shameen

Four Jailed for Robbery, Bullying and Kidnapping

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Abu Dhabi, August 11: The Abu Dhabi Criminal Court of First Instance sentenced four men to two years each in jail, to be followed by deportation for robbery, kidnapping, intimidation and posing as police officials.

The court also slapped a fine of Dh1,000 each on two others for covering up for the four suspects and refraining from informing the police
on the crimes.

According to the indictment sheet, the four men had stopped a passer-by on the main road, and asked him to get into their car after claiming they were from the Criminal Investigation Department of Abu Dhabi Police.

RAK Parents Seek Preventive Measures Against Swine Flu

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Ras Al Khaimah, August 11: Even as schools are set to open for the next academic term, parents have asked health and educational authorities in Ras Al Khaimah to introduce H1N1 (swine flu) preventive measures and awareness programmes as many students will be returning from their holidays in different countries.

Remarkable Rise in Labour Disputes

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Abu Dhabi, August 11: There was a remarkable increase in the number of labour disputes in the first six months of this year, according to a press release from the Abu Dhabi Judicial
Department (ADJD).

The labour courts in Abu Dhabi and Al Ain recorded 1,461 cases in the first half of this year as compared to 882 cases during the same period last year, representing a growth of over 65 per cent, the release said.

As many as 1,277 cases were settled this year while 617 cases were settled in the first six months of last year.

Course for Drivers to ‘Read’ Fellow Drivers’ Moves

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Dubai, August 11: Anyone who holds a driving licence in the emirate knows the freedom to drive down the roads comes with a slightly less pretty side: the stress of being stuck in traffic jams, unpredictable or ‘out of line’ drivers, those who are pre-occupied with their cellphones, jaywalkers… in which cases keeping your cool seems to be the most difficult thing to do.

To minimise risk associated with such incidents on the road, a Dubai-based driving school has come up with a new driving course.

Waiting Time for Buses to be Cut in Ramadan

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Abu Dhabi, August 11: The waiting time for buses will be decreased to 10 minutes from 15 minutes on two of the busiest routes in the Capital Route No. 5 and 7 — during Ramadan, according to a senior official at the Department of Transport (DoT).

According to DoT, the operating hours of buses in the capital during Ramadan, which is expected to begin from August 21, will be from 0730-1800hrs during the day and from 1930-0200hrs.

The bus services in Al Ain will operate every 30 minutes from 6pm until 1am.

Mid-day Rule Violators Punished

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Abu Dhabi, August 11: The Ministry of Labour (MoL) has rejected the clemency request and penalty waiver demands of seven Abu Dhabi-based companies that were found for violating the ministry’s mid-day break rules, a ministry official said on Monday.

Talking to reporters at the weekly ‘Open Day’ held in the ministry’s premises in the capital, Saleh Al Jabri, Director of Firms Department in the MoL, said, “There will be no forgiveness for any lapse by those who breached the ministry’s laws for mid-day breaks for labourers. We have turned down their requests.”

Swine flu: Six more deaths in Malaysia

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Kuala Lumpur, August 10: Six more persons died of flu in Malaysia raising the toll related to the virus to 32, the Health Ministry said.

The six dead are among the 203 new cases reported today, taking the total number of infected persons in the country to 1,983.

Health Ministry Director General Ismail Merican said that, except for one case, postmortem report of the other five dead revealed they had the flu virus. He said four of them had underlying risk factors.

Hillary shifts focus to human rights in Africa

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Luanda, August 10: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton turns her African tour to human rights on Monday as she heads to one of its most tragic nations, the Democratic Republic of Congo, to press for an end to mass rapes.

Halfway through an 11-day journey through Africa highlighting both success stories and hotspots, Hillary scheduled another packed day of meetings with top leaders and ordinary people in two nations recovering from decades of war.

No decision to sell Satyam stake yet: L&T

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Mumbai, August 10: Larsen & Toubro has not taken a decision to sell its stake in outsourcer Mahindra Satyam, a senior official at Larsen told a TV channel on Monday.

“No decision at the board or management level has been taken (to sell our stake in Mahindra Satyam). It is some kind of an enabling situation we wanted to create,” Larsen’s chief financial officer, YM Deosthalee, told the television channel.

Japanese economic data lift recovery hopes

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Tokyo, Augustt 10: Hopes mounted Monday that Japan’s economy is on the mend after its worst recession in decades as the current account surplus showed the first rise in 16 months and machinery orders rebounded.

The surplus in the current account, the broadest measure of trade in goods and services, more than doubled in size in June to 1.15 trillion yen (USD 11.8 billion) from 471.6 billion yen a year earlier, the government said.

The figure easily beat market expectations for an increase of about 40 percent.

Gulf Air plans to sack 272 workers: Union

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Manama, August 10: Gulf Air trade unions on Sunday alleged the struggling Bahrain-owned carrier is planning to dismiss 272 workers within three months as part of a restructuring plan.

“The company plans to fire 272 Bahraini and foreign workers by the end of October. We have (copies) of (dismissal) letters sent to some employees and names of those targetted by the company’s redundancy plan,” the union’s deputy chief Ghazi al-Murbati told reporters.

World avoided second Great Depression: Krugman

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Kuala Lumpur, August 10: Aggressive stimulus spending by governments helped the world avoid a second Great Depression but full economic recovery will take two years or more, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman said Monday.

Krugman said the worst of the global crisis was over with economic and exports growth showing signs of stabilization. Still, recovery was likely to be “disappointing” as government spending wasn’t sustainable in the long-run and unemployment rate still lagging behind, he told a two-day world capital markets conference here.

Al Qaeda has role in Taliban succession: Pakistan

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Islamabad, August 10: Pakistan is worried that al Qaeda is trying to install its own “chief terrorist” as the head of Pakistan’s Taliban following the apparent killing of the group’s leader in a CIA missile strike, a top official said on Monday.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik told BBC radio that all the “credible information” points to Baitullah Mehsud having died in the Wednesday attack, despite claims to the contrary by some Taliban leaders.

The Pakistan Taliban appear to be in disarray, Malik said, amid unconfirmed reports of deadly infighting over who should replace Mehsud.

Try Musharraf for treason: Sharif tells Government

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Islamabad, August 10: Demanding that Pervez Musharraf be tried for treason, PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif has said the government should play its role in the light of the Supreme Court’s verdict on the former President’s actions to end the military’s interference in Pakistan’s political set-up.

In his first comments on the recent Supreme Court judgement on Musharraf, Sharif said “several dictators had hijacked Pakistan because none of them had been tried in the past.”

He said the court verdict on July 31 was “historic” as it had declared Musharraf’s action as “unconstitutional.”

Gilani, Army Chief make unannounced visit to Swat

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Islamabad, August 10: Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani on Monday made an unannounced visit to the restive Swat valley where the troops are engaged in flushing out the Taliban militants.

A top level review of the security situation and return back of the displaced people uprooted by insurgency was the highlight of the visit, TV channels quoted officials as saying.

This was Gilani’s first visit to the region since he called in the Army in early May to eliminate the Taliban after after a peace deal with them in Swat fell through.

OIL may price IPO at Rs 1,000-1,100 a share

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New Delhi, August 10: Oil India Ltd, the second state-run firm to hit the market with an offering of equity shares this year, may price its IPO that opens on September 7 at Rs 1,000-1,100 a share.

OIL is looking at pricing its initial public offering (IPO) at closer to the prevailing share price of Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), a source close to the development said.

ONGC, the nation’s largest explorer, was trading at Rs 1,167 on the Bombay Stock Exchange at 1400 hrs on Monday.

India’s July car sales jump 31%

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New Delhi, August 10: The first Tata Nano, the world’s cheapest car, was delivered in July Car sales in India have risen by almost a third as new launches and lower interest rates encourage people to buy new cars.

Sales jumped 31% in July, to 115,067 units, from the same month a year ago, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers said.

Commercial vehicle sales also rose by 9.6% after months of decline.

The first owner of the world’s cheapest car, the Tata Nano, took possession of his vehicle in Mumbai in July.

‘Sustainable demand’

Sensex pulls back; IT, pharma lend support

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Mumbai, August 10: Equities bounced back from day’s lows as low level buying emerged in IT, pharmaceuticals and metals space. However negative opening of European markets may cap the gains back home. ( Watch )

At 12:50 pm, Bombay Stock Exchange’s Sensex was at 15182.85, up 22.61 points or 0.15 per cent. The index touched an intra-day low of 14981.46 and intra-day high of 15417.34.

National Stock Exchange’s Nifty was at 4497.65, up 16.25 points or 0.36 per cent. The broader index hit a low of 4430.30 and high of 4562.50 in trade so far.

Taliban Fighting Over ‘Weapons, Cash’ After Mehsud’s Death

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Islamabad, August 10: Senior commanders of Pakistan’s Taliban may be fighting over who will lead the militants and control funds and weapons following the killing of chief Baitullah Mehsud in a U.S. missile attack.

Arms and cash worth millions of dollars could be at the center of wrangling following Mehsud’s killing, The News daily reported, citing security officials it did not name. Hakimullah Mehsud, a potential successor, was killed in a shootout with another leader, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said yesterday.

Hyundai boss in N Korea to seek worker’s release

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Seoul, August 10: The head of South Korean’s Hyundai group crossed into North Korea on Monday to discuss the release of an employee detained since March by the communist state.

There is growing media speculation the North may free the worker surnamed Yu after it pardoned two US journalists during former president Bill Clinton’s surprise visit to Pyongyang last week.

Britain’s MI6 not complicit in torture, says chief

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London, August 10: The head of Britain’s foreign intelligence service said on Monday his agents were not involved in torture, amid allegations of British links to mistreatment of terror suspects held overseas.

The head of MI6, John Scarlett, said his officers were committed to human rights and democracy as they protected Britain against terrorism threats.

“Our officers are as committed to the values and the human rights values of liberal democracy as anybody else,” Sir John told BBC’s Radio 4 in comments posted on its website on Monday.

India to open new uranium mines, boost nuclear power

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Bangalore, August 10: India is embarking on opening new uranium mines and boosting nuclear power generation capacity as fuel supplies are expected to get a major push from domestic and international sources, a top scientist said.

Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission Anil Kakodkar said here that the first consignment of 120 tonnes of uranium pellets had already landed in India, and the government was engaged in a dialogue with international vendor countries to get more such supplies.

President Pratibha Patil to visit UK in October

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London, August 10: President Pratibha Patil will undertake a three-day visit to Britain beginning October 27, the first state visit by any Indian Head of the State in nearly two decades.

Acting Indian High Commissioner to the UK Asoke Mukerji said Patil will visit Britain from October 27 to 29 at the invitation of Queen Elizabeth. During her visit, the President will stay at the Windsor Castle.

Pak national escapes from police custody in Jammu

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Jammu, August 10: A Pakistani national, arrested for illegally crossing into Jammu and Kashmir along the LoC, on Monday escaped from Khour police station in the district, police said.

Mohmmad Zahid, who was arrested last month, escaped from the lockup at Akhnoor tehsil in the district, they said.

A manhunt has been launched to re-arrest him, they said adding action would be initiated against the erring personnel for dereliction of duty.

–Agencies

Azad, Cabinet Secy discuss swine flu crisis

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New Delhi, August 10: As deaths due to swine flu continue to rise, Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad Monday discussed with Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar the situation arising out of spread of the viral disease.

The meeting, also attended by Health Secretary Naresh Dayal, came soon after two more deaths due to swine flu were reported in the country and discussed the measures to contain the further spread of the disease.