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Tuesday, December 2, 2008
الهلال واختلاف الآراء في بداية كل شهر هجري

Thursday, November 27, 2008
Role of Oman Air

SUSTAINING THE GROUPTo help sustain the carrier during its period of heavy investment, the group hopes to develop in other business sectors such as engineering, catering, ground handling and training."We are building a number of other areas to be able to sustain the group along with the airline," says Hill. "I’m talking about an engineering facility, which will probably be in partnership with a major player in that business, so we have the capability of maintaining our own fleet, perhaps maintaining other fleets in the region. We already have a catering facility, but that is going to be expanded to take care of future growth."We are trying to be careful not to mimic what is being done elsewhere, so we are talking to other players in the region to see how we can synergise what we’ve got and what they’ve got, so there is not too much duplication. If we can leverage things that they’ve got and we can use, and vice versa that we can provide, so that we can keep ourselves gainfully employed."I would say it is that through ventures like the ground handling company, the MRO, the catering, the training, all of these will be contributing revenue for the group, they will help to bring the group up to break even. Things like the price of oil, or whatever happens in the region will dictate how soon we can bring the group back to profitability," says Hill.
FLEET GROWTHIn the longer term Oman Air’s long-haul plans will be boosted by the addition of Boeing 787s – it last year agreed to lease six 787-8s from Kuwait’s Aviation Lease and Finance Company. These aircraft were originally due to begin joining the carrier’s fleet from 2012, though delays on the programme mean they will not arrive until later. As the last A330 arrives in 2010, it means the carrier will have to "make some decisions on what we do in the meantime".Further fleet development is set to see the arrival of regional jets at the carrier in line with Omani plans to develop regional airports in the sultanate. "In the next few years, there will almost certainly be the development of local services within Oman to link some of the major tourism sites," says Hill, noting the airline is studying the potential acquisition of new regional aircraft. "We are in negotiations with Bombardier and Embraer at the moment to see who is going to be the chosen one. We are looking at four or five aircraft to start with, time frame would be around 2011 or 2012."
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
مؤتمر الأديان في نيويورك
Sunday, November 23, 2008
المرأة العمانية لها الحق في الحصول على أرض مثل الرجل
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Oman, Egypt, Iran and Ecuador football friendly tournament
"We have taken advantage of the end of the Ecuadorian Championship on the 7th of December, to accept to participate in a friendly tournament with Oman, Egypt and Iran, which will serve us as preparation for the 2010 World Cup qualifiers," said Chiriboga.
Ecuador entertain both Brazil and Paraguay in decisive World Cup qualifiers in March, and for that reason the president believes the tournament "will be very good practice" for the team.
In the last round of qualifiers Ecuador fell to a 3-1 defeat by Venezuela. Ecuador are currently in sixth position of the table, with twelve points from ten matches.
It was also confirmed that players from Copa Libertadores champions Liga Deportiva Universitaria will not take part in the competition. In December the club will take part in the Club World Cup in Japan.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Nawaras to set up a second fixed line in Oman
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
التركيبة السكانية في دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة
وأوضح أن تعدد الثقافات في الدولة والجنسيات ذات العادات والتقاليد المختلفة جذريا عن عاداتنا وتراثنا وقيمنا النابعة من الدين والتراث، و المتأصلة عبر أجيال فبالضرورة أن تؤثر تلك العادات سلبا على هويتنا الوطنية، مشيرا أن كثيرا من دول الخليج فتحت المجال لحرية الأديان الأخرى فسمحت بفتح الكنائس والمعابد حتى لغير الأديان السماوية ليحتفلوا بأعيادهم ومناسباتهم، الأمر الذي أثر على شخصية الإنسان في هذه الدول وبالتالي هويته.
وأشار الدكتور الرميثي الى أن الجامعات تلعب دورا بالتأثير السلبي على الهوية وذلك باشتراط اللغة الانجليزية للالتحاق بها بغض النظر عن تخصص الطالب ودراسته، وكذلك الأمر بالنسبة للرياضيات، رغم وجود تخصصات كاللغة العربية والشريعة على سبيل المثال لا تحيد الطالب لدراسة الانجليزية والرياضيات وهذه تعطى لهما أهمية كبيرة ويحجم ويهمش الاهتمام باللغة العربية.
من جانبه قال محمد عبد الله الزعابي عضو المجلس الوطني الاتحادي أن تنمية وتعزيز الهوية الوطنية مسؤولية الجميع، وليست مسؤولية مؤسسة واحدة، وتتحملها الأسرة والمجتمع ووزارة التربية والتعليم ووزارة الثقافة ضمن برامجها وأنشطتها مؤكدا أن المدرسة هي الأساس في هذا الموضوع لأنها المسؤولة عن تعزيز الهوية منذ أن يلتحق الطفل بها في سن مبكرة في الروضة، وإذا تم خلالها تنشئة الطفل بشكل صحيح اجتماعيا، فإن لذلك انعكاسات ايجابية على هويته الوطنية وتزيد من انتمائه لوطنه.
مضيفا أن مقومات ومكونات الهوية موجودة، ويتحدث الشباب عن الإمارات والحكام وتاريخ البلاد، ولكن المشكلة في وجود الثقافات الأخرى المتنوعة التي تؤثر عليها وتحجب الثقافة الإسلامية والهوية العربية، وهذا يتطلب تعزيزا اكبر وتفعيلا أكثر لبرامج التوعية بالهوية الوطنية ضد هذه الثقافات التي يمكن الاستفادة بايجابياتها دون أن تنال من هويتنا أو تؤثر عليها، مشيرا أن الهوية الوطنية وقبل هذا الانفتاح الكبير على الثقافات غير الإسلامية لم تتأثر سلبيا كما هو حاصل اليوم بسبب الانفتاح على العالم الخارجي وتعدد وتنوع وتخالط الجنسيات والثقافات داخل المجتمع.
كما أشار إلى مؤثرات أخرى بعيدة عن هذا الكم الهائل من الجنسيات وهي الانفتاح الإعلامي وكثرة القنوات الفضائية التي جعلت من العالم قرية متناهية في الصغر، مشددا على ضرورة وضع خطط وبرامج مدروسة والتنسيق بين الجهات المعنية بشكل أفضل لتحسين وتعزيز هوية أبناء الإمارات.
من جانب آخر قالت الدكتورة أمل عبد الله القبيسي عضو المجلس الوطني رئيسة لجنة التربية والتعليم بالمجلس الوطني ان الهوية الوطنية جزء لا يتجزأ من الشخصية الوطنية.
ومن المهم أن ترسخ في نفوس أبنائنا من خلال الأسرة وفي جميع مراحل التعليم، خاصة في ظل تحديات العصر والانفتاح الاقتصادي والثقافي على العالم، موضحة أن تعزيزها أصبح مطلبا ملحا في ظل الضعف الذي يعانيه أبناؤنا الطلبة في مختلف مراحلهم التعليمية بتاريخ وتراث بلادهم، وأهم المواقع والمعلومات حولها، وأنهم على معرفة بشؤون الرياضة ومجالات الفنون أكثر مما يعرفون عن دولتهم.
وأضافت أن الهوية هي جوهر الإنسان المواطن، وأنها ترتبط بالدين واللغة والعادات والتقاليد، وهناك جهات عديدة تساهم في تكوين هذه الهوية تبدأ بالأسرة.
ومن ثم التعليم في المدرسة، لأنها تلمس بشكل كبير الحاجة الماسة لنشر الوعي بالهوية وترسيخها في نفوس الطلبة الذين يجهلون الكثير عن وطنهم.
وأشارت الى أنهم حاليا يعملون على الاهتمام بالمناهج لتشمل خطة متكاملة لغرس الهوية الوطنية في جميع المراحل الدراسية وحتى التعليم الجامعي، إضافة إلى الاهتمام بتطوير التربية الوطنية والتربية البيئية والعسكرية ورفع توصيات لوزارة التربية والتعليم في هذا الشأن، كذلك نوهت بأهمية الحوارات المفتوحة مع الطلبة والتي تخلق الكثير من الوعي وتنمي المعارف وأساليب الحوار وتعزز ترابط الطلبة معا.
رؤية
إن إعلان صاحب السمو الشيخ خليفة بن زايد آل نهيان رئيس الدولة بجعل 2008 م عاما للهوية الوطنية، لهو إدراك بضرورة تضافر جهود كل قطاعات المجتمع للحفاظ على الهوية الوطنية انطلاقا من إيمان القيادة الحكيمة بأن المجتمع الذي لا هوية له لا وجود له.
ولكن كيف يمكن توعية المجتمع بأهمية الهوية الوطنية ودور كل من وزارتي التربية والتعليم والثقافة وغيرهما من مؤسسات المجتمع في تحقيق ذلك.
وما هي سبل الحفاظ عليها وتعزيزها وترسيخها وتعريفها بالشكل الصحيح، وتوضيح مكوناتها وعناصرها، وكيفية الحفاظ على كل من عناصرها؟
تعداد
إحصائية بعدد سكان الدولة لعام 2007
الدولة عدد السكان
المواطنون 617 .875
الهند 732 .367 .2
العرب 633 .823
باكستان 914 .822
بنغلاديش 545 .589
الفلبين 602 .279
دول آسيوية أخرى 234 .151
أوروبا وأستراليا 630 .134
سريلانكا 623 .104
إيران 309 .100
نيبال 469 .93
دول إفريقية 453 .72
أميركا الشمالية 354 .41
الصين 637 .32
أميركا الجنوبية 177 .4
الإجمالي 929 .493 .6
الهوية الوطنية جزء لا يتجزأ من الشخصية الوطنية
شددت الدكتورة القبيسي على أهمية تعزيز الهوية الوطنية باعتبارها الركيزة الأساسية للحفاظ على المجتمع وتماسكه لمواجهة المخاطر والتحديات، خاصة في ظل الإشكاليات التي تتعلق بالخلل في التركيبة السكانية وتداعيات العولمة الثقافية.
وقال الدكتور عبد الخالق عبد الله أستاذ السياسة بجامعة الإمارات إن الهوية الوطنية المقصودة هي الارتباط بالكيان الاتحادي وليس بالهويات المحلية وأن يكون الولاء والانتماء في السراء والضراء لوطن واحد وليس لمجموعة من الإمارات المكونة لاتحاد، مشيرا أن هناك تحديين رئيسيين وخطيرين يواجهان الهوية الوطنية، وهما من صنعنا وليس من صنع غيرنا الأول الاتجاه نحو المحلي على حساب الاتحادي ويتضخم الشق المحلي يوما بعد يوم، ولابد من تجاوز الهوية المحلية إلى الاتحادية لأن هذا التنافس يؤثر عليها سلبا ويضعفها.
وأضاف أن التحدي ر الثاني الخطير هو الاتجاه نحو العالمية والانفتاح على العالم وتناول الحضور العالمي والجودة العالمية وكل شيء له علاقة بالعالمية يتغلغل في ثقافتنا ويزاحم الوطني، مؤكدا أن المكون العالمي الجديد يزاحمنا ويفرض نفسه علينا، مما يجعل الإمارات اليوم اكبر مجتمع عربي «يتعولم» وينفتح والرغبة والطموح في الاندماج مع العالم تسير في هذا الاتجاه أكثر من أي دولة أخرى.
وذكر أن الفعل الثقافي الوطني غائب رغم الدور الذي تقوم به وزارة الثقافة، ولا يزال الفعل الثقافي الاتحادي أضعف من الفعل المحلي، والمفروض على الجيل المقبل أن يكون قلقا عندما يتعرض الكيان الاتحادي للضعف مشيرا الى أنه إذا لم تقم وزارة الثقافة بهذا الدور في الوقت الحالي ستظل هناك أزمة في الهوية الوطنية.
خطة
برنامج لتعزيز الهوية
أطلقت وزارة الثقافة والشباب وتنمية المجتمع برنامج تعزيز الهوية الوطنية الذي يأتي ضمن أهداف الخطة الاستراتيجية للوزارة للمحافظة على الهوية الوطنية وتعزيز الانتماء والاستثمار الدائم لطاقات الشباب، ورعاية المبدعين واحتضان الموهوبين، وتوجيههم نحو التنمية المجتمعية الشاملة. وكانت الوزارة وقعت في مرحلة سابقة مذكرة تفاهم للشراكة مع هيئة الإمارات للهوية ضمن هذا الإطار.
ويترجم هذا البرنامج سعي الوزارة في الحفاظ على الهوية الوطنية الإماراتية لدى الشباب وتأكيد روح الانتماء والمواطنة، انطلاقاً من التوجيهات الحكيمة لصاحب السمو الشيخ خليفة بن زايد آل نهيان رئيس الدولة في جعل 2008 عاماً للهوية الوطنية.
ويتضمن البرنامج عددا من المطبوعات المقروءة والأفلام المعروضة واللوحات المصورة والملصقات المعبرة عن الانتماء للوطن، والفخر بالموروث الثقافي للإمارات والتي سوف ترسل مع بطاقات الهوية الشخصية وسوف يتم توزيعها عبر شركة بريد خاصة على كل أسرة وكل شخص يقوم بإنجاز إجراءاته لاستلام بطاقة الهوية الشخصية.
غلام خميس في ذمة الله
خطاب سامي ومرحلة جديدة من البناء
Monday, November 17, 2008
الرئيس الأمريكي يلغي ما ورد بحق السلطنة في تقرير الخارجية حول الاتجار بالبشر
مرسوم سلطاني بإنشاء لجنة لحقوق الإنسان تتبع مجلس الدولة
Human Rights Commission in Oman
The newly-established ‘National Commission for Human Rights’ will be an autonomous body attached to the State Council, regarded as the upper chamber of Oman’s parliament, according to a decree issued by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said.
The commission, to be headquartered in Muscat, will have its own constitution and “be independent in practicing its duties,” the decree said.
Meanwhile, Oman has hailed a decision by the US president to drop its name from a State Department report, published earlier this year, that listed the Gulf state for the second consecutive year among countries across the world that did not make any effort to curb trafficking in humans.
The new move is a “step in the right direction,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman said. The Sultanate had strongly rejected the US State Department report soon after it was released in June. It said the faulty report “doesn’t tell the truth” and demonstrated the “short sightedness of the other party,” also adding that it did not reflect the real situation experienced by Omani citizens and expatriates living in the country.
And in a rare gesture, the Foreign Ministry handed an official protest note to the US Ambassador to Oman rejecting the “misleading information and incorrect allegations” contained in the report.
The report also generated widespread public anger in Oman with both the government and society leaders vehemently rejecting it as biased and unfounded, while the Majlis Ash’shura, the lower house, protested and condemned the State Department’s findings.
On Saturday, US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte received a written message from Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamoud Al Busaidi, Secretary-General of the Foreign Ministry, welcoming the president’s decision. It was delivered to Negroponte by Oman’s Ambassador in Washington Haneenah bint Sultan Al Mughaireyah.
The Foreign Ministry spokesman said the new US stance was a “step in the right direction” and met the remarks and objections raised by the Sultanate to the report.He pledged the country would continue its “constructive cooperation” with the international community to combat human-trafficking and “shoulder its responsibilities within the framework of international law and UN protocol on prevention, crackdown and punishment of human-trafficking, which was ratified by the Sultanate in 2005.”
ravindranath@khaleejtimes.com
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Oman to buy Eurofighter jets "Typhoon" from BAE

The business daily, citing British defence sources close to the negotiations, said the Gulf state wanted to replace its 24 ageing Jaguar jets with Typhoons within the next four years.
The Eurofighter multi-purpose combat jets have been developed by a consortium of Britain, Germany, Italy and Spain, with work divided in 1998 according to the number of aircraft each country planned to buy.
The FT said the jets planned for Oman would come out of the 88 that Britain is committed to buying, and help secure billions of pounds of maintenance and support work for BAE.
Saudi Arabia and Austria have also ordered the jets
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
حجم ثقل الدول العربية و سيد البيت الأبيض
Monday, November 10, 2008
Pedra Branca Awarded to Singapore
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The lighthouse on the granite rock has been a landmark for 150 years and a beacon of safety for hundreds of ships passing daily.
The U.N.'s highest court, however, gave Malaysia ownership of a smaller uninhabited outcropping. Sovereignty over a third disputed cluster of rocks was to be determined later by the countries when they sort our their territorial waters, the ruling said.
The three tiny rock clusters have been the scene of recorded shipwrecks for nearly 500 years, and now guard the entranceway to one of the world's busiest waterways used by some 900 ships daily.
Malaysia had disputed Singapore's rule of the two-acre (0.8 hectare) island listed on most maps as Pedra Branca and known by Malaysia as Pulau Batu Puteh. It is about 40 miles (65 kms) from Singapore, but only seven miles (10 kms) off the Malaysian coast.
Today in Europe
Singapore, a former British colony, claimed it inherited the island which it said was ceded to the British in the mid-1840s to build the lighthouse.
Malaysia said the sultan of Johor, whose ownership of the island was recognized as early as the 1500s, had given the British permission to build and operate the lighthouse but had never given up sovereignty.
The 16-member court agreed that Johor, now a Malaysian state, had historical ownership, but pointed to conflicting evidence about whether it had legally transferred sovereignty.
It ruled in favor of Singapore's argument that it had exercised sovereign powers over the rock since the Horsburgh lighthouse opened 1851, with no protest from Malaysia until 30 years ago.
Both sides said they accepted the ruling.
"It is a good example to the region of how such disputes can be resolved in a peaceful and amicable manner," said Singapore's deputy prime minister, S. Jayakumar.
Malaysian Foreign Minister Rais Yatim called it a win-win ruling since each side won a partial victory. Resolving such disputes through the rule of law, he said, "will make the world safer."
Yatim said the two countries would establish a committee to determine ownership of the third island, South Ledge, which lies in overlapping territorial waters.
The dispute erupted after Malaysia published a map in 1979 referring to the lighthouse island as its territory for the first time in modern history. Singapore protested, and the argument became a diplomatic irritant until they agreed in 2003 to submit the case to the U.N. court, also known as the world court.
The court examined treaties and documents dating back to 1824 governing an area hotly contested between the superpowers of the day, Britain and Holland.
But its final decision, by a 12-4 majority, rested largely on Singapore's consistent conduct over the last 100 years.
It took charge of investigating accidents in the surrounding waters, installed naval communications equipment in 1977 and published a series of six maps from 1962 to 1975 that showed Pulau Batu as Singaporean territory. Malaysia did not protest the maps.
The judges also gave weight to a 1953 exchange of letters between Singapore and Johor, then part of the Malaysian federation which also was a British colony. When Singapore asked for information on the island's status, Johor's state secretary replied that his government "does not claim ownership."
In its oral presentations last year, Malaysia representative Tan Sri Abdul Kadir Mohamad argued that Singapore's claim had "implications for the territorial and maritime stability of the straits," and that resolving the case was crucial for maritime and environmental safety.
Consequencies of the ICJ Pedra Branca award to Singapore
SINGAPORE, May 31 — A week after the world court's judgment that Pedra Branca belongs to Singapore, the strategising over competing maritime claims in the area has shifted gear.
With the issue of ownership settled, the issue that now seems in contention is the meaning of the terms island and rock.
Malaysia's Foreign Ministry apparently wants a subtle name change.
It has asked the media on its side of the Causeway to drop the word “Pulau” and stick to “Batu Puteh” or “Pedra Branca” — white rock in Malay and Portuguese respectively.
Alternative news website The Malaysian Insider reported on Monday that checks with two national dailies confirmed such a request.
Singapore, on its part, maintains that Pedra Branca is an island.
Why make a mountain out of what seems a molehill?
One possible reason: the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) says that islands generate exclusive economic zones but rocks do not.
And right now, both sides are gearing up for talks to delimit their maritime boundary in the Singapore Strait.
So, did last Friday's judgment by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) bring closure to the issue of sovereignty over Pedra Branca, only to set the stage for a fresh tussle over maritime boundaries?
Did the judgment clarify matters or complicate them?
And what lessons can be drawn from this episode about turning to international courts to settle bilateral disputes?
Sorting out the basics
Set high on a cliff on the border between Cambodia and northeastern Thailand is the ancient Khmer temple of Preah Vihear, which both countries once claimed.
In 1962, the ICJ ruled that Preah Vihear belongs to Cambodia.
The Thais, whose ancestors had worshipped for centuries at the temple they call Khao Phra Viharn, accepted the decision with a heavy heart.
Yet, today, the two governments continue to squabble over the land around the temple, most recently over a 4.6km area that Cambodia had included in its proposal to Unesco to list Preah Vihear as a World Heritage Site.
That issue is not likely to be resolved until the Joint Boundary Commission finishes demarcating the entire 640km-long border between the two countries, a task that is expected to take another decade.
The ICJ judgment on Preah Vihear dates back to before Singapore became an independent nation.
That gives a sense of how long it can take to sort out boundary issues even after an international court rules on what's most contentious.
Closer to home are the islands of Sipadan and Ligitan — the subject of a former territorial dispute between Malaysia and Indonesia.
In December 2002, the ICJ awarded the islands to Malaysia.
Six years have passed but Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta have yet to settle their maritime boundary in that part of the Sulawesi Sea, east of Borneo island.
The stakes are high because oil and gas reserves have been found in the Ambalat area, just south of Sipadan and Ligitan.
There were some tense moments last year when Indonesia accused Malaysian planes and warships of encroaching into its territory in the disputed zone.
Following last week's ICJ judgment on Pedra Branca, are Singapore and Malaysia's discussions on their maritime boundary likely to be as long-drawn-out and convoluted?
It is hard to say.
The key point to note, says Dr Robert Beckman, associate professor of law at the National University of Singapore (NUS), is that “it was impossible to negotiate the maritime boundary in this area until it was decided which state had sovereignty over the three features”.
The three are Pedra Branca and the two maritime features closest to it, Middle Rocks and South Ledge.
Under Unclos, the extent of a state's territorial seas depends on where its land and island holdings end.
A state can claim a territorial sea of up to 12 nautical miles (one nautical mile = 1.852km) and an exclusive economic zone of up to 200 nautical miles from the edge of its lands and islands.
Within the first, a state has the right to set laws and regulate the use of the seas.
Within the second, it has the right to explore and exploit any resource in the waters and seabed, including the use of the currents and winds to generate energy.
The tricky part of the ICJ judgment is that it awards Pedra Branca to Singapore, and two clusters of granite just 0.6 nautical miles to its south — known as Middle Rocks — to Malaysia.
The court also ruled that South Ledge, which is visible only at low tide and does not generate its own territorial waters, belongs to the state in whose territorial seas it lies.
The court was asked to decide only on sovereignty and not on the maritime boundary.
Singapore has made it clear that it would have preferred to have been awarded all three features but that it accepts the court's judgment.
The outcome seems to complicate the delimitation of a maritime boundary in an area where the territorial-sea claims of Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia overlap.
After all, Pedra Branca is only 7.6 nautical miles away from the Indonesian island of Bintan and 7.7 nautical miles from the Johor coast.
Institute of Southeast Asian Studies director K. Kesavapany says that as far as implementation details are concerned, “the water is still somewhat murky”.
The former Singapore high commissioner to Malaysia adds that “much would depend on how the officials from both sides sort out the basics for co-existence within the waters surrounding Pedra Branca, Middle Rocks and South Ledge”.
The Joint Technical Committee tasked with ensuring a smooth implementation of the court's judgment is due to meet soon.
Its members will need to iron out issues such as naval patrols and fishing rights in the waters around Pedra Branca and Middle Rocks.
It is unclear whether this same committee will be in charge of delimiting the maritime boundary, or whether another group will be set up to do so since that negotiation will also need to involve Indonesia.
Associate Professor Simon Chesterman of the NUS law faculty says people should not expect an international court to resolve disputes with the same finality as domestic courts.
“In Singapore, if you have a dispute with your neighbour, a court can resolve that dispute — if necessary, enforced by the police.
“At the international level, the ICJ can answer only the specific questions that parties agree to put to it,” he says.
“So what that means is that in a case like this, the court gets to answer only fairly limited questions. In particular, it was beyond the power of the court to resolve the maritime boundary question.”
What the ICJ judgment has achieved is to settle the issue of sovereignty in a way that both governments can accept and justify to their political constituencies back home.
By contrast, if the current outcome had been the result of bilateral negotiations, there would, no doubt, have been outrage on both sides of the Causeway.
As Beckman puts it: “The international dispute settlement process legitimises the result because it is accepted by both sides in advance as a fair and reasonable method of resolving the dispute.”
It is early days yet but the Malaysian government has thus far managed to keep a firm lid on any public unhappiness over last week's judgment.
Significantly, the Speaker of the Malaysian Parliament — who hails from the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition — prevented opposition MPs and government critics from capitalising on the outcome by disallowing this week a motion to debate the Pedra Branca judgment.
Unlike previous bilateral disputes, the target of attacks this round is not Singapore but the administration of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, already weakened by its loss in March of its two-thirds majority of seats in the House.
Associate Professor Joseph Liow of the Rajaratnam School of International Studies says while he would not be surprised by the occasional potshot at Singapore, “most of the sabre-rattling will be directed at the Abdullah administration”.
“I would expect his detractors and opponents to seize upon this opportunity to draw further attention to the weakness of his administration, and to portray his government as the one that 'lost' Pedra Branca,” he says.
Kesavapany is optimistic that while there will be voices of dissatisfaction at lower levels, “at the government-to-government level, the relationship will be stable”.
“On the whole,” he adds, “Singapore can put the issue of Pedra Branca behind it and concentrate on managing its relations with Malaysia in the context of the new situation that has been created by the ICJ decision.”
But the outcome of the case may have a bearing on the options available to resolve other outstanding disputes, especially those that Singapore had proposed be settled by reference to a neutral panel of legal experts.
It had suggested that the dispute over the price of water supplied by Malaysia to Singapore be settled through arbitration, while that over the 1990 Points of Agreement on the development of Malayan Railway land in Singapore be referred to either the ICJ or international arbitration.
Whether Malaysia will agree hinges on its calculations of the likely political costs of possible outcomes.
For once the two parties submit a dispute to either adjudication or arbitration, they have little control over the outcome, which is final and binding.
Associate Professor Simon Tay, chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, agrees that several outstanding issues have dragged on for a long time and would gain from third-party mediation and settlement.
The price of water is one of them. But for that to happen, “there has to be political will, and a willingness to abide by the decision even if you lose'', he adds.
The political situation in Malaysia today is a lot more in flux now compared to early 2003, when both sides signed a Special Agreement to refer the Pedra Branca dispute to the ICJ.
It may be a while yet before the government in Kuala Lumpur feels ready to do the same for either water or land, and risk a political storm should the judgment not be in Malaysia's favour.
Tay says one drawback in the current bilateral relationship is the absence of a standing body, with a mutually accepted process, to discuss problems and seek expertise for possible solutions.
Instead, bilateral disputes are too often left to “high politics”, he says, and escalated to the highest levels of the political leadership.
“A regular method of consultation, with options for independent expert help and even mediation, can potentially lower the political tension,” he says.
In the absence of such a mechanism, resort to third-party settlement remains the most objective way to resolve intractable disputes.
But whether such judgments end up helping or hindering bilateral ties ultimately depends on how they are received. After all, it rests with the states themselves to decide how they will enforce the court's ruling.
The Joint Technical Committee has its work cut out for it trying to find answers acceptable to both sides.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Coughing up blood
Alternative Names Hemoptysis; Spitting up blood; Bloody sputum
Definition
Hemoptysis is the medical term for coughing up blood from the respiratory tract.
Considerations
Blood that comes up with a cough often looks bubbly because it is mixed with air and mucus. It is usually bright red, although it may be rust-colored. Sometimes the mucus may only contain streaks of blood.
Causes
A number of conditions, diseases, and medical tests may make you cough up blood.
Diseases and conditions may include:
- Blood clot in the lung
Bronchiectasis
Bronchitis
Cancer
Cystic fibrosis
Goodpasture's syndrome
Inflammation of the blood vessels in the lung (vasculitis)
Inhaling blood into the lungs (pulmonary aspiration)
Irritation of the throat from violent coughing
Nosebleed that drips blood down into the lungs
Laryngitis
Pneumonia
Pulmonary edema
Systemic lupus erythematosus
Tuberculosis
Diagnostic tests that can make you cough up blood include:
Bronchoscopy
Laryngoscopy
Lung biopsy
Mediastinoscopy
Spirometry
Tonsillectomy
Upper airway biopsy
Home Care
Cough suppressants may help if this condition is due to throat irritation from violent coughing. However, cough suppressants may lead to airways obstruction in some cases. Always check with your doctor before using them.
It is very important to note how long you cough up blood, and how much blood is mixed with the mucus.
Also look out for these signs of severe blood loss:
Dizziness
Light-headedness
Thirst
Other symptoms:
Blood in the urine
Chest pain
Fever
Shortness of breath
When to Contact a Medical Professional
If you have any unexplained coughing up of blood, call an ambulance or go to the nearest emergency department. This is very important if your cough produces large volumes of blood (more than a few teaspoons), or if you also have:
Dizziness
Light-headedness
Severe shortness of breath
What to Expect at Your Office Visit
In an emergency case, your doctor will give you treatments to control your condition. The doctor will then ask you questions about your cough such as:
Type
Are you coughing up large amounts of blood (massive hemoptysis)?
Can you see blood when you cough up something?
How many times have you coughed up blood?
Is there blood-streaked mucus (phlegm)?
Time pattern
Did it begin suddenly?
Has it increased recently?
How many weeks has the cough lasted?
Is the cough worse at night?
What other symptoms do you have?
The doctor will do a complete physical exam and check your chest and lungs. Tests that may be done include:
Bronchoscopy
Chest CT scan
Chest x-ray
Coagulation studies, such as PT or PTT
Complete blood count
Lung biopsy
Lung scan
Pulmonary arteriography
Sputum culture and smear
References
Rakel RE. Textbook of Family Practice. 6th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: WB Saunders; 2005:402-413.
Murray J, Nadel J. Textbook of Respiratory Medicine. 3rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: WB Saunders; 2000:497.
Update Date: 11/12/2007
Updated by: Andrew Schriber, M.D., F.C.C.P., Specialist in Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine, Virtua Memorial Hospital, Mount Holly, New Jersey. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network
Published in
Monday, November 3, 2008
Iranian new naval base in Straits of Hormuz
Officials said the Iranian Navy has constructed a base in the Strait of Hormuz, passage for 30 percent of global oil shipping. They said the base, located near U.S. military facilities in neighboring Oman, was meant to tighten Iran's hold over the narrow waterway.
Sayari said the base was located in the Iranian port of Jask on the Sea of Oman. The admiral said the navy was capable of blocking any enemy infiltration in the region.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
A meeting of Arab Countries on Red Sea Piracy

CAIRO, November 1 (RIA Novosti) - Egypt has announced it will host a meeting of Arab countries on Red Sea piracy in November, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said Saturday.
"Egypt has sent invitations to Arab countries having access to the Red Sea to take part in a meeting to coordinate efforts and develop means of fighting against the problem of piracy," the ministry said.
The meeting will be held "at a high level" under the common chairmanship of Egypt and Yemen.
Egypt also said that the growing problem of piracy in Somalia was spreading to the Red Sea.
At the beginning of June, the UN Security Council passed a resolution permitting countries to enter Somalia's territorial waters to combat "acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea."
According to UN data, in 2008 Somali pirates seized about 60 foreign ships for ransom. Their aggregate "revenues" this year could reach $30 million.
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