, with power, evolve into something more radical.

If the advocates for democracy win, and if they elect someone like ElBaradei, it is unlikely that this scenario would take place. The pro-Western democratic faction is primarily concerned with domestic issues, are themselves secular and would not want to return to the wartime state prior to Camp David, because that would simply strengthen the military. If they win power, the geopolitical arrangements would remain unchanged.

Similarly, the geopolitical arrangements would remain in place if the military regime retained power — save for one scenario. If it was decided that the regime’s unpopularity could be mitigated by assuming a more anti-Western and anti-Israeli policy — in other words, if the regime decided to play the Islamist card, the situation could evolve as a Muslim Brotherhood government would. Indeed, as hard as it is to imagine, there could be an alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood designed to stabilize the regime. Stranger things have happened.

When we look at the political dynamic of Egypt, and try to imagine its connection to the international system, we can see that there are several scenarios under which certain political outcomes would have profound effects on the way the world works. That should not be surprising. When Egypt was a pro-Soviet Nasserite state, the world was a very different place than it had been before Nasser. When Sadat changed his foreign policy the world changed with it. If Sadat’s foreign policy changes, the world changes again. Egypt is one of those countries whose internal politics matter to more than its own citizens.

Most of the outcomes I envision leave Egypt pretty much where it is. But not all. The situation is, as they say, in doubt, and the outcome is not trivial.

India celebrates her 62nd Republic Day on January 26, 2011

2011-01-26T09:24:00.000+04:00

The Republic of India is a large South Asian country rich in ethnic diversity, with over one billion people speaking hundreds of languages. Politically it is the world's largest liberal democracy. The Indian economy is the fourth largest in the world, in terms of purchasing power parity, and is the world's second-fastest growing economy. India is also the second most populated country in the world. India has grown significantly, in terms of both population and strategic importance, in the last twenty years attributed to economic reforms.

Strategically located in Asia, constituting most of the Indian subcontinent, India straddles many busy

Trade routes

It shares its borders with Pakistan, the People's Republic of China,Myanmar,Bangladesh,Nepal,Bhutan and Afghanistan.Sri Lanka,the Maldives and Indonesia are the nearby island nations in the Indian Ocean. Home to some of the most ancient civilisations in the world, India was formally ruled by the British for almost ninety years before gaining independence in 1947.

Origin of India's name: The official name India is derived from Sindhu, the historic local appellation for the river Indus and is the most internationally recognisable of the country. The Constitution of India and general usage also recognises Bharat as the other official name of equal status. Bharat comes from the name of an ancient Hindu king and means seeker of knowledge. The third name is Hindustan, meaning land of the Hindus (where Hindu refers to those who dwell to the right of the Indus/Sindhu river) used from the Mughal times onwards.

India,a sub-continent with 5000 year old History. A civilization united by its diversity,richness of culture,the glory of past,the turbulences and triumphs. The landmarks of each era,the achievements of a change,the legacy of a regime. As we walk through the history,India is an amazing discovery and its history is a unique tale of the past.

With the arrival of the Portuguese, French and English traders, advantage was taken of the fractured, debilitate kingdoms to colonise India. In 1857, an insurrection amongst the army sepoys ensued in the popular Revolt of 1857 against the powerful British East India Company; this mobilised resistance, though short-lasting, was caused by the widespread resentment against discriminatory policies of the British. After the revolt, the Indian independence movements started demanding complete independence. On August 15th, 1947, India was finally granted independence from British rule and became a secular republic.

January 26 (Republic Day of India): Republic Day is one of the greatest national celebrations observed throughout the country on January 26 every year. India became Republic on the 26th Jan, 1950. The country became a sovereign democratic republic with a written constitution and an elected parliament.

The history of the Republic of India began on 26 January, 1950. The country became an independent dominion within the British Commonwealth 15 August 1947. George VI was King until the Republic was proclaimed in 1950. Concurrently the Muslim-majority northwest and east of British India was separated into the Dominion of Pakistan, by the partition of India. The partition led to a population transfer of more than 10 million people between India and Pakistan and the death of about one million people.[1] Lord Louis Mountbatten, and later Chakravarti Rajagopalachari served in the office of the Governor General of India. Jawaharlal Nehru became the first Prime Minister of India and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel became the Deputy Prime Minister of India and its Minister of Home Affairs.

At the time of independence, although India was under British rule, there were 565 Princely States, big and small, ruled by powerful sovereigns who were protected by treaties of alliance with the British Crown. Without bringing them together, the fundamental unity of the country was not possible. This unification was accomplished by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, whose statesmanship helped to integrate the country into one nation. In a little less than 2 years, all the princely States became a part of the Republic of India.

It was on this date in 1927 that the Indian National Congress, then fighting its non-violent war for freedom, voted for complete independence as against 'dominion status'. When members of the INC took the pledge to work towards a 'sovereign democratic republic' of India

Indian Constitution:

When India gained freedom from the British on August 15, 1947 there was the need to regulate the meaning of freedom.Therefore, to have a set of rules and regulations that would guide the nation, the Constituent Assembly met on December 9,1946.The Constituent Assembly was convened and appointed a committee with Dr. B.R.Ambedkar as Chairman to draft the Constitution.

Borrowing from the Constitutions of other countries, for example, the parliamentary form of government from Britain, supremacy of judiciary from the United States, federal system with a strong centre from Canada, directive principles of state policy from Ireland, the idea of concurrent powers and co-operative federalism from Australia, the system of procedure established by law from Japan, the Indian Constitution is an amalgam of all these.

The Indian Constitution, the longest in the world, consist 397 articles and 12 schedules which provides for a single citizenship for the whole of India.The constitution of India was originally written in English It gives the right to vote to all citizens of 18 years and above, unless they are disqualified. Fundamental rights are guaranteed to the citizens, equality of religion and so on.

National motto: Satyameva Jayate (In sanskrit it means Always Truth Alone Triumphs)

The Great Indian Flag: This is an ancient Indian symbol associated with the powers and changes of nature.

Officially, the Orange color stands for Courage and sacrifice.

The White color signifies Peace and truth.

While Green symbolises Faith and Chivalry.

It is the duty of every Citizen to realise the significance of our flag and pay the honour and respect its commands.

Official language: Hindi,English

Having being declared a Democratic Republic, the people starting governing themselves according to the Constitution written by the Constituent Assembly. With this, Republic Day became the most important day in the history of India. It is therefore natural that the festivities for the day are a lot more elaborate than that for Independence Day.

The Republic Day Parade

The parade showcasing India's military might and cultural diversity covers an eight-km route, starting from the Rashtrapathi Bhavan through the picturesque Rajpath down to India Gate before winding up at the historic Red Fort in Old Delhi.

The events of the day begin with the Prime Minister laying a wreath at the Amar Jawan Jyoti (at India Gate).He meets the dignitaries present and unfurls the National Flag.Following the unfurling the National Anthem is played to a 21-gun salute.

After this a brief investiture ceremony takes place during which the President awards India's top gallantry awards - Param Veer Chakra, Veer Chakra and Maha Veer Chakra. In army these are known as the most prestigious awards for bravery for saving their motherland from the enemy of our country.

Indian struggle continues till now...

After independence,India has fought four wars with its neighbours. From 1975 to 1977, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a "State of Emergency in India", thereby freezing civil rights and detaining civilians without trial. Sikh riots in 1984 resulted in religious strife in much of India.

Also the destruction of the Babri Masjid in 1992 resulted in religious strife in much of India. In the desert town of Pokhran, in 1998, the Indian government exploded five nuclear warheads, confirming India's nuclear status. In 1999, India mobilised its military in Kargil, Kashmir to repel Islamist terrorists who, under the auspices of the Pakistani government, were encroaching upon Indian territory.

Into the 21st centuryIn April 1999, the coalition government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) fell apart, leading to fresh elections in September. In May and June 1999, India discovered an elaborate campaign of terrorist infiltration that resulted in the Kargil War in Kashmir, derailing a promising peace process that had begun only three months earlier when Prime Minister Vajpayee visited Pakistan, inaugurating the Delhi-Lahore bus service. Indian forces killed infiltrators, who included Pakistani soldiers, and reclaimed important border posts in high-altitude warfare. In the same year, India's population exceeded 1 billion. However, terrorism has increased in India with bomb blasts in leading cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, Jaipur, Bangalore, Hyderabad has been very common.

Manmohan Singh talks with U.S. President Barack Obama during the 2009 G-20 Pittsburgh summit at the Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens.Soaring on popularity earned following the successful conclusion of the Kargil conflict, the National Democratic Alliance - a new coalition led by the BJP - gained a majority to form a government with Vajpayee as Prime Minister in October 1999. The NDA government's credibility was adversely affected by reports of intelligence failures that led to the Kargil incursions going undetected, as well as allegations that the Defence Minister George Fernandes took bribes over the purchase of coffins for soldiers who died in the battle. The Tehelka scandal exposed the BJP party chief taking unaccounted contributions in return for promised favours, and the CBI chargesheeted senior BJP leaders for inciting the demolition of the Babri mosque. In 2002, tensions increased over the Ram Janmabhoomi dispute when the Vishwa Hindu Parishad threatened to defy the government, vowing to perform a religious ceremony on the disputed site. 59 Hindu activists died returning from the site when a train carriage took fire a month later, in Godhra, Gujarat. This sparked off the 2002 Gujarat violence, leading to the deaths of thousands of Hindus and Muslims. The BJP-led state government, and its chief minister Narendra Modi were accused of not doing enough to stop Hindu mobs in attacking Muslims.

Throughout 2003, India's speedy economic progress, political stability and a rejuvenated peace initiative with Pakistan increased the government's popularity. In January 2004 Vajpayee recommended early dissolution of the Lok Sabha and general elections. The Congress Party-led alliance won an upset victory in elections held in May 2004. Manmohan Singh became the Prime Minister, after the Congress President Sonia Gandhi, the widow of Rajiv Gandhi declined to take the office, in order to defuse the controversy about whether her foreign birth should be considered a disqualification for the Prime Minister's post. The Congress formed a coalition with socialist and regional parties, and enjoys the outside support of India's Communist parties. Manmohan Singh became the first Sikh to date to hold India's most powerful office. Singh has continued economic liberalization, although the need for support from Indian socialists and communists has forestalled further privatization. The 21st century saw India, improve relations, with many countries and foreign unions including the United States, the European Union, Israel and the People's Republic of China. The economy of India, has accelerated by growing at a very rapid pace. India, is now being looked at as a potential superpower.

In the Indian General Election in 2009, the United Progressive Alliance won a convincing 262 seats with INC alone winning 206 seats

The Pakistan weightlifting team has refused to take part in the New Delhi Commonwealth Games, unless they receive an apology from their spotlight-loving Sports Minister Dr M Ali Shah

2010-10-04T10:23:00.000+04:00

Dr Shah had insistied on carrying the Pakistani flag into the Games opening ceremony at the expense of the official flag bearer, the former gold medal weightlifter Shuja-ud-Din Malik.

Dr Shah, who also holds the post as the team's chef de mission had a "tug of war" with Malik and would not give up the flag before the team walked into the stadium. The Pakistani team received an enthusiastic cheer from the Indian audience, who had been told the flag bearer was Malik. "Everybody was surprised that on the TV screens, it was written the National Flag Carrier of Pakistan was the Gold Medalist Pak Weightlifter Shuja-ud-Din but ironically it was actually a Pakistani politician who was carrying it on the ground and waving to the camera like a clown," the Lahore-based Pakistani Mail reported.

"He even did not realize that in this age of his he was quite vulnerable to a sudden cardiac arrest by lifting such heavy weight while a genuine heavy weightlifter was already there to do the job quite smartly and quite deservingly."

Rashid Mehmood, an official of the weightlifting team, told Geo News that Dr Shah threatened to send the squad back home if the weightlifters complained.

The weightlifting is due to start later today with the women's 48kg final and the men's 56kg final.

Other politicians were not so fortunate; with the Delhi police refusing to acknowledge the status of anyone that was not officially accredited into the VIP areas.

Babri Masjid disputed land will be divided into three parts

2010-09-30T15:47:00.000+04:00

The Allahabad High Court on Thursday (September 30) ruled majority that the 2.7 acres disputed land in Ayodhya, on which the Babri Masjid stood before it was demolished on December 6, 1992, will be divided into three parts to be distributed among the Sunni Waqf Board, Nirmohi Akhara and the party for 'Ram Lalla', said the lawyers.

The ownership of the disputed site is to be divided into three parts: the site of the Ram lala idol to Ram, Nirmohi Akhara gets Sita Rasoi and Ram Chabutara, Sunni Wakf Board gets the rest.

Justice D V Sharma decrees the title suit in favour of Hindus, say lawyer K N Bhatt, who represented the party on behalf of 'Ram Lalla'. Status quo will be maintained at the disputed site in Ayodhya for three months, claimed lawyers Ravi Shanker Prasad and K N Bhatt.

Justice S U Khan ruled that the disputed land belongs to both the communities, say lawyers.

Official verdict of the judgement awaited.

The verdict in the 60-year-old Ramjanambhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit is a landmark one particularly for Justice D V Sharma, who is set to demit office on Friday. The other judges on the Lucknow bench of the High Court are S U Khan and Sudhir Agarwal.

The Bench began the delivery of its verdict at 3:30 p.m. in Court Number 21 in the High Court premises which resembled a virtually impregnable fortress as the area surrounding it has been declared as a "no access zone".

The BJP core group will meet at senior leader L K Advani's residence this evening following the Ayodhya title suit judgement, immediately after the arrival of party President Nitin Gadkari from Mumbai. The meeting will be attended by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and her counterpart in Upper House Arun Jaitely among others and is expected to chalk out the future course of action on the issue after the court verdict. Advani had asked partymen to refrain from commenting on the issue till the verdict was out.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet Committee on Security is slated to meet in the evening and it may consider the Allahabad High Court judgement in the Ramjanambhoomi-Babri Masjid dispute.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Home Minister P Chidambaram had appealed to the people to accept the verdict and maintain peace and tranquility. They had also stressed that no attempt should be made by any section of the people to provoke another section after the verdict.

The only hurdle in the pronouncement of the verdict was cleared by the Supreme Court on Tuesday when it dismissed the petition by a retired bureaucrat Ramesh Chandra Tripathi for deferment of the keenly-awaited judgement.

The High Court verdict assumes significance as an amicable solution to the centuries old dispute over a piece of land has not been achieved through negotiations between the two religious groups. Repeated attempts were made by former Prime Ministers P V Narsimha Rao, V P Singh and Chandra Shekhar to persuade the two sides to reach a compromise but there was no success. The Ayodhya dispute has been an emotive issue for decades and mired in a slew of legal suits involving Hindu and Muslim religious groups.

The first title suit in the case was filed in 1950 by one Gopal Singh Visharad, seeking an injunction for permitting 'pooja'(worship) of Lord Ram at the disputed site while the second suit was filed by Paramhans Tamchandra Das also in 1950 seeking the same injunction but this was later withdrawn.

The third suit was filed in 1959 by the Nirmohi Akhara, seeking direction to hand over the charge of the disputed site from the receiver and the fourth one came in 1961 by UP Sunni Central Board of Waqfs for declaration and possession of the site.

The fifth suit was moved on July one, 1989 in the name of Bhagwan Shree Ram Lalla Virajman also for declaration and possession. Through an application moved by then Advocate General of UP, all the four suits were transferred to the High Court in 1989. Out of the 94 witnesses in Court, 58 appeared from Hindu side and 36 from Muslim side and their statements run in more than 13,000 pages.

The High Court while adjudicating the case also asked the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) to carry out excavation in the area surrounding the disputed site to find out whether temple was there before mosque was built. The excavation, which was done in the presence of representatives from Hindus and Muslims, went on for more than five months between March and August in 2003.

Hearing in the case taken up on a day-to-day basis from January this year was completed on July 26 and the special bench had reserved its verdict asking the parties concerned to approach the OSD in case there was any scope of resolution to the case through reconciliation.

Since none of the parties made any attempt in this direction, the court had on September 8 fixed Septemebr 24 as the date for pronouncement of the verdict. It was fixed for September 30 after the apex court dismissed a plea for deferment of the High Court verdict.

The three main issues before the High Court are whether there was a temple at the disputed site, prior to 1528, whether the suit filed by the Sunni Central Waqf board in 1961 is barred by limitation and whether Muslims perfected their title through adverse possession.

The history of the dispute goes back to the year 1528 when a mosque was built on the site by Mughal emperor Babar which Hindus claim to be a birth place of Lord Ram and where a temple was there earlier. In order to settle the dispute the British officials in 1859 erected a fence to separate the places of worship, allowing the inner court to be used by Muslims and the outer court by Hindus and this system went on till 1949 when an idol of Lord Ram surfaced inside the mosque.

The authorities then declared the premises a disputed area and locked the gates which were unlocked after 37 years in by a District Judge in 1986 to allow 'darshan'.

With the passage of time the dispute took political colour. The Babri Masjid was demolished in 1992 in the presence of senior leaders of VHP, Shiv Sena and BJP. The demolition of the mosque triggered communal riots in several parts of the country in which more than 2,000 lives were lost.

Earlier this month, R C Tripathi, one of the parties to the suit, moved a plea in the High Court seeking deferment of the verdict to make fresh attempts for out-of-court settlement through negotiations. On September 17, the High Court refused to defer pronouncement of the verdict following which the matter reached the Supreme Court. An apex Court bench of Justices Altamas Kabir and A K Patnaik refused to take up the case and referred it to another bench.

Difference of opinion between two Justices R V Raveendran and H L Gokhale, before whom the matter came up for hearing on September 23, surfaced on entertaining the petition. However, the Court issued notices to the parties. The matter was finally head by a special three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India S H Kapadia on Tuesday and it dismissed the plea for deferment of the verdict by the High Court.

Common wealth Games 2010 Theme Song

2010-09-25T12:24:00.000+04:00

History of Ayodhya Temple-Masjid Dispute

2010-09-23T12:42:00.000+04:00

The decades long Ayodhya dispute revolves around the claim over the land in Ayodhya, which is considered scared by Hindus as it is believed to be the birthplace of Lord Ram while Muslims seek to defend the Babri Masjid .

Hindus believe that Ayodhya is the birthplace of Lord Ram, one of the avatars of Lord Vishnu. The is considered scared and befitting the profile of a holy pilgrimage spot.

The communal tension over the land took root in the construction of the Babri Masji, by Muslim emperor Babur, who in 1527 defeated the Hindu King of Chittorgarh, Rana Sangram Singh at Fatehpur Sikri.

The king left his general, Mir Banki as the Viceroy of the region. Mir Banki, who enforced Mughal rule over the population, came to Ayodhya in 1528 and built the Mosque.There are claims that when the Mosque built, the Ram temple at Ayodhya was either demolished or modified largely.Over the years, Hindus have sought to reclaim the 'Ram Janmabhoomi' while Muslims have sought to defend the Babri Masjid.

Growth of dispute over the years

According to literature dating back to 1987, before the 1940s the mosque was called Masjid-i Janmasthan ('mosque on birthplace') by Indian Muslims

1947 - A Government order prohibited Muslims from being around the site (at least 200 yards). The main gate was locked. However, Hindu pilgrims allowed to enter through a side door.

1984 - The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) started a campaign to reclaim the site for Hindus so that a temple dedicated to the infant Ram (Ramlala) could be erected.

1989 - Allahabad High Court passed an order that the main gates should be opened up and restored the site to Hindus for eternity.

But the communal discord re-erupted when the Hindus intented to make modifications of the Islamic style structure built by General Mir Banki.

When they inaugurated the proposed new grand Temple with Government permissions, unrest erupted across India as the Muslim community was against this.

This is when Government moved the court, turning the dispute sub-judice

1992 - The dispute took a rather ugly turn on Dec 6, 1992 when the Babri Masjid was demolished during a political rally. This led to riots in which over 2000 were killed.

Ten days after the Babri Masjid demolition, the Liberhan commission was set up to probe the circumstances that led to the demolition.

2003 - On the order of the High Court, the the Archaeological Survey of India carried out excavation at the disputed site of Rama Janmabhumi - Babri Masjid from 12 Mar, 2003 to 7 Aug, 2003. The study reportedly found evidences of an ancient temple.

A 574-page report with maps, drawings as well as opinions was presented before the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court in Aug 2003.

Based on the archaeological evidence the the ASI report noted that the remains had distinctive features found associated with the temples of north India and said that there was sufficient proof of existence of a massive and monumental structure having a minimum dimension of 50x30 metres in north-south and east-west directions respectively just below the disputed structure.

2005 - On July 5, 2005, five terrorists attacked the site of the makeshift Ramlalla temple, in Ayodhya.

All the five terrorists were killed in the ensuing gunfight with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), guarding the area. The attack claimed life of one civilian, who died in a grenade blast that the terrorists triggered to breach a cordon wall.

2009 - In Nov 2009, some of the findings of the Liberhan commission was leaked to the media. These leaked reports indicted Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders like LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi.

Read: Vajpayee, Advani indicted for Babri demolition

2010 - On Sep 24, 2010, the Allahabad High Court is slated to give its verdict on the Ayodhya title suit on ownership of the disputed land.

Some important observations/ chronicles prior to Indian independence:

As early as 1767, Joseph Tieffenthaler, a Jesuit priest, recorded in his French works that were Hindus worshipping and celebrating Ramanavami at the site of the mosque. In 1788, he recorded that Emperor Aurangzeb demolished the fortress called Ramkot to establish a Mahometan temple.

Even till 19th century, there have been chronicles of Hindus worshipping Ram at the Ramkot hill.

P Carnegy wrote in 'A Historical Sketch of Tehsil Fyzabad', 1870, "It is said that up to that time (referring to the the Hindu-Muslim clashes in the 1850), the Hindus and Mohamedans alike used to worship in the mosque-temple.

"Since the British rule a railing has been put up to prevent dispute, within which, in the mosque the Mohamedans pray, while outside the fence the Hindus have raised a platform on which they make their offerings."

While passing an order over the issue in March 1886, the Faizabad District Judge, Col F E A Chamier, observed:

"I visited the land in dispute yesterday in the presence of all parties. I found that the Masjid built by Emperor Babar stands on the border of Ayodhya, that is to say, to the west and south it is clear of habitations. It is most unfortunate that a Masjid should have been built on land specially held sacred by the Hindus, but as that event occurred 356 years ago, it is too late now to agree with the grievances."

Ayodhya verdict: Central government warned all states to be on high alert-Lucknow schools, colleges close ahead of Ayodhya verdict

2010-09-23T12:14:00.000+04:00

Various schools and colleges have decided to close their institutions for some days in view of the verdict on the Ayodhya title suits by the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court on Friday.Teachers will not take classes in the Lucknow University for three days from September 24 and the classes will resume only on September 27, officials said here today. Guru Govind Singh Sports College has announced closure for six days and will re-open on September 29.Integral University will remain close tomorrow and would reopen on September 27. Though there is no formal order from the district administration but some schools and degree colleges have ordered closure from Friday, they said.

Ahmadabad police on toes for Ayodhya verdict

Like their counterparts in most other parts of India, the Gujarat police are also all set to face any possible communal outbursts in the city, in the wake of the Ayodhya judgment on Friday. The city police will be on their toes from Thursday, and additional forces have also been arranged for. Joint commissioner of police for sector 1, Satish Sharma, addressed a press conference in the city on Wednesday. He told reporters that all of the police will be at work, in trying to secure the city against communal tension. The police have started patrolling city streets as well as checking hotels to keep a tab on the people coming into the city, he informed. The city police commissioner has also asked police stations to handle incidents of petty crimes and internal clashes, to ensure these do not go out of hand or cause communal trouble. A series of meetings of senior and junior police officials has been conducted in connection with security measures on the Ayodhya judgment day.Director General of Police (DGP) for Gujarat State, SS Khandwawala, told DNA that meetings of people from the two communities have been conducted across the state, in an attempt to ensure communal peace on the day.

Al Maktoum International airport receives first flight

2010-06-22T16:14:00.000+04:00

Dubai: The first test cargo flight from what will be the world's largest airport landed on Sunday at Dubai World Central-Al Maktoum International airport, giving the green light for operations to begin next Sunday 27th June 2010.

Emirates Flight EK9883, a Boeing 777 freighter operating Hong Kong-Dubai and piloted by Captain Ahmad Bin Huzaim and First Officer Nabil Yousuf Ahmad Mohammad Rai Al Boom, touched down on Sunday afternoon as officials looked on.

"This is an important milestone, not only for the airport's certification process, but as another step towards achieving Dubai's vision to become the pre-eminent centre for aviation worldwide," said Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman of Dubai Airports.

The airport is part of a $33 billion Dubai World Central (DWC) project that will take Dubai's reputation for a transport hub to a whole different level.The master plan includes six interrelated developments; the world's largest airport, Al Maktoum International Airport, Dubai Logistics City, DWC Aviation City, DWC Residential City, DWC Commercial City and DWC Golf City.

The combined developments are designed to serve the city's aviation, tourism, commercial and logistics requirements up to 2050 and beyond. The first phase of the airport will feature one A380 capable runway, 64 remote stands, one cargo terminal with annual capacity for 250,000 tonnes of cargo and a passenger terminal building designed to accommodate five million passengers per year.

When completed, Dubai World Central-Al Maktoum International will be the largest airport in the world with five runways, four terminal buildings and capacity for 160 million passengers and 12 million tonnes of cargo.

The facility opens initially for cargo carriers, with passenger operations currently slated to start up at the end of March 2011 in concert with the IATA schedule change, operating company Dubai Airports announced on Monday.

DWC will combine air and land cargo while its location just a few kilometres from one of the region's largest port at Jebel Ali connected by a dedicated highway, will give it the ability for one of the quickest transfer time for goods.

During the live operation, the flight effectively tested Air Traffic Control procedures, airfield and taxi way signage and routes, radio communication and a host of processes and procedures related to ground and cargo handling, fuelling, catering, customs, immigration and security.

The trial also tested communication links between all the parties involved – Emirates SkyCargo, Dubai Airports, Dubai Air Navigation Services, Dubai Police, Customs, Immigration, Engineering Projects, Dubai Logistics City, Dubai World Central, JAFZA, Dnata, Swift Freight and the Roads and Transport Authority

Uncomfortable Truths and the Times Square Attack

2010-05-06T15:59:00.000+04:00

Faisal Shahzad, the first suspect arrested for involvement in the failed May 1 Times Square bombing attempt, was detained just before midnight on May 3 as he was attempting to depart on a flight from Kennedy International Airport in New York. Authorities removed Shahzad, a naturalized U.S. citizen of Pakistani descent, from an Emirates Airlines flight destined for Dubai. On May 4, Shahzad appeared at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan for his arraignment.

Authorities say that Shahzad is cooperating and that he insists he acted alone. However, this is contradicted by reports that the attack could have international links. On Feb. 3, Shahzad returned from a trip to Pakistan, where, according to the criminal complaint, he said he received militant training in Waziristan, a key hub of the main Pakistani Taliban rebel coalition, the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Authorities are reportedly seeking three other individuals in the United States in connection with the May 1 Times Square bombing attempt

15 CEOs, who should be paid $1 per annum

2010-03-24T10:59:00.002+04:00

Bangalore: Following the path of Lee Iacocca, former CEO of Chrysler in 1979 and Edward Liddy, former CEO of Allstate (ALL); Apple CEO Steve Jobs and Google CEO Eric Schmidt decided to work for $1 a year.

CEOs take $1 year primarily for two reasons. The first is that the firms they run are in deep trouble that they make the gesture to show that are willing to share the sort of sacrifice that their employees and shareholders must. The second reason is that some people who run companies, particularly those in which they own large positions in the firms, would be viewed as greedy to take compensation to operate the corporations that have made them rich.

24/7 Wall St. has put together a list of 15 CEOs who are paid too much, and should work for $1 a year. The people on the list are a combination of chief executives at companies which have taken Federal money or still survive on large taxpayers loans.

1. AIG's Chief Executive Robert Benmosche has an annual package of $10.5 million approved by pay czar Kenneth Feinberg. He took the package even though a number of AIG executives have much lower capped compensation and some AIG managers gave up bonuses that they earned earlier. Benmosche threatened to quit AIG last November in a fit over government restrictions on his company. He spent part of the summer at his Croatian villa while AIG was in deep trouble, a symbol of how little he cares about the symbolic value of spending long days in the office after taking the reins of a troubled firm supported by taxpayers. Benmosche served as CEO of Met Life (MET) for eight years and left a wealthy man.

2. GM CEO Ed Whitacre, who has been the auto firm's chairman since last June, about the time GM came out of Chapter 11 with $50 billion in U.S. aid. After saying GM would make an extensive search for someone to replace the car company's CEO Fritz Henderson, who Whitacre forced out in December of last year, the chairman took the top job for himself in January. Whitacre then got the government to allow the GM board to grant him a $9 million compensation package. CEO claims that GM will repay taxpayer loans, but it is extraordinary that he will not work for $1 a year until then. He became wealthy running AT&T and its predecessor companies.

3. U.S. SEC filings do not show what Toyota (TM) CEO Akio Toyoda makes. Since his family founded the firm and still owns a stake in the world's No.1 car company, he is certainly well off. Recalls of more than eight million Toyotas worldwide will cost the corporation hundreds of millions of dollars. Some legal analysts believe that the damage from liability suits could set back Toyota another $5 billion. The trouble at the company drove its s Palm recently lost $18 million for its quarter ending February 28 and has lost money for 10 quarters in a row. Palm's guidance for future quarters sent the firm's stock down nearly 30 percent the day after it released it earnings. The shares have plunged from $18 in October to $4. Jon Rubinstein, Palm's CEO, took over in June 2009 so the entire collapse in share price has happened on his watch. The Palm proxy said he made $4.2 million last year. He should drop that to $1 for nearly destroying the company.

4. Palm recently lost $18 million for its quarter ending February 28 and has lost money for 10 quarters in a row. Palm's guidance for future quarters sent the firm's stock down nearly 30 percent the day after it released it earnings. The shares have plunged from $18 in October to $4. Jon Rubinstein, Palm's CEO, took over in June 2009 so the entire collapse in share price has happened on his watch. The Palm proxy said he made $4.2 million last year. He should drop that to $1 for nearly destroying the company.

5. Freddie Mac (FRE) has a new CEO as of October - Charles Halderman. As the former chairman of Putnam Investment Management, he almost certainly became wealthy.

6. Fannie Mae's CEO, Michael Williams received $900,000 in salary for 2009. He got $3.1 million in 'deferred salary' that was paid out in four cash installment last year.

7. Blockbuster (BBI) CEO James Keyes made $8.4 million in the company's last fiscal year. The movie rental company is teetering on the brink of Chapter 11. Keyes made none of the critical strategic moves that could have built revenue around internet streaming rentals, DVDs by mail, or kiosk-based rental services. His decisions, or lack of them, have helped push the firm's share price from $1.40 last September to $.31.

8. Michael Dell has done a great deal of damage to his company, Dell Computers (DELL), since he took over as CEO from Kevin Rollins in February 2007. Dell had backed Rollins in public right up until the end. The company earned $4.6 million in 2006, Rollins' last full year. Net income has not matched that level since then. Dell's shares have fallen about 40 percent since Rollins left. The company has struggled with customer service problems and an inability to develop a blockbuster product. Dell owns 226 million shares of his company which is over 11 percent of the outstanding shares. He made $2.2 million last year, hardly reasonable for a man who has done a great deal to ruin his firm's chances to compete effectively with its largest competitors.

9. Lloyd Blankfien, CEO of Goldman Sachs, made the symbolic gesture of taking nearly no pay this year, at least compared to the tens of millions he has taken in years past. Blankfein's compensation for 2009 was a mere $862,657. He made $54 million in 2007 and $41 million in 2008. Goldman's board could certainly argue that Blankfein should have been paid better. Goldman posted record profits in its last fiscal year and its shares are up 60 percent over the last year. But, Goldman's image with the Administration, Congress, and the public has been badly damaged. Its role in the collapse of AIG is still in question. Blankfein would, from a strategic standpoint, It is nearly impossible to find a company that dominates as its industry as much as Nokia (NOK). It has let such a large multitude of its opportunities be successful taken over by smaller competitors.

10. Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo runs the world's largest handset company by far. Nokia has a market share of about 35 percent globally, but, the high-end of the market has gone to RIM (RIMM), Apple (AAPL), and more recently to Google (GOOG) Android operating system powered phones. Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo will be remembered as a CEO who let his company's size advantage be squandered because of lack of innovation. It is nearly impossible to find a company that dominates as its industry as much as Nokia (NOK). It has let such a large multitude of its opportunities be successful taken over by smaller competitors. Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo runs the world's largest handset company by far. Nokia has a market share of about 35 percent globally, but, the high-end of the market has gone to RIM (RIMM), Apple (AAPL), and more recently to Google (GOOG) Android operating system powered phones. Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo will be remembered as a CEO who let his company's size advantage be squandered because of lack of innovation.

11. Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) has been one of the more poorly run companies in the video game industry since Zelnick Media took over the job of operating the firm through a management contract. Strauss Zelnick is Take-Two's Chairman, and one of his underlings at Zelnick Media, Ben Feder, acts as Take-Two's CEO. They should make no more than $1 between them.

12. Howard Stringer was brought in to turn Sony (SNE) around when he was made CEO in 2005. Over that period, Sony's stock has gone from $40 to $36, significantly underperforming the DJIA. Sony, under Stringer's stewardship, has run third in the three-horse race in the video console business behind Microsoft (MSFT) and Nintendo. Its TV and digital camera businesses have had shrinking margins, and Sony has been bested by a number of firms, particularly Apple (AAPL) and Amazon (AMZN), in the consumer electronics sector.

13. TheStreet.com has been through a period of bad earnings and worse financial reporting problems since Darryl Otte took over as interim and then permanent CEO starting in March 2009. In 2009 the firm had revenue of $60.2 million, down 15 percent from 2008. Operating expenses for 2009 were $93.2 million, increase of 29 percent. For the trouble he has caused shareholders over the last year, Otte received a base salary of $425,000, a potential bonus of $320,000, and 650,000 restricted stock units.

14. Dan Hesse, the CEO of Sprint (S), made $19 million in 2008. The company lost $2.4 billion on $32.3 billion in revenue in 2009. The numbers look worse compared with the improvements in the results from AT&T Wireless and Verizon Wireless, Sprint's two larger rivals. Sprint's stock is down over 70 percent since Hesse took over and there is nothing to make investors think that the problems at the company will do anything other than get worse.

15. GE (GE) CEO Jeff Immelt has run the conglomerate since 2001 and the company's stock has dropped from $54 to $18 over that period. Perhaps one good thing Immelt did is to agree to sell a controlling interest, which he said he never do, of NBCU f its industrial and infrastructure divisions, GE's earnings dropped from $17.4 billion in 2008 to $11 billion last year. GE public relations has made a great deal out of the fact that Immelt has not taken his bonus for two years in a row, but he made $9.9 million last year and still had a base salary of $3.3 million.

Dubai's population grows 7.6% as recovery sets in

2010-03-16T12:31:00.002+04:00

Dubai's population grew 7.6 per cent last year, counter to analysts' estimates, as the business hub attracted workers and began to emerge from the economic downturn.

The number of people living in the emirate rose to 1.77 million from 1.65 million at the end of 2008, the Dubai Statistics Centre said on its website Monday.

The increase was 1.8 per cent in the fourth quarter compared with the previous three months.

About 90 per cent of Dubai's population is made up of expatriates.

"Despite our cautious [approach] on the methodology used, the figures are supported by industry demand data form utility and telecom companies," Majid Azam, a real-estate analyst at Al Futtaim HC Securities said yesterday.

"The fact [that] rentals are holding up even with the increasing supply is another sign the population is growing," he said.

The Dubai Electricity and Water Authority reported a 14 per cent increase in the number of power connections last year, Azam wrote in a note to clients yesterday.

Du, had a 40 per cent increase in mobile users and 17 per cent growth in fixed-line subscriptions during 2009.

â€¢ 40% increase in du's mobile subscribers in 2009

â€¢ 14% increase in Dewa power connection last year.

CA top salary zooms to Rs. 70 Lakh

2010-03-08T15:53:00.001+04:00

Ahmedabad: The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has created a record by placing three of its candidates at a record salary of close to Rs. 70 lakh with Singapore-based Olam International. This is the highest ever salary offered to fresh CAs recruited from the ICAI campus, the apex body that conducts the CA examination and places the successful candidates every year, reports Economic Times.

In 2007, a record salary of Rs. 38.25 lakh was offered in 2007. The three candidates who have been offered the record salary, were picked by the agriculture supply chain major from ICAI's Chennai campus. Olam plans to hire around eight candidates from ICAI.

According to Economic Times, ICAI started its first phase of placements through five out of 15 campuses on March 4. The first day itself saw 320 candidates being picked up. Companies which hired successful CAs on the first day include IOC, ITC, Tolaram, Vedant, S R Batliboy, Yes Bank, GE Capital, REC, L&T, Axis Bank, Morgan Stanley, HCL Technology and Delloite.

"We are very happy with the offers we have seen on very first day of our campus recruitment. It suggests that now we are out of the global recession and recruiters are ready to offer right packages to right candidates," said Subodh Agrawal, Chairman of the Committee for Members in Industry, ICAI, in a reaction to the record offer. "It is a 100 percent rise from our earlier best," he added. Explaining the hiring sentiment Agarwal said, "Now with the upturn, good candidates keen to work within the country. Therefore, companies need to pay a premium to hire them for global positions."

When contacted by Economic Times, Olam International confirmed the Rs. 70 lakh offer." Michael Joseph who handles global recruitments at the company said, "We are operating in a recession-free industry. So, there are really no limits now," he said.

India raised only 1 percent spending on climate change

2010-02-27T14:09:00.001+04:00

New Delhi: The Union government expenditure on measures to adapt to climate change has increased a measly one percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) in past four years, a study released here Tuesday said.

The study conducted by NGO Oxfam and the Center for Budget and Governance Accountability found that the government's expenditure on adaptation to climate change was 1.7 percent of the GDP, contrary to the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) claim of government spending 2.6 percent.

"In fact, based on our study we found that expenditure on adaptation to climate change shows a paltry increase of one percent of GDP from 2006-07 to 2009-2010," the study found.

The NGO studied over 146 government schemes related to climate change under various ministries over a period of four years.

"However, this one percent rise in infrastructure has been largely due to increase in expenditure on some specific programmes relating mainly to poverty alleviation like National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGA), in which the expenditure has doubled," it said.

The study classifies government's expenditure on adaptation to climate change into two broad area - expenditure towards enhancing human capabilities and towards conservation and management of natural resources.

The study finds that in 2009-10, expenditure towards enhancing human capabilities constituted more than 80 percent of government total expenditure on adaptation on climate change while a meagre 0.5 percent of GDP was spent on conservation of natural resources.

"Sectors that are crucial to any adaptation interventions such as food security, health, rural and urban housing for the poor, and infrastructure for education have received inadequate attention. These sectors need to be integrated into country's adaptation policy network," said Nisha Agrawal, chief executive officer of Oxfam India.

The study argued that a National Adaptation Fund should be set up by the government to provide dedicated financial resources to sector that are vulnerable to climate change.

India ranks 4th among money obsessed nations

2010-02-27T13:59:00.001+04:00

Bangalore: With importance of money being increased after financial crisis, India has emerged one of those nations, which believes the saying "money talks" more than people in other countries, and typically thinks that cash is very important.

According to the World Journal, a public survey launched by Reuters and Ipsos, India ranks fourth with 78 percent of its people placing greater value on money after the financial crisis, which is followed by Russia, Turkey and Brazil. But, there are84 percent of respondents from China, Japan and Korea
"Money confirms a person's success" is a common opinion among people from these countries. 69 percent of Chinese and Korean's agree, while 67 percent of Indian's and 63 percent of Japanese support it too.

However, most European people, especially the Dutch at 50 percent, think money is no more important than before. Following the Dutch, Mexican's, German's, Briton's, Belgian's and Canadian's hold the same view to a lesser degree.

Microsoft topples Google in brand survey

2010-02-27T13:47:00.003+04:00

Bangalore: Google is no longer the leading business facing brand in the world, as Microsoft has taken its place in the annual Business Superbrands Top 500 survey, compiled by the Centre for Brand Analysis, reports Economic Times. Google is now fifth on the list.

The TCBA selects an initial list of 1,200 brands, which is whittled down a shortlist of 500 by a panel of 25 experts. They are then voted on by more than 1,700 business professionals, choosing a rating between one and 10 for each brand, before the results are combined and a final ranking is assigned.
Handset manufacturer BlackBerry is the highest new entry in the top 10, up from 42nd place to third, while Sony and Virgin Atlantic have been voted into third and fourth place, respectively. Nokia, Bupa, BP and Michelin have all fallen from the top 10.

Insurance giant Aviva, which rebranded from Norwich Union last year, is the second highest-grower. Supported by its high-budget campaign featuring A-list celebrities such as Bruce Willis and Ringo Starr, Aviva climbed from 315th place to 144 in the rankings. "We are very proud of the speed with which the Aviva brand has become a major asset for our business," said Amanda Mackenzie, chief marketing officer at Aviva..

Cellphones take on TV at the Winter Olympics

2010-02-26T11:32:00.000+04:00

Vancouver: With the advancement in technology more people have started using cellphones and internet to watch the current Winter Olympic Games instead of traditional media like television. According to Timo Lumme, Head of TV and Marketing for the International Olympic Committee, non-traditional media like cellphones and internet have matched the 20,000 hours from traditional broadcasters so far these games, contributing to a total audience, which is expected to reach 3.5 billion - or half the world's population, reports Reuters.

"We've had a continuing digital explosion. We now have the same amount of hours covered globally on digital media - internet, mobile - as we have on the old media broadcasting, and a quarter of that is mobile," said Lumme. "People are accessing this in different ways during different times. It does mean more is being consumed."

According to Lumme, organizers were pleased with national broadcasters that include Canada's CTV and U.S. network NBC. NBC, which paid a record $2.2 billion for U.S. broadcast rights to the Beijing and Vancouver Olympics, has said it will lose money on the winter Games. But Lumme declined to speculate if that meant bids would come in lower next time.

Illegal Internet pharmacies thriving in India: UN

2010-02-26T11:27:00.001+04:00

New Delhi: Illegal Internet pharmacies are thriving in India and they are increasingly becoming a source of pharmaceutical drug abuse across the globe, a report released by the United Nations office on Drugs and Crime said Wednesday.

"India has emerged as one of the main sources of drugs sold through illegal Internet pharmacies, where orders placed abroad are dispatched to buyers using couriers and postal services, which have become a common means of smuggling drugs abroad," the annual International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) report released here said
The international report said that pharma drug abuse in Bhutan and Bangladesh are also gradually picking up.

It said seizures of amphetamine-type stimulants show that trafficking of these substances may be increasing in South Asia and it has also become a location for their manufacture.

"A number of clandestine methamphetamine laboratories have been discovered in India in recent years," the report said.

"We have busted nine major cases of Internet pharmacy in the past few years. We are taking a lot of steps to control the menace but to monitor the Internet is a huge task," Ish Kumar, deputy director general of India's Narcotic Control Bureau, told IANS.

Kumar said they have sensitised several parcel service providers to curb the menace and get hold of the rackets involved in the process. "We are following a system of controlled delivery, which has given us some positive results so far," Kumar added.

"The widespread abuse of pharmaceutical preparations containing narcotic drugs, example Codeine, is an ongoing problem in Bangladesh. Pharmaceutical preparations containing Benzodiazepines are among the most widely abused in Bhutan," the global body said.

why..? MOST PARENTS AGAINST LOVE MARRIAGES

2010-02-21T14:53:00.004+04:00

A study of the communication pattern between parents and their children have revealed a wide gap, especially on sensitive ‘growing-up’ topics..

Dads look worse off. Only 7% boys and 4%girls(aged 15-24) have been discuss “growing up” issues with their dad , in a recent survey .

Moms were equally bad when it came to their son’s with only 6%boys confiding and “discussing life” with them. In comparison, girls (77%) spoke more freely to their mothers, mostly about issues relating to menstruation.

The survey, conducted by international institute for population science and population council and endorsed by the union health ministry, spoke to nearly 51000 married and unmarried young males and females from six states.

The survey found that school performance, a non-sensitive topic, was the commonest area of discussion between kids and parents .in contrast, more touchy topics, such as romantic relationships and reproduction, were rarely discussed with either parents (only 2%of young men and 6% of young women did so ).

The findings also suggest that parents controlled the social interactions of youngsters, particularly those involving members of the opposite sex.for example 69% of young men and 84%of young women expected parental disapproval if they brought an opposite sex friend home.in contrast, just 9% of men and 5% of women reported that their mother and father would be angry if they brought same sex friend home .Among young men ,for example,64% of those from Maharashtra and he southern states perceived disapproval from both parents if opposite sex friends came home. Compared to considerably more (71-80%) in northern states. Corresponding percentages among young women were 74-85% and 82-97%respectively.

MOST PARENTS AGAINST LOVE MARRIAGESSurvey has found yawning gap between parents and children when it comes to discussion of growing up problems. The survey found that parents were most likely to disapprove of love marriages for their children, as reported by84% of young men and 94% of young women. With regard to perceived parental reactions to a love marriage, state-wise differences were evident for young men, with those from other states to perceive disapproval (67-78% versus 85-94%).

Among young women, in contract, state-wise differences were negligible; over 90% of young women in all the states reported parental dis approval of a love marriage. Almost all those who were interviewed had an arranged marriage. This led only 30% of young men and 22%of young women being aware of what to expect from their married life. …

Air India Express to fly Dubai-Srinagar weekly

2009-10-11T01:02:00.001+04:00

Dubai: Air India Express, India's budget carrier, added Jammu and Kashmir's capital Srinagar - one of the major tourism destinations in India - to its list of growing destinations from Dubai International Airport, with an introductory fare of Dh99. Effective February 14, Air India Express will start non stop flights from Srinagar to Dubai, once a week on Saturdays.
Srinagar will be the 12th destination from Dubai.
The flight will depart from Dubai at 08.35 and arrive in Srinagar at 13.20. On the return, it will depart from Srinagar at 14.20 and arrive in Dubai at 16.50.
"We are pleased to announce an introductory fare starting from Dh99 plus taxes onwards [one-way] - Dubai to Srinagar," a spokesperson said in a statement.

Burj Dubai to open on December 2

2009-10-11T00:52:00.001+04:00

DUBAI: The world's tallest tower Burj Dubai will open this year on December 2, which is the UAE National Day. Mohammed Al-Abbar, Chairman of Emaar Properties, which is the developer of the project, said he was "shooting for UAE National Day". Al-Abbar also said on CNN that "12,000 staff were working inside trying to get the building ready".
Emaar announced early this month that the exterior cladding of the Burj Dubai is now complete.
The building, which currently measures over 800 metres, has accomplished a new world record for the highest installation of an aluminium and glass facade, Emaar Properties had said in a statement.
A total of 24,348 pieces of cladding were fitted to the tower since May 2007. The developer also said the experience of being at the top of the tower will include travelling by lift at a speed of 10 metres per second to the observatory deck on the level 124, which will take about 60 seconds.
The total glass used in the building can cover 14 standard football pitches. The total length of stainless steel used is equivalent to the area of 34 NBA basketball courts.
The total length of the gaskets if laid end-to-end is equivalent to the distance from Dubai to Damascus. A total of 2,074 truck deliveries were undertaken to take the panels from the factory to the Burj Dubai site - the distance is equal going round the earth once, or trekking the Great Wall of China six times.

Accor Hospitality Middle East and Action Hotels to launch first ibis hotel in Jordan

2009-08-26T12:47:00.002+04:00

Accor Hospitality Middle East and Kuwait-based Action Hotels, a subsidiary of Action Group Holdings, today announced that Jordan’s first ibis hotel will be launched to the public in September 2009. The ibis Amman, the first internationally branded economy hotel in Jordan, is set to be a significant addition to Jordan’s booming travel and tourism industry.

Conveniently located in the Tila’ Al Ali district, a 30 minute drive from Queen Alia International Airport, the ibis Amman is situated minutes away from the heart of the capital’s prime commercial and leisure areas, and is exactly opposite Amman Mall.

"Action Hotels is proud to have successfully completed our first hotel project in Amman and to be one of the first Kuwaiti companies to invest in hospitality in Jordan. This is the latest in our growing portfolio of ibis hotels we are developing in the Middle East as we focus on developing affordable, quality properties in the best locations managed by international operators of global repute. ibis is today the best economy brand in the world. I would summarize it as simplicity, consistency and great value - It is really about everything you want at a reasonable cost. As a business we also believe that hotels play an important role to the local economy and that is very important to us at Action Hotels,” said Sheikh Mubarak A.M. Al-Sabah, Vice Chairman of Action Group Holdings and Chairman of Action Hotels Company.

ibis Amman features a choice of accommodation: 158 double and single rooms, 45 connecting rooms, in addition to two special needs rooms and three non-smoking floors. The three-star hotel is committed to the ’15 minutes satisfaction contract’ which is an illustration of ibis’ concrete commitment to quality. If a customer reports a problem which is the hotel’s responsibility, the teams are committed to finding a solution within 15 minutes maximum, 24 hours a day, every day of the week. If no solution is found, the client is invited to stay for free.

“We are proud to soon open Jordan’s first Accor hotel - ibis Amman – which will drive our strategic presence in the commercial centre of Jordan. We are aggressively positioning ibis to match Amman’s ambitious target to be a major hub for business, leisure and tourism,” said Christophe Landais, Managing Director, Accor Hospitality Middle East.

“Entering Jordan’s lucrative market is part of our regional strategy to cement our leading position in the economy hotel segment. The current economic climate has substantially driven demand for economy hotels and the launch of the ibis Amman will fulfil the gap in the market for business and leisure travellers who want quality service at value for money prices,” added Landais.

Action Hotels focuses on developing three and four star hotels supported by its strategic alliance with the France-based Accor Group. The company is actively extending its network across the Middle East region.

SriLankan Airlines passengers transiting Colombo now have the opportunity of enjoying a mini-vacation basking on island’s famed golden beach

2009-05-30T14:54:00.002+04:00

SriLankan Airlines passengers transiting Colombo now have the opportunity of enjoying a mini-vacation basking on one of the island’s famed golden beaches, with the airline extending its hotel accommodation service for transit passengers for up to 48 hours for a nominal fee.

General Manager SriLankan Holidays, Amith Sumanapala, said: “SriLankan Airlines would like even our transit passengers to enjoy the wide range of amazing attractions on our island of Paradise. The extension of our Connecting Point Service hotel accommodation programme gives passengers transiting for up to 48 hours the opportunity to relax at a beach resort and enjoy the legendary hospitality and friendliness of Sri Lankan culture.”

SriLankan already provides complimentary accommodation for passengers in transit for between 8 and 24 hours. And now, passengers whose transit times range between 24-48 hours will be provided hotel accommodation and airport transfers at the nominal rate of USD 10 per person, yet another value added service by Sri Lanka’s award-winning airline for its customers. This service is also for passengers who choose not to take the first available connecting flight.

Nearly 40% of SriLankan’s passengers are those in transit to other destinations. The airline is projecting Sri Lanka as a hub between Europe and the Middle East in the West, and Southeast Asia and the Far East in the East. SriLankan also has convenient connections to eight cities in the Subcontinent (India, Pakistan and the Maldives).

At Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport, passengers are whisked away to their hotels in air-conditioned vehicles. Passengers can choose from no less than a dozen hotels of various types within half an hour’s travel of the airport, including those in the seaside resort town of Negombo, and the nearby beach area.

Passengers can spend their time on the beach; explore the vibrant nightlife among the pubs, restaurants and boutiques of Negombo’s hotel road; or even take a quick trip down to Colombo, just one hours’ drive away, to enjoy the city’s nightlife and great value for money shopping for items such as Brand clothing, Ceylon Tea, handicrafts and Precious stones.

When the time comes for their onward flights, passengers are picked up at their hotels by the airline and brought back to the airport well in time. While they wait, they can enjoy the conveniences of one of the finest airports in the region, with its modern aerobridges and South Asia’s best-stocked duty free shopping complex.

Passengers who wish to obtain this service can request it when booking their air tickets, and the cost will be added to their fare.

Manmohan Singh all set to return to power

2009-05-16T11:18:00.002+04:00

The Congress-led UPA is all set to retain power at the Centre putting up an impressive performance in states like Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu to overwhelm the BJP-led NDA.
The UPA alliance was ahead in 250 constituencies with Congress alone leading in 198 seats. The ruling Front is just short of a little over 20 seats for the magic figure of 272 in the 543-member Lok Sabha.
The NDA was leading in 157 seats with BJP ahead in 119 seats.
The Congress exulted over its victory saying it was a vindication of its policies while BJP spokespersons were still unwilling to concede defeat though they admitted that the UPA was ahead in early trends.
Manmohan Singh will be the first Prime Minister after Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after a full five-year term with the Congress having nominated him as its candidate for the top post, first time it had done in its history.
The Congress performance was spectacular in Kerala where it routed the Left Front and dealt a severe blow to the Marxists in West Bengal with help from ally Trinamool Congress.
It also swept Delhi, did exceedingly well in Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Uttarakhand and more than doubled its tally in UP leading in 20 of the 80 seats there.

A child in Texas has become the first fatality from swine flu in the United States

2009-04-29T16:40:00.000+04:00

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- A child in Texas has become the first fatality from swine flu in the United States, the acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.

Five-year-old Edgar Hernandez, known as "patient zero" survived the earliest documented case of swine flu.

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"I can confirm the very sad news out of Texas that a child has died of the H1N1 virus," the CDC's Dr. Richard Besser said.

As confirmed cases of swine flu have risen to at least 112, health officials think they may have found "patient zero" in the global outbreak -- in a small village in the mountains of Mexico.

La Gloria, tucked away off a dusty road flanked by pig farms, is where the earliest case of swine flu was confirmed.

Five-year-old Edgar Hernandez survived the earliest documented case of swine flu in an outbreak that has now spread across four continents.

His family lives in the 3,000-person village in the state of Veracruz, where a flu outbreak was reported on April 2. State officials arrived and took samples from dozens of people.

Lab tests confirmed that Edgar was the only patient in Veracruz to test positive for the swine flu virus; the others had contracted a common flu. Health officials had returned to Edgar's sample only after cases of the new flu strain were spotted around the country.

"In this case, there's a patient who turned out to be positive for the swine-flu virus, with the exception that at that time in no region of the world it had been established as an etiological, epidemic cause," said Mexico Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova.

Edgar has managed to bounce back from his symptoms and playfully credits ice cream for helping him feel better.

Mexican health officials suspect the swine flu outbreak has caused at least 159 deaths and roughly 2,500 illnesses.

Obama's First Hundred Days and U.S. Presidential Realities

2009-04-29T16:02:00.001+04:00

By George Friedman
U.S. presidential candidates run for office as if they would be free to act however they wish once elected. But upon election, they govern as they must. The freedom of the campaign trail contrasts sharply with the constraints of reality.
The test of a president is how effectively he bridges the gap between what he said he would do and what he finds he must do. Great presidents achieve this seamlessly, while mediocre presidents never recover from the transition. All presidents make the shift, including Obama, who spent his first hundred days on this task.
Obama won the presidency with a much smaller margin than his supporters seem to believe. Despite his wide margin in the Electoral College, more than 47 percent of voters cast ballots against him. Obama was acutely aware of this and focused on making certain not to create a massive split in the country from the outset of his term. He did this in foreign policy by keeping Robert Gates on as defense secretary, bringing in Hillary Clinton, Richard Holbrooke and George Mitchell in key roles and essentially extrapolating from the Bush foreign policy. So far, this has worked. Obama’s approval rating rests at 69 percent, which The Washington Post notes is average for presidents at the hundred-day mark.
Obama, of course, came into office in circumstances he did not anticipate when he began campaigning — namely, the financial and economic crisis that really began to bite in September 2008. Obama had no problem bridging the gap between campaign and governance with regard to this matter, as his campaign neither anticipated nor proposed strategies for the crisis — it just hit. The general pattern for dealing with the crisis was set during the Bush administration, when the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Board put in place a strategy of infusing money into failing institutions to prevent what they feared would be a calamitous economic chain reaction.
Obama continued the Bush policy, though he added a stimulus package. But such a package had been discussed in the Bush administration, and it is unlikely that Sen. John McCain would have avoided creating one had he been elected. Obviously, the particular projects funded and the particular interests favored would differ between McCain and Obama, but the essential principle would not. The financial crisis would have been handled the same way — just as everything from the Third World debt crisis to the Savings and Loan crisis would have been handled the same way no matter who was president. Under either man, the vast net worth of the United States (we estimate it at about $350 trillion) would have been tapped by printing money and raising taxes, and U.S. assets would have been used to underwrite bad investments, increase consumption and build political coalitions through pork. Obama had no plan for this. Instead, he expanded upon the Bush administration solution and followed tradition.
The Reality of International Affairs
The manner in which Obama was trapped by reality is most clear with regard to international affairs. At the heart of Obama’s campaign was the idea that one of the major failures of the Bush administration was alienating the European allies of the United States. Obama argued that a more forthcoming approach to the Europeans would yield a more forthcoming response. In fact, the Europeans were no more forthcoming with Obama than they were with Bush.
Obama’s latest trip to Europe focused on two American demands and one European — primarily German — demand. Obama wanted the Germans to increase their economic stimulus plan because Germany is the largest exporter in the world. With the United States stimulating its economy, the Germans could solve their economic problem simply by increasing exports into the United States. This would limit job creation in the United States, particularly because German exports involve automobiles as well as other things, and Obama has struggled to build domestic demand for U.S. autos. Thus, he wanted the Germans to build domestic demand and not just rely on the United States to pull Germany out of recession. But the Germans refused, arguing that they could not afford a major stimulus now (when in fact they have no reason to be flexible, because the U.S. stimulus is going to help them no matter what Germany does).
Germany’s and France’s unwillingness to provide substantially more support in Afghanistan gave Obama a second disappointment. Some European troops were sent, but their numbers were few and their mission was limited to a very short period. (In some cases, the European force contribution will focus on training indigenous police officers, which will take a year or more to really have an impact.) The French and Germans essentially were as unwilling to deal with Obama as they were with Bush on this matter.
The Europeans, on the other hand, wanted a major effort by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Central European banking system, largely owned by banks from more established European countries, has reached a crisis state because of aggressive lending policies. The Germans in particular don’t want to bail out these banks; they want the IMF to do so. Put differently, they want the United States, China and Japan to help underwrite the European banking system. Obama did agree to contribute to this effort, but not nearly on the scale the Europeans wanted.
On the whole, the Europeans gave two big nos, while the Americans gave a mild yes. In substantive terms, the U.S.-European relationship is no better than it was under Bush. In terms of perception, however, the Obama administration managed a brilliant coup, shifting the focus to the changed atmosphere that prevailed at the meeting. Indeed, all parties wanted to emphasize the atmospherics, and judging from media coverage, they succeeded. The trip accordingly was perceived as a triumph.
Campaign Promises and Public Perception
This is not a trivial achievement. There are campaign promises, there is reality and there is public perception. All presidents must move from campaigning to governing; extremely skilled presidents manage the shift without appearing duplicitous. At least in the European case, Obama has managed the shift without suffering political damage. His core supporters appear prepared to support him independent of results. And that is an important foundation for effective governance.
We can see the same continuity in his treatment of Russia. When he ran for president, Obama pledged to abandon the U.S. ballistic missile defense (BMD) deployment in Poland amid a great show made about resetting U.S. Russia policy. On taking office, however, he encountered the reality of the Russian position, which is that Russia wants to be the pre-eminent power in the former Soviet Union. The Bush administration took the position that the United States must be free to maintain bilateral relations with any country, to include the ability to extend NATO membership to interested countries. Obama has reaffirmed this core U.S. position.
The United States has asked for Russian help in two areas. First, Washington asked for a second supply line into Afghanistan. Moscow agreed so long as no military equipment was shipped in. Second, Washington offered to withdraw its BMD system from Poland in return for help from Moscow in blocking Iran’s development of nuclear weapons and missiles. The Russians refused, understanding that the offer on BMD was not worth removing a massive thorn (i.e., Iran) from the Americans’ side.
In other words, U.S.-Russian relations are about where they were in the Bush administration, and Obama’s substantive position is not materially different from the Bush administration’s position. The BMD deal remains in place, the United States is not depending on Russian help on logistics in Afghanistan, and Washington has not backed off on the principle of NATO expansion (even if expansion is most unlikely).
In Iraq, Obama has essentially followed the reality created under the Bush administration, shifting withdrawal dates somewhat but following the Petraeus strategy there and extending it — or trying to extend it — to Afghanistan. The Pakistani problem, of course, presents the greatest challenge (as it would have for any president), and Obama is coping with it to the extent possible.
Obama’s managing of perceptions as opposed to actually making policy changes shows up most clearly in regard to Iran. Obama tried to open the door to Tehran by indicating that he was prepared to talk to the Iranians without preconditions — that is, without any prior commitment on the part of the Iranians regarding nuclear development. The Iranians reacted by rejecting the opening, essentially saying Obama’s overture was merely a gesture, not a substantial shift in American policy. The Iranians are, of course, quite correct in this. Obama fully understands that he cannot shift policy on Iran without a host of regional complications. For example, the Saudis would be enormously upset by such an opening, while the Syrians would have to re-evaluate their entire position on openings to Israel and the United States. Changing U.S. Iranian policy is hard to do. There is a reason Washington has the policy it does, and that reason extends beyond presidents and policymakers.
When we look at Obama’s substantive foreign policy, we see continuity rather than changes. Certainly, the rhetoric has changed, and that is not insignificant; atmospherics do play a role in foreign affairs. Nevertheless, when we look across the globe, we see the same configuration of relationships, the same partners, the same enemies and the same ambiguity that dominates most global relations.
Turkey and the Substantial U.S. Shift
One substantial shift has taken place, however, and that one is with Turkey. The Obama administration has made major overtures to Turkey in multiple forms, from a presidential visit to putting U.S. anti-piracy vessels under Turkish command. These are not symbolic moves. The United States needs Turkey to counterbalance Iran, protect U.S. interests in the Caucasus, help stabilize Iraq, serve as a bridge to Syria and help in Afghanistan. Obama has clearly shifted strategy here in response to changing conditions in the region.
Intriguingly, the change in U.S.-Turkish relations never surfaced as even a minor issue during the U.S. presidential campaign. It emerged after the election because of changes in the configuration of the international system. Shifts in Russian policy, the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq and shifts within Turkey that allowed the country to begin its return to the international arena all came together to make this necessary, and Obama responded.
None of this is designed to denigrate Obama in the least. While many of his followers may be dismayed, and while many of his critics might be unwilling to notice, the fact is that a single concept dominated Obama’s first hundred days: continuity. In the face of the realities of his domestic political position and the U.S. strategic position, as well as the economic crisis, Obama did what he had to do, and what he had to do very much followed from what Bush did. It is fascinating that both Obama’s supporters and his critics think he has made far more changes than he really has.
Of course, this is only the first hundred days. Presidents look for room to maneuver after they do what they need to do in the short run. Some presidents use that room to pursue policies that weaken, and even destroy, their presidencies. Others find ways to enhance their position. But normally, the hardest thing a president faces is finding the space to do the things he wants to do rather than what he must do. Obama came through the first hundred days following the path laid out for him. It is only in Turkey where he made a move that he wasn’t compelled to make just now, but that had to happen at some point. It will be interesting to see how many more such moves he makes

Berlin, Washington and the G-20

2009-04-08T14:04:00.001+04:00

Let’s begin with the G-20 meeting, which focused on the global financial crisis. As we said last year, there were many European positions, but the United States was reacting to Germany’s. Not only is Germany the largest economy in Europe, it is the largest exporter in the world. Any agreement that did not include Germany would be useless, whereas an agreement excluding the rest of Europe but including Germany would still be useful.
Two fundamental issues divided the United States and Germany. The first was whether Germany would match or come close to the U.S. stimulus package. The United States wanted Germany to stimulate its own domestic demand. Obama feared that if the United States put a stimulus plan into place, Germany would use increased demand in the U.S. market to expand its exports. The United States would wind up with massive deficits while the Germans took advantage of U.S. spending, thus letting Berlin enjoy the best of both worlds. Washington felt it had to stimulate its economy, and that this would inevitably benefit the rest of the world. But Washington wanted burden sharing. Berlin, quite rationally, did not. Even before the meetings, the United States dropped the demand — Germany was not going to cooperate.
The second issue was the financing of the bailout of the Central European banking system, heavily controlled by eurozone banks and part of the EU financial system. The Germans did not want an EU effort to bail out the banks. They wanted the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to bail out a substantial part of the EU financial system instead. The reason was simple: The IMF receives loans from the United States, as well as China and Japan, meaning the Europeans would be joined by others in underwriting the bailout. The United States has signaled it would be willing to contribute $100 billion to the IMF, of which a substantial portion would go to Central Europe. (Of the current loans given by the IMF, roughly 80 percent have gone to the struggling economies in Central Europe.) The United States therefore essentially has agreed to the German position.
Later at the NATO meeting, the Europeans — including Germany — declined to send substantial forces to Afghanistan. Instead, they designated a token force of 5,000, most of whom are scheduled to be in Afghanistan only until the August elections there, and few of whom actually would be engaged in combat operations. This is far below what Obama had been hoping for when he began his presidency.
Agreement was reached on collaboration in detecting international tax fraud and on further collaboration in managing the international crisis, however. But what that means remains extremely vague — as it was meant to be, since there was no consensus on what was to be done. In fact, the actual guidelines will still have to be hashed out at the G-20 finance ministers’ meeting in Scotland in November. Intriguingly, after insisting on the creation of a global regulatory regime — and with the vague U.S. assent — the European Union failed to agree on European regulations. In a meeting in Prague on April 4, the United Kingdom rejected the regulatory regime being proposed by Germany and France, saying it would leave the British banking system at a disadvantage.
Overall, the G-20 and the NATO meetings did not produce significant breakthroughs. Rather than pushing hard on issues or trading concessions — such as accepting Germany’s unwillingness to increase its stimulus package in return for more troops in Afghanistan — the United States failed to press or bargain. It preferred to appear as part of a consensus rather than appear isolated. The United States systematically avoided any appearance of disagreement.
The reason there was no bargaining was fairly simple: The Germans were not prepared to bargain. They came to the meetings with prepared positions, and the United States had no levers with which to move them. The only option was to withhold funding for the IMF, and that would have been a political disaster (not to mention economically rather unwise). The United States would have been seen as unwilling to participate in multilateral solutions rather than Germany being seen as trying to foist its economic problems on others. Obama has positioned himself as a multilateralist and can’t afford the political consequences of deviating from this perception. Contributing to the IMF, in these days of trillion-dollar bailouts, was the lower-cost alternative. Thus, the Germans have the U.S. boxed in.
The political aspect of this should not be underestimated. George W. Bush had extremely bad relations with the Europeans (in large part because he was prepared to confront them). This was Obama’s first major international foray, and he could not let it end in acrimony or wind up being seen as unable to move the Europeans after running a campaign based on his ability to manage the Western coalition. It was important that he come home having reached consensus with the Europeans. Backing off on key economic and military demands gave him that “consensus.”

Implications of the Manawan Attack in Pakistan

2009-04-05T14:09:00.002+04:00

By Fred Burton and Scott Stewart

On March 31, Baitullah Mehsud, commander of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), called The Associated Press and Reuters to claim responsibility for the March 29 attack against a Pakistani police academy in Manawan, which is near the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore and the Indian border. The attack had been previously claimed by a little-known group, Fedayeen al-Islam (FI), which also took responsibility for the bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad in September 2008. Mehsud has also released an Urdu-language audio message claiming responsibility for the Manawan attack as well as a failed March 23 attack on the headquarters of the Police Special Branch in Islamabad. Mehsud, whom authorities claim was behind the March 3 attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, also warned that there would be additional attacks all across the country in retaliation for U.S. drone strikes in the Federally Administered Tribal Area. He even threatened to launch attacks in Washington, D.C. It is not clear at this point if the two claims of responsibility for the Manawan attack are indeed contradictory. If FI is an independent group, it is possible that it was working with Mehsud in the assault on the police academy. However, it is also quite possible that FI is either part of the larger TTP (which is an umbrella group with many factions) or perhaps just a nom de guerre used by the TTP to claim certain attacks. When a reporter asked about the FI claim, Mehsud refused to comment. Two things can be ascertained from this: that Mehsud’s organization has the ability to conduct these attacks, and that a major jihadist figure like Mehsud has no real need to claim the attacks of others to bolster his reputation. In fact, lying about such a thing would hurt his well-established reputation. It is a good bet, therefore, that the TTP was in fact involved in the Manawan attack. The odds are even greater when one considers the intelligence reports from a few days prior to the attack: that Mehsud had dispatched a group of 22 operatives from his base in South Waziristan, through the town of Mianwali in southwestern Punjab, to conduct attacks in Lahore and Rawalpindi. Pakistani authorities were actively searching for those operatives when the attack occurred in Manawan. While STRATFOR has already published a political assessment of the Manawan attack, we believe it might also be interesting to look at the incident from a protective intelligence standpoint and examine the tactical aspects of the operation in more detail. Sequence of EventsThe attack on the police academy in Manawan happened at approximately 7:20 a.m. on March 29 as more than 800 unarmed police cadets were on the parade field for their regularly scheduled morning training. Witness reports suggest that there were 10 attackers who scaled the back wall of the academy and began to attack the cadets. Part of the attack team reportedly was dressed in police uniforms, while the rest reportedly wore shalwar kameez (traditional Pakistani dress). Several members of the team also wore suicide belts, and at least some of them carried large duffle bags (similar to those carried by the assailants in the November 2008 Mumbai attacks and the March 3 attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore). The gunmen reportedly engaged the cadets with hand grenades and fire from assault rifles. As the gunmen raked the parade ground, many of the cadets reportedly fled the compound or barricaded themselves in various rooms inside the facility. Because the bulk of the people at the academy were cadets and not trained police, they were not issued firearms. The armed guards at the academy were able to offer some resistance, but the attack team was able to make its way across the parade ground and into the barracks, where the attackers established defensive positions, apparently with the hope of initiating a prolonged hostage situation. Reports are conflicting as to how many hostages they were actually able to seize and control inside the barracks. The Pakistani police and military responded aggressively to the attack. Within about 30 minutes, officers from the Elite Force — a highly trained branch of the Punjab Police responsible for counterterrorism — reportedly had surrounded the barracks building. By 9 a.m., paramilitary Pakistan Rangers and Pakistani army troops began to arrive. Many of the wounded cadets were evacuated from the parade ground using armored personnel carriers (APCs) to protect them from the attackers’ fire. The attackers apparently attempted to use grenades to attack the APCs, but were met with heavy suppressive fire from the security forces. Pakistani forces also apparently used tear gas against the attackers, as well as APCs and helicopter gunships. Eventually, the Elite Force went room to room to clear the barracks building of attackers. By 4 p.m., the siege had ended, with six of the attackers captured and four killed. (Three of the four reportedly killed themselves using suicide belts.) Despite initial reports of high casualties, it now appears that only eight police officers or cadets were killed in the attack, with more than 90 others wounded. While armed assaults against paramilitary forces, convoys and other targets are common along the border with Afghanistan, this attack was only the second such attack in Lahore. Terrorist attacks in Pakistan have more commonly been committed by suicide bombers, and it appears that Mehsud’s group may have embraced a change in tactics, perhaps influenced by the success of Mumbai. (However, as we will discuss below, this latest attack, like the attack on the cricket team, was far from a spectacular success.)AnalysisFirst, it must be recognized that jihadist attacks on police recruits are not uncommon. We have seen attacks on police training and recruiting centers in Iraq and Afghanistan, among other countries, and we have also seen them before in Pakistan. On July 15, 2007, a suicide bomber attacked a police recruitment center in Dera Ismail Khan, killing 26 people and wounding 35. The victims were at the center to take medical and written tests for entering the police force. A training center like the one in Manawan provides an unusually large concentration of targets. The more than 800 cadets at the academy were a far larger group of police than is normally found in the police stations scattered throughout the country. The training center was also a far softer target than a traditional police station, where all the officers are armed. From media reports, it appears that there were only seven armed guards on duty at the academy at the time of the attack. The instructors allegedly were armed only with lathis (long canes commonly used by police in India and Pakistan). The academy’s rigid training schedule also provided a highly predictable target, as the attackers knew the cadets would be on the parade field from 7-8 a.m. every day. With so many potential targets on the parade field and in the barracks, and with so many attackers, it is amazing that there were only eight people killed in this attack (one-fourth the death toll of the April 2007 Virginia Tech shooting). This is an indication that the Manawan attackers were not nearly as well trained in marksmanship as the assault team that conducted the November Mumbai attacks, in which 10 gunmen killed 173 people. The 10 heavily armed Manawan assailants did not even succeed in killing one victim each in a situation akin to shooting fish in a barrel. From a military standpoint, such a formation of massed people in the open would have been far more effectively targeted using mortars and crew-served machine guns, so it can also be argued that the attack was poorly planned and the attackers improperly equipped to inflict maximum casualties. Even so, it is quite amazing to us that attackers armed with assault rifles and grenades did not kill one victim apiece. Of course, one thing that helped contain the carnage was the response of Pakistani security personnel and their efforts to evacuate the wounded under fire. While not exactly practicing what are known in the United States as “active shooter procedures”, the Elite Force officers did quickly engage the attackers and pin them down until more firepower could be brought to bear. The Elite Force also did a fairly efficient job of clearing the barracks of attackers. The Pakistani response ensured that the incident did not drag on like the Mumbai attacks did. The Elite Force went in hard and fast, and seemingly with little regard for the hostages being held, yet their decisive action proved to be very effective, and the result was that a minimum number of hostages were killed. There were some significant differences from the situation in Mumbai. First, there was only one crime scene to deal with, and the Pakistani authorities could focus all their attention and resources there. Second, the barracks building was far smaller and simpler than the hotels occupied in the Mumbai attacks. Third, Manawan is far smaller and more isolated than Mumbai, and it is easier to pin the attackers down in a city of that size than in a larger, more densely populated city such as Mumbai. Finally, there were no foreign citizens involved in the hostage situation, so the Pakistani authorities did not have to worry about international sensibilities or killing a foreign citizen with friendly fire. They were able to act aggressively and not worry about distractions — or the media circus that Mumbai became. The FuturePerhaps the most important thing to watch going forward will be the response of the Pakistani people to these attacks. In his claim of responsibility, Mehsud said the Manawan attack was in direct response to the expanding U.S. unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) campaign in Pakistan. Mehsud threatened that there would be more militant attacks in Pakistan and the United States if the UAV attacks did not stop. Clearly, Mehsud is feeling the heat from these attacks, and although he claims he is ready to be martyred, his bravado is belied by the fact that he is taking such extraordinary measures to try to halt the UAV campaign. He obviously fears the UAV strikes, not only for what they can do to him, but for what they can do to degrade his organization. When the Elite Force completed the clearing of the barracks, several officers came out on the roof of the building, shouted “God is great” and fired celebratory shots into the air (something that is anathema to Western police and military forces). Many of the people gathered outside the academy joined in the shouting and loudly cheered the Elite Force. This sentiment was widely echoed in the Pakistani media. Although the Manawan attack was intended to demoralize Pakistani security forces, it may have just the opposite effect. The bravery and dedication exhibited by the Pakistani police and soldiers who responded to the attack may instead serve to steel their will and instill professional pride. Mehsud’s recent threats, along with the militant attacks, may also work to alienate him from people who had been supportive of — or at least ambivalent toward — him and the jihadists. Up until 2003, the Saudi public, and many in the government, pretty much turned a blind eye to the actions of jihadists in Saudi Arabia as long as the jihadists were concentrating their attacks on targets outside the kingdom. But when the jihadists declared war on the Saudi royal family and began to conduct attacks against targets inside the kingdom that resulted in the deaths of ordinary Saudis, the tide of public opinion turned against them and the Saudi government reacted aggressively, smashing the jihadists. Similarly, it was the brutality of al Qaeda in Iraq that helped turn many Iraqi Sunnis against the jihadists there. Indeed, an insurgency cannot survive long without the support of the people. In the case of Pakistan, that also goes for the support of Inter-Services Intelligence and the army. The TTP, al Qaeda and their Kashmiri militant allies simply cannot sustain themselves without at least the tacit support of Pakistan’s intelligence apparatus and army. If these two powerful establishments ever turn against them, the groups will be in serious peril. Pakistan has long been able to control the TTP and al Qaeda more than it has. The country has simply lacked the will, for a host of reasons. It will be interesting to watch and see if Mehsud’s campaign serves to give the Pakistani people, and the authorities, the will they need to finally take more serious steps to tackle the jihadist problem. Having long battled deep currents of jihadist thought within the country, the Pakistani government continues to face serious challenges. But if the tide of public support begins to turn against the jihadists, those challenges will become far more manageable.

Central America: An Emerging Role in the Drug Trade

2009-03-30T09:42:00.002+04:00

By Stephen Meiners

As part of STRATFOR’s coverage of the security situation in Mexico, we have observed some significant developments in the drug trade in the Western Hemisphere over the past year. While the United States remains the top destination for South American-produced cocaine, and Mexico continues to serve as the primary transshipment route, the path between Mexico and South America is clearly changing. These changes have been most pronounced in Central America, where Mexican drug-trafficking organizations have begun to rely increasingly on land-based smuggling routes as several countries in the region have stepped up monitoring and interdiction of airborne and maritime shipments transiting from South America to Mexico. The results of these changes have been extraordinary. According to a December 2008 report from the U.S. National Drug Intelligence Center, less than 1 percent of the estimated 600 to 700 tons of cocaine that departed South America for the United States in 2007 transited Central America. The rest, for the most part, passed through the Caribbean Sea or Pacific Ocean en route to Mexico. Since then, land-based shipment of cocaine through Central America appears to have ballooned. Earlier this month, U.S. Ambassador to Guatemala Stephen McFarland estimated in an interview with a Guatemalan newspaper that cocaine now passes through that country at a rate of approximately 300 to 400 tons per year. Notwithstanding the difficulty associated with estimating drug flows, it is clear that Central America has evolved into a significant transshipment route for drugs, and that the changes have taken place rapidly. These developments warrant a closer look at the mechanics of the drug trade in the region, the actors involved, and the implications for Central American governments — for whom drug-trafficking organizations represent a much more daunting threat than they do for Mexico. Some BackgroundWhile the drug trade in the Western Hemisphere is multifaceted, it fundamentally revolves around the trafficking of South American-produced cocaine to the United States, the world’s largest market for the drug. Drug shipment routes between Peru and Colombia — where the vast majority of cocaine is cultivated and produced — and the United States historically have been flexible, evolving in response to interdiction efforts or changing markets. For example, Colombian drug traffickers used to control the bulk of the cocaine trade by managing shipping routes along the Caribbean smuggling corridor directly to the United States. By the 1990s, however, as the United States and other countries began to focus surveillance and interdiction efforts along this corridor, the flow of U.S.-bound drugs was forced into Mexico, which remains the main transshipment route for the overwhelming majority of cocaine entering the United States. A similar situation has been occurring over the last two years in Central America. From the 1990s until as recently as 2007, traffickers in Mexico received multiton shipments of cocaine from South America. There was ample evidence of this, including occasional discoveries of bulk cocaine on everything from small propeller aircraft and Gulfstream jets to self-propelled semisubmersible vessels, fishing trawlers and cargo ships. These smuggling platforms had sufficient range and capacity to bypass Central America and ship bulk drugs directly to Mexico. By early 2008, however, a series of developments in several Central American countries suggested that drug-trafficking organizations — Mexican cartels in particular — were increasingly trying to establish new land-based smuggling routes through Central America for cocaine shipments from South America to Mexico and eventual delivery to the United States. While small quantities of drugs had certainly transited the region in the past, the routes used presented an assortment of risks. A combination of poorly maintained highways, frequent border crossings, volatile security conditions and unpredictable local criminal organizations apparently presented such great logistical challenges that traffickers opted to send the majority of their shipments through well-established maritime and airborne platforms.In response to this relatively unchecked international smuggling, several countries in the region began taking steps to increase the monitoring and interdiction of such shipments. The Colombian government, for one, stepped up monitoring of aircraft operating in its airspace. The Mexican government installed updated radar systems and reduced the number of airports authorized to receive flights originating in Central and South America. The Colombian government estimates that the aerial trafficking of cocaine from Colombia has decreased by as much as 90 percent since 2003. Maritime trafficking also appears to have suffered over the past few years, most likely due to greater cooperation and information-sharing between Mexico and the United States. The United States has an immense capability to collect maritime technical intelligence, and an increasing degree of awareness regarding drug trafficking at sea. Two examples of this progress include the Mexican navy’s July 2008 capture — acting on intelligence provided by the United States — of a self-propelled semisubmersible vessel loaded with more than five tons of cocaine, and the U.S. Coast Guard’s February 2009 interdiction of a Mexico-flagged fishing boat loaded with some seven tons of cocaine about 700 miles off Mexico’s Pacific coast. Presumably as a result of successes such as these, the Mexican navy reported in 2008 that maritime trafficking had decreased by an estimated 60 percent over the last two years. While it is impossible to independently corroborate the Mexican and Colombian governments’ estimates on the degree to which air- and seaborne drug trafficking has decreased over the last few years, developments in Central America over the past year certainly support their assessments. In particular, STRATFOR has observed that in order to make up for losses in maritime and aerial trafficking, land-based smuggling routes are increasingly being used — not by Colombian cocaine producers or even Central American drug gangs, but by the now much more powerful Mexican drug-trafficking organizations. Mechanics of Central American Drug TraffickingIt is important to clarify that what we are defining as land-based trafficking is not limited to overland smuggling. The methods associated with land-based trafficking can be divided into three categories: overland smuggling, littoral maritime trafficking and short-range aerial traffickingThe most straightforward of these is simple overland smuggling. As a series of investigations in Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua demonstrated last year, overland smuggling operations use a wide variety of approaches. In one case, authorities pieced together a portion of a route being used by Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel in which small quantities of drugs entered Costa Rica from Panama via the international point of entry on the Pan-American Highway. The cocaine was often held for several days in a storage facility before being loaded onto another vehicle to be driven across the country on major highways. Upon approaching the Nicaraguan border, however, the traffickers opted to avoid the official port of entry and instead transferred the shipments into Nicaragua on foot or on horseback along a remote part of the border. Once across, the shipments were taken to the shores of the large inland Lake Nicaragua, where they were transferred onto boats to be taken north, at which point they would be loaded onto vehicles to be driven toward the Honduran border. In one case in Nicaragua, authorities uncovered another Sinaloa-linked route that passed through Managua and is believed to have followed the Pan-American Highway through Honduras and into El Salvador. The second method associated with land-based trafficking involves littoral maritime operations. Whereas long-range maritime trafficking involves large cargo ships and self-propelled semisubmersible vessels capable of delivering multiton shipments of drugs from South America to Mexico without having to refuel, littoral trafficking tends to involve so-called “go-fast boats” that are used to carry smaller quantities of drugs at higher speeds over shorter distances. This method is useful to traffickers who might want to avoid, for whatever reason, a certain stretch of highway or perhaps even an entire country. According to Nicaraguan military officials, several go-fast boats are suspected of operating off the country’s coasts and of sailing outside Nicaraguan territorial waters in order to avoid authorities. While it is possible to make the entire trip from South America to Mexico using only this method — and making frequent refueling stops — it is believed that littoral trafficking is often combined with an overland network. The third method associated with land-based drug smuggling involves short-range aerial operations. In these cases, clandestine planes make stops in Central America before either transferring their cargo to a land vehicle or making another short flight toward Mexico. Over the past year, several small planes loaded with drugs or cash have crashed or been seized in Honduras, Mexico and other countries in the region. In addition, authorities in Guatemala have uncovered several clandestine airstrips allegedly managed by the Mexican drug-trafficking organization Los Zetas. These examples suggest that even as overall aerial trafficking appears to have decreased dramatically, the practice continues in Central America. Indeed, there is little reason to expect that it would not continue, considering that many countries in the region lack the resources to adequately monitor their airspace. While each of these three methods involves a different approach to drug smuggling, the methods share two important similarities. For one, the vehicles involved — be they speedboats, small aircraft or private vehicles — have limited cargo capacities, which means land-based trafficking generally involves cocaine shipments in quantities no greater than a few hundred pounds. While smaller quantities in more frequent shipments mean more handling, they also mean that less product is lost if a shipment is seized. More importantly, each of these land-based methods requires that a drug-trafficking organization maintain a presence inside Central America. Actors InvolvedThere are a variety of drug-trafficking organizations operating inside Central America. In addition to some of the notorious local gangs — such as Calle 18 and MS-13 — there is also a healthy presence of foreign criminal organizations. Colombian drug traffickers, for example, historically have been no strangers to the region. However, as STRATFOR has observed over the past year, it is the more powerful Mexico-based drug-trafficking organizations that appear to be overwhelmingly responsible for the recent upticks in land-based narcotics smuggling in Central America. Based on reports of arrests and drug seizures in the region over the past year, it is clear that no single Mexican cartel maintains a monopoly on land-based drug trafficking in Central America. Los Zetas, for example, are extremely active in several parts of Guatemala, where they engage in overland and short-range aerial trafficking. The Sinaloa cartel, which STRATFOR believes is the most capable Mexican trafficker of cocaine, has been detected operating a fairly extensive overland smuggling route from Panama to El Salvador. Some intelligence gaps remain regarding, for example, the precise route Sinaloa follows from El Salvador to Mexico or the route Los Zetas use between South America and Guatemala. It is certainly possible that these two Mexican cartels do not rely exclusively on any single route or method in the region. But the logistical challenges associated with establishing even one route across Central America make it likely that existing routes are maintained even after they have been detected — and are defended if necessary.The operators of the Mexican cartel-managed routes also do not match a single profile. At times, Mexican cartel members themselves have been found to be operating in Central America. More common is the involvement of locals in various phases of smuggling operations. Nicaraguan and Salvadoran nationals, for example, have been arrested in northwestern Nicaragua for operating a Sinaloa-linked overland and littoral route into El Salvador. Authorities in Costa Rica have arrested Costa Rican nationals for their involvement in overland routes through that country. In that case, a related investigation in Panama led to the arrest of several Mexican nationals who reportedly had recently arrived in the area to more closely monitor the operation of their route. One exception is Guatemala, where Mexican drug traffickers appear to operate much more extensively than in any other Central American country; this may be due, at least in part, to the relationship between Los Zetas and the Guatemalan Kaibiles. Beyond the apparently more-established Zeta smuggling operations there, several recent drug seizures — including an enormous 1,800-acre poppy plantation attributed to the Sinaloa cartel — make it clear that other Mexican drug-trafficking organizations are currently active inside Guatemala. Sinaloa was first suspected of increasing its presence in Guatemala in early 2008, when rumors surfaced that the cartel was attempting to recruit local criminal organizations to support its own drug-trafficking operations there. The ongoing Zeta-Sinaloa rivalry at that time triggered a series of deadly firefights in Guatemala, prompting fears that the bloody turf battles that had led to record levels of organized crime-related violence inside Mexico would extend into Central America. Security Implications in Central AmericaDespite these concerns and the growing presence of Mexican traffickers in the region, there apparently have been no significant spikes in drug-related violence in Central America outside of Guatemala. Several factors may explain this relative lack of violence. First, most governments in Central America have yet to launch large-scale counternarcotics campaigns. The seizures and arrests that have been reported so far have generally been the result of regular police work, as opposed to broad changes in policies or a significant commitment of resources to address the problem. More significantly, though, the quantities of drugs seized probably amount to just a drop in the bucket compared to the quantity of drugs that moves through the region on a regular basis. Because seizures have remained low, Mexican drug traffickers have yet to launch any significant reprisal attacks against government officials in any country outside Guatemala. In that country, even the president has received death threats and had his office bugged, allegedly by drug traffickers. The second factor, which is related to the first, is that drug traffickers operating in Central America likely rely more heavily on bribes than on intimidation to secure the transit of drug shipments. This assessment follows from the region’s reputation for official corruption (especially in countries like Nicaragua, Honduras, Panama and Guatemala) and the economic disadvantage that many of these countries face compared to the Mexican cartels. For example, the gross domestic product of Honduras is $12 billion, while the estimated share of the drug trade controlled by the Mexican cartels is estimated to be $20 billion. Finally, Mexican cartels currently have their hands full at home. Although Central America has undeniably become more strategically important for the flow of drugs from South America, the cartels in Mexico have simultaneously been engaged in a two-front war at home against the Mexican government and against rival criminal organizations. As long as this war continues at its present level, Mexican drug traffickers may be reluctant to divert significant resources too far from their home turf, which remains crucial in delivering drug shipments to the United States.Looking AheadThat said, there is no guarantee that Central America will continue to escape the wrath of Mexican drug traffickers. On the contrary, there is reason for concern that the region will increasingly become a battleground in the Mexican cartel war. For one thing, the Merida Initiative, a U.S. anti-drug aid program that will put some $300 million into Mexico and about $100 million into Central America over the next year, could be perceived as a meaningful threat to drug-trafficking operations. If Central American governments choose to step up counternarcotics operations, either at the request of the United States or in order to qualify for more Merida money, they risk disrupting existing smuggling operations to the extent that cartels begin to retaliate. Also, even though Mexican cartels may be reluctant to divert major resources from the more important war at home, it is important to recognize that a large-scale reassignment of cartel operatives or resources from Mexico to Central America might not be necessary to have a significant impact on the security situation in any given Central American country. Given the rampant corruption and relatively poor protective security programs in place for political leaders in the region, very few cartel operatives or resources would actually be needed if a Mexican drug-trafficking organization chose to, for example, conduct an assassination campaign against high-ranking government officials.Governments are not the only potential threat to drug traffickers in Central America. The increases in land-based drug trafficking in the region could trigger intensified competition over trafficking routes. Such turf battles could occur either among the Mexican cartels or between the Mexicans and local criminal organizations, which might try to muscle their way into the lucrative smuggling routes or attempt to grab a larger percentage of the profits. If the example of Mexico is any guide, the drug-related violence that could be unleashed in Central America would easily overwhelm the capabilities of the region’s governments. Last year, STRATFOR considered the possibility of Mexico becoming a failed state. But Mexico is a far stronger and richer country than its fragile southern neighbors, who simply do not have the resources to deal with the cartels on their own

Ramalinga Raju, Chairman of Satyam Computers resigned

2009-01-07T11:34:00.002+04:00

Ramalinga Raju, Chairman of Satyam Computers resigned on Wednesday, Jan 7. It was rather shocking to know the admittance of fraud by Ramalinga Raju. Raju submitted a letter along with a balance sheet to the board. The Balance sheet and letter clearly indicated the fraudulence of Raju.

Raju in his letter states, "the Balance Sheet shows a inflated balance of Rs 5040 crore. Rs 1230 crores has not been reflected in the books," states Raju.

While Ram Myanpati will act as Interim CEO, Merrill Lynch can be entrusted to explore.

As per the revelations, second Quarter numbers were inflated to Rs 2700 crore vs Rs 2112 crore actual numbers. No board member had any knowledge of the real situation of the books.

Shares in Satyam Computer shed all gains to turn negative after Satyam announced its Chairman's resignation from the board. Share prices of Satyam were down by 61.42 per cent at 69.10 rupees. (12.10 pm)

Raju has claimed to stay in the board till it is extended. He also states that he is prepared to subject himself to the law

Gaza under siege in picture

2009-01-06T17:08:00.002+04:00

Gaza under siege in picture

2009-01-06T17:05:00.001+04:00

Israeli jets have bombed the Gaza Strip heavily for a second day, attacking supply tunnels on the Gaza-Egypt border. Israel wants to deliver a crushing blow to Hamas militants, who control Gaza

Israel kills Hamas leader and his family with one-tonne bomb

2009-01-05T14:08:00.002+04:00

Palestinians search for bodies in the rubble of the destroyed house of Hamas senior leader Nizar Rayan after an Israeli missiles strike in the refugee camp of Jabaliya on January 1, 2009 in Gaza

Israel killed a Hamas strongman yesterday by dropping a one-tonne bomb on his house, also killing two of his wives and four of his children.

This first assault on the top leadership of Gaza's ruling group escalated a crushing aerial offensive as Israel declared itself ready to launch a ground invasion.

"We are trying to hit everybody who is a leader of the organisation, and today we hit one of their leaders," said Israeli vice-prime minister Haim Ramon.

Medics say a total of 13 members of Rayyan's family were killed by the airstrike on the residential neighbourhood.

A Hamas official said: "The blood of Sheikh Nizar Rayyan and the blood of other martyrs will never be wasted and the enemy will pay a heavy price for the crimes it has committed."

Thousands of soldiers were massed along the border with Gaza yesterday, backed by tanks and artillery.

Sorry for being Palestinian...

2009-01-05T13:58:00.002+04:00

Saddam Hussein's death remembered

2008-12-30T12:03:00.007+04:00

Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death by an Iraqi court on 5 November after a year-long trial over the killings of 148 Shias from the town of Dujail in the 1980s. He was executed by hanging for crimes against humanity in northern Baghdad in December 2006.

An anniversary to remember
Five years ago tonight, the United States military acted on a tip and peered into a narrow hole in the ground to find a cowering dictator hiding from the disaster he had wrought on his own country. The capture of Saddam Hussein set off celebrations across the US and Iraq and brought us the apex of national unity on the military adventure that ended the reign of one of the bloodiest tyrants of our generation. In the end, Saddam couldn’t even bring himself to fight with the pistol he held in his hand:

Eight months after Baghdad fell, U.S. soldiers found the disheveled former leader of Iraq six feet under, hiding in a hole in the ground. Saddam was captured Saturday night about nine miles from his hometown of Tikrit and on the other side of the Tigris River from one of his lavish palaces.Saddam had a pistol but was taken into custody without firing it.“Here was a man who was photographed hundreds of times shooting off rifles and showing how tough he was, and in fact, he wasn’t very tough, he was cowering in a hole in the ground, and had a pistol and didn’t use it and certainly did not put up any fight at all,” Rumsfeld said.“In the last analysis, he seemed not terribly brave,” he said. …U.S. forces found weapons and about $750,000 in U.S. $100 bills with the former dictator, said Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, who leads coalition troops in Iraq. Troops also found two AK-47s, a pistol and a white and orange taxi.

At the time, I had just started blogging, and I awoke to the news of Saddam’s capture the next morning, as did most everyone else. I wrote this as a first reaction:

The Iraqis immediately broke out into spontaneous celebrations, firing guns into the air and chanting, “Death to Saddam!” Even the Iraqi reporters started screaming and celebrating at the press conference when video of him in custody was played.This should put a stop or at least severely dampen the “insurgency” in Iraq. Without Saddam as either the symbolic or operational head to their efforts, and with the vast majority of Iraqis opposing the actions of the Fedayeen, it should be rather easy to roll up the rest of their operation.But that’s later. For now, let’s celebrate a wonderful victory.

Unfortunately, that prediction proved wrong. The US failed to follow up its spectacular military victory in 2003 with an occupation that built stability and put men to work. Instead, we limped through the next two years until the insurgency exploded in 2006. Not until late in that year did we finally resolve to undertake a serious counterinsurgency strategy and finally bring the terrorists under control in Iraq, a failure that cost thousands of lives and wasted time and goodwill from Iraqis.Still, we have produced a stable and representative government in Iraq after years of fits and starts. We ended the brutal reign of Saddam Hussein and his sons, who got killed by acting with a little more bravery than their father. Iraqis now control their country, and while we remain in the country, we now do so with their approval and under conditions they negotiated. Instead of having to decide whether to support a brutal tyrant against a messianic mullahcracy in Tehran, we now have a natural counterweight to all kinds of tyranny in the region, and eventually a natural ally, if not now already.

Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikritiصدام حسين عبد المجيد التكريتي

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5th President of Iraq In officeJuly 16, 1979 –

April 9, 2003 Prime Minister Himself (twice)Sa'dun HammadiMohammed Amza ZubeidiAhmad Husayn Khudayir as-Samarrai Preceded by Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr Succeeded by Deposed; Coalition Provisional Authority
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57th & 61st Prime Minister of Iraq

11th & 15th Prime Minister of the Republic of Iraq In officeJuly 16,

1979 – March 23,

1991May 29,

1994 – April 9,

2003 President Himself Preceded by Ahmed Hassan al-BakrAhmad Husayn Khudayir as-Samarrai Succeeded by Sa'dun HammadiDeposed; Ayad Allawi
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Born April 28, 1937Al-Awja, Iraq

Died December 30, 2006 (aged 69)Kadhimiya, Baghdad,

Iraq Political party Baath Party

Spouse Sajida Talfah

Children 5

Religion Islam (Sunni)

How hard will India’s economic growth be hit by the global financial Countries in recession

2008-12-22T17:47:00.000+04:00

2008: Year of financial crisis crisis and recession? Widely varying forecasts for the next financial year, 2009-10 have been made by three leading economists, Arvind Virmani, chief economic advisor of the government; Raghuram Rajan, economic advisor to the prime minister; and Rajiv Kumar, head of the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER).
These forecasts can be dubbed the good, the bad and the ugly. I would opt for the second of these. I suspect the times ahead will be bad, rather than good or really ugly. Virmani, an incorrigible optimist, sees good days ahead. He thinks that after decelerating to maybe 7.5% this fiscal year, growth will rebound strongly to 8.5% in 2009-10.
Rajan, however, believes that bad days are ahead. He predicts a dip to between 5% and 7% next year. Rajiv Kumar paints a truly ugly scenario. Using a model that has proved accurate in the past, he warns that GDP growth could slow to just 3.9% in 2009-10. Ugh!
Let’s consider the three forecasts in detail. Virmani has done possibly more research than any other economist on sources of Indian growth. He says India’s growth is based essentially on investing its own savings, and so is relatively insulated from global finance and fashions. India’s savings rate has shot up from 23.5% in 2001-02 to 37.4% today, a phenomenal achievement.
Virmani thinks that high savings constitute a structural change that is here to stay. This will suffice to finance an investment rate of at least 36% of GDP. So, given that output in India rises at roughly a quarter the rate of investment, he believes GDP growth of 9% should be sustainable.
Sceptics point out that India is now substantially integrated with the global economy. Exports plus imports are now 45% of GDP, so a global slowdown will surely hit India hard. Virmani, however, points out that India’s net exports are very low. Unlike China, India’s current account has more or less been in balance in the last five years.

So, he thinks India can survive a fall in export demand, as it will be offset by a fall in imports too. Our top exports like gems and jewellery, textiles and petroleum products are based wholly or substantially on imported raw materials. I have fears on two scores.
First, savings tend to shoot up in good times and fall in bad times. In a boom, people don’t spend their entire increase in income, so savings increase. But they dip into these savings in bad times, ‘dissaving’ instead of saving. Corporate profits boom and bust along with the economic cycle, and so do government revenues. So, i fear that the sharp rise we have seen in India’s savings rate is more cyclical than structural, and that our savings will decline sharply in the global downswing.

Terror attacks in Mumbai; six foreigners among 101 dead

2008-11-27T15:27:00.001+04:00

NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: At least 101 people have been killed in attacks by gunmen in Mumbai, police said on Thursday. ( Watch

Army personnel take position at the Gateway of India that stands in front of Taj Hotel in Mumbai. (Reuters Photo)

More Pictures

)

"At least six foreigners have been killed and the death figure has gone up to 101 now," Ramesh Tayde, a senior police officer told from Mumbai's control room.

In one of the most violent terror attacks on Indian soil, Mumbai came under an unprecedented night attack as terrorists used heavy machine guns, including AK-47s, and grenades to strike at the city's most high-profile targets -- the hyper-busy CST (formerly VT) rail terminus; the landmark Taj Hotel at the Gateway and the luxury Oberoi Trident at Nariman Point; the domestic airport at Santa Cruz; the Cama and GT hospitals near CST; the Metro Adlabs multiplex and Mazgaon Dockyard -- killing at least 101 and sending hundreds of injured to hospital, according to latest reports. ( Watch )

The attacks have taken a tragic toll on the city's top police brass: The high-profile chief of the anti-terror squad Hemant Karkare was killed; Mumbai's additional commissioner of police (east) Ashok Kamte was gunned down outside the Metro; and celebrated encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar was also killed. ( Watch )

Fresh explosions at Taj hotel, hostages rescued

2008-11-27T15:23:00.000+04:00

27 Nov 2008, 1637 hrs IST, AGENCIES

MUMBAI: Fresh explosions have been heard inside Taj hotel. Gunshots have been heard from inside the old building of Taj, according to

An employee of Taj Hotel comforts foreign guests in Mumbai following terror strikes. (Reuters Photo)

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sources.

A little earlier, Maharashtra police chief A N Roy said all hostages at Taj hotel here have been rescued, but there could be some still trapped at Trident hotel and Nariman House where operations were on to flush out terrorists, said today, ruling out any negotiations with the ultras. ( Watch )

All people trapped in Taj Hotel in Mumbai rescued. No hostage-like situation there right now, said Director General of Police (DGP) A N Roy. "There are still guests in the rooms, but we won't be able to give you a number," he said.

More bodies have been found inside the hotel, reports suggest.

Four suicide bombers have reportedly been killed in the Taj hotel.

Giving details of the terror attacks which began last night, Roy said terrorists struck in quick succession and in all there was shooting in 12 places.

The Director General of Police made it clear that there would be no negotiations with the terrorists, and "we will very soon get them either alive or dead"

So far five terrorists and 14 police personnel, including officers, have been killed in the operations, Roy said, adding the attacks were "well-planned and executed and unprecedented".

At the moment, the police chief said he could not say which terror outfit is responsible for the attack.

Reduction in property prices and home loan rates could boost Indian Real estate Market

2008-11-24T10:31:00.001+04:00

DLF, India’s biggest real estate developer, said a recovery in the property market in the next six months hinges on lower home loan rates to lure first-time buyers. DLF, India’s biggest real estate developer, said a recovery in the property market in the next six months hinges on lower home loan rates to lure first-time buyers.

“Mortgage rates in India are at 12 percent to 13 percent, about twice what they are in China. That is unrealistic,” Rajiv Singh, vice chairman of DLF, said in an interview. “If rates are cut, the domestic demand itself will carry the country through this difficult period.”

DLF lost four-fifths of its market value this year as the highest interest rates in seven years sapped demand for homes and apartments. Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said this week there is scope for lower borrowing costs after two reductions in a month failed to unlock credit markets.

“It’s tough to say if a cut in interest rates will change the sentiment,” said Hugh Young, who manages $2 billion for the India Opportunities Fund as managing director at Aberdeen Asset Management Asia in Singapore and holds DLF shares. “In the current environment, people in India will be wary of buying property and stretching themselves.”

Real estate, automobile and steel companies have cut output and deferred projects to cope with a drop in demand in the world’s second-most populous nation. India has relaxed overseas borrowing rules and initiated a process to allow higher foreign ownership of domestic insurers to ease a credit crunch and infuse confidence.

Price cuts

DLF and Emaar MGF Land, the Indian unit of West Asia’s largest real-estate developer, are also cutting prices to revive demand. Goldman Sachs Group this week forecast some property prices in India will drop 30 percent. Singh said some of the fall has already taken place. The Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Associations of India, a lobby group, has called for a fall in prices.

The association is “urging and advising its members across the country to make every effort in lowering prices to the levels possible,” it said in a statement. “This will have a desirable impact and a cascading effect on employment in the industry, as well as on more than 170 other industries and the economy and country as a whole.”

India faces a shortage of about 25 million houses, a figure that may rise to almost 27 million by 2012, Housing Development Finance Corp. estimates. HDFC, the nation’s biggest mortgage provider, plans to increase lending more than 20 percent this fiscal year, Managing Director Keki Mistry said.

Completing projects

DLF is focused on completing projects that need to be delivered and holding back spending on those that have yet to be built, Singh said.

The company has raised Rs 2,000 crore ($400 million) and plans to borrow another Rs 1,000 crore in the year ending March 31, securing funds against lease rentals from its office and retail space, he said.

“It is a safe form of financing because you basically discount your lease rentals,” said Singh. “We have been quite successful, firstly in generating an operational surplus and raising long-term money.”

Singh is following a similar strategy for DLF Assets, whose investors include D.E. Shaw & Co. and Symphony Capital Partners. DLF Assets is majority owned by Singh and his family and buys commercial space from DLF Ltd. About 37 percent of DLF’s second-quarter sales came from DLF Assets, according to India Infoline analysts Bhaskar Chakraborty and Param Desai. DLF Assets may raise about Rs 4,000 crore by July against assets that yield lease rentals, Singh said.

It is also considering selling shares through an equity placement to raise about Rs 2,500 crore by the middle of next year with help from JPMorgan Chase & Co., he said.

“DLF Assets will be in a position to meet a large portion of its commitment to DLF,” said Singh. This will happen “by equity placement, or by debt raising against the assets it has, or against assets from which lease rental is flowing.”

Atlantis Hotel fire work

2008-11-23T19:54:00.001+04:00

Dubai Mall Pictures

2008-11-09T15:25:00.002+04:00

Dubai Mall opened with largest number of retailers -Dubai

2008-11-09T14:57:00.003+04:00

The Dubai Mall was constructed in Dubai, United Arab Emirates by owner Emaar Properties. The Dubai Mall is the largest mall ever built on the planet. Built at the foot and an integral component of the Burj Dubai, the 20-billion-dollar project is the world's largest with 1,200 shops, 4 times as many as the new London Westfield centre.Twice delayed, Dubai Mall opened on November 4, 2008, with about 600 retailers, marking the world's largest-ever mall opening in retail history. Sprawling over 12 million sq ft (equivalent in size to more than 50 soccer pitches), the Dubai Mall has a total internal floor area of 5.9 million square feet and leasable space of 3.77 million square feet, about same as West Edmonton Mall.

The Dubai Mall has 10 - 15 distinct 'malls-within-a-mall', consisting of 9 million ft² of shopping retail space (comprising of a total of 1200 stores, when fully operational). Featured attractions include: the world's largest Gold Souk with 220 retailers; the 850,000 sq ft (79,000 m2) Fashion Catwalk atrium; Fashion Island (Avenue), with 70 flagship stores dedicated to haute couture; the Middle East's first Galleries Lafayette department store; Oasis Fountain Waterfall; and Water Front Atrium. Other attractions include the region's first SEGA indoor theme park covering 76,000 sq ft (7,100 m2); Kid Zania, a 80,000 sq ft (7,400 m2) children's 'edu- tainment' centre; a 22-screen Cineplex, the largest in Dubai; and The Grove, an indoor-outdoor streetscape with fully retractable roof. It also features over 160 food and beverage options, 220 gold & jewelry outlets; a supermarket and an organic food mart. Among the shops is British toy store Hamley's, which opened a 32,000 square foot store that includes London's Regent Street mini replica, with the franchise owned by Retail Arabia. Many shops, however, remained shuttered for a long while to come. Bloomingdales might open by 2010 and Galleries Lafayette, by February, 2009. It also has a 250-room luxurious hotel, 22 cinema screens plus 120 restaurants and cafes. The Mall has over 14,000 parking spaces across 3 car parks, with valet services and a car locator ticketing system.

The Dubai Mall is centrally located in the Downtown Burj Dubai development – ‘the new heart of the city’ – just off Interchange One on Sheikh Zayed Road. Visitors can reach The Dubai Mall via multiple access roads from Sheikh Zayed Road, Financial Centre Road (previously called Doha Road), Emaar Boulevard, Downtown Burj Dubai, the newly opened bridge off Interchange One and through a direct access road near Emaar Square off Sheikh Zayed Road. The Dubai Mall will have a total of over 14,000 spaces for parking across three car parks, with valet services and a car locator ticketing system.

Sprawling over 12 million sq ft - equivalent in size to more than 50 soccer pitches – with an internal floor area of 5.9 million sq ft and a gross leasable area of 3.77 million sq ft, The Dubai Mall is the flagship development of Emaar Malls Group, the shopping malls subsidiary of global property developer Emaar Properties.

When fully operational, The Dubai Mall will have over 1,200 stores of which nearly 165 retailers – equaling 1.1 million sq ft, or 30% of the total gross leasable area of the mall - are either new to the region, or opening standalone or flagship stores for the very first time in Dubai. The retail mix includes two anchor department stores – Galeries Lafayette and Bloomingdale’s, both opening their first store in the Middle East at The Dubai Mall; 220 gold & jewellery outlets; 160 food & beverage outlets including Dubai’s largest food court with 40 outlets; a supermarket and an organic food mart.

Barack Obama Wins Presidency

2008-11-05T12:24:00.001+04:00

Barack Obama was elected the nation's first black president Tuesday night in a historic triumph that overcame racial barriers as old as America itself.

The son of a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas, the Democratic senator from Illinois sealed his victory by defeating Republican Sen. John McCain in a string of wins in hard-fought battleground states - Ohio, Florida, Virginia and Iowa

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., center, waves to the crowd with his wife Michelle Obama, left, daughters Malia Obama, right, and Sasha Obama, lower middle, during a rally Sunday, Nov, 2, 2008, at the Ohio Statehouse, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Terry Gilliam)

Etisalat acquires 45% in Indian mobile operator Swan Telecom

2008-09-23T15:04:00.001+04:00

WAM Abu Dhabi, Sept. 23rd, 2008 (WAM) -- Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire approximately 45% of Swan Telecom Private Limited, a recently licensed mobile operator in India, by subscribing to newly issued shares for a cash consideration of up to $900m, implying a post-money equity value for 100% of the Company.

Swan Telecom holds Universal Access Service Licenses ('UASL Licenses') in 13 telecom service areas in India, and is in the process of acquiring UASL Licenses in an additional 2 telecom service areas.

Together these licenses enable the Company to provide a full spectrum of telecom services, including GSM services, covering a population of over 900 million across India.

The remaining 55% of the shares in Swan Telecom are held by several entities, including the promoter of Swan Telecom, which is controlled by the Dynamix Balwas Group (the 'DB Group'), a Mumbai-based real estate and hospitality business group.

Commenting on the transaction, Mr. Mohammad Hassan Omran, Chairman of Etisalat, said: 'Our entry in India, one of the largest and fastest growing mobile markets in the world today, marks an acceleration of our expansion strategy and brings to us an opportunity which matches the scale of our ambitions.

''We are truly excited by the partnership with the DB Group and the prospect of building Swan Telecom into a leading telecom operator, emulating the successes we have achieved in similar situations elsewhere.' Vinod Goenka, Chairman and Shahid Balwa, Managing Director of the DB Group said: 'We are delighted to be partnering with Etisalat, a leading operator in international telecommunications. We believe that with Etisalat's operational and commercial expertise and with our knowledge of the Indian market, Swan Telecom has the potential to become a leading force in Indian telecommunications.' The transaction is subject to certain closing conditions.

Citigroup Global Markets Limited is advising Etisalat on this transaction. Deutsche Bank is advising Swan Telecom.

WAM/TF