Bin Laden makes an appeal urging to help Pakistan flood victims

By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press Writer Kim Gamel, Associated Press Writer – Sat Oct 2, 4:01 pm ET

CAIRO – Softening his tone, al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden issued a humanitarian appeal on Saturday urging Muslim governments to do more to

Airblue yet to announce whether UAE or Oman based passengers were on the crashed flight

By VM Satish

Emirates Business 24-7, 29 July 2010

The local offices of Airblue are waiting for the official passenger list to decide whether any UAE or Oman-based passengers were on the flight that crashed on Wednesday morning.

Airblue's flight EB202 from Karachi was coming into land at Islamabad's Benazir Bhutto International airport when it crashed in a ball of flames.

Expatriates are concerned that there could be passengers from the Gulf who might have used the flight as a connecting service. The airline operates several flights from the UAE and Oman to Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore in Pakistan. The phone number for information regarding passengers on the flight is 111247258.

However, airline officials in Dubai said there was no information about flight cancellations from the UAE. Speaking to Emirates 24/7, a district manager of Airblue said: "We don't have any idea whether any of the passengers to Dubai, Sharjah or Abu Dhabi were on the plane. The passenger list will be released soon and we will come to know about it later."

He said the airline operates about 14 flights per week from Dubai and the summer vacation is a busy season for the budget carrier.

"Many of my friends were planning to travel on Airblue for their summer vacation. I don't know whether they will fly on the same airline now. Many passengers are attracted to the airline because the rates are very cheap," said Waheed, a Pakistani national based in Dubai.

Airblue has scheduled three flights for departure on Wednesday night from Dubai and Sharjah, including a flight to Islamabad (ED 411). A source in the Sharjah office of Air Blue said: "We don't know whether the flight to Islamabad or Karachi will be cancelled. We are waiting for information from the head office."

This is the summer vacation season and most Airblue flights have good bookings. "We have received some calls from Pakistani expatriates in the UAE inquiring whether their relatives are on the crashed plane. We are waiting for information from the head office," said an airline source in Sharjah.

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Pakistan Police realesed the passenger with batteries shoes

KARACHI — Pakistan police Tuesday released a man who was detained at Karachi airport as he tried to board a plane for the Middle East with batteries and an electrical circuit in his shoes, police said.

Faiz Mohammad, a 30-year-old civil engineer, was held on Sunday when a scanner sounded an alarm as he proceeded towards boarding a Thai Airways flight to Muscat.

Mohammad, who not carrying any explosives, told police his footwear had an inbuilt massage system.

Police and intelligence agencies questioned him extensively before clearing him of trying to commit any terror activity in the plane, Karachi's chief police investigator Niaz Khoso said.

"The joint investigation team extensively questioned and in the end found him innocent," Khoso told AFP. "The man has been released," he said.

"We also engaged our experts and people in the market who confirmed that the shoes he was wearing were for massage comfort and easily available in the market," Khoso said.

He said that as it was the first such incident "it made all of us alarmed." Karachi's Airport Security Force spokesman Mohammad Munir on Sunday called the discovery of four batteries, a circuit and an on-off button in Mohammad's shoes as "worrying".

Khoso said the detention was not a mock exercise by the airport authorities to check their security efficiency. "It was certainly not a sort of mock exercise. The problem was just that no passenger in the past had earlier been seen with such shoes," he said.

Mohammad told investigators that he was travelling to Muscat, where he had worked for a construction company, to set up his own business.

Pakistan suffers from chronic violence at the hands of Islamist militants. Bomb attacks across the country have killed 3,300 people since July 2007.

A British man, Richard Reid, tried to blow up a transatlantic jet in December 2001 with explosives hidden in his shoes.

Copyright © 2010 AFP. All rights reserved

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Visit the following link when he was detained,

http://presentport.blogspot.com/2010/05/wires-and-betteries-in-passengers-shoes.html

Wires and betteries in passenger's shoes

David Knowles

Writer

(May 10) -- Pakistani police are detaining a passenger who attempted to board a flight Sunday night in Karachi after they discovered wires and batteries in the soles of his shoes. When questioned, the man told authorities the circuitry was not a bomb component but rather part of his shoes' built-in foot massager.

Faiz Mohammad, 30, was set to travel to Oman aboard a Thai Airways flight when his shoes were placed on the X-ray machine at a security checkpoint.

"We have seen such shoes for the first time [today]," police investigator Niaz Khoso told Reuters. "To be honest, we did not know that such shoes are available. ... We have not released him yet but if he is found innocent, we will let him go for sure."

Both of Mohammad's shoes contained a small circuit that was connected to two AAA batteries, The Associated Press reported. Mohammad, a civil engineer who works for a company in Oman, said he bought the shoes in a market in Karachi and was unaware of how they were wired.

Pakistani police said that hardware similar to that found in Mohammad's soles could be used in the making of bombs, but they found no explosives on him or in his shoes.

On Dec. 22, 2001, Richard Reid tried but failed to detonate explosives hidden in the soles of his shoes with a match while on a trans-Atlantic flight. His case led to the introduction of new security measures that require passengers to remove their shoes at airports for X-ray examination.

 

2010 AOL Inc. All Rights Reserved.

 

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Oman Air will add 5 new destinations starting May 2010

Muscat: 5 hours and 47 minutes ago

Oman Air, the national carrier of the Sultanate of Oman, will add five new destinations to its rapidly expanding network from May.

The first one is Kuala Lumpur, which will be inaugurated on May 1, with four weekly flights between Muscat and Kuala Lumpur. With this addition, Oman Air will mark its 33rd destination and the second one in the Far East, the other being Bangkok.

The other four destinations to be opened in May are Ras Al Khaimah, Al Ain, Islamabad and Lahore.

“Kuala Lumpur has been a much-anticipated destination and I’m positive it will be a real winner with our customers, especially from the region and the sub-continent,” said Peter Hill Oman Air’s chief executive officer.

The new route will be operated by Oman Air’s recently introduced Airbus A330 aircraft featuring First, Business and Economy class seating.

Situated almost in the centre of Southeast Asia, Malaysia is home to amazing world heritage sites, world’s best known dive sites, children theme parks and national parks. Very few countries can match the pulsating city adventures, shopping experience and the hustle and bustle of the capital city of Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia is just 300 kilometres (187 miles) from Singapore, he added.

TradeArabia News Service.

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New Destinations by Oman Air

Zawya Dow Jones

Published: 00:00 April 4, 2010
 

Dubai: Oman Air, the sultanate's flag carrier, said yesterday it had increased its authorised capital to 500 million riyals (Dh4.7 billion) from 300 million riyals amid plans to add eight new destinations in what is expected to be a challenging year.

"We are confident that over a period of time when the airline has established its presence in the industry and its network has matured, we will see positive returns on investment," Ahmad Bin Abdul Nabi Macki, Oman Air chairman and Minister of National Economy, said in an e-mailed statement announcing the capital increase.

Oman Air will add Kuala Lumpur, Kathmandu, Dar- Es-Salaam, Islamabad, Lahore, Milan and Ras Al Khaimah and Al Ain to its list of international destinations this year, which is expected to be "challenging but buoyant," the carrier said.

"The industry is expected to show improved results in 2010 as passenger travel is picking up, especially in the premium cabins. It will however take time for the business to return to the levels seen before the economic crisis," Macki said.

The airline last year carried 2.4 million passengers, a 19 per cent increase on 2008, and had a seat utilisation rate of 61 per cent, Oman Air said.

The carrier said it also boosted capacity in 2009 by 28 per cent with the addition of five Boeing 737s and four wide-body aircraft, and added Paris, Frankfurt, Munich, Male and Colombo as new long-haul destinations.

Oman Air has a fleet of 15 B727-800, two A330-200 and two A330-300 aircraft, with another three A330-300s to be added in the 2010-11 period, according to the statement.

It also expects delivery of five Embraer 175 jets in the first quarter of 2011 under a recently signed contract.

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Oman to provide $45 million grant for Gwadar Developments

Wednesday, March 03, 2010

By Sajid Chaudhry

ISLAMABAD: Pak-Oman Joint Ministerial Commission (JMC) has decided that Oman would provide $45 million grant for construction of Gwadar International Airport and other development projects.

This has been agreed in the 6th session of Pak-Oman JMC which concluded here on Tuesday. It has also been decided that Oman Oil Company will make investment of $19.4 million in Pakistan’s energy sector.

The Pakistani delegation was headed by Hina Rabbani Khar, minister of state for finance and economic affairs, whereas Oman’s delegation was led by Mohammed Bin Nasser Al Khasibi, secretary general for Ministry for National Economy, Oman.

Addressing a joint media briefing, Khar said both sides had agreed to enhance collaboration between the trade bodies of Pakistan and Oman for promoting trade and investment. She said a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for establishment of Joint Business Council between Pakistan and Oman would be signed shortly.

“Working Groups of experts from both countries in the fields of commerce, agriculture, livestock and fisheries have been established to further enhance cooperation in these sectors,” she said adding that Oman will hire its additional requirement of manpower from Pakistan, on priority basis. State Minister said that Ministry of Labour and Manpower and the Omani Authority would sign an MoU soon to materialize the proposal.

She further added that Oman had sought assistance from Pakistan Railways for construction of Railways in Oman. “Pakistan will provide assistance in planning, designing, consultancy services, construction and operation of railways, etc,” she maintained.

Pakistani side requested support from Oman side for early finalization of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC).The Omani side pledged to support Pakistan to ink FTA with GCC.

Mohammed Bin Nasser Al Khasibi, secretary general for Ministry for National Economy, Oman, said that the JMC meeting would open new ways of cooperation between two countries. “The formation of joint business council will result in enhancing people to people contact,” he said.

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Committing suicide for “blood money”

November 29th, 2009

The National Newspaper (UAE), recently reported about an alarming rise in the number of suicides by migrant workers in Oman, according to hospital staff. Maryam Busaidy, a nurse at the Royal Hospital in Muscat told the paper that “It is not uncommon for the hospital to receive emergency cases of people from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, or Sri Lanka, who make attempts to commit suicide… the sad thing is that they keep increasing all the time. Hardly any month passes without such a case.”

The report suggests that some of these workers are committing suicide so that their families in financial distress receive the “blood money” for them in the sum of 15,000 Omani riyals ($39,000). The money is paid to the families of people who die as a result of negligence, including car accidents.

Mr. Ramakrishnan, an Indian migrant worker whose friend committed suicide, said that the embassies can do more to help migrant workers in distress if they saw it as a priority.

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Labs to Identify Swine Flu Virus recognized by WHO

DUBAI — If any suspected case of swine originated H1N1 influenza A is reported in the country, the UAE will have to depend on Oman, the nearest country with a World Health Organisation (WHO) recognised laboratory capable of identifying the new strain of virus.

The next choices for the UAE, due to their proximity, could be the Virology Lab at the Central Public Health Labs under the Ministry of Health and Population in Cairo, Egypt, the National Institute of Virology at the National Influenza Centre in Pune, India, and the National Institute of Health in Islamabad, Pakistan.

These were among the dozens of worldwide laboratories that found the place in the latest list of labs identified by WHO to perform real-time PCR tests to diagnose influenza A (H1N1) virus infection in humans. The WHO revised the list on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Health officials were unavailable for comments to specify the chosen lab for the UAE.

However, Director General of the Executive Board of GCC Health Ministers’ Council Dr Tawfik A M Khoja told Khaleej Times that three laboratories in Saudi Arabia were also being equipped with the facilities to conduct the confirmatory tests.

“This is the latest information announced by the Saudi Minister of Health. These labs are located in Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah,” he said over phone on Tuesday.

Dr Khoja said the GCC health ministers had already discussed the preparedness of the laboratories at their emergency meeting held in Doha
on Saturday.

“GCC countries with the laboratory capabilities to diagnose the virus will cooperate with others which do not have them,” he said.

When contacted, Director of Communicable Diseases Surveillance Unit of the Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (EMRO) of the WHO Dr Hassan Al Bushra told Khaleej Times that EMRO was tasked with making the diagnostic tools available to WHO accredited laboratories in the region and training the qualified technicians with them.

“We are organising a special training programme for them on May 17.”

WHO has been facilitating the distribution of real-time PCR kits with primers and probes specific for the H1N1 A virus to National Influenza Centres, national influenza reference laboratories and the Global Influenza Surveillance Network.

Like many other countries that do not have these facilities, the UAE can now do conventional tests on suspected cases to identify the classification of influenza viruses into A and B.

“Such countries can limit the number of suspected cases by ruling out the presence of H1N1A influenza virus. But if there is unsubtypable (UNSUBTYPABLE) H1N1 A influenza virus, the samples have to be sent to WHO designated laboratories for confirmation,” Dr Martin Opoka, an epidemiologist with the EMRO said.

On Tuesday, EMRO said in a statement that no cases of influenza A(H1N1) have been reported in the region to date. Though Israel is in the Middle East and has reported four laboratory confirmed cases, it comes under the European Regional Office of the WHO.

“WHO announces only confirmed cases reported by laboratories identified by the Organisation as having the capacity to diagnose the influenza A(H1N1) virus, while the media may sometimes refer to probable or suspected cases which have not yet been confirmed, and sometimes even refer to rumours,” an EMRO statement said clarifying on the discrepancies in statistics being reported by the WHO and various media houses across the world.

As of 6am GMT on Tuesday 21 countries have officially reported 1124 cases of influenza A (H1N1) infection, the WHO said on its website.


sajila@khaleejtimes.com

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اغتيال بنازير بوتو

روالبندي (رويترز) - اغتيلت زعيمة المعارضة الباكستانية بينظير بوتو يوم الخميس اثناء مغادرتها لتجمع انتخابي بمدينة روالبندي مما ألقى بظلال من الشك على الانتخابات المقررة في الثامن من يناير كانون الثاني وأشعل الغضب في اقليم السند مسقط رأسها.
وأكدت وسائل اعلام رسمية وحزب الشعب الباكستاني الذي كانت تتزعمه مقتلها في هجوم بالرصاص وقنبلة.
وقال المسؤول بالحزب رحمن مالك "لقد استشهدت" .
وتوفيت بوتو (54 عاما) في مستشفى بروالبندي. وقالت محطة اري- وان التلفزيونية انها أصيبت برصاصة في الرأس.
واثارت أنباء اغتيالها ردود فعل سريعة غاضبة من أنصارها في اقليم السند وعاصمته كراتشي حيث أشعل محتجون النيران واطلقوا النيران والقوا الحجارة.
وقال مسؤول كبير بالشرطة "وضعت الشرطة في السند في حالة تأهب قصوى .. زدنا انتشار القوات ونقوم بدوريات في كل البلدات والمدن.. حيث توجد اضطرابات في كل مكان تقريبا."
وقالت وكالة الانباء الرسمية ان الرئيس برويز مشرف أدان "بأشد العبارات الممكنة الهجوم الارهابي الذي نتجت عنه وفاة بوتو المأساوية وأبرياء باكستانيين كثيرين آخرين."
واضافت وكالة (ايه.بي.بي) "عقد الرئيس اجتماعا طارئا رفيع المستوى .. بعد هذا التطور المأسوي بفترة وجيزة.
"حث الشعب على التزام الهدوء في مواجهة هذه المأساة والفاجعة بعزم متجدد على مواصلة الحرب ضد الارهاب."
ويثير الاغتيال الذي وقع قبل 13 يوما من الانتخابات التي كانت بوتو تأمل في الفوز بها تساؤلات كثيرة حول باكستان حليفة الولايات المتحدة التي تكافح بالفعل لاحتواء أعمال عنف متشددين اسلاميين.
فقد يقرر مشرف الذي تراجعت شعبيته هذا العام تأجيل الانتخابات واعادة فرض حالة الطواريء التي رفعت يوم 15 ديسمبر كانون الاول بعد فرضها لستة اسابيع.
وقالت جينيفر هاربينسون رئيسة قسم اسيا بمؤسسة كونترول ريسك الاستشارية في لندن "انه يلقي بظلال على الانتخابات ويثير بعض المخاوف بشأن الطريقة التي ربما تتعامل بها الحكومة مع أي رد فعل شعبي.
"يحتمل ان ينزل أنصارها الى الشوارع وهذا شيء سيكون من الصعب على الحكومة التعامل معه دون النظر على الاقل في العودة لحالة الطواريء."
وقالت الشرطة ان مهاجما انتحاريا أطلق الرصاص على بوتو بينما كانت تغادر موقع التجمع في ساحة قبل أن يفجر نفسه.
وقال ضابط الشرطة محمد شهيد "اطلق الرجل النار أولا على سيارة بوتو. انحنت .. وعندئذ فجر نفسه."
وقالت الشرطة ان 16 شخصا قتلوا في الانفجار الذي وقع خلال حملة الانتخابات العامة. وأصيبت شيري رحمن المتحدثة باسم حزب الشعب الباكستاني في الهجوم.
وقال فرزانا راجا المسؤول الكبير بحزب الشعب الباكستاني لرويترز "انه من عمل من يريدون تفكيك باكستان لانها كانت رمزا للوحدة. لقد قضوا على عائلة بوتو. انهم أعداء باكستان."
وكان ذو الفقار علي بوتو والد بينظير أول رئيس للوزراء ينتخب من قبل الشعب في باكستان. وأعدم في روالبندي عام 1979 بعدما أطيح به في انقلاب عسكري.
وقال شاهد من رويترز في موقع الهجوم انه سمع صوت رصاصتين قبل لحظات من الانفجار. وقال شاهد اخر من رويترز انه شاهد جثثا ورأسا بشريا على طريق خارج الساحة التي عقدت فيها بوتو التجمع الانتخابي.
ووصفت الهند خصم باكستان اغتيال بوتو بأنه ضربة مروعة للعملية الديمقراطية.
وقال متحدث باسم رئيس الوزراء مانموهان سينغ "بوفاتها فقدت شبه القارة (الهندية) زعيمة متميزة عملت من اجل الديمقراطية والمصالحة في بلادها."
وأدان الرئيس الامريكي جورج بوش اغتيال بوتو. وقال مسؤول بوزارة الخارجية الامريكية "يظهر الهجوم انه لا زال في باكستان من يحاولون تقويض المصالحة والتنمية الديمقراطية."
وفي فرنسا أدان وزير الخارجية برنار كوشنر ما وصفه "بهذا العمل القبيح" ووصف بوتو بأنها شخصية بارزة في الحياة السياسية الباكستانية.
وكان هذا هو الهجوم الثاني الذي استهدف بوتو في اقل من ثلاثة اشهر. ففي 19 اكتوبر تشرين الاول فجر مهاجم انتحاري نفسه فقتل قرابة 150 شخصا بينما كانت تمر بموكبها في شوارع كراتشي لدى عودتها بعد ثماني سنوات ونصف قضتها في منفى اختياري.
وألقي باللوم في الهجوم على متشددين اسلاميين لكن بوتو قالت انها مستعدة لمواجهة الخطر من أجل مساعدة البلاد.
وفي كلمتها خلال الاجتماع الحاشد يوم الخميس تحدثت بوتو عن المخاطر التي تواجهها.
وقالت في روالبندي "عرضت حياتي للخطر وجئت الى هنا لانني أشعر ان هذا البلد في خطر. الناس قلقون. سنخرج البلاد من هذه الازمة."
وبكى الناس وعانق بعضهم بعضا خارج المستشفى الذي توفيت فيه. وهتف البعض بشعارات مناهضة لمشرف.
وتحدث أمام الحشد الزعيم المعارض ورئيس الوزراء السابق نواز شريف. وقال "قلبي ينزف وأنا حزين مثلكم."
وفي اسواق المال العالمية ارتفعت اسعار الذهب والسندات الحكومية بينما تراجعت الاسهم الامريكية فيما يرجع جزئيا لاغتيال بوتو.
ويقول المحللون ان صدمة انباء اغتيالها اثارت تحولا تقليديا لرأس المال الى اصول تعتبر ملاذات آمنة في أوقات التوترات السياسية.
وأصبحت بوتو أول امرأة تتولى رئاسة الوزراء في باكستان عندما انتخبت عام 1988 بينما كان عمرها 35 عاما. وأقيلت في عام 1990 غير أنه أعيد انتخابها عام 1993 قبل الاطاحة بها مرة أخرى في عام 1996 وسط اتهامات بالفساد وسوء الادارة.
وقالت بوتو ان الاتهامات ذات دوافع سياسية لكنها اختارت في عام 1999 الاقامة في المنفى بدلا من مواجهتها.
وحوادث العنف ليست امرا غير مألوف بالنسبة لعائلة بوتو.
ففضلا عن اعدام والدها فقد توفي اخواها الاثنان في ظروف غامضة وقالت بوتو ان أعضاء بتنظيم القاعدة حاولوا اغتيالها عدة مرات في التسعينات.
واشارت تقارير مخابرات الى أن تنظيم القاعدة وحركة طالبان وجماعات متشددة باكستانية أرسلوا جميعا وراءها مهاجمين انتحاريين.

من اوجستين انتوني

منقولة من

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Benazir Bhutto killed in attack

Pakistani former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has been assassinated in a suicide attack.
Ms Bhutto had just addressed an election rally in Rawalpindi when she was shot in the neck by a gunman who then set off a bomb.
At least 15 other people died in the attack and several more were injured.
President Pervez Musharraf condemned the killing and urged people to remain calm so that the "nefarious designs of terrorists can be defeated."
There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attack.
Ms Bhutto, leader of the Pakistan People's Party (PPP), had twice been the country's prime minister and had been campaigning ahead of elections due in January.
It was the second suicide attack against her in recent months and came amid a wave of bombings targeting security and government officials.
Nawaz Sharif, also a former prime minister and a political rival, said her death was a tragedy for "the entire nation".
"It is not a sad day, it is [the] darkest, gloomiest day in the history of this country," he said, speaking at the hospital where she was taken.
The United Nations Security Council is to meet for emergency consultations shortly to discuss the situation in Pakistan after the killing.

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