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water wings
“WATER WINGS”Automatic Pump Controller
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Haldwani
Haldwani situated between greenhimalyan yard.
in reference to: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA-HCPakNqFR3tHi6zMmupJAfgszywO1_Fb6pjNahQYrSuOdzAwLCABjQxNVoSRquwq9Rl_0KGh_vJSLQyVuE7Lt4uXOs8_nuqgjvI9iM95k5a3qVOOkBvmMPnPkBsdkJYL4UXRSDP7eaA/s1600/ASInYourCity.png (view on Google Sidewiki)Sunday, July 18, 2010
water wings
Water is life,therefore, save it with "water wings" an automatic water pump controller which controlle your water tank round the clock.you not need to check your tank for life time.
in reference to: http://www.google.co.in/ig?hl=en (view on Google Sidewiki)Sunday, July 11, 2010
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Dubai not worried about debt restructuring
Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum speaks at a conference.
Worst over for Dubai -Sheikh Mohammed
DUBAI - Dubai's ruler is not worried about debt restructuring and the United Arab Emirates will stay out of a planned Gulf monetary union, favouring a dollar peg, an interview transcript showed on Thursday.
The economy of the world's third largest oil exporter is expected to see the slowest growth in the Gulf region this year, with banks heavily exposed to a $23.5 billion restructuring of debt-laden state conglomerate Dubai World. When asked whether Dubai needed additional external support to proceed with current restructuring, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum said: "I'm not worried about the company, the company have got the wealth."
"So they have something, and they will come back very very quickly," he said in a transcript of an interview with CNN to be aired on Friday.
Sheikh Mohammed, who is also vice president and prime minister of the UAE federation, did not say which company he was referring to in the transcript provided to Reuters.
Dubai World reached a deal in May with key banks after a multi-billion dollar bailout from the Abu Dhabi emirate but the remaining creditors still await the final terms.
A unit of another conglomerate Dubai Holding, owned by Sheikh Mohammed, has said it might sell assets to deal with its debt after a $6.2 billion loss in 2009.
The loss increased challenges faced by Dubai Holding to meet its obligations, estimated at $14.8 billion out of a total $109 billion owed by the government of Dubai and its entities.
Sheikh Mohammed also indicated he was not concerned about economic challenges in the OPEC member country.
"No, Dubai and UAE, Abu Dhabi and the rest of the emirates are fine, you know, we know it is recession, we know it is (a) challenge and we dealing with it," he said. The second-largest Arab economy is seen expanding by 2.1 percent this year after an estimated 1.4 percent contraction in 2009, lagging behind its regional peers.
GULF UNION
Sheikh Mohammed also said rejoining a planned Gulf monetary union was not on the cards.
"The euro is in trouble and we thought of the Gulf currency and we said, well the UAE said 'not yet' and I think they are right, until we are sure," he said.
"So therefore now we will not change anything for the time being until we see something solid really and profitable," he added.
The UAE quit the plan to launch a single currency in the world's largest crude exporting region last year, after losing its bid to host a joint central bank to Saudi Arabia.
The kingdom, the top Arab economy, plans a currency union with Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain to boost trade and political leverage and better face the power of Iran.
But the project is now nearly a decade old and officials say the currency is not likely to be launched by 2015.
When asked whether the dollar peg served the country's interests well, Sheikh Mohammed echoed comments by other UAE officials: "Yes, yes and we still believe in the dollar."
The UAE as well as other Gulf oil producers with the exception of Kuwait, decided to peg their currencies to the greenback in
Worst over for Dubai -Sheikh Mohammed
DUBAI - Dubai's ruler is not worried about debt restructuring and the United Arab Emirates will stay out of a planned Gulf monetary union, favouring a dollar peg, an interview transcript showed on Thursday.
The economy of the world's third largest oil exporter is expected to see the slowest growth in the Gulf region this year, with banks heavily exposed to a $23.5 billion restructuring of debt-laden state conglomerate Dubai World. When asked whether Dubai needed additional external support to proceed with current restructuring, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum said: "I'm not worried about the company, the company have got the wealth."
"So they have something, and they will come back very very quickly," he said in a transcript of an interview with CNN to be aired on Friday.
Sheikh Mohammed, who is also vice president and prime minister of the UAE federation, did not say which company he was referring to in the transcript provided to Reuters.
Dubai World reached a deal in May with key banks after a multi-billion dollar bailout from the Abu Dhabi emirate but the remaining creditors still await the final terms.
A unit of another conglomerate Dubai Holding, owned by Sheikh Mohammed, has said it might sell assets to deal with its debt after a $6.2 billion loss in 2009.
The loss increased challenges faced by Dubai Holding to meet its obligations, estimated at $14.8 billion out of a total $109 billion owed by the government of Dubai and its entities.
Sheikh Mohammed also indicated he was not concerned about economic challenges in the OPEC member country.
"No, Dubai and UAE, Abu Dhabi and the rest of the emirates are fine, you know, we know it is recession, we know it is (a) challenge and we dealing with it," he said. The second-largest Arab economy is seen expanding by 2.1 percent this year after an estimated 1.4 percent contraction in 2009, lagging behind its regional peers.
GULF UNION
Sheikh Mohammed also said rejoining a planned Gulf monetary union was not on the cards.
"The euro is in trouble and we thought of the Gulf currency and we said, well the UAE said 'not yet' and I think they are right, until we are sure," he said.
"So therefore now we will not change anything for the time being until we see something solid really and profitable," he added.
The UAE quit the plan to launch a single currency in the world's largest crude exporting region last year, after losing its bid to host a joint central bank to Saudi Arabia.
The kingdom, the top Arab economy, plans a currency union with Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain to boost trade and political leverage and better face the power of Iran.
But the project is now nearly a decade old and officials say the currency is not likely to be launched by 2015.
When asked whether the dollar peg served the country's interests well, Sheikh Mohammed echoed comments by other UAE officials: "Yes, yes and we still believe in the dollar."
The UAE as well as other Gulf oil producers with the exception of Kuwait, decided to peg their currencies to the greenback in
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Ban on U.N. inspectors 'notice' to IAEA -Iran
UAE closes firms violating Iran sanctions
Iran bars two U.N. inspectors
TEHRAN - Iran said on Tuesday its barring of two nuclear inspectors serves as "notice" to the chief of the IAEA, but added Tehran was ready for talks with the UN atomic agency as suggested by France.
"This action (banning the inspectors from entering Iran) is in reality a regulatory notice to (Yukiya) Amano to be careful so that the agency's inspectors do not violate the international entity's charter," the official news agency IRNA quoted Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki as saying in a state television interview.
"Amano should manage the agency professionally," he said, referring to the chief of the UN atomic body, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
On Monday, Iran announced it was barring two IAEA inspectors from entering the country, accusing them of filing a "false report" and "leaking information" about Tehran's nuclear programme which the West suspects masks a weapons drive.
The Islamic republic says its nuclear programme is purely for peaceful purposes.
Iran's atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi said that Tehran told the IAEA at its latest meeting that the inspectors had filed a "totally wrong report and the two be replaced with two other inspectors who can visit the country."
Iran's arch-foe Washington quickly criticised Tehran, saying the ban on the inspectors was "symptomatic of its longstanding practice of intimidating inspectors."
"Reducing cooperation with the IAEA will only deepen the world's concern with respect to its nuclear programme," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said in Washington.
The ban on inspectors came less than a fortnight after the UN Security Council imposed new sanctions against Iran after a resolution sponsored by the United States.
Top US lawmakers further pressured Iran on Monday as they reached a deal on a series of unilateral punitive measures against Tehran, separate from the UN sanctions.
The US legislation targets firms that provide Iran with refined petroleum products -- like gasoline or jet fuel. Oil-rich Iran relies heavily on imports of petroleum products because of a lack of domestic refining capability.
It could also see non-US banks doing business with certain blacklisted Iranian entities -- including Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards and several banks -- shut out of the US financial system, according to a summary.
The European Union too has imposed separate sanctions against Iran.
But French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose government backed the UN sanctions, has offered to hold talks with Iran at the IAEA over its atomic programme, including a proposed nuclear fuel swap deal.
Mottaki, in the same state television interview, welcomed Sarkozy's offer.
"We believe there are serious signs that France is willing to conduct an independent action," Mottaki said.
"We see this approach as positive. If there are more serious signs of such a will then Europe can enter a new phase of playing a greater role" in resolving Iran's nuclear issue, he said.
However, his ministry's spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, said Sarkozy's offer "contradicts" the stance of the French government of backing the UN sanctions.
Sarkozy told his Russian counterpart at a meeting in Saint Petersburg on Saturday that France was ready "without delay" to hold talks with Iran in Vienna where the IAEA is based.
He reportedly said that the talks can address the fuel swap deal brokered by Brazil and Turkey on May 17 and can also "restart negotiation between Iran and the six powers about the (overall) nuclear issue."
Talks between Iran and the six world powers -- Britain, France, Russia, China, the United States and Germany have been on the backburner since the fuel swap deal hit a deadlock.
The fuel deal, which is a counter proposal to last October's plan drafted by the IAEA, envisages Tehran sending 1,200 kilograms of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey after which Iran would be supplied at a later date with 20 percent enriched uranium by Russia and France.
But this proposal has been cold-shouldered by the United States, France and Russia which have asked for further clarification.
Mehmanparast said Iran will "soon send its response" to their questions.
Iran bars two U.N. inspectors
TEHRAN - Iran said on Tuesday its barring of two nuclear inspectors serves as "notice" to the chief of the IAEA, but added Tehran was ready for talks with the UN atomic agency as suggested by France.
"This action (banning the inspectors from entering Iran) is in reality a regulatory notice to (Yukiya) Amano to be careful so that the agency's inspectors do not violate the international entity's charter," the official news agency IRNA quoted Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki as saying in a state television interview.
"Amano should manage the agency professionally," he said, referring to the chief of the UN atomic body, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
On Monday, Iran announced it was barring two IAEA inspectors from entering the country, accusing them of filing a "false report" and "leaking information" about Tehran's nuclear programme which the West suspects masks a weapons drive.
The Islamic republic says its nuclear programme is purely for peaceful purposes.
Iran's atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi said that Tehran told the IAEA at its latest meeting that the inspectors had filed a "totally wrong report and the two be replaced with two other inspectors who can visit the country."
Iran's arch-foe Washington quickly criticised Tehran, saying the ban on the inspectors was "symptomatic of its longstanding practice of intimidating inspectors."
"Reducing cooperation with the IAEA will only deepen the world's concern with respect to its nuclear programme," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said in Washington.
The ban on inspectors came less than a fortnight after the UN Security Council imposed new sanctions against Iran after a resolution sponsored by the United States.
Top US lawmakers further pressured Iran on Monday as they reached a deal on a series of unilateral punitive measures against Tehran, separate from the UN sanctions.
The US legislation targets firms that provide Iran with refined petroleum products -- like gasoline or jet fuel. Oil-rich Iran relies heavily on imports of petroleum products because of a lack of domestic refining capability.
It could also see non-US banks doing business with certain blacklisted Iranian entities -- including Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards and several banks -- shut out of the US financial system, according to a summary.
The European Union too has imposed separate sanctions against Iran.
But French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose government backed the UN sanctions, has offered to hold talks with Iran at the IAEA over its atomic programme, including a proposed nuclear fuel swap deal.
Mottaki, in the same state television interview, welcomed Sarkozy's offer.
"We believe there are serious signs that France is willing to conduct an independent action," Mottaki said.
"We see this approach as positive. If there are more serious signs of such a will then Europe can enter a new phase of playing a greater role" in resolving Iran's nuclear issue, he said.
However, his ministry's spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, said Sarkozy's offer "contradicts" the stance of the French government of backing the UN sanctions.
Sarkozy told his Russian counterpart at a meeting in Saint Petersburg on Saturday that France was ready "without delay" to hold talks with Iran in Vienna where the IAEA is based.
He reportedly said that the talks can address the fuel swap deal brokered by Brazil and Turkey on May 17 and can also "restart negotiation between Iran and the six powers about the (overall) nuclear issue."
Talks between Iran and the six world powers -- Britain, France, Russia, China, the United States and Germany have been on the backburner since the fuel swap deal hit a deadlock.
The fuel deal, which is a counter proposal to last October's plan drafted by the IAEA, envisages Tehran sending 1,200 kilograms of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey after which Iran would be supplied at a later date with 20 percent enriched uranium by Russia and France.
But this proposal has been cold-shouldered by the United States, France and Russia which have asked for further clarification.
Mehmanparast said Iran will "soon send its response" to their questions.
Monday, June 21, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Flooding deaths rise to 132 in southern China
China landslide, floods kill 16
BEIJING- Massive flooding in southern China has killed 132 people and forced 860,000 to flee their homes, and more storms were forecast, the government said Sunday.
Another 86 people are missing and more than 10 million people have been affected since torrential rains began June 13, including those who have been injured, stranded or have suffered property losses, the Ministry of Water Resources said in a news release.
While the death toll was up from 90 on Saturday, the number of evacuees was lower than the previous day's figure of 1.4 million.
China sustains major flooding annually along the mighty Yangtze and other major rivers, but this year's floods have been especially heavy, spreading across nine provinces and regions in the south and along the eastern coast.
Thousands of houses have been destroyed and economic losses have topped 14 billion yuan, the ministry said.
More thunderstorms over the area were forecast from Sunday afternoon late into Monday, according to the official meteorological bureau.
State broadcaster CCTV aired images of rescues performed by boat, truck and helicopter.
Waters have surged passed safe levels in dozens of rivers, including the Pearl River in the heart of China's industrial powerhouse of Guangdong. The strong storms have collapsed reservoirs, overflowed rivers, caused landslides and power outages and damaged highways.
The flooding follows the worst drought in a century for the southern provinces and regions of Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi. It left millions without drinking water and destroyed more than 12 million acres (5 million hectares) of crops
BEIJING- Massive flooding in southern China has killed 132 people and forced 860,000 to flee their homes, and more storms were forecast, the government said Sunday.
Another 86 people are missing and more than 10 million people have been affected since torrential rains began June 13, including those who have been injured, stranded or have suffered property losses, the Ministry of Water Resources said in a news release.
While the death toll was up from 90 on Saturday, the number of evacuees was lower than the previous day's figure of 1.4 million.
China sustains major flooding annually along the mighty Yangtze and other major rivers, but this year's floods have been especially heavy, spreading across nine provinces and regions in the south and along the eastern coast.
Thousands of houses have been destroyed and economic losses have topped 14 billion yuan, the ministry said.
More thunderstorms over the area were forecast from Sunday afternoon late into Monday, according to the official meteorological bureau.
State broadcaster CCTV aired images of rescues performed by boat, truck and helicopter.
Waters have surged passed safe levels in dozens of rivers, including the Pearl River in the heart of China's industrial powerhouse of Guangdong. The strong storms have collapsed reservoirs, overflowed rivers, caused landslides and power outages and damaged highways.
The flooding follows the worst drought in a century for the southern provinces and regions of Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi. It left millions without drinking water and destroyed more than 12 million acres (5 million hectares) of crops
Dubai to have security cameras 'everywhere'
Dubai top cop wants Mossad head arrested
Dubai police confirm Mossad behind murder
DUBAI - Dubai is to have security cameras "everywhere" following the assassination of a top Hamas commander in January that was blamed on Israel's Mossad spy agency, the emirate's police chief has said.
Dubai currently has 25,000 security cameras, but "surveillance needs to be ramped up to meet the growing requirements of an expanding city," Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim was quoted as saying in UAE daily the National on Sunday.
The emirate plans to spend 500 million dirhams t($136 million) his year on security technology this year.
"We need to work according to a well-studied strategic plan and not only react to events as they come along... We will have cameras everywhere," Tamim said.
Hamas commander Mahmud al-Mabhuh was killed at a luxury hotel in the emirate, and Tamim said police were able to track down the suspected killers with the help of security cameras.
"With the al-Mabhuh murder we were able to play back time through the footage captured by cameras," Tamim said. He added that police analysed 1,700 hours of images and "were able to pull the strings together and identify the suspects".
Tamim said residents of Dubai need not worry about privacy as cameras are installed everywhere.
“The big number of cameras does not alter the privacy of the city’s residents and visitors,” he told the National. “To intrude on people’s privacy is not allowed by law and is not acceptable by our religion and tradition, so nobody in Dubai need feel scared about their privacy.”
Dubai police confirm Mossad behind murder
DUBAI - Dubai is to have security cameras "everywhere" following the assassination of a top Hamas commander in January that was blamed on Israel's Mossad spy agency, the emirate's police chief has said.
Dubai currently has 25,000 security cameras, but "surveillance needs to be ramped up to meet the growing requirements of an expanding city," Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim was quoted as saying in UAE daily the National on Sunday.
The emirate plans to spend 500 million dirhams t($136 million) his year on security technology this year.
"We need to work according to a well-studied strategic plan and not only react to events as they come along... We will have cameras everywhere," Tamim said.
Hamas commander Mahmud al-Mabhuh was killed at a luxury hotel in the emirate, and Tamim said police were able to track down the suspected killers with the help of security cameras.
"With the al-Mabhuh murder we were able to play back time through the footage captured by cameras," Tamim said. He added that police analysed 1,700 hours of images and "were able to pull the strings together and identify the suspects".
Tamim said residents of Dubai need not worry about privacy as cameras are installed everywhere.
“The big number of cameras does not alter the privacy of the city’s residents and visitors,” he told the National. “To intrude on people’s privacy is not allowed by law and is not acceptable by our religion and tradition, so nobody in Dubai need feel scared about their privacy.”
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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millenium Trilogy, Book 1) [Mass Market Paperback]
Stieg Larsson
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Editorial Reviews
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Amazon Best of the Month, September 2008: Once you start The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, there's no turning back. This debut thriller--the first in a trilogy from the late Stieg Larsson--is a serious page-turner rivaling the best of Charlie Huston and Michael Connelly. Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected financial journalist, watches his professional life rapidly crumble around him. Prospects appear bleak until an unexpected (and unsettling) offer to resurrect his name is extended by an old-school titan of Swedish industry. The catch--and there's always a catch--is that Blomkvist must first spend a year researching a mysterious disappearance that has remained unsolved for nearly four decades. With few other options, he accepts and enlists the help of investigator Lisbeth Salander, a misunderstood genius with a cache of authority issues. Little is as it seems in Larsson's novel, but there is at least one constant: you really don't want to mess with the girl with the dragon tattoo. --Dave Callanan
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Cases rarely come much colder than the decades-old disappearance of teen heiress Harriet Vanger from her family's remote island retreat north of Stockholm, nor do fiction debuts hotter than this European bestseller by muckraking Swedish journalist Larsson. At once a strikingly original thriller and a vivisection of Sweden's dirty not-so-little secrets (as suggested by its original title, Men Who Hate Women), this first of a trilogy introduces a provocatively odd couple: disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist, freshly sentenced to jail for libeling a shady businessman, and the multipierced and tattooed Lisbeth Salander, a feral but vulnerable superhacker. Hired by octogenarian industrialist Henrik Vanger, who wants to find out what happened to his beloved great-niece before he dies, the duo gradually uncover a festering morass of familial corruption—at the same time, Larsson skillfully bares some of the similar horrors that have left Salander such a marked woman. Larsson died in 2004, shortly after handing in the manuscripts for what will be his legacy. 100,000 first printing. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Mass Market Paperback: 644 pages
Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (June 23, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307473473
ISBN-13: 978-0307473479
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Amazon Best of the Month, September 2008: Once you start The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, there's no turning back. This debut thriller--the first in a trilogy from the late Stieg Larsson--is a serious page-turner rivaling the best of Charlie Huston and Michael Connelly. Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected financial journalist, watches his professional life rapidly crumble around him. Prospects appear bleak until an unexpected (and unsettling) offer to resurrect his name is extended by an old-school titan of Swedish industry. The catch--and there's always a catch--is that Blomkvist must first spend a year researching a mysterious disappearance that has remained unsolved for nearly four decades. With few other options, he accepts and enlists the help of investigator Lisbeth Salander, a misunderstood genius with a cache of authority issues. Little is as it seems in Larsson's novel, but there is at least one constant: you really don't want to mess with the girl with the dragon tattoo. --Dave Callanan
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Cases rarely come much colder than the decades-old disappearance of teen heiress Harriet Vanger from her family's remote island retreat north of Stockholm, nor do fiction debuts hotter than this European bestseller by muckraking Swedish journalist Larsson. At once a strikingly original thriller and a vivisection of Sweden's dirty not-so-little secrets (as suggested by its original title, Men Who Hate Women), this first of a trilogy introduces a provocatively odd couple: disgraced financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist, freshly sentenced to jail for libeling a shady businessman, and the multipierced and tattooed Lisbeth Salander, a feral but vulnerable superhacker. Hired by octogenarian industrialist Henrik Vanger, who wants to find out what happened to his beloved great-niece before he dies, the duo gradually uncover a festering morass of familial corruption—at the same time, Larsson skillfully bares some of the similar horrors that have left Salander such a marked woman. Larsson died in 2004, shortly after handing in the manuscripts for what will be his legacy. 100,000 first printing. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 644 pages
Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (June 23, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0307473473
ISBN-13: 978-0307473479
Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.5 x 1.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1,253 customer reviews)
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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?
89% buy the item featured on this page:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millenium Trilogy, Book 1) 3.9 out of 5 stars (1,253)
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$11.92
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Saudi women threaten to breastfeed drivers
Breastfeed to bypass sex-mixing ban -scholar
DUBAI - Saudi women seem ready to adopt a controversial fatwa as they step up their campaign to achieve the right to drive in the conservative kingdom, UAE daily Gulf News reported on Sunday.
The fatwa, or religious ruling, allows women to breastfeed their drivers and turn them into their sons.
"We either be allowed to drive or breastfeed foreigners" will be the slogan of the campaign the women plan to launch, journalist Amal Zahid was quoted as saying in the newspaper.
Zahid said their decision follows a recent fatwa issued by a renowned scholar which said that Saudi women can breastfeed their foreign drivers for them to become their sons.
"As every Saudi family needs a driver, our campaign will focus on women's right to drive," she said.
A Saudi scholar last month suggested women donate their breast milk to men in an attempt to get around the kingdom’s ban on the mixing of unrelated men and women, and his words have sparked controversy.
Sheikh Abdul Mohsin al-Abaican, a consultant at the Saudi royal court, issued a fatwa stating there should be symbolic bond between unrelated men and women who regularly come into contact with each other.
Breast milk kinship is considered to be as good as a blood relationship in Islam, Gulf News said.
Saudi woman Fatima al-Shammary, told a local Arabic daily, that the fatwa was "ridiculous and weird".
She added: "This fatwa has become a hot topic of debate among women. Is this is all that is left to us to do: to give our breasts to the foreign drivers?"
Another Saudi woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Gulf News: “Does Islam allow me to breastfeed a foreign man and prevent me from driving my own car? I have not breastfed my own children. How do you expect me to do this with a foreign man? What is this nonsense?"
DUBAI - Saudi women seem ready to adopt a controversial fatwa as they step up their campaign to achieve the right to drive in the conservative kingdom, UAE daily Gulf News reported on Sunday.
The fatwa, or religious ruling, allows women to breastfeed their drivers and turn them into their sons.
"We either be allowed to drive or breastfeed foreigners" will be the slogan of the campaign the women plan to launch, journalist Amal Zahid was quoted as saying in the newspaper.
Zahid said their decision follows a recent fatwa issued by a renowned scholar which said that Saudi women can breastfeed their foreign drivers for them to become their sons.
"As every Saudi family needs a driver, our campaign will focus on women's right to drive," she said.
A Saudi scholar last month suggested women donate their breast milk to men in an attempt to get around the kingdom’s ban on the mixing of unrelated men and women, and his words have sparked controversy.
Sheikh Abdul Mohsin al-Abaican, a consultant at the Saudi royal court, issued a fatwa stating there should be symbolic bond between unrelated men and women who regularly come into contact with each other.
Breast milk kinship is considered to be as good as a blood relationship in Islam, Gulf News said.
Saudi woman Fatima al-Shammary, told a local Arabic daily, that the fatwa was "ridiculous and weird".
She added: "This fatwa has become a hot topic of debate among women. Is this is all that is left to us to do: to give our breasts to the foreign drivers?"
Another Saudi woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Gulf News: “Does Islam allow me to breastfeed a foreign man and prevent me from driving my own car? I have not breastfed my own children. How do you expect me to do this with a foreign man? What is this nonsense?"
Friday, June 18, 2010
Growth hopes worsen for UAE, Qatar, Saudi
The world's tallest tower Burj Khalifa casts its shadow over Dubai on January 4, 2010. The UAE is seen growing 2.1 percent this year, the slowest pace in the Gulf. Photograph: AFP
Arab GDP growth seen rising to 4 pct in 2010
IIF expects 4.4 pct Gulf economic growth
DUBAI - Growth prospects for key Gulf Arab economies worsened slightly in 2010 as oil prices remain volatile following Europe's debt woes and credit growth stays low, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday.
While most economies will see their gross domestic products growing in low single digits, Qatar will keep expanding well ahead of the rest of the world's top oil exporting region.
The world's biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter will book a real GDP growth of 16.1 percent in 2010 on gas output rise and government spending, according to the median forecast of economists polled between June 10-17.
This is unchanged from the previous Reuters poll in April, while the IMF has forecast 18.5 percent growth.
High government spending, unlike in the rest of the world, should keep supporting the six Gulf oil exporters, but volatile oil prices and sluggish credit growth are seen taking a toll.
"Volatility and uncertainty globally and oil prices, which have fallen to $63 a barrel in a matter of weeks, were important factors. Now, they have recovered but the sentiment is increasingly volatile," said John Sfakianakis, chief economist at Banque Saudi Fransi Credit Agricole in Riyadh.
"The private sector is quite cautious in its outlook given the uncertainty in Europe and international banks continue to be highly risk averse," he said.
The latest poll is based on responses from 17 analysts.
Saudi Arabia, the top Arab economy and the world's biggest oil exporter, is seen growing 3.7 percent this year, below 3.9 percent seen in April, but up from 0.6 percent growth in 2009.
Kuwait's GDP should rise by 3.0 percent in 2010, a slower recovery than analysts saw in April and below the central bank's forecast of 4-5 percent growth. Non-OPEC Oman and Bahrain should see GDP up 4.0 and 3.1 percent, a small improvement from April.
UAE WEAKER
Outlook for the United Arab Emirates -- the second largest economy in the Arab world -- worsened again as banks hesitate to lend due to exposure to debt-laden Dubai state firms.
The UAE is seen growing 2.1 percent this year, the slowest pace in the Gulf, below 2.5 percent seen in April and at the lower end of the government prediction of 2.0-3.2 percent.
"There is still some uncertainty and risk aversion on the part of local banks about the possible further debt restructurings in the UAE, and this is one of the reasons why credit growth so far this year has been incredibly weak," said Khatija Haque, vice president at Shuaa Securities in Dubai.
The UAE economy, the world's third largest oil exporter, grew by 1.3 percent in 2009 according to preliminary government data, although analysts have forecast a 1.4 percent contraction.
UAE banks are heavily exposed to Dubai World, which is yet to strike a deal with remaining creditors to restructure $23.5 billion of debt. The IMF put potential Dubai Holding restructuring at $14.8 billion.
INFLATION SEEN DOWN
Inflation was seen lower this year compared with April in most Gulf states on a firmer dollar, but analysts raised 2010 forecasts for the Saudi kingdom, where consumer price growth hit a one-year high in May.
"Inflation is more contained. I'm surprised with the strength in Saudi Arabia," said Giyas Gokkent, head of research at National Bank of Abu Dhabi.
Saudi Arabia should see the highest average inflation of 4.7 percent in 2010, still below record peaks of over 10 percent seen in most Gulf countries in 2008.
In contrast, Qatar and the UAE, which saw months of deflation in 2009, are likely to have the lowest consumer price growth at 1.7 percent and 1.8 percent, below April forecasts.
Oil prices, which have more than doubled since December 2008 lows, should keep most Gulf fiscal balances in surplus in 2010, although lower as crude expectations shifted.
Arab GDP growth seen rising to 4 pct in 2010
IIF expects 4.4 pct Gulf economic growth
DUBAI - Growth prospects for key Gulf Arab economies worsened slightly in 2010 as oil prices remain volatile following Europe's debt woes and credit growth stays low, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday.
While most economies will see their gross domestic products growing in low single digits, Qatar will keep expanding well ahead of the rest of the world's top oil exporting region.
The world's biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter will book a real GDP growth of 16.1 percent in 2010 on gas output rise and government spending, according to the median forecast of economists polled between June 10-17.
This is unchanged from the previous Reuters poll in April, while the IMF has forecast 18.5 percent growth.
High government spending, unlike in the rest of the world, should keep supporting the six Gulf oil exporters, but volatile oil prices and sluggish credit growth are seen taking a toll.
"Volatility and uncertainty globally and oil prices, which have fallen to $63 a barrel in a matter of weeks, were important factors. Now, they have recovered but the sentiment is increasingly volatile," said John Sfakianakis, chief economist at Banque Saudi Fransi Credit Agricole in Riyadh.
"The private sector is quite cautious in its outlook given the uncertainty in Europe and international banks continue to be highly risk averse," he said.
The latest poll is based on responses from 17 analysts.
Saudi Arabia, the top Arab economy and the world's biggest oil exporter, is seen growing 3.7 percent this year, below 3.9 percent seen in April, but up from 0.6 percent growth in 2009.
Kuwait's GDP should rise by 3.0 percent in 2010, a slower recovery than analysts saw in April and below the central bank's forecast of 4-5 percent growth. Non-OPEC Oman and Bahrain should see GDP up 4.0 and 3.1 percent, a small improvement from April.
UAE WEAKER
Outlook for the United Arab Emirates -- the second largest economy in the Arab world -- worsened again as banks hesitate to lend due to exposure to debt-laden Dubai state firms.
The UAE is seen growing 2.1 percent this year, the slowest pace in the Gulf, below 2.5 percent seen in April and at the lower end of the government prediction of 2.0-3.2 percent.
"There is still some uncertainty and risk aversion on the part of local banks about the possible further debt restructurings in the UAE, and this is one of the reasons why credit growth so far this year has been incredibly weak," said Khatija Haque, vice president at Shuaa Securities in Dubai.
The UAE economy, the world's third largest oil exporter, grew by 1.3 percent in 2009 according to preliminary government data, although analysts have forecast a 1.4 percent contraction.
UAE banks are heavily exposed to Dubai World, which is yet to strike a deal with remaining creditors to restructure $23.5 billion of debt. The IMF put potential Dubai Holding restructuring at $14.8 billion.
INFLATION SEEN DOWN
Inflation was seen lower this year compared with April in most Gulf states on a firmer dollar, but analysts raised 2010 forecasts for the Saudi kingdom, where consumer price growth hit a one-year high in May.
"Inflation is more contained. I'm surprised with the strength in Saudi Arabia," said Giyas Gokkent, head of research at National Bank of Abu Dhabi.
Saudi Arabia should see the highest average inflation of 4.7 percent in 2010, still below record peaks of over 10 percent seen in most Gulf countries in 2008.
In contrast, Qatar and the UAE, which saw months of deflation in 2009, are likely to have the lowest consumer price growth at 1.7 percent and 1.8 percent, below April forecasts.
Oil prices, which have more than doubled since December 2008 lows, should keep most Gulf fiscal balances in surplus in 2010, although lower as crude expectations shifted.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Iran to respond in kind if ships inspected
Iran curbs do not bar missile deal -Russia
Ahmadinejad slams U.S., says Israel 'doomed'
TEHRAN - A senior lawmaker warned on Friday that Iran would start inspecting foreign vessels in the Gulf, a waterway crucial for global oil supplies, if its ships received such treatment under new U.N. sanctions.
The sanctions resolution, approved by the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday, expands existing measures targeting Iranian banks and arms imports, and also calls for setting up a cargo inspection regime similar to one in place for North Korea.
The sanctions were imposed because of Iran's refusal to halt nuclear work the West suspects is aimed at making atomic bombs, a charge the major oil producer denies, saying its programme is for peaceful purposes.
"In the event that even one (Iranian) ship ... is subjected to inspection we will seek retaliation and will inspect several of their ships," Mehr News Agency quoted parliament member Hossein Ibrahimi as saying.
Ibrahimi is deputy head of parliament's national security and foreign policy commission.
"The Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf will be our field of manoeuvre in this regard and whoever harbours the intention of hurting or damaging us, will be damaged severely in return."
About 40 percent of the world's traded oil leaves the Gulf region through the Strait of Hormuz.
Underlining Iranian anger at the new sanctions, another parliament member warned a possible withdrawal from the Non- Proliferation Treaty (NPT) could be discussed.
NPT WARNING
Top Iranian officials have repeatedly said Tehran has no intention of leaving the NPT, under which its nuclear sites are subject to regular U.N. atomic watchdog inspections.
Analysts also believe Iran would think twice before quitting since such a move would betray nuclear weapons ambitions and could provoke an attack by Israel and possibly the United States.
"The West should know that if they should want to exert more pressure on Iran, the Islamic state is already considering retaliatory measures as an agenda," ISNA news agency quoted parliamentarian Mohammad Karamirad as saying.
"In this regard, parliament is considering reduced levels of cooperation with or even withdrawal from the NPT. They will also see Iran's intense reaction if they should want to create any trouble for us in the Persian Gulf or the Sea of Oman."
Karamirad is also a member of parliament's national security and foreign policy commission.
Iran's parliament has the power to oblige the government to change its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, as it did in 2006 after the Vienna-based body voted to report Iran to the U.N. Security Council.
However, Iran's IAEA envoy, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, said Tehran had no intention of quitting the 40-year-old pact. "We continue to be committed to the NPT," he told Reuters in Vienna.
Ahmadinejad slams U.S., says Israel 'doomed'
TEHRAN - A senior lawmaker warned on Friday that Iran would start inspecting foreign vessels in the Gulf, a waterway crucial for global oil supplies, if its ships received such treatment under new U.N. sanctions.
The sanctions resolution, approved by the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday, expands existing measures targeting Iranian banks and arms imports, and also calls for setting up a cargo inspection regime similar to one in place for North Korea.
The sanctions were imposed because of Iran's refusal to halt nuclear work the West suspects is aimed at making atomic bombs, a charge the major oil producer denies, saying its programme is for peaceful purposes.
"In the event that even one (Iranian) ship ... is subjected to inspection we will seek retaliation and will inspect several of their ships," Mehr News Agency quoted parliament member Hossein Ibrahimi as saying.
Ibrahimi is deputy head of parliament's national security and foreign policy commission.
"The Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf will be our field of manoeuvre in this regard and whoever harbours the intention of hurting or damaging us, will be damaged severely in return."
About 40 percent of the world's traded oil leaves the Gulf region through the Strait of Hormuz.
Underlining Iranian anger at the new sanctions, another parliament member warned a possible withdrawal from the Non- Proliferation Treaty (NPT) could be discussed.
NPT WARNING
Top Iranian officials have repeatedly said Tehran has no intention of leaving the NPT, under which its nuclear sites are subject to regular U.N. atomic watchdog inspections.
Analysts also believe Iran would think twice before quitting since such a move would betray nuclear weapons ambitions and could provoke an attack by Israel and possibly the United States.
"The West should know that if they should want to exert more pressure on Iran, the Islamic state is already considering retaliatory measures as an agenda," ISNA news agency quoted parliamentarian Mohammad Karamirad as saying.
"In this regard, parliament is considering reduced levels of cooperation with or even withdrawal from the NPT. They will also see Iran's intense reaction if they should want to create any trouble for us in the Persian Gulf or the Sea of Oman."
Karamirad is also a member of parliament's national security and foreign policy commission.
Iran's parliament has the power to oblige the government to change its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, as it did in 2006 after the Vienna-based body voted to report Iran to the U.N. Security Council.
However, Iran's IAEA envoy, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, said Tehran had no intention of quitting the 40-year-old pact. "We continue to be committed to the NPT," he told Reuters in Vienna.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Ahmadinejad slams U.S., says Israel 'doomed'
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gestures at a press conference during his visit at the site of the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai on June 11, 2010. Ahmadinejad said that US President Barack Obama had made a 'big mistake' by pushing for UN sanctions, and 'blocked the way' to friendly ties with the Iranian people. Ahmadinejad was participating in 'Iran Day' at the World Expo. Photograph: AFP
Iran curbs do not bar missile deal -Russia
Iran opposition calls off anniversary demo
Defiant Iran rejects U.N. sanctions
SHANGHAI - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Friday Israel was "doomed" and singled out US President Barack Obama for scorn after the UN agreed a fresh round of nuclear sanctions against his country.
Speaking during a visit to the World Expo in Shanghai, Ahmadinejad denounced the UN Security Council's sanctions resolution adopted Wednesday with Chinese and Russian backing as "worthless paper".
The firebrand leader accused global nuclear powers of "monopolising" atomic technology and said the new sanctions would "have no effect".
Ahmadinejad chose a visit to his country's national pavilion during "Iran Day" at the Shanghai Expo in preference to an appearance at a regional security summit in Uzbekistan attended by the Chinese and Russian leaders.
Presidents Hu Jintao of China and Dmitry Medvedev of Russia were in Tashkent Friday for the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
The SCO was set Friday to snub Iran's membership bid, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov indicated, leaving Tehran increasingly isolated over its refusal to renounce uranium enrichment.
Ahmadinejad's visit to the Expo comes at a delicate time in Tehran's relations with its ally China, one of the five permanent veto-wielding members of the Security Council.
His government had earlier reacted furiously to China's decision to fall into line with the United States and other powers that accuse Iran of covertly trying to build nuclear weapons.
Ahmadinejad shied away from criticising China, which has emerged as Iran's closest trading partner.
"The main problem is the US administration, and we have no problem with others," he told reporters, accusing the United States of seeking to "swallow" the Middle East.
Swatting aside the US leader's offers of dialogue and rapprochement if Iran relents on its nuclear ambitions, Ahmadinejad said: "I think President Obama has made a big mistake... he knows the resolution will have no effect.
"Very soon he will come to understand he has not made the right choice and he has blocked the way to having friendly ties with the Iranian people."
The UN resolution expands an arms embargo and bars Iran from sensitive activities such as uranium mining.
It also authorises states to conduct high-seas inspections of vessels believed to be ferrying banned items for Iran and adds 40 entities to a list of people and groups subject to travel restrictions and financial sanctions.
Not for the first time, Ahmadinejad reserved his harshest rhetoric for Israel.
"It is clear the United States is not against nuclear bombs because they have a Zionist regime with nuclear bombs in the region," he said.
"They are trying to save the Zionist regime, but the Zionist regime will not survive. It is doomed."
Israel, which has the Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear arsenal, regards Iran as its principal threat after repeated predictions by Ahmadinejad of the Jewish state's demise.
Israeli leaders have refused to rule out a resort to military action to prevent Iran developing a nuclear weapons capability.
Ahmadinejad said the entire architecture of global power was built to keep out smaller states.
"We have always said the Security Council is a tool in the hands of the United States. It is not democratic, it is a tool of dictatorship," he said.
"Five powers have the veto right and the nuclear bombs and the monopoly and they want to monopolise nuclear energy for themselves," he added.
Russia appears to be taking a tougher line with Iran. Officials said Friday that Moscow would comply strictly with the new UN sanctions, and signalled that a deal to supply Iran with air-defence missiles was now off.
China has kept up a more emollient line on Iran. Foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Thursday that China "highly values relations with Iran and feels they are conducive to regional peace, stability and development."
Iran curbs do not bar missile deal -Russia
Iran opposition calls off anniversary demo
Defiant Iran rejects U.N. sanctions
SHANGHAI - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Friday Israel was "doomed" and singled out US President Barack Obama for scorn after the UN agreed a fresh round of nuclear sanctions against his country.
Speaking during a visit to the World Expo in Shanghai, Ahmadinejad denounced the UN Security Council's sanctions resolution adopted Wednesday with Chinese and Russian backing as "worthless paper".
The firebrand leader accused global nuclear powers of "monopolising" atomic technology and said the new sanctions would "have no effect".
Ahmadinejad chose a visit to his country's national pavilion during "Iran Day" at the Shanghai Expo in preference to an appearance at a regional security summit in Uzbekistan attended by the Chinese and Russian leaders.
Presidents Hu Jintao of China and Dmitry Medvedev of Russia were in Tashkent Friday for the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
The SCO was set Friday to snub Iran's membership bid, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov indicated, leaving Tehran increasingly isolated over its refusal to renounce uranium enrichment.
Ahmadinejad's visit to the Expo comes at a delicate time in Tehran's relations with its ally China, one of the five permanent veto-wielding members of the Security Council.
His government had earlier reacted furiously to China's decision to fall into line with the United States and other powers that accuse Iran of covertly trying to build nuclear weapons.
Ahmadinejad shied away from criticising China, which has emerged as Iran's closest trading partner.
"The main problem is the US administration, and we have no problem with others," he told reporters, accusing the United States of seeking to "swallow" the Middle East.
Swatting aside the US leader's offers of dialogue and rapprochement if Iran relents on its nuclear ambitions, Ahmadinejad said: "I think President Obama has made a big mistake... he knows the resolution will have no effect.
"Very soon he will come to understand he has not made the right choice and he has blocked the way to having friendly ties with the Iranian people."
The UN resolution expands an arms embargo and bars Iran from sensitive activities such as uranium mining.
It also authorises states to conduct high-seas inspections of vessels believed to be ferrying banned items for Iran and adds 40 entities to a list of people and groups subject to travel restrictions and financial sanctions.
Not for the first time, Ahmadinejad reserved his harshest rhetoric for Israel.
"It is clear the United States is not against nuclear bombs because they have a Zionist regime with nuclear bombs in the region," he said.
"They are trying to save the Zionist regime, but the Zionist regime will not survive. It is doomed."
Israel, which has the Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear arsenal, regards Iran as its principal threat after repeated predictions by Ahmadinejad of the Jewish state's demise.
Israeli leaders have refused to rule out a resort to military action to prevent Iran developing a nuclear weapons capability.
Ahmadinejad said the entire architecture of global power was built to keep out smaller states.
"We have always said the Security Council is a tool in the hands of the United States. It is not democratic, it is a tool of dictatorship," he said.
"Five powers have the veto right and the nuclear bombs and the monopoly and they want to monopolise nuclear energy for themselves," he added.
Russia appears to be taking a tougher line with Iran. Officials said Friday that Moscow would comply strictly with the new UN sanctions, and signalled that a deal to supply Iran with air-defence missiles was now off.
China has kept up a more emollient line on Iran. Foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Thursday that China "highly values relations with Iran and feels they are conducive to regional peace, stability and development."
Friday, June 4, 2010
Israel accused of indiscriminate killings
Belgian activist Isnasni Kenza (R) and an unidentified British activist flash the V sign and hold up the British flag at Ataturk Airport in Istanbul on June 3, 2010 after being deported by Israel two days after a deadly naval raid by Israeli forces. Photograph: AFP
Hundreds of Gazans use opened Egyptian gate
Unrepentant Israel expels aid fleet activists
ISTANBUL - Hundreds of Turkish activists from the Gaza aid flotilla attacked by Israeli commandos returned home to a heroes' welcome Thursday and their leaders accused Israel of carrying out indiscriminate killings.
Organisers of the aid fleet also said the toll of nine dead given by Israel was too low. Facing major protests over Monday's raid, Israel meanwhile rejected a UN Human Rights Council move to set up an international inquiry into the raid.
About 1,000 people, some chanting anti-Israeli slogans, packed Istanbul airport in the middle of the night to greet planes that brought back 466 activists and nine bodies from Israel.
Another plane carrying 31 Greek activists three French nationals and an American flew into Athens.
The dead were eight Turks and a US national of Turkish origin, Anatolia news agency reported. It quoted forensic experts as saying all had been shot.
Bulent Yildirim, head of the Islamic charity which spearheaded the campaign to break the Gaza blockade, charged that Israeli soldiers had killed activists indiscriminately when they stormed the Mavi Marmara.
All the dead were on the the Turkish ferry which led six ships trying to get aid to the besieged Palestinian enclave.
Yildirim highlighted the death of one journalist on the ship named Cevdet. "He was just taking pictures. He was shot at from no more than a metre and his brain exploded ... one of our friends was shot even after he had surrendered," Yildirim, who heads the Foundation of Humanitarian Relief (IHH), told reporters at Istanbul airport.
"They killed whoever they laid hands on. They even threw some of our friends into the sea."
Yildirim said the activists attacked the Israeli forces with iron bars "in self defence", adding that they also seized the soldiers' weapons but threw them in the sea rather than using them.
Israel has said the commandos opened fire after they came under attack.
Sydney Morning Herald journalist Paul McGeough told his newspaper from Turkey that Israeli commando boats had circled the flotilla like "hyenas hunting animals in the night" before his colleague was shot with a stun gun.
Yildirim said the death toll was higher than announced. "We were given the bodies of nine martyrs, but we have a longer list. There are missing people. Our doctors handed over 38 injured, on our return they (the Israelis) said there were only 21 injured."
He vowed to organize bigger convoys if Israel does not end its blockade of Gaza, which is ruled by the Islamist movement Hamas.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said officials were drawing up lists to verify that all the activists were deported and vowed to hold Israel to account.
The returning activists included between 50 and 55 foreigners.
Three other planes brought 19 wounded activists to Ankara. A prosecutor was to question them for accounts of the bloody raid.
Turkey's ambassador to Israel, Oguz Celikkol, who was recalled after Monday's raid, also returned to Turkey Thursday, Anatolia news agency said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the activists as "violent supporters of terrorism", charging that Israeli forces were "stabbed, they were clubbed, they were fired upon" as they stormed the boat.
"This was not a love boat. This was a hate boat. These weren't pacifists. These weren't peace activists," he said.
The UN Human Rights Council said Wednesday it would set up an independent international probe into Israel's interception of the ships.
Israel rejected the move. "The authority of this council, which once again is working stubbornly against Israel, has reached rock bottom," said foreign ministry spokesman Ygal Palmor.
Organisers say another ship is heading towards Gaza despite the risk of more violence.
The Rachel Corrie, carrying building supplies along with Irish and Malaysian activists, is in the Mediterranean. Organisers say it could arrive off Gaza on Saturday.
Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin urged Israel to let the ship through, while UN chief Ban Ki-moon renewed his call for Israel to lift its Gaza blockade.
The UN secretary-general also said Israel should provide a "full and detailed account" of the commando raid.
Israeli officials said 682 people from 42 countries were on the six ships that tried to break the blockade.
Seven activists wounded in the clashes remained in an Israeli hospital, an Israeli foreign ministry spokesman said. An Irishman and two women from Australia and Italy remained in Israel "for technical reasons," he added, without elaborating.
Hundreds of Gazans use opened Egyptian gate
Unrepentant Israel expels aid fleet activists
ISTANBUL - Hundreds of Turkish activists from the Gaza aid flotilla attacked by Israeli commandos returned home to a heroes' welcome Thursday and their leaders accused Israel of carrying out indiscriminate killings.
Organisers of the aid fleet also said the toll of nine dead given by Israel was too low. Facing major protests over Monday's raid, Israel meanwhile rejected a UN Human Rights Council move to set up an international inquiry into the raid.
About 1,000 people, some chanting anti-Israeli slogans, packed Istanbul airport in the middle of the night to greet planes that brought back 466 activists and nine bodies from Israel.
Another plane carrying 31 Greek activists three French nationals and an American flew into Athens.
The dead were eight Turks and a US national of Turkish origin, Anatolia news agency reported. It quoted forensic experts as saying all had been shot.
Bulent Yildirim, head of the Islamic charity which spearheaded the campaign to break the Gaza blockade, charged that Israeli soldiers had killed activists indiscriminately when they stormed the Mavi Marmara.
All the dead were on the the Turkish ferry which led six ships trying to get aid to the besieged Palestinian enclave.
Yildirim highlighted the death of one journalist on the ship named Cevdet. "He was just taking pictures. He was shot at from no more than a metre and his brain exploded ... one of our friends was shot even after he had surrendered," Yildirim, who heads the Foundation of Humanitarian Relief (IHH), told reporters at Istanbul airport.
"They killed whoever they laid hands on. They even threw some of our friends into the sea."
Yildirim said the activists attacked the Israeli forces with iron bars "in self defence", adding that they also seized the soldiers' weapons but threw them in the sea rather than using them.
Israel has said the commandos opened fire after they came under attack.
Sydney Morning Herald journalist Paul McGeough told his newspaper from Turkey that Israeli commando boats had circled the flotilla like "hyenas hunting animals in the night" before his colleague was shot with a stun gun.
Yildirim said the death toll was higher than announced. "We were given the bodies of nine martyrs, but we have a longer list. There are missing people. Our doctors handed over 38 injured, on our return they (the Israelis) said there were only 21 injured."
He vowed to organize bigger convoys if Israel does not end its blockade of Gaza, which is ruled by the Islamist movement Hamas.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said officials were drawing up lists to verify that all the activists were deported and vowed to hold Israel to account.
The returning activists included between 50 and 55 foreigners.
Three other planes brought 19 wounded activists to Ankara. A prosecutor was to question them for accounts of the bloody raid.
Turkey's ambassador to Israel, Oguz Celikkol, who was recalled after Monday's raid, also returned to Turkey Thursday, Anatolia news agency said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denounced the activists as "violent supporters of terrorism", charging that Israeli forces were "stabbed, they were clubbed, they were fired upon" as they stormed the boat.
"This was not a love boat. This was a hate boat. These weren't pacifists. These weren't peace activists," he said.
The UN Human Rights Council said Wednesday it would set up an independent international probe into Israel's interception of the ships.
Israel rejected the move. "The authority of this council, which once again is working stubbornly against Israel, has reached rock bottom," said foreign ministry spokesman Ygal Palmor.
Organisers say another ship is heading towards Gaza despite the risk of more violence.
The Rachel Corrie, carrying building supplies along with Irish and Malaysian activists, is in the Mediterranean. Organisers say it could arrive off Gaza on Saturday.
Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin urged Israel to let the ship through, while UN chief Ban Ki-moon renewed his call for Israel to lift its Gaza blockade.
The UN secretary-general also said Israel should provide a "full and detailed account" of the commando raid.
Israeli officials said 682 people from 42 countries were on the six ships that tried to break the blockade.
Seven activists wounded in the clashes remained in an Israeli hospital, an Israeli foreign ministry spokesman said. An Irishman and two women from Australia and Italy remained in Israel "for technical reasons," he added, without elaborating.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Contents
Genotica and Green himalyan are contain the research work in near future.
in reference to: YouTube - googletoolbarhelp's Channel (view on Google Sidewiki)U.N. urges probe on Israel flotilla raid
UNITED NATIONS - The UN Security Council called Tuesday for an impartial investigation into the Israeli attack against a flotilla carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza, and the immediate release of all civilians.
The statement, which came at the end of an emergency session that lasted more than 12 hours, condemned "those acts which resulted in the loss of at least 10 civilians and many wounded."
"The Security Council took note of the statement of the UN Secretary General on the need to have a full investigation into the matter and it calls for a prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation conforming to international standards," the statement said.
Israeli commandos carried out the raid in international waters on a convoy of vessels with activists from a variety of countries bringing food and medical supplies to Gaza.
The Security Council requested the immediate release of all ships and civilians held by Israel. Israeli public radio earlier reported that Israel would hold 480 of the activists and expel 48 others.
"The Council urges Israel to permit full consular access, to allow the countries concerned to retrieve their deceased and wounded immediately and to ensure the delivery of the humanitarian assistance from the convoy to its destination," it said.
In the statement, Mexican Ambassador Claude Heller, the council's current president, said the council reiterated its grave concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, which it said was "not sustainable."
It stressed the need for "sustained and regular flow of goods and people to Gaza as well as unimpeded provision and distribution of humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza."
Emphasizing that the only viable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was a two state solution, the statement expressed concern that the incident occurred at a time when indirect talks were underway between the sides.
It urged the parties "to act with restraint, avoiding any unilateral and provocative actions, and all international partners to promote an atmosphere of cooperation between the parties and throughout the region."
The statement, which came at the end of an emergency session that lasted more than 12 hours, condemned "those acts which resulted in the loss of at least 10 civilians and many wounded."
"The Security Council took note of the statement of the UN Secretary General on the need to have a full investigation into the matter and it calls for a prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation conforming to international standards," the statement said.
Israeli commandos carried out the raid in international waters on a convoy of vessels with activists from a variety of countries bringing food and medical supplies to Gaza.
The Security Council requested the immediate release of all ships and civilians held by Israel. Israeli public radio earlier reported that Israel would hold 480 of the activists and expel 48 others.
"The Council urges Israel to permit full consular access, to allow the countries concerned to retrieve their deceased and wounded immediately and to ensure the delivery of the humanitarian assistance from the convoy to its destination," it said.
In the statement, Mexican Ambassador Claude Heller, the council's current president, said the council reiterated its grave concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza, which it said was "not sustainable."
It stressed the need for "sustained and regular flow of goods and people to Gaza as well as unimpeded provision and distribution of humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza."
Emphasizing that the only viable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was a two state solution, the statement expressed concern that the incident occurred at a time when indirect talks were underway between the sides.
It urged the parties "to act with restraint, avoiding any unilateral and provocative actions, and all international partners to promote an atmosphere of cooperation between the parties and throughout the region."
Friday, May 28, 2010
UAE denies banning 'Sex and the City 2'
Dubai says no to Sex and the City 2 filming
DUBAI - The UAE has not banned “Sex in the City 2”, which serves up a stinging portrayal of Muslim society, as the film’s distributor did not seek permission for the film to be shown in the first place.
UAE daily the National said on Thursday that despite reports that the country had banned the movie, an official at the National Media Council told the newspaper that the oversight body was never sent a review copy.
“The first Sex and the City movie was not shown in the UAE because the local distributor never applied for it to be shown,” the spokesman was quoted as saying in the paper. “As for Sex and the City 2, (the distributor) has also not asked us for permission for the film to be shown. This is something of the distributor’s own choice.”
However, a spokesman for the media council had told magazine Time Out Dubai earlier this month that the movie, to be released on May 27, had been banned for “various reasons”.
"Among them are that the film's website stated that filming was done in Abu Dhabi even though they were denied permission to do so," he had said, adding that it "is false ... to attribute the locations shot in Morocco as being in Abu Dhabi".
And the "theme of the film does not fit with our cultural values."
SATC 2’s producers had requested permission to shoot in Abu Dhabi and Dubai last August, saying the capital city “is the new Middle East and the future … There’s a very big story in the Middle East and it also is a very advanced, glamorous capital.”
But the UAE refused, without giving specific reasons.
The TV series Sex and the City is aired in the UAE on Showtime.
SATC 2 is set to spark political debate, with its “scathing portrayal of Muslim society, (the movie) being saucy, proudly feminist and intentionally anti-Muslim”, a U.S.-based reporter was quoted as saying in Time Out Dubai.
Early reviews of the movie suggest it is anti-Muslim, as the four women encounter misogynist attitudes from Middle Eastern men and joke about Muslim women wearing the niqab.
And Kim Cattrall's character, the man-eating Samantha, flouts the UAE’s conservative dress code by wearing revealing clothes.
Brian Lowry, a columnist and critic for U.S.-based showbiz magazine Variety, wrote that the film featured "some not-very-convincing rumination on the treatment of Muslim women - even in what's supposed to be a relatively progressive Arab country - that seems more condescending than stirring".
DUBAI - The UAE has not banned “Sex in the City 2”, which serves up a stinging portrayal of Muslim society, as the film’s distributor did not seek permission for the film to be shown in the first place.
UAE daily the National said on Thursday that despite reports that the country had banned the movie, an official at the National Media Council told the newspaper that the oversight body was never sent a review copy.
“The first Sex and the City movie was not shown in the UAE because the local distributor never applied for it to be shown,” the spokesman was quoted as saying in the paper. “As for Sex and the City 2, (the distributor) has also not asked us for permission for the film to be shown. This is something of the distributor’s own choice.”
However, a spokesman for the media council had told magazine Time Out Dubai earlier this month that the movie, to be released on May 27, had been banned for “various reasons”.
"Among them are that the film's website stated that filming was done in Abu Dhabi even though they were denied permission to do so," he had said, adding that it "is false ... to attribute the locations shot in Morocco as being in Abu Dhabi".
And the "theme of the film does not fit with our cultural values."
SATC 2’s producers had requested permission to shoot in Abu Dhabi and Dubai last August, saying the capital city “is the new Middle East and the future … There’s a very big story in the Middle East and it also is a very advanced, glamorous capital.”
But the UAE refused, without giving specific reasons.
The TV series Sex and the City is aired in the UAE on Showtime.
SATC 2 is set to spark political debate, with its “scathing portrayal of Muslim society, (the movie) being saucy, proudly feminist and intentionally anti-Muslim”, a U.S.-based reporter was quoted as saying in Time Out Dubai.
Early reviews of the movie suggest it is anti-Muslim, as the four women encounter misogynist attitudes from Middle Eastern men and joke about Muslim women wearing the niqab.
And Kim Cattrall's character, the man-eating Samantha, flouts the UAE’s conservative dress code by wearing revealing clothes.
Brian Lowry, a columnist and critic for U.S.-based showbiz magazine Variety, wrote that the film featured "some not-very-convincing rumination on the treatment of Muslim women - even in what's supposed to be a relatively progressive Arab country - that seems more condescending than stirring".
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Iran urges US, Russia to back nuke fuel deal
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad smiles during the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference on May 3, 2010 at the United Nations in New York City. Photograph: Getty Images
TEHRAN - Iran's hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad urged the United States and Russia Wednesday to back a nuclear fuel deal, warning it would be the last "opportunity" to resolve the atomic standoff.
"The Tehran declaration (on a fuel swap) is the best opportunity. We took an important step and said something very important. There are no excuses left," Ahmadinejad said in a televised speech, addressing US and Russian leaders.
US President Barack Obama "should bear in mind that if he does not use this opportunity, Iranians are unlikely to give him a new chance," he said, as world powers mulled new sanctions against Iran despite the fuel deal brokered by Brazil and Turkey earlier this month.
Western governments have been dismissive of the agreement, arguing that the international community needs to keep up the pressure on Tehran to heed UN Security Council demands over its nuclear programme.
Ahmadinejad lashed out at Russian President Dmitry Medvedev over Moscow's position on the nuclear issue, accusing Iran's longtime trade partner of "siding with those who have been our enemy for 30 years."
"We hope Russian officials will pay attention, make amends and not let Iranians put them in the line of their historic enemies," Ahmadinejad said.
Despite strong energy and defence ties with Iran, Russia has backed a new sanctions drive at the UN Security Council which has issued repeated ultimatums for Iran to freeze uranium enrichment.
Iran is already under three sets of UN sanctions over its refusal to suspend the sensitive process, which lies at the centre of Western fears that the programme is cover for a drive for a nuclear weapon.
Iran denies any such ambition insisting the programme is for power generation and medical purposes only.
On Monday, Iran formally notified the International Atomic Energy Agency of its agreement to the nuclear fuel swap deal, under which it would ship some low enriched uranium to Turkey in return for higher grade fuel for a Tehran research reactor.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Iran's letter to the UN watchdog had "a number of deficiencies."
"The agreement... between Iran, Brazil and Turkey only occurred because the Security Council was on the brink of publicly releasing the text of the resolution we've been negotiating for many weeks," Clinton said on Tuesday.
Washington has forged a compromise on a new draft sanctions resolution at the Security Council which it says has the support of all five veto-wielding permanent members including China, a close ally and energy partner of Iran.
In a televised press conference on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki branded Clinton's comments "faulty" and "propagandist," insisting the "Tehran accord will benefit all sides."
The IAEA has yet to comment on the deal but specialists have said the accord has a key technical flaw as it fails to allocate enough time to make the fuel.
According to a text of the joint declaration carried by Tehran media, Iran expects to receive the 20-percent enriched uranium for reactor fuel within a year of depositing its low-enriched uranium in Turkey.
Iran's archfoe Israel, which is the Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear power, has accused Tehran of "trickery" in the nuclear deal in a bid to ward off international sanctions.
Shortly after signing the accord, Iran vowed to press on with the higher level 20-percent enrichment which it started in February despite international concern.
TEHRAN - Iran's hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad urged the United States and Russia Wednesday to back a nuclear fuel deal, warning it would be the last "opportunity" to resolve the atomic standoff.
"The Tehran declaration (on a fuel swap) is the best opportunity. We took an important step and said something very important. There are no excuses left," Ahmadinejad said in a televised speech, addressing US and Russian leaders.
US President Barack Obama "should bear in mind that if he does not use this opportunity, Iranians are unlikely to give him a new chance," he said, as world powers mulled new sanctions against Iran despite the fuel deal brokered by Brazil and Turkey earlier this month.
Western governments have been dismissive of the agreement, arguing that the international community needs to keep up the pressure on Tehran to heed UN Security Council demands over its nuclear programme.
Ahmadinejad lashed out at Russian President Dmitry Medvedev over Moscow's position on the nuclear issue, accusing Iran's longtime trade partner of "siding with those who have been our enemy for 30 years."
"We hope Russian officials will pay attention, make amends and not let Iranians put them in the line of their historic enemies," Ahmadinejad said.
Despite strong energy and defence ties with Iran, Russia has backed a new sanctions drive at the UN Security Council which has issued repeated ultimatums for Iran to freeze uranium enrichment.
Iran is already under three sets of UN sanctions over its refusal to suspend the sensitive process, which lies at the centre of Western fears that the programme is cover for a drive for a nuclear weapon.
Iran denies any such ambition insisting the programme is for power generation and medical purposes only.
On Monday, Iran formally notified the International Atomic Energy Agency of its agreement to the nuclear fuel swap deal, under which it would ship some low enriched uranium to Turkey in return for higher grade fuel for a Tehran research reactor.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Iran's letter to the UN watchdog had "a number of deficiencies."
"The agreement... between Iran, Brazil and Turkey only occurred because the Security Council was on the brink of publicly releasing the text of the resolution we've been negotiating for many weeks," Clinton said on Tuesday.
Washington has forged a compromise on a new draft sanctions resolution at the Security Council which it says has the support of all five veto-wielding permanent members including China, a close ally and energy partner of Iran.
In a televised press conference on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki branded Clinton's comments "faulty" and "propagandist," insisting the "Tehran accord will benefit all sides."
The IAEA has yet to comment on the deal but specialists have said the accord has a key technical flaw as it fails to allocate enough time to make the fuel.
According to a text of the joint declaration carried by Tehran media, Iran expects to receive the 20-percent enriched uranium for reactor fuel within a year of depositing its low-enriched uranium in Turkey.
Iran's archfoe Israel, which is the Middle East's sole if undeclared nuclear power, has accused Tehran of "trickery" in the nuclear deal in a bid to ward off international sanctions.
Shortly after signing the accord, Iran vowed to press on with the higher level 20-percent enrichment which it started in February despite international concern.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
Dubai reaches deal on $23.5 bln debt
A view of the Palm Jumeirah island built by Dubai World real estate developer Nakheel off the coast of Dubai. Photograph: AFP
UAE banks await guidelines after Dubai debt
Debt deal little boost to property sector
Dubai World could raise interest to creditors
DUBAI - Dubai World, the state-owned conglomerate, has reached a deal to restructure $23.5 billion in debt with its core lenders, addressing the most immediate of a string of problems facing investors in Dubai.
The deal, which includes no new money from the government and is broadly in line with proposals made in March, must still be agreed by banks outside the core negotiating panel, which holds 60 percent of the exposure, Dubai World said on Thursday.
Lenders will wait up to eight years to get their $14.4 billion back but have avoided a "haircut" on their principal under the terms of the deal, which offers 1 percent cash interest and an extra 1.5-2.5 percent per annum rolled up into a lump sum payment on maturity. Dubai will convert into equity the $8.9 billion it is owed by the group.
The restructuring has hung over Dubai since last November, and its resolution will be a relief to investors in the emirate, which is struggling with an over-saturated property market, sluggish bank lending and the risk of more debt problems.
"We are not entirely happy, but we are in a no-choice situation. Under the circumstances, this seems the best deal possible, even though it is not entirely satisfactory," said a banker at a Gulf-based lender outside the core group.
Fitch Ratings said bank provisions linked to the debt deal will not cause "major difficulties" for the UAE banking system. Fitch put the ratings of five Dubai-based banks on negative watch in December.
"The agency is also concerned that other Dubai government-related entities may be experiencing debt problems, albeit not of this magnitude," it added.
Dubai, famed for extravagant property projects and a tax-free lifestyle, has struggled to bring its debt burden, estimated around $100 billion, under control.
The Gulf Arab emirate ran up massive debts to turn itself into a trade and tourism hub, but the global financial crisis and a collapse in oil prices in 2008 brought an abrupt end to a six-year boom.
Analysts said the deal does little to alleviate the chronic oversupply in Dubai's property market, a key driver of the emirate's growth.
"It adds a little bit of comfort, but there is still a crisis of confidence in terms of real estate," said Chet Riley, an analyst at Nomura. The emirate stunned global markets last November when it said it would delay repayment of $26 billion in debt linked to Dubai World and its property units, Nakheel and Limitless. Dubai unveiled a $9.5 billion rescue plan in March.
"This closes the main chapter, but that doesn't mean we don't have a bumpy ride ahead," said Haissam Arabi, chief executive and fund manager at Gulfmena Alternative Investments.
"There are still issues such as Dubai Holding and others."
Speculation has centred on Dubai Holding -- owned by the emirate's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum -- which has about $10 billion in outstanding debt.
Among upcoming Dubai debt maturities, Dubai International Capital, the overseas investment arm of Dubai Holding, has a $1.25 billion loan due in June. The company has said it will refinance the loan. A $2.1 billion Dubai World loan due in June falls under the debt deal.
NO JUMPING FOR JOY
UAE markets gave a weary welcome to the debt deal, with investors more worried about sluggish economic recovery and fallout from Greece's debt problems, while Dubai-linked bonds rallied.
The price of insuring against default of Dubai debt edged slightly lower to 466.8 basis points, according to CMA.
"If this had come out two, three weeks ago, there would have been a much bigger impact, but the world has much bigger fish to fry," said Matthew Wakeman, EFG-Hermes managing director for cash and equity-linked trading.
"The terms are strong, but nobody is going to be jumping up and down for joy for a restructuring. The main thing is that it reduces uncertainty."
A successful debt deal may ease constraints on local banks, which have largely refrained from providing the credit needed by the UAE economy to emerge from the crisis.
But it also means local banks will need to start the painful process of writing down loans and purging bloated balance sheets.
Property developer Nakheel, which repaid a $980 million Islamic bond last week, is in parallel talks over about $10.5 billion in debt and has offered its trade creditors full repayment, with 40 percent in cash and the rest via an Islamic bond, or sukuk, which has a 10 percent annual return.
The disparity between the two offers has been a sticking point for some lenders, who feel that Nakheel has been offered a far better deal on the interest rate.
The Dubai World proposal offers repayment over five or eight years and allows lenders additional options, depending on whether they are local or foreign lenders and on the currency of their loans.
The proposal has two tranches covering the $14.4 billion owed to the bank lenders. The first tranche, for $4.4 billion, offers a five-year maturity and 1 percent cash interest but no additional lump sum payment on maturity -- referred to as a payment in kind (PIK) -- and no shortfall guarantee.
The second tranche covers $10 billion, comes with an eight-year maturity, offers 1 percent interest, and varying PIK rates and shortfall guarantees depending on the options lenders choose. The PIK rates range from 1.5 percent up to 2.5 percent in certain years of the maturity.
UAE banks await guidelines after Dubai debt
Debt deal little boost to property sector
Dubai World could raise interest to creditors
DUBAI - Dubai World, the state-owned conglomerate, has reached a deal to restructure $23.5 billion in debt with its core lenders, addressing the most immediate of a string of problems facing investors in Dubai.
The deal, which includes no new money from the government and is broadly in line with proposals made in March, must still be agreed by banks outside the core negotiating panel, which holds 60 percent of the exposure, Dubai World said on Thursday.
Lenders will wait up to eight years to get their $14.4 billion back but have avoided a "haircut" on their principal under the terms of the deal, which offers 1 percent cash interest and an extra 1.5-2.5 percent per annum rolled up into a lump sum payment on maturity. Dubai will convert into equity the $8.9 billion it is owed by the group.
The restructuring has hung over Dubai since last November, and its resolution will be a relief to investors in the emirate, which is struggling with an over-saturated property market, sluggish bank lending and the risk of more debt problems.
"We are not entirely happy, but we are in a no-choice situation. Under the circumstances, this seems the best deal possible, even though it is not entirely satisfactory," said a banker at a Gulf-based lender outside the core group.
Fitch Ratings said bank provisions linked to the debt deal will not cause "major difficulties" for the UAE banking system. Fitch put the ratings of five Dubai-based banks on negative watch in December.
"The agency is also concerned that other Dubai government-related entities may be experiencing debt problems, albeit not of this magnitude," it added.
Dubai, famed for extravagant property projects and a tax-free lifestyle, has struggled to bring its debt burden, estimated around $100 billion, under control.
The Gulf Arab emirate ran up massive debts to turn itself into a trade and tourism hub, but the global financial crisis and a collapse in oil prices in 2008 brought an abrupt end to a six-year boom.
Analysts said the deal does little to alleviate the chronic oversupply in Dubai's property market, a key driver of the emirate's growth.
"It adds a little bit of comfort, but there is still a crisis of confidence in terms of real estate," said Chet Riley, an analyst at Nomura. The emirate stunned global markets last November when it said it would delay repayment of $26 billion in debt linked to Dubai World and its property units, Nakheel and Limitless. Dubai unveiled a $9.5 billion rescue plan in March.
"This closes the main chapter, but that doesn't mean we don't have a bumpy ride ahead," said Haissam Arabi, chief executive and fund manager at Gulfmena Alternative Investments.
"There are still issues such as Dubai Holding and others."
Speculation has centred on Dubai Holding -- owned by the emirate's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum -- which has about $10 billion in outstanding debt.
Among upcoming Dubai debt maturities, Dubai International Capital, the overseas investment arm of Dubai Holding, has a $1.25 billion loan due in June. The company has said it will refinance the loan. A $2.1 billion Dubai World loan due in June falls under the debt deal.
NO JUMPING FOR JOY
UAE markets gave a weary welcome to the debt deal, with investors more worried about sluggish economic recovery and fallout from Greece's debt problems, while Dubai-linked bonds rallied.
The price of insuring against default of Dubai debt edged slightly lower to 466.8 basis points, according to CMA.
"If this had come out two, three weeks ago, there would have been a much bigger impact, but the world has much bigger fish to fry," said Matthew Wakeman, EFG-Hermes managing director for cash and equity-linked trading.
"The terms are strong, but nobody is going to be jumping up and down for joy for a restructuring. The main thing is that it reduces uncertainty."
A successful debt deal may ease constraints on local banks, which have largely refrained from providing the credit needed by the UAE economy to emerge from the crisis.
But it also means local banks will need to start the painful process of writing down loans and purging bloated balance sheets.
Property developer Nakheel, which repaid a $980 million Islamic bond last week, is in parallel talks over about $10.5 billion in debt and has offered its trade creditors full repayment, with 40 percent in cash and the rest via an Islamic bond, or sukuk, which has a 10 percent annual return.
The disparity between the two offers has been a sticking point for some lenders, who feel that Nakheel has been offered a far better deal on the interest rate.
The Dubai World proposal offers repayment over five or eight years and allows lenders additional options, depending on whether they are local or foreign lenders and on the currency of their loans.
The proposal has two tranches covering the $14.4 billion owed to the bank lenders. The first tranche, for $4.4 billion, offers a five-year maturity and 1 percent cash interest but no additional lump sum payment on maturity -- referred to as a payment in kind (PIK) -- and no shortfall guarantee.
The second tranche covers $10 billion, comes with an eight-year maturity, offers 1 percent interest, and varying PIK rates and shortfall guarantees depending on the options lenders choose. The PIK rates range from 1.5 percent up to 2.5 percent in certain years of the maturity.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Child survivor of Libyan crash flies home
Ruben van Assouw is seen in his hospital bed in Tripoli's El Khadra hospital, Libya Thusday, May 13, 2010. Photograph: AP
Libya air crash survivor told parents dead
Libya plane crash boy stable but confused
EINDHOVEN - Nine-year-old Ruben van Assouw, the sole survivor of a Libyan airliner crash, arrived back home in the Netherlands on Saturday, three days after the disaster that killed his parents, brother and 100 others, officials said.
"The plane with the surviving boy has landed" at the Eindhoven military air base, spokesman Markus van Tol of the Dutch tourism federation ANWB told AFP, as reports said Ruben was then transferred to an ambulance with blacked out windows and taken to an undisclosed hospital.
Accompanied by an uncle and aunt and the Libyan doctor who had been treating him, the air ambulance transporting the boy landed around 2:15 pm (1215 GMT), according to Dutch news agency ANP.
The flight had left from Matiga military airfield in the Libyan capital about three hours earlier, with every effort being made to hide the boy from the sight of journalists, photographers and onlookers on both ends.
"He's a very special patient. He is talking and in good health. I will stay (in the Netherlands) for as long as necessary," Dr Siddiq ben Dilla told AFP before the Cessna Citation air ambulance took off from Libya.
Police prevented photographers from approaching as Ruben was taken from hospital by stretcher, covered in a blue blanket and with a black cap on his head and scarf covering his face, to the ambulance for the journey to the airport.
Upon landing, the boy identified by the foreign ministry only as Ruben from Tilburg in the southern Netherlands and more fully as Ruben van Assouw by Dutch media, was taken by ambulance with two doctors and a nurse to hospital.
About an hour after landing at Eindhoven, the foreign ministry said "Ruben has arrived safely at his final destination", which it declined to specify.
"This concludes the news about Ruben," foreign ministry spokesman Christoph Prommersberger told AFP. "There won't be any more information, any more updates."
The Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A330 flight from Johannesburg in South Africa disintegrated on landing. Officials said 70 Dutch citizens were among the 103 people killed, although Afriqiyah Airways said there were 67 Dutch on board, including Ruben.
The boy was found alive, strapped into his seat at the accident site.
A commission of inquiry said Saturday that the plane did not catch fire before hitting the ground.
"We have not found debris detached from the plane or evidence of fire before the accident," commission chief Neji Dhaou was quoted as saying by official news agency JANA.
"The fire broke out 400 metres (yards) from the initial impact with the ground."
Ruben himself has told a Dutch newspaper he could remember nothing about the crash.
"I am fine, but my legs hurt a lot," he said in a telephone interview published Friday, adding: "I really want to go home."
Ruben's aunt and uncle said on Friday the boy was now aware that his mother, father and 11-year-old brother died in the crash.
"We have explained to Ruben exactly what happened. He knows that his parents and his brother are dead," they said in a statement read to media in Tripoli.
"The time ahead will be a difficult period for us," the statement said. "We hope that the media will respect our privacy."
Libya air crash survivor told parents dead
Libya plane crash boy stable but confused
EINDHOVEN - Nine-year-old Ruben van Assouw, the sole survivor of a Libyan airliner crash, arrived back home in the Netherlands on Saturday, three days after the disaster that killed his parents, brother and 100 others, officials said.
"The plane with the surviving boy has landed" at the Eindhoven military air base, spokesman Markus van Tol of the Dutch tourism federation ANWB told AFP, as reports said Ruben was then transferred to an ambulance with blacked out windows and taken to an undisclosed hospital.
Accompanied by an uncle and aunt and the Libyan doctor who had been treating him, the air ambulance transporting the boy landed around 2:15 pm (1215 GMT), according to Dutch news agency ANP.
The flight had left from Matiga military airfield in the Libyan capital about three hours earlier, with every effort being made to hide the boy from the sight of journalists, photographers and onlookers on both ends.
"He's a very special patient. He is talking and in good health. I will stay (in the Netherlands) for as long as necessary," Dr Siddiq ben Dilla told AFP before the Cessna Citation air ambulance took off from Libya.
Police prevented photographers from approaching as Ruben was taken from hospital by stretcher, covered in a blue blanket and with a black cap on his head and scarf covering his face, to the ambulance for the journey to the airport.
Upon landing, the boy identified by the foreign ministry only as Ruben from Tilburg in the southern Netherlands and more fully as Ruben van Assouw by Dutch media, was taken by ambulance with two doctors and a nurse to hospital.
About an hour after landing at Eindhoven, the foreign ministry said "Ruben has arrived safely at his final destination", which it declined to specify.
"This concludes the news about Ruben," foreign ministry spokesman Christoph Prommersberger told AFP. "There won't be any more information, any more updates."
The Afriqiyah Airways Airbus A330 flight from Johannesburg in South Africa disintegrated on landing. Officials said 70 Dutch citizens were among the 103 people killed, although Afriqiyah Airways said there were 67 Dutch on board, including Ruben.
The boy was found alive, strapped into his seat at the accident site.
A commission of inquiry said Saturday that the plane did not catch fire before hitting the ground.
"We have not found debris detached from the plane or evidence of fire before the accident," commission chief Neji Dhaou was quoted as saying by official news agency JANA.
"The fire broke out 400 metres (yards) from the initial impact with the ground."
Ruben himself has told a Dutch newspaper he could remember nothing about the crash.
"I am fine, but my legs hurt a lot," he said in a telephone interview published Friday, adding: "I really want to go home."
Ruben's aunt and uncle said on Friday the boy was now aware that his mother, father and 11-year-old brother died in the crash.
"We have explained to Ruben exactly what happened. He knows that his parents and his brother are dead," they said in a statement read to media in Tripoli.
"The time ahead will be a difficult period for us," the statement said. "We hope that the media will respect our privacy."
French academic freed from Iran
Clotilde Reiss defends herself during a hearing at a revolutionary court in Tehran on Aug. 8, 2009. Photograph: AFP
GALLERY: Clotilde Reiss on trial
Tehran to allow French academic to leave Iran
PARIS - Clotilde Reiss, the French academic arrested and held in Iran since last July has been released and is on the way home, the French president's office announced Sunday.
"The President of the Republic will receive her and her family at the Elysee Palace as soon as she arrives in Paris," at around 1:00 pm (1100 GMT), said the statement.
"Clotilde Reiss has boarded a French government plane at Dubai airport and is currently en route towards France," the statement added.
Reiss was arrested for allegedly participating in demonstrations against the disputed presidential election.
Her lawyer, Mohammad Ali Mahdavi Sabet, said on Saturday that a court had issued a ruling allowing her to leave Iran.
Mahdavi Sabet said Reiss had been sentenced to "pay a fine of 285,000 dollars (230,000 euros)," for her crimes, adding that he had paid the money on Saturday and had not lodged an appeal.
Reiss, 24, was arrested on July 1 during post-election unrest and put on trial in August charged with acting against national security.
Described by those who know her as a serious scholar passionate about the Iranian language and culture, she was arrested before flying home after completing a six-month teaching and research assignment in the city of Isfahan.
GALLERY: Clotilde Reiss on trial
Tehran to allow French academic to leave Iran
PARIS - Clotilde Reiss, the French academic arrested and held in Iran since last July has been released and is on the way home, the French president's office announced Sunday.
"The President of the Republic will receive her and her family at the Elysee Palace as soon as she arrives in Paris," at around 1:00 pm (1100 GMT), said the statement.
"Clotilde Reiss has boarded a French government plane at Dubai airport and is currently en route towards France," the statement added.
Reiss was arrested for allegedly participating in demonstrations against the disputed presidential election.
Her lawyer, Mohammad Ali Mahdavi Sabet, said on Saturday that a court had issued a ruling allowing her to leave Iran.
Mahdavi Sabet said Reiss had been sentenced to "pay a fine of 285,000 dollars (230,000 euros)," for her crimes, adding that he had paid the money on Saturday and had not lodged an appeal.
Reiss, 24, was arrested on July 1 during post-election unrest and put on trial in August charged with acting against national security.
Described by those who know her as a serious scholar passionate about the Iranian language and culture, she was arrested before flying home after completing a six-month teaching and research assignment in the city of Isfahan.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Five new bidders to join IPL race, results tomorrow
A fortnight after the tender process was cancelled due to poor response, the race to own two new IPL teams has heated up.
As per BCCI sources, the bidders had lined up by 5pm on Friday, the cut-off time for submission of bids, to qualify for the auction which will take place on Sunday morning.
Some of the potential bidders are Sahara India, Videocon and Adani Group, Jaypee Group and a Pune consortium of Cyrus Poonawala, say sources.
The bids will take place in Chennai on Sunday morning and the winners will be announced the same day, sources said.
As per BCCI sources, the bidders had lined up by 5pm on Friday, the cut-off time for submission of bids, to qualify for the auction which will take place on Sunday morning.
Some of the potential bidders are Sahara India, Videocon and Adani Group, Jaypee Group and a Pune consortium of Cyrus Poonawala, say sources.
The bids will take place in Chennai on Sunday morning and the winners will be announced the same day, sources said.
Quartet tells Israel to halt settlements
Tension remains high as quartet talks Mideast
Gaza rocket kills one in Israel
Obama says no crisis in U.S.-Israel relations
U.S. eyes Netanyahu talks to ease tensions
MOSCOW - The Middle East Quartet on Friday urged Israel to stop building settlements and set a bold target for a final deal with the Palestinians by 2012 as it tried to kickstart the stalled peace process.
But Israel's foreign minister -- whose country angered the international community by announcing last week the construction of 1,600 new settler homes -- swiftly condemned the statement as harming the chances of a peace accord.
"The Quartet urges the government of Israel to freeze all settlement activity," UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said after the meeting of the Quartet of the United States, the United Nations, European Union and Russia.
He said at the meeting hosted by Russia that Israel should also halt natural settlement growth, dismantle outposts erected since March 2001 and refrain from demolitions and evictions in east Jerusalem.
The Israeli plan to build more homes in annexed east Jerusalem led the Palestinians to call for a halt to peace talks and precipitated the worst crisis in US-Israeli relations in years.
East Jerusalem is the mainly Arab half of the Holy City which was captured and then annexed by Israel after the 1967 Six Day War.
Condemning the new settlement plan, the Quartet noted that Israel's annexation of east Jerusalem was not recognised by the international community and the city's status had to be resolved through negotiations.
With the peace process stagnant, the Quartet also urged Israel and the Palestinians to resume talks on final status issues with the aim of finding a settlement "within 24 months", Ban said, reading from the Quartet's statement.
He said such a settlement would end "the occupation which began in 1967 and result in the emergence of an independent, democratic and viable Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with Israel".
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman gave the statement a frosty reception and appeared particularly irked by its explicit target of a peace deal in two years time.
"Peace cannot be imposed artificially and with an unrealistic calendar," Lieberman was quoted as saying in an address to the Jewish community in Brussels. "This type of statement only harms the possibilities of reaching an accord."
He said the timetable gives the Palestinians the wrong impression "that by failing to negotiate directly they will achieve their goals by using all sorts of pretexts."
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat welcomed the Quartet's call, but asked also for a mechanism to "make sure that Israel does effectively halt completely all settlement activity in the West Bank and east Jerusalem."
The timing of Israel's settlement announcement had infuriated Washington -- Israel's chief ally -- coming as US Vice President Joe Biden visited the region.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Clinton late Thursday following a tense call last week when she had asked him to order a halt to the settler plans.
Clinton said Friday that the strong US reaction to Israeli settlement plans is "paying off".
"What I heard from the prime minister in response for the request we made was useful and productive, and we're continuing our discussions with him and his government," Clinton told AFP and other reporters in Moscow.
"It's one of the reasons Senator (George) Mitchell will be going back to the region and meeting with him in just a few days," Clinton said.
On Friday, Palestinian demonstrators clashed with Israeli security forces in the West Bank and east Jerusalem during anti-settlement protests after the Muslim Friday prayers.
As well as Clinton and Ban, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton attended Friday's meeting, along with former British prime minister Tony Blair, who is the Quartet's representative.
Ashton's visit to Moscow came a day after she made a rare trip by a top foreign official to the Gaza Strip that was overshadowed by fresh violence when rocket fired from the Gaza Strip killed a Thai agricultural worker in Israel.
Ban said the quartet was "deeply concerned" about the situation in Gaza, "including the humanitarian and human rights situation of the civilian population."
Amid an intense flurry of diplomatic activity, Ban is to visit the Middle East, including Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, this weekend while US special Middle East envoy George Mitchell was expected in the region on Sunday.
Gaza rocket kills one in Israel
Obama says no crisis in U.S.-Israel relations
U.S. eyes Netanyahu talks to ease tensions
MOSCOW - The Middle East Quartet on Friday urged Israel to stop building settlements and set a bold target for a final deal with the Palestinians by 2012 as it tried to kickstart the stalled peace process.
But Israel's foreign minister -- whose country angered the international community by announcing last week the construction of 1,600 new settler homes -- swiftly condemned the statement as harming the chances of a peace accord.
"The Quartet urges the government of Israel to freeze all settlement activity," UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said after the meeting of the Quartet of the United States, the United Nations, European Union and Russia.
He said at the meeting hosted by Russia that Israel should also halt natural settlement growth, dismantle outposts erected since March 2001 and refrain from demolitions and evictions in east Jerusalem.
The Israeli plan to build more homes in annexed east Jerusalem led the Palestinians to call for a halt to peace talks and precipitated the worst crisis in US-Israeli relations in years.
East Jerusalem is the mainly Arab half of the Holy City which was captured and then annexed by Israel after the 1967 Six Day War.
Condemning the new settlement plan, the Quartet noted that Israel's annexation of east Jerusalem was not recognised by the international community and the city's status had to be resolved through negotiations.
With the peace process stagnant, the Quartet also urged Israel and the Palestinians to resume talks on final status issues with the aim of finding a settlement "within 24 months", Ban said, reading from the Quartet's statement.
He said such a settlement would end "the occupation which began in 1967 and result in the emergence of an independent, democratic and viable Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with Israel".
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman gave the statement a frosty reception and appeared particularly irked by its explicit target of a peace deal in two years time.
"Peace cannot be imposed artificially and with an unrealistic calendar," Lieberman was quoted as saying in an address to the Jewish community in Brussels. "This type of statement only harms the possibilities of reaching an accord."
He said the timetable gives the Palestinians the wrong impression "that by failing to negotiate directly they will achieve their goals by using all sorts of pretexts."
Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat welcomed the Quartet's call, but asked also for a mechanism to "make sure that Israel does effectively halt completely all settlement activity in the West Bank and east Jerusalem."
The timing of Israel's settlement announcement had infuriated Washington -- Israel's chief ally -- coming as US Vice President Joe Biden visited the region.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Clinton late Thursday following a tense call last week when she had asked him to order a halt to the settler plans.
Clinton said Friday that the strong US reaction to Israeli settlement plans is "paying off".
"What I heard from the prime minister in response for the request we made was useful and productive, and we're continuing our discussions with him and his government," Clinton told AFP and other reporters in Moscow.
"It's one of the reasons Senator (George) Mitchell will be going back to the region and meeting with him in just a few days," Clinton said.
On Friday, Palestinian demonstrators clashed with Israeli security forces in the West Bank and east Jerusalem during anti-settlement protests after the Muslim Friday prayers.
As well as Clinton and Ban, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton attended Friday's meeting, along with former British prime minister Tony Blair, who is the Quartet's representative.
Ashton's visit to Moscow came a day after she made a rare trip by a top foreign official to the Gaza Strip that was overshadowed by fresh violence when rocket fired from the Gaza Strip killed a Thai agricultural worker in Israel.
Ban said the quartet was "deeply concerned" about the situation in Gaza, "including the humanitarian and human rights situation of the civilian population."
Amid an intense flurry of diplomatic activity, Ban is to visit the Middle East, including Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, this weekend while US special Middle East envoy George Mitchell was expected in the region on Sunday.
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