Today News From Pakistan

veena Malik New Photo

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 19:17:00 +0000

The notice was delivered on Sunday and named Maxposure Corporate Media, FHM chieft editor Kabeer Sharma and photographer Vishal Saxena as respondents. It outlined Malik’s narrative of events surrounding the photo shoot for FHM, including the claim that “our client was assured that no nude photograph in any manner would be shot by you.”

The notice reiterated that Malik’s photos had been morphed, stating that Malik had agreed to be shot in shorts and tee shirt and boots; wearing a fur coat up to thighs and boots; hot pants and a broad big belt with the upper portion of her body covered with her hands and an ISI tattoo on her hand; an image with a tattoo of “ISI” appearing on one hand, in which Malik would wear a bikini and/or a thong posing with folded hands with the upper portion of her body covered with other tattoos.

Claiming irreparable harm, loss and damage, the notice said the respondents had committed offences punishable under the Indian Penal Code as well as Information and Technology Act, 2000. The notice called on FHM to ensure the magazine issue would not go into print, remove the tampered photos from the FHM website and pay millions in damages.

Full text of the notice below.

By Hand Delivery/Courier/Fax/Email

4^th December, 2011

1. Maxposure Corporate Media (India) Private Limited,

TV Industrial Estate Basement,

B/22, A.K. Ahire Marg,

Worli, Mumbai 400 018

and its registered office at

Le-Meridien Hotel,

Old Business Centre, 2^nd Floor,

Windsor Place, Janpath,

New Delhi 110 001

2. Mr. Kabeer Sharma,

Chief Editor,

FHM Magazine,

TV Industrial Estate Basement,

B/22, A.K. Ahire Marg,

Worli, Mumbai 400 018

3. Vishal Saxena,

A Wing, Ground Floor,

Green Park, Leela Apartment,

Yari Road, Andheri (West),

Mumbai

Dear Sirs,

Under instructions from our client Ms. Zahida alias Veena Malik, residing at Kalpak Corner, Station Road, Bandra (West), Mumbai 400 050, we have to address to each of you this notice as under:-

1. You are aware that our client is a well known model cum film actress, realty TV star and social worker. Our client is associated with the World Health Organization and is known for her social work and is a well known film personality both in Pakistan, India and all over the world. Our client hails from Pakistan and has come to India for her professional assignment in the entertainment and fashion industry.

2. You are aware that in the first week of November, 2011, you Vishal Saxena approached our client and informed her of a photo shoot only and an interview which would be published in the FHM Magazine to be published in December, 2011. In the past also, our client had a photo and video shoot with you Vishal Saxena in the month of October 2011 and which was published in the Zoom T.V. As our client had already established a working professional relationship with you Vishal Saxena, she agreed to appear for photo shoot as well as give her interview for the FHM magazine. Shortly after being contacted by you Vishal Saxena, our client was then contacted by you Kabeer Sharma chief editor of magazine FHM. In the course of discussions, an idea was mooted by you Kabeer Sharma that our client should wear a tattoo on her hand with the letters “ISI”. On enquiring, our client was made to understand that it would be good for her image and that of ISI which Institutes / Agencies are available in India and the world including Pakistan and that there will be no repercussion and/or ill effect if our client wears the said tattoo. To our client’s knowledge, there are about 56 Institutes with the abbreviation of “ISI” al over the world.

3. You Kabeer Sharma also informed our client that after the photo shoot, he would contact our client for a short interview which he wanted to publish in the forthcoming issue of the magazine FHM.

4. You, Vishal Saxena informed our client that there would be 4 photo images used in the said magazine. The details of the 4 photo images are as follows:-

(a) An image of our client wearing a shorts and tee shirt and boots;

(b) An image of our client wearing fur coat upto thighs and boots;

(c) An image with hot pants and broad big belt and that the upper portion of her body would be covered with her hands and an ISI tattoo on her hand;

(d) An image with a tattoo of “ISI” appearing on one hand. Our client would wear a bikini and / or a thong in the image and that she would pose with folded hands and her upper portion of her body would be covered with other tattoos.

Our client was assured that no nude photograph in any manner would be shot by you.

5. Our client had categorically informed each of you that by doing photo shoot, she does not want to pose nude in any photographs, which you readily agreed. You further assured our client that upon taking photographs, you would show the same to our client and that only on our client’s approval, would you publish the said photographs in the said magazine.

6. On 23^rd November, 2011, a photo shoot was arranged by you Vishal Saxena and the team of Kabeer Sharma at Bungalow No. 96, Aram Nagar, Yari Road, Versova, Andheri (West), Mumbai. The photo shoot went on from the afternoon session till 8.00 p.m. After the completion of the photo shoot, our client was shown the 4 images with the clothes, as stated in paragraph (4) above. The photo image where she has posed with her tattoo on her hand was taken with bikini and/ or thong which was worn by our client and also with hot pants and broad belt as stated above. The size of the photograph was only upto her thighs and our client was shown with folded hands with clothes on, as stated in paragraph 4 above.

7. It is a common ground and an admitted position that our client has not for any of the images posed nude and / or nude. For all the images and photographs which were shot, our client had clothes on, as stated in paragraph 4 above. Our client, therefore, states that the photographs which are being circulated and published in the FHM magazine December 2011 and Internet site of FHM magazine have been deliberately tampered with and / or morphed with a view to cause wrongful gain to you and cause wrongful loss to our client. Morphing is a special effect that changes one image to another through a seamless transition. You have utilized the method and / or tampered with the photographs to cause loss and damage to our client’s reputation.

8. After 2 or 3 days, you Kabeer Sharma contacted our client on phone and took her interview. Our client was informed that the photographs shown to her on 23^rd November, 2011 and her interview would be published in the forthcoming issue of FHM magazine in December 2011.

9. After our client gave her interview to you Kabeer Sharma, our client was chased by you Vishal Saxena and Kabeer Sharma to give some sort of written confirmation that our client consents to the photo images being published in the forthcoming issue of FHM magazine. Our client made enquiry with each of you to send the 4 photo images to our client for perusal so that our client can confirm the same. Each of you informed our client that the photo images our client had seen on the night of 23^rd November, 2011, are the very same photo images which are to be published. Relying solely on your representation and assurance and without verifying the photos once again, our client sent an email on 30^th November, 2011 confirming that she was happy with the pictures shot on 23^rd November, 2011 and that they could be published. It is material to note that at that point of time, the photo images were not sent to our client for her perusal and / or verificaiton, but it was only on your verbal assurance & representation that the photo images sent to her were the same photographs which she has seen on 23^rd November, 2011, that an email was sent. Our client reiterates that in photo shots on 23^rdNovember, 2011, there was no nude photographs taken nor was there any of video shots taken of any nude images of our client. Our client states that if any alleged video is shown or published with her nude pictures or frames, the same is also tampered with by you and /or morphed, for which, our client will take suitable action against each of you. In fact our client’s contract was only for a photo shoot and not a video shoot. On the day of the shoot as you started taking video shots, our client reminded you of the arrangement and called upon you to stop the video shoot which you did. The video was taken only till images (a) and (b) were photographs as set out in paragraph (4) above.

10. On 2^nd December, 2011, our client came to learn that you have posed naked photographs of our client on the internet site of FHM magazine. You have also circulated and sold the magazine to the public showing the nude photograph. Our client was shocked, astonished and embarrassed to see the said photograph which is published all over the world. It is pertinent to note that there was no written agreement signed by our client and furnished to you as per the Model Release Form which is a contract with your Company. Immediately on coming to learn, our client contacted you Vishal Saxena and Kabeer Sharma. You Vishal Saxena have since then been avoiding our client and our client repeated calls to you have not been replied nor answered. You Kabeer Sharma has also avoided confrontation with our client and have merely sent an SMS to our client indicating that you propose to have a press conference and sort out the issue with our client. You have failed to do so.

11. Our client states that each of you have materially misrepresented to our client and have deceived our client and induced our client to take a photo shoot. You have further intentionally induced our client to take photographs with clothes on and have subsequently tampered with and / or morphed the photographs with a deliberate intent to cheat our client. Your act has caused damage and harm to our client’s reputation in the profession in India as well as in her country of birth and the world. By your said act of publishing the said photo images which shows our client naked, our client states that you have caused irreparable harm, loss, damage to the reputation of our client and committed offence of defaming our client in the public. Our client states that you have thus committed offences punishable under the Indian Penal Code as well as Information and Technology Act, 2000.

12. In the circumstances, we are instructed by our client to call upon and require each of you which we hereby do to forthwith (a) cease and desist from continuing with the publication and circulation of our client’s nude photo images in the issue of your magazine FHM December 2011; (b) withdraw the circulation of our client’s nude photograph from your internet site and/or withdraw the circulation of physical copies of the publication of your forthcoming issue FHM, December, 2011 from the market; and (c) to pay to our client a sum of Rs.10,00,00,000/- (Rupees Ten Crores only) as and by way of monetary damages caused to our client by your illegal act, within a period of 24 hours from the receipt hereof by each of you, failing which, we have peremptory instructions to adopt both civil and criminal proceedings against each of you at your entire risk, as to all costs and consequences, of which please take note of.

13. Please treat this as “final intimation”.

Yours faithfully,

For M/s. Bilawala & Co.

(Partner)

REGARDS

AYAZ BILAWALA
ADVOCATE & SOLICITOR
KARIM CHAMBERS,
42,AMBALAL DOSHI MARG,
FORT ,MUUMBAI 400023

Mother of all cricket matches few hours away

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 04:40:00 +0000

MOHALI: The news from Mohali is that it’s been raining here for hours and that Shoaib Akhtar is ‘highly unlikely’ to feature in what is being described as the ‘mother of all matches’.
As security personnel were making a final check at the PCA Stadium ahead of Pakistan’s World Cup semifinal clash against India, a dust storm lashed Mohali and adjoining areas. It was followed by rain and thunderstorm.
Rain is good news for Pakistan. If it does rain enough to wash out the day’s play today, then there is a reserve day — Thursday — when the match can be played. If rain also washes out play on the reserve day, then the rain rule states that, “If following a tie, weather conditions prevent the one over eliminator from being completed, or if the match is a no result, then the team that finished in the higher position in the Group stage shall proceed to the final.”
In that case Pakistan, since they topped Pool A, will progress to Saturday’s final. However, the unseasonal downpour is unlikely to affect today’s match with the meteorological department forecasting a partly cloudy sky to prevail in this region with a little chance of light rain by Wednesday evening.
Tuesday night’s rain could add juice to the Mohali pitch that was earlier expected to be batting friendly. It is expected that it could assist pacers more with all the moisture in it at least for the first hour or so.
Meanwhile, just before the sudden showers, Pakistan had their pre-match meeting over dinner at The Taj in Chandigarh. Though a decision over the possible inclusion of Shoaib Akhtar was delayed till this morning, a well-placed source told The News that it was highly unlikely that the maverick pacer will be included in the playing eleven.
That means Pakistan are likely to take the field against India with an unchanged team. India, too, seem set to retain the same team that helped them conquer Australia in the quarterfinals though team sources have said the management has mulled the possibility of bringing in left-arm pacer Asish Nehra and even allrounder Yusuf Pathan.

Pakistan were in an upbeat mood on Tuesday even though Shahid Afridi, their captain, declared India as the favourites Pakistan have already punched above their weight to march into the World Cup semifinals with an enviable ease and are now looking for a win against the Indians.

At this World Cup, Pakistan have overcome two of the pre-tournament favourties — Sri Lanka and Australia — and they are now looking to scalp the Indians. It’s a gigantic task, but Shahid Afridi is confident his troops can achieve it.

“It’s our dream to win the World Cup and tomorrow we hope to take a big step towards by beating India,” Afridi told The News on Tuesday. Afridi heaped praise on his players, saying that they were itching to take the field for the high-pressure match. “A few of the players are playing really mature cricket especially youngsters like Umar Akmal and Asad Shafiq. They have been waiting for this game,” he said.
Afridi and his men will have to tackle a strong Indian batting line-up that is spearheaded by the great Sachin Tendulkar. All eyes will be on the little master, who will be looking for his 100th international hundred. The master blaster has featured in all four of India’s World Cup wins against Pakistan, scoring 54 not out, 31, 45 and 98.Off the field, India is in a complete frenzy.

In Mohali and the adjoining cities of Chandigarh and Panckhula, it seems everybody is obsessed with the idea of getting hold of a match ticket. The Tricity has become the nerve centre of India. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistan counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani will be flying in to hold talks on the sidelines of the semifinal. Business tycoons and Bollywood starts are bringing their private jets here. All roads, it seems, lead to Mohali.

Workers pulled at Japan nuke plant as smoke rises

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 11:52:00 +0000

FUKUSHIMA, Japan – Operators evacuated workers from Japan's tsunami-damaged nuclear plant Monday after gray smoke rose from one of its reactor units, the latest of persistent troubles in stabilizing the radiation-leaking complex.

The evacuation brought to a standstill some of the work on restoring the plant's electrical lines and restarting the water pumping systems needed to keep nuclear fuel from overheating and releasing even greater amounts of radiation.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. spokesman Hiroshi Aizawa said the evacuation was prompted by smoke rising from the area of the spent fuel storage pool at the plant's Unit 3 reactor building. However, nuclear safety agency official Hidehiko Nishiyama later told reporters in Tokyo he didn't think the smoke was linked to the fuel pool.

"We are checking the cause of the smoke," nuclear safety agency official Hidehiko Nishiyama said in Tokyo.

There had been no explosion, and no immediate spike in radiation at the plant, Nishiyama said.

Japanese officials had reported some progress over the weekend in their battle to bring the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant under control after it was damaged during the massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeast Japan and likely left more than 18,400 people dead. But there also were hitches, including an unexpected surge in pressure in the reactor core at the troubled Unit 3.

And the nuclear crisis was far from over, with the discovery of more radiation-tainted vegetables and tap water adding to public fears about contaminated food and drink.

The toll of Japan's triple disaster came into clearer focus Monday after police estimates showed more than 18,000 people died in the quake and tsunami, and the World Bank said rebuilding may cost $235 billion.

The safety of food and water was of particular concern. The government halted shipments of spinach from one area and raw milk from another near the nuclear plant after tests found iodine exceeded safety limits. But the contamination spread to spinach in three other prefectures and to more vegetables — canola and chrysanthemum greens. Tokyo's tap water, where iodine turned up Friday, now has cesium. Rain and dust are also tainted.

Early Monday, the Health Ministry advised Iitate, a village of 6,000 people about 30 kilometers (19 miles) northwest of the Fukushima plant, not to drink tap water due to elevated levels of iodine. Ministry spokesman Takayuki Matsuda said iodine three times the normal level was detected there — about one twenty-sixth of the level of a chest X-ray in one liter of water.

In all cases, the government said the radiation levels were too small to pose an immediate health risk.

But Tsugumi Hasegawa was skeptical as she cared for her 4-year-old daughter at a shelter in a gymnasium crammed with 1,400 people about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the plant.

"I still have no idea what the numbers they are giving about radiation levels mean. It's all so confusing," said Hasegawa, 29, from the small town of Futuba in the shadow of the nuclear complex. "And I wonder if they aren't playing down the dangers to keep us from panicking. I don't know who to trust."

The World Bank said in report Monday that Japan may need five years to rebuild from the catastrophic disasters, which caused up to $235 billion in damage, saying the cost to private insurers will be up to $33 billion and that the government will spend $12 billion on reconstruction in the current national budget and much more later.

All six of the nuclear complex's reactor units saw trouble after the disasters knocked out cooling systems. In a small advance, the plant's operator declared Units 5 and 6 — the least troublesome — under control after their nuclear fuel storage pools cooled to safe levels. Progress was made to reconnect two other units to the electric grid and in pumping seawater to cool another reactor and replenish it and a sixth reactor's storage pools.

But the buildup in pressure inside the vessel holding Unit 3's reactor presented some danger, forcing officials to consider a deliberate release of radioactive steam to release the buildup. The tactic produced explosions of radioactive gas during the early days of the crisis.

"Even if certain things go smoothly, there would be twists and turns," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told reporters. "At the moment, we are not so optimistic that there will be a breakthrough."

Growing concerns about radiation add to the overwhelming chain of disasters Japan has struggled with since the 9.0-magnitude quake. The resulting tsunami ravaged the northeastern coast. All told, police estimates show more than about 18,400 died. More than 15,000 deaths are likely in Miyagi, the prefecture that took the full impact of the wave, said a police spokesman.

"It is very distressing as we recover more bodies day by days," said Hitoshi Sugawara, the spokesman.

Police in other parts of the disaster area declined to provide estimates, but confirmed about 3,400 deaths. Nationwide, official figures show the disasters killing more than 8,600 people, and leaving more than 13,200 people missing, but those two lists may have some overlap.

The disasters have displaced another 452,000, who are living in shelters.

Futures flat, credit downgrade for Ireland

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 14:23:00 +0000

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stock index futures were little changed on Friday as wary investors kept their eyes on the euro zone debt crisis after Ireland's credit rating was slashed.

European Union leaders agreed to create a permanent financial safety net starting in 2013, and the European Central Bank will nearly double its capital to cope with bigger credit risk.

European bank stocks were hit hard after Moody's slashed Ireland's credit rating by five notches.

U.S.-listed shares of Allied Irish Bank (AIB.N) fell 4.6 percent to $1.24 in premarket trade, while Barclays (BCS.N) also fell 2.1 percent to $16.25.

"We are headed for a sluggish open because of European woes ... but since this isn't something we weren't expecting, I don't see the market selling off much," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners in New York.

S&P 500 futures were down 0.2 point and below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 11 points, while Nasdaq 100 futures lost 0.75 point.

U.S. stocks, bucking a trend of late-day selloffs, ended higher Thursday as economic bellwether FedEx Corp (FDX.N) offered a bullish profit outlook that augured well for broad growth.

Market volume and volatility could increase later in the day as traders adjust or exercise derivative positions on four different types of expiring equity futures and options contracts, also know as "quadruple witching."

The U.S. House of Representatives approved a compromise deal between President Barack Obama and Republicans late Thursday to extend expiring tax cuts -- a high-stakes gamble to create jobs at a cost of deepening the U.S. debt. Congress was racing to enact the legislation as it faced an end-of-year deadline when the Bush-era tax cuts were set to expire.

The Conference Board releases its report on November leading economic indicators at 10:00 a.m. EST (1500 GMT). Economists in a Reuters survey forecast a 1.1 percent rise, compared with a 0.5 percent increase in the prior month.

Ford Motor Co (F.N) intends to raise its 30 percent stake in Jiangling Motors Corp (000550.SZ), a major Chinese light commercial vehicle maker, a source said.

Blackstone Group LP (BX.N) agreed to restructure about $7 billion of the remaining debt tied to its 2007 purchase of Equity Office Properties Trust, the largest leveraged buyout ever, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Oracle Corp (ORCL.O) forecast current-quarter profit will beat estimates as it reported that new software sales surged. Oracle rose 4.4 percent to $31.60 premarket.

(Reporting by Angela Moon; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

WikiLeaks chief says he fears US ready to indict

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 14:20:00 +0000

LONDON — The founder of WikiLeaks said Friday he fears that the United States is getting ready to indict him, but insisted that the secret-spilling site would continue its work despite what he has called a dirty tricks campaign.

Assange spoke from snowbound Ellingham Hall, a supporter's 10-bedroom country mansion where he is confined on bail as he fights Sweden's attempt to extradite him on allegations of rape and molestation. Assange insisted to television interviewers that he was being subjected to a smear campaign and "what appears to be a secret grand jury investigation against me or our organization."

He did not elaborate, but said he had retained an unnamed U.S. law firm to detain him.

Assange has repeatedly voiced concerns that American authorities were getting ready to press charges over WikiLeaks' release of some 250,000 secret State Department cables, which have angered and embarrassed officials in Washington.

U.S. officials are investigating WikiLeaks and considering charges against Assange, a case that if pursued could end up pitting the government's efforts to protect sensitive information against press and speech freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment. The government suspects WikiLeaks received the documents from an Army private, Bradley Manning, who is in the brig on charges of leaking other classified documents to the organization.

A High Court judge freed Assange on bail Thursday on condition he reside at the 600-acre estate in eastern England, wear an electronic tag and report to police daily. Assange spent more than a week in prison after handing himself in to British police on Dec. 7. He is wanted in Sweden for questioning about sex allegations leveled against him by two women he spent time with while visiting the country in August.

Attempts to reach Assange's British lawyers weren't immediately successful Friday.

Assange appeared to come close Friday to acknowledging that Manning was one of his sources, calling him "a young man somehow embroiled in our publishing activities."

"We can see that he's the only person, only one of our military sources, who has been accused," he said.

But Assange appeared to be citing media accounts of Manning's links to WikiLeaks, rather than his own knowledge. In an interview later Friday on ABC's "Good Morning America," Assange said that he had never even heard Manning's name until the press began reporting it.

Swedish officials — and the lawyer for the women involved — have denied accusations from Assange and his supporters that the allegations are politically motivated.

Assange also claimed to have information that more "smears" were on their way. He didn't go into detail.

Although Assange promised to focus on clearing his name, he said his first priority was to his work — which he said would continue at a faster pace now that he was back in charge.

"Now that I am back to assist the directing of our ship, our work will proceed in a faster manner," he said in an interview with the BBC late Thursday.

152 die as plane crashes in rainy Pakistan hills

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 04:40:00 +0000

"We don't know who survived, who died, who is injured," said Zulfikar Ghazi, who lost four relatives. "We are in shock."

Mirza Ahmed Baig rushed to the hills after hearing that the plane carrying his brother had crashed. He wept amid the chilly weather, criticizing the rescue effort as too little and too lax.

"I'm not satisfied at all on the steps the government is taking," Baig said.

As of Wednesday night, when rescue work was suspended till the morning, 115 bodies had been recovered, federal Information Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira said. DNA tests would be needed to identify most of them, he said.

U.S. Embassy spokesman Richard Snelsire confirmed that at least two American citizens were on board, but he declined to provide any further information on their identities or links to Pakistan.

In the U.S., Paulette Kirksey said that her godmother, Rosie Ahmed of Gadsden, Alabama, and her husband, Saleem Ahmed, were among those on the plane. Rose Ahmed was in Pakistan to make arrangements for him to move to the United States, Kirksey said. She said Rosie Ahmed was in her late 50s.

Witnesses said the plane appeared to be flying very low and that it seemed unsteady in the air.

"The plane had lost balance, and then we saw it going down," Saqlain Altaf, who was on a family outing in the hills when the crash occurred, told Pakistan's ARY news channel.

The Pakistan Airline Pilot Association said the plane may have strayed off course, possibly because of the poor weather. Several officials noted the plane seemed to be an unusual distance from the airport, which was some 9 1/2 miles (15 kilometers) away.

"It should not have gone so far," said Air Vice Marshal Riazul Haq, deputy chief of the Civil Aviation Authority. "We want to find out why it did."

Raheel Ahmed, a spokesman for the airline, said the cause of the crash would be investigated. The plane had no known technical issues, and the pilots did not send any emergency signals, Ahmed said. Airblue flies within Pakistan and to the United Arab Emirates, Oman and the United Kingdom.

Airbus said it would provide technical assistance to the crash investigators. The aircraft was initially delivered in 2000, and was leased to Airblue in January 2006. It accumulated about 34,000 flight hours during some 13,500 flights, it said.

The only previous recorded accident for Airblue, a carrier that began flying in 2004, was a tail-strike in May 2008 at Quetta airport by one of the airline's Airbus 321 jets. There were no casualties and damage was minimal, according to the U.S.-based Aviation Safety Network.

Other Pakistani airlines have come under international scrutiny due to safety concerns.

In 2007, the European Union temporarily banned flights in its airspace of most of the aircraft operated by Pakistan's national carrier, Pakistan International Airlines, because of concerns over the age of the aircraft and poor maintenance. The bloc lifted the ban later that year after the airline took action to comply with safety standards.

The last major plane crash in Pakistan was in July 2006 when a Fokker F-27 twin-engine aircraft operated by PIA slammed into a wheat field on the outskirts of the central Pakistani city of Multan, killing all 45 people on board.

In August 1989, another PIA Fokker, with 54 people onboard, went down in northern Pakistan on a domestic flight. The plane's wreckage was never found. In September 1992, a PIA Airbus A300 crashed into a mountain in Nepal, killing all 167 people on board.

The Airbus 320 family of medium-range jets, which includes the A321 model that crashed Wednesday, is one of the most popular in the world, with about 4,300 jets delivered since deliveries began in 1988.

Twenty-one of the aircraft have been lost in accidents since then, according to the Aviation Safety Network's database. The deadliest was a 2007 crash at landing in Sao Paolo by Brazil's TAM airline, in which all 187 people on board perished, along with 12 others on the ground.

___

AP Aviation Writer Slobodan Lekic in Brussels, as well as Associated Press writers Ashraf Khan in Karachi and Zarar Khan, Nahal Toosi and Sebastian Abbot in Islamabad, contributed to this report.

152 die as plane crashes in rainy Pakistan hills

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 04:26:00 +0000

ISLAMABAD – A passenger jet that officials suspect veered off course in monsoon rains and thick clouds crashed into hills overlooking Pakistan's capital Wednesday, killing all 152 people on board and scattering body parts and twisted metal far and wide.

The Airblue jet's crash was the deadliest ever in Pakistan, and just the latest tragedy to jolt a country that has suffered numerous deaths in recent years due to al-Qaida and Taliban attacks. At least two U.S. citizens were on the plane, which carried mostly Pakistanis.

The plane left the southern city of Karachi at 7:45 a.m. for a two-hour flight to Islamabad and was trying to land when it lost contact with the control tower, said Pervez George, a civil aviation official. Airblue is a private airline based in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city.

The aircraft, an Airbus A321, crashed some 15 kilometers from the airport, scorching a wide stretch of the Margalla Hills, including a section behind Faisal Mosque, one of Islamabad's most prominent landmarks. Twisted metal wreckage hung from trees and lay scattered across the ground. Smoke rose from the scene as helicopters hovered.

The exact cause of the crash was not immediately clear, and rescue workers were seeking the "black box" flight data recorder amid the wreckage. But Defense Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar said the government did not suspect terrorism.

Rescue workers and citizen volunteers were hampered by the rain, mud and rugged terrain. The crash was so severe it would have been nearly impossible for any of the 146 passengers and six crew members to survive, rescue officials said.

"There is nothing left, just piles and bundles of flesh. There are just some belongings, like two or three traveling bags, some checkbooks, and I saw a picture of a young boy. Otherwise everything is burned," rescue worker Murtaza Khan said.

As the government declared Thursday would be a day of mourning and condolences poured in from the U.S., Britain and other nations, hundreds of people showed up at Islamabad's largest hospital and the airport seeking information on loved ones.

They swarmed ambulances reaching the hospital, but their hopes fell as rescue workers unloaded bags filled with body parts. A large cluster of people also surrounded a passenger list posted near the Airblue counter at the airport.

Futures flat ahead of housing data

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:08:00 +0000

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stock index futures were little changed on Monday ahead of data on new home sales, following the best three-week period on the S&P 500 Index in almost a year.

S&P futures hovered around 1,100, a key level broken by the benchmark on Friday for the first time in a month. Some technical measures of both the S&P 500 (.SPX) and S&P futures are sending bullish signals, but charts also show further resistance roughly 1 percent above current levels. Recent economic data has also cut into the positive sentiment.

S&P 500 futures fell 1.7 2 points and were about even with fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures lost 9 points and Nasdaq 100 futures shed 4.25 points.

BP Plc (BP.L)(BP.N) was up 2.6 percent in premarket trading as the British oil giant is expected to install an American troubleshooter as chief executive in the next 24 hours, replacing Tony Hayward, who has come under fire for his handling of the worst oil spill in U.S. history.

Pharmaceutical stocks will be in the spotlight The Wall Street Journal said Britain's GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK.L)(GSK.N) had recently made "a very casual approach," to Genzyme Corp (GENZ.O) but industry insiders and analysts said Glaxo's chief executive was unlikely to pursue a deal. U.S.-traded Glaxo shares dipped 1.4 percent to $35.99 premarket.

Sources familiar with the matter said on Friday that Sanofi-Aventis (SASY.PA)(SNY.N) was sounding out Genzyme, prompting a 15 percent jump in the U.S. biotech company's market value to $16.7 billion.

Investors will eye the U.S. Commerce Department's new home sales data for June, at 10 a.m. (1400 GMT). Economists in a Reuters survey forecast a total of 320,000 annualized units in June compared with 300,000 in May.

Legg Mason Inc (LM.N), Fluor Corp. (FLR.N), Lorillard Inc (LO.N), Masco Co (MAS.N), Plum Creek Timber Co Inc (PCL.N) and Range Resources Corp (RRC.N) are due to report results on Monday.

U.S. stocks rose on Friday as GE's (GE.N) dividend hike boosted investor sentiment, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 102.32 points, or 0.99 percent, to 10,424.62, and The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) added 23.58 points, or 1.05 percent, to 2,269.47.

The S&P 500 rose 8.99 points, or 0.82 percent, to 1,102.66, closing above the key 1,100 level for the first time in a month after coming close but failing four times in July.

BP says 'no final decision' on replacing Hayward

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:06:00 +0000

LONDON – BP PLC said Monday that "no final decision" has been made about management changes, which reportedly include the departure of Tony Hayward as chief executive in an effort to mend the company's image after the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

The oil company said its board would meet Monday evening, a day before it announces earnings for the second quarter.

"BP notes the press speculation over the weekend regarding potential changes to management and the charge for the costs of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. BP confirms that no final decision has been made on these matters," the company said in a statement to the London Stock Exchange.

Shares were up 2.2 percent at 407.6 pence ($6.31) in early trading in London.

British media reported over the weekend that Hayward was negotiating the terms of his departure ahead of its second quarter results announcement on Tuesday. A U.S. government official also said on condition of anonymity that Hayward is on his way out as CEO.

However, the Financial Times reported Monday that he was likely to stay on for two more months while BP continues work on drilling relief wells, seen as the permanent solution to the leak.

The BP board would have to approve a change in company leadership.

Citing unidentified sources, the BBC and Britain's Sunday Telegraph said detailed talks regarding Hayward's future had taken place over the weekend.

Hayward, 53, had become a lightning rod for outrage in the United States about the spill which started on April 20 with an explosion and fire on the Deepwater Horizon rig. Eleven workers died in the disaster.

Hayward had assumed a high-profile role as the face of BP in responding to the spill. His comment that he was eager to resolve the incident "so that I can have my life back" antagonized his critics in the United States.

Could American take over Britain's BP?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 12:04:00 +0000

NEW ORLEANS – The man overseeing the much-maligned response by BP PLC to the Gulf oil spill crisis is the likely choice to replace gaffe-prone Tony Hayward to run the company and would become the first American to ever head the oil giant.A senior U.S. government official said Sunday that Hayward is on his way out but didn't know who would be his successor. The official was briefed on the decision last week and spoke on condition of anonymity because an announcement had not been made.

BP said Monday that "no final decision" had been made about management changes. The oil company said its board would meet Monday evening, a day before it announces earnings for the second quarter. Shares were up 2.2 percent at 407.6 pence ($6.31) in early trading in London.

One of the most likely replacements would be Bob Dudley, BP's managing director, who spent part of his boyhood in Mississippi and has been running the day-to-day oil response since June. He would be the first American to head BP PLC since it was founded as the Anglo-Persian Oil Co. in 1909, according to a spokesman.

In television interviews Monday, Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., who heads the subcommittee on energy and environment, welcomed news that Hayward might be replaced. But he expressed caution about Dudley, noting it was Dudley who said earlier this month that the oil well could possibly be fixed by July 27. Work on relief wells expected to permanently kill the well is not yet complete.

"I'm hopeful that Mr. Dudley will be more responsible, but a total change in the culture of this company is neccessary," Markey told CBS' "Early Show."

There also has been speculation that BP could tap Iain Conn, a Scot who runs BP's refining and marketing arm and also serves on BP's board of directors. BP's board would have to approve a change in company leadership.

To analysts and Gulf residents, it would be a welcome change for a company that has been criticized as being out of touch with the concerns of U.S. fishermen, tourists and residents affected by the catastrophe.

"He's a very good delegator," Oppenheimer & Co. senior analyst Fadel Gheit said of the 54-year-old Dudley.

It also helps that Dudley can identify with the people and the region.

Dudley spent time growing up in Hattiesburg, Miss., an easy drive from the coast. He spent two decades climbing the ranks at Amoco Corp., which merged with BP, and lost out to Hayward on the CEO's slot three years ago.

Dudley is viewed as more of a diplomat than Hayward, who angered U.S. lawmakers with his refusal to answer many of their questions during testimony in Washington on the spill. That was after infuriating scores of frustrated Gulf residents by infamously declaring "I'd like my life back," in May.

In his first week running the spill response, Dudley shuttled between the Gulf and Washington, defended BP engineers after a setback, toured a center where oil-covered turtles are treated and enlisted the help of a politically connected relief expert.

He also has held a nationally broadcast town-hall style meeting with Gulf residents and has been in daily contact with U.S. government officials.

BP has not confirmed that Hayward is being replaced. Early Sunday, company spokesman Toby Odone seemed to downplay media speculation about the departure, saying he "remains BP's chief executive, and he has the confidence of the board and senior management."

It's been more than three months since an offshore drilling rig operated by BP exploded off Louisiana on April 20, killing 11 workers and setting off the spill. A temporary plug has stopped oil from gushing for more than a week now, but before that the busted well had spewed anywhere from 94 million to 184 million gallons into the Gulf.

Since the explosion, Hayward has made several highly publicized gaffes. Among them: going to a yacht race while oil washed up on Gulf shores, and uttering the now-infamous: "I'd like my life back" line.

Gheit, the analyst, said it was too bad Hayward's career was derailed by the spill, but "unfortunately he became a sacrificial lamb in a politically charged world."

Dudley would be well-suited to take over, Gheit said, while noting that it is never an easy time to instill new leadership in a company.

"I'm not sure if removing Tony Hayward is going to throw BP's problems away," Gheit said.

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said BP's attitude about making things right is more important than who is running it.

"BP, from I think everybody's perspective, made a very bad mistake," he said. "I think what the world expects from BP is an acknowledgment that something was done wrong. I think BP has a long way to go to gain the trust of the people."

The company has already spent roughly $4 billion on its response to the crisis. The final tally could be in the tens of billions of dollars.

News that the CEO will depart came as no surprise to people living along the Gulf.

Patrick Shay, 43, sat on a porch swing of his cottage in Grand Isle on Sunday, his front yard filled with small, white crosses, each bearing the name of sealife or ways of life the oil spill has killed.

"He seems like a pretty self-absorbed person, so I'm not surprised to hear he would walk away in the middle of all this," he said. "If anything it will help. They need to get him out of the way and get this cleaned up."

David Duet, 62, of LaRose, La., filled his ice chest at the grocery store in Grand Isle, where he brings his camper every weekend despite the oil.

"I don't think he's directly responsible for the spill, but he still had to answer for it," said Duet, who worked on oil rigs for more than 22 years. "I can understand the time it took to cap it. I know how hard things are out there."

Crews trying to plug the leaky well for good had to stop work late last week because of the threat from Tropical Storm Bonnie, but the effort was back on track as skies cleared Sunday. A drill rig was expected to reconnect to the relief tunnel that will be used to pump in mud and cement to seal the well, and drilling could resume in the next few days.

Completion of the relief well that is the best chance to permanently stop the oil now looks possible by mid-August, but retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, the government's point man for the spill, said he wouldn't hesitate to order another evacuation based on forecasts similar to the ones for Bonnie.

EU companies: debt crisis is hurting recovery

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 06:16:00 +0000

BRUSSELS: European companies warned Monday that the region's debt crisis risks damaging a fragile economic recovery by hiking costs for businesses to borrow and invest.

The euro has shed some 20 percent of its value over the past six months as financial markets lost confidence in European governments' ability to rein in massive debt levels while growth remains low.

Philippe de Buck, who heads the BusinessEurope group representing some 20 million companies, told reporters that "business is more than concerned about the credibility of the euro" after its sharp drop in value.

The group says that businesses are seeing the real impact of recent months' volatile markets in higher costs for borrowing and more difficulty in getting credit. It says this holds companies back from investing more in the economy.

It is calling on European Union leaders to bolster confidence in the euro currency and their own finances by making the public spending cuts they need to balance their books — and also make longer-term reforms to boost growth by opening up the labor market and shedding business barriers across the 27-nation bloc.

EU leaders meet for talks on June 17 on a new 10-year growth strategy for the region to build on a weak recovery.

Manufacturing is among the few sector picking up in Europe, fueled by exports that BusinessEurope says will grow 5 percent in 2010 and 2011 — and helped by the lower value of the euro which makes eurozone products cheaper for U.S. customers and Asian buyers using the dollar.

Eurozone industrial output grew 0.8 percent in April from the previous month, according to the EU statistics agency, and increased 0.5 percent in the entire EU.

But BusinessEurope says economic growth is stabilizing "at a too low level" — and companies are still very cautious about the recovery. The region's jobless rate will likely stay at record highs until employers start hiring again in late 2011, it forecasts.

The Spanish government was trying Monday to win back market confidence by pushing on with efforts to curb public spending, this time by selling crucial labor reforms to skeptical opposition parties that would loosen up rigid hiring and firing rules.

The ruling Socialist Party says this could encourage companies to hire more workers — reducing a jobless rate that is the highest in the eurozone — and help to kick start economic growth.

The measures also aim to appease markets and EU nations worried that Spain could be the next eurozone country to require a bailout. Spain must refinance €40 billion ($49 billion) in debt in June and July, according to Deutsche Bank.

Greece has already sought a bailout from other European Union nations and the International Monetary Fund and some economists believe other indebted nations — such as Spain and Portugal — may also need financial rescue if they can't borrow what they need from wary investors.

EU and German officials on Monday denied German media reports that Spain was likely to seek help soon.

European Commission Amadeu Altafaj Tardio told reporters in Brussels that there was "no such request and no plan whatsoever to provide financial assistance." German finance ministry spokesman Michael Offer also said "we see no need for action at this point."

Separately, French Prime Minister Francois Fillon expressed concern that Europe's drive toward austerity could go too far and trigger a new economic downturn.

"It is difficult for the European states to balance debt reduction ... while simultaneously tightening and not triggering a new recession," he told reporters in Oslo.

BusinessEurope's de Buck said government spending cuts had to be accompanied by moves to stoke growth.

"Discipline and growth can go hand in hand even it can be difficult," he said, calling for governments to shun "indulgence" and become more efficient with their spending.

Merkel, Sarkozy discussing the economy

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 06:15:00 +0000

BERLIN: The German chancellor and the French president met Monday to prepare for a European Union summit later this week, amid speculation of a rift in German-French views on economic policy.

Angela Merkel welcomed Nicolas Sarkozy to discuss a joint strategy on how to curb the debt crisis that has dragged down the common European currency and rattled economies across the continent.

The leaders of the eurozone's most important economies were to have held talks last week, but the meeting was canceled with only a few hours notice, fueling rumors the two are split on how Europe should best handle the financial crisis.

Germany is calling for sanctions on countries with high deficits and advocates the path of austerity as a model for Europe after presenting its own package of budget cuts on June 7, worth €80 billion ($97 billion) by 2014.

But the French government minister in charge of stimulus efforts, Patrick Devedjian, last week explicitly warned that German-style austerity measures "would be dangerous because it risks killing growth" in France.

The next test for the 16 countries sharing the euro currency — who passed a €110 billion rescue package for Greece and then set up a wider bailout found for countries in financial trouble worth €750 billion — could be ahead as pressure mounts on Spain to curb its deficit.

EU leaders meet for talks on June 17 on a new 10-year growth strategy for the region to build on a weak recovery.

While Sarkozy supporter creating an independent economic government for the eurozone, Merkel insists such decisions should be made by all EU leaders, such as the European Council.

Despite recent tension over the bailout packages for Greece and the eurozone, Sarkozy and Merkel last week showed that France and Germany were still working together closely, and wrote a joint letter urging the European Commission to speed up efforts to regulate financial markets.

The combined economic output of Germany and France, with their respective GDP in 2009 standing at €2,400 billion and €1,950 billion according to EU statistics, represents almost half of the eurozone's GDP of some €9,000 billion.

Asian stocks post tepid gains amid Europe anxiety

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 06:13:00 +0000

TOKYO: Asian shares rose Tuesday but gains were tepid after Wall Street succumbed to anxiety about Europe's economy.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average fell 0.2 percent to 9,861.87, with investors taking profits after Monday's jump of almost 2 percent. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained less than 0.1 percent to 4,507.70 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.1 percent to 20,075.11.

Elsewhere, South Korea's Kospi was fractionally higher at 1,691.47 and Singapore's market rose 0.1 percent. Taiwan's benchmark was 0.3 percent higher. Financial markets in mainland China were closed for a holiday.

In New York on Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average erased early gains to end down 0.2 percent at 10,190.89. The S&P 500 index fell 0.2 percent to 1,089.63, while the Nasdaq composite index rose less than 0.1 percent 2,243.96.

Stocks began higher following encouraging industrial production data from Europe. But that wasn't enough to overcome ongoing fears about the continent's problems, especially after Moody's lowered its rating on Greece's debt to "junk" status.

The fallout in Asia was mild, however, with most benchmarks showing little definitive direction ahead of U.S. industrial production numbers due Wednesday.

In Tokyo, insurance names were among the day's losers, with Tokio Marine Holdings Inc. down 1.8 percent. Tech shares were also having a lackluster day. Canon Inc. fell 1.1 percent, and Sony Corp. lost 0.6 percent.

In currencies, the dollar slipped to 91.43 yen from 91.58 yen late Monday in New York. The euro rose to $1.2217 from $1.2210.

Benchmark crude for July delivery was up 10 cents at $76.38 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

NC congressman apologizes for behavior on video

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 06:09:00 +0000

RALEIGH, N.C. – A Democratic congressman apologized Monday after video posted online showed him swatting at the camera, demanding that two men taping him identify themselves and grabbing one of them by the wrist and neck.

"I deeply and profoundly regret my reaction and I apologize to all involved," Rep. Bob Etheridge of North Carolina said in a statement. "No matter how intrusive and partisan our politics can become, this does not justify a poor response."

The video was posted on websites owned by Andrew Breitbart, the conservative Web entrepreneur who also released video of workers for the community organizing group ACORN counseling actors posing as a pimp and prostitute.

It shows two men approaching Etheridge with a camera on a Washington street. He swats at the camera and repeatedly asks the men who they are. When they say they are students, he grabs one by the wrist and quickly by the back of the neck before pulling him against his side.

Etheridge, a congressman in the state since 1997, reiterated his apology at a hastily called news conference Monday afternoon.

"The truth is I had a long day," he said. "I've had bad days many times. It's not a good crutch to lean on and I won't use that."

The video is interspersed with several screens of text, including: "What happens when a US congressman meets a college kid on a street in Washington?" and a few frames later, "He goes BERSERK!"

In a telephone interview from London, Breitbart declined to name the students who recorded the video, saying he wanted to protect them. The two do not work for Breitbart and were not paid, he said.

A Breitbart employee found the video online, edited it and posted it, he said. A story accompanying the video on a Breitbart website says the video was recorded last week. Etheridge declined to say when the encounter occurred.

Asian stocks up despite Wall Street anxiety

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 06:07:00 +0000

BANGKOK – Asian shares rose slightly Tuesday as skittish investors came back to the market despite a drop on Wall Street triggered by anxieties over Europe's economy.

Oil rose past $75 per barrel, while key indexes in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Australia rose tepidly. The dollar weakened against the yen and the euro slipped slightly against the greenback.

The Nikkei 225 stock average was up 0.3 percent, or 28.97 points, to 9,908.85. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.2 percent to 4,512.3 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.4 percent to 20,129.24.

Elsewhere, Singapore's market rose 0.3 percent. Taiwan's benchmark was 1.4 percent higher. Stock indexes in India and Thailand were down by just a fraction of a percent.

Financial markets in mainland China were closed for a holiday.

In New York on Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average erased early gains to end down 0.2 percent at 10,190.89. The S&P 500 index fell 0.2 percent to 1,089.63, while the Nasdaq composite index rose less than 0.1 percent 2,243.96. Stocks began higher following encouraging industrial production data from Europe. But that wasn't enough to overcome ongoing fears about the continent's problems, especially after Moody's lowered its rating on Greece's debt to "junk" status.

The fallout in Asia was mild, however, with most benchmarks showing a small amount of buoyancy ahead of U.S. industrial production numbers due Wednesday.

"Overseas markets have regained some of their nerve," said Howard Gorges, vice chairman of South China Brokerage in Hong Kong. "People will still be wary because of what goes on in Greece or Spain, but there's been so much adverse news that markets are ignoring quite a lot of it."

While the euro has risen since hitting a four-year low earlier in June, it has dropped more than 15 percent this year and a strong rebound isn't expected in the near-term. Analysts also said traders remained a bit on edge, and markets could stay choppy.

"It is a seesaw situation," said Castor Pang, director of research at Cinda International in Hong Kong. "Most investors are still cautious."

In currencies, the dollar slipped to 91.50 yen from 91.58 yen late Monday in New York. The euro dipped to $1.2206 from $1.2210.

Benchmark crude for July delivery was up 9 cents to $75.21 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.34 to settle at $75.12 on Monday.

Documents: BP cut corners in days before blowout

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 06:06:00 +0000

NEW ORLEANS – BP made a series of money-saving shortcuts and blunders that dramatically increased the danger of a destructive oil spill in a well that an engineer ominously described as a "nightmare" just six days before the blowout, according to documents released Monday that provide new insight into the causes of the disaster.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee released dozens of internal documents that outline several problems on the deepsea rig in the days and weeks before the April 20 explosion that set in motion the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history. Investigators found that BP was badly behind schedule on the project and losing hundreds of thousands of dollars with each passing day, and responded by cutting corners in the well design, cementing and drilling mud efforts and the installation of key safety devices.

"Time after time, it appears that BP made decisions that increased the risk of a blowout to save the company time or expense. If this is what happened, BP's carelessness and complacency have inflicted a heavy toll on the Gulf, its inhabitants, and the workers on the rig," said Democratic Reps. Henry A. Waxman and Bart Stupak.

The missteps emerged on the same day that President Barack Obama made his fourth visit to the Gulf, where he sought to assure beleaguered residents that the government will "leave the Gulf Coast in better shape than it was before."

Obama's two-day trip to Mississippi, Alabama and Florida represents his latest attempt to persevere through a crisis that has served as an important early test of his presidency. The visit coincides with a national address from the Oval Office on Tuesday night in which he will announce new steps to restore the Gulf Coast ecosystem, according to a senior administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to upstage the president's announcements.

"I can't promise folks ... that the oil will be cleaned up overnight. It will not be," Obama said after encouraging workers in hard hats as they hosed off and repaired oil-blocking boom. "It's going to be painful for a lot of folks."

But, he said, "things are going to return to normal."

The breached well has dumped as much as 114 million gallons of oil into the Gulf under the worst-case scenario described by scientists — a rate of more than 2 million a day. BP has collected 5.6 million gallons of oil through its latest containment cap on top of the well, or about 630,000 gallons per day.

But BP believes it will see considerable improvements in the next two weeks. The company said Monday that it could trap a maximum of roughly 2.2 million gallons of oil each day by the end of June as it deploys additional containment efforts, including a system that could start burning off vast quantities as early as Tuesday. That would more than triple the amount of oil it is currently capturing — and be a huge relief for those trying to keep it from hitting the shore.

"It would be a game changer," said Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Mark Boivin, deputy director for near-shore operations at a command center in Mobile. He works with a team that coordinates the efforts of roughly 80 skimming boats gathering oil off the coast.

Still, BP warned its containment efforts could face problems if hoses or pipes clog and engineers struggle to run the complicated collection system. Early efforts at the bottom of the Gulf failed to capture oil.

Meanwhile, congressional investigators have identified several mistakes by BP in the weeks leading up to the disaster as it fell way behind on drilling the well.

BP started drilling in October, only to have the rig damaged by Hurricane Ida in early November. The company switched to a new rig, the Deepwater Horizon, and resumed drilling on Feb. 6. The rig was 43 days late for its next drilling location by the time it exploded April 20, costing BP at least $500,000 each day it was overdue, congressional documents show.

As BP found itself in a frantic race against time to get the job done, engineers took several time-saving measures, according to congressional investigators.

In the design of the well, the company apparently chose a riskier option among two possibilities to provide a barrier to the flow of gas in space surrounding steel tubes in the well, documents and internal e-mails show. The decision saved BP $7 million to $10 million; the original cost estimate for the well was about $96 million.

In an e-mail, BP engineer Brian Morel told a fellow employee that the company is likely to make last-minute changes in the well.

"We could be running it in 2-3 days, so need a relative quick response. Sorry for the late notice, this has been nightmare well which has everyone all over the place," Morel wrote.

The e-mail chain culminated with the following message by another worker: "This has been a crazy well for sure."

BP also apparently rejected advice of a subcontractor, Halliburton Inc., in preparing for a cementing job to close up the well. BP rejected Halliburton's recommendation to use 21 "centralizers" to make sure the casing ran down the center of the well bore. Instead, BP used six centralizers.

In an e-mail on April 16, a BP official involved in the decision explained: "It will take 10 hours to install them. I do not like this." Later that day, another official recognized the risks of proceeding with insufficient centralizers but commented: "Who cares, it's done, end of story, will probably be fine."

The lawmakers also said BP also decided against a nine- to 12-hour procedure known as a "cement bond log" that would have tested the integrity of the cement. A team from Schlumberger, an oil services firm, was on board the rig, but BP sent the team home on a regularly scheduled helicopter flight the morning of April 20.

Less than 12 hours later, the rig exploded.

BP also failed to fully circulate drilling mud, a 12-hour procedure that could have helped detect gas pockets that later shot up the well and exploded on the drilling rig.

Asked about the details disclosed from the investigation, BP spokesman Mark Proegler said the company's main focus right now is on the response and stopping the flow of oil. "It would be inappropriate for us to comment while an investigation is ongoing," Proegler told AP. BP executives including CEO Tony Hayward will be questioned by Congress on Thursday.

The letter from Waxman and Stupak noted at least five questionable decisions BP made before the explosion, and was supplemented by 61 footnotes and dozens of documents.

"The common feature of these five decisions is that they posed a trade-off between cost and well safety," said Waxman and Stupak. Waxman, D-Calif., chairs the energy panel while Stupak, D-Mich., heads a subcommittee on oversight and investigations.

___

Associated Press Writers Erica Werner in Gulfport, Miss., and Harry R. Weber in Houston contributed to this report. Daly contributed from Washington, D.C.

Govt to hit airlines harder for bumping passengers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 04:13:00 +0000

DALLAS – Giving up your airline seat may become a little less painful.

Federal officials are expected to announce this week a plan to raise the maximum amount that airlines must pay passengers who get bumped off an oversold flight, currently at $400 or $800 depending on how long a trip is delayed.

Bumpings rose in three of the past four years and jumped 10 percent to 762,422 in 2009, the highest total since 2002. They soared 17 percent in this year's first quarter.

The potential inconvenience is greater now too. Airlines have cut back on flights and planes are more crowded, so bumped passengers could wait hours or even days to find alternate arrangements.

Passenger-rights groups have pushed the Transportation Department to raise the payout limits to $800 and $1,200 per traveler if the airline bumps you involuntarily. The agency has signaled that it plans some type of inflation adjustment in the limits, which were last raised in 2008. Officials declined to provide details.

The issue is overbooked flights. Airlines are allowed to sell more tickets than they have seats on the assumption that some passengers — usually those with refundable tickets — won't show up. What travelers' groups such as FlyersRights want is a limit on how many extra seats airlines can sell per flight. But industry insiders say that may be impractical because no-show rates vary by route, day and even hour.

When a flight is overbooked, airlines must first ask for volunteers before involuntarily bumping ticket holders. While volunteers can get travel vouchers, people forced off flights must be paid in cash or check. Critics say airlines often flout that rule. The Transportation Department recently fined Southwest Airlines $200,000 for that and other shortcomings in its bumping practices.

In the first three months of this year, American Eagle, the regional affiliate of American Airlines, was most likely to bump passengers involuntarily. US Airways, Continental, ExpressJet and Southwest were next. For several years, JetBlue has been the least likely to bump — it says it gives customers $1,000 if they're booted off a flight.

The government has been moving to give airline customers more protections. One new rule prohibits the airlines from keeping passengers on a plane on the tarmac more than three hours. This week, the agency will also unveil proposed requirements for more information about advertised fares and checked-bag fees, and for contingency plans when aircraft are stuck on the tarmac for long delays.

Last year one in every 763 passengers got bumped from a flight, according to government figures. That includes volunteers and those forced to give up their seat. The numbers show that more passengers are volunteering to give up their seats, a reversal of the trend a few years ago.

Passenger-rights advocates say bigger payments to people forced to give up their seats could in turn force airlines to give volunteers more generous offers. But that remains to be seen.

Kate Hanni, who organized FlyersRights, says without limits on how many extra seats airlines can sell, "they'll find more deceptive ways to grab people's money and not give it back."

Relief for Gulf is 2 months away with another well

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 04:10:00 +0000

NEW ORLEANS – The best hope for stopping the flow of oil from the blown-out well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico has been compared to hitting a target the size of a dinner plate with a drill more than two miles into the earth, and is anything but a sure bet on the first attempt.

Bid after bid has failed to stanch what has already become the nation's worst-ever spill, and BP PLC is readying another patchwork attempt as early as Wednesday, this one a cut-and-cap process to put a lid on the leaking wellhead so oil can be siphoned to the surface.

But the best-case scenario of sealing the leak is two relief wells being drilled diagonally into the gushing well — tricky business that won't be ready until August.

"The probability of them hitting it on the very first shot is virtually nil," said David Rensink, incoming president of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, who spent most of his 39 years in the oil industry in offshore exploration. "If they get it on the first three or four shots they'd be very lucky."

The relief well drilling and temporary fixes were being watched closely by President Barack Obama, who planned to meet for the first time Tuesday with the co-chairmen of an independent commission investigating the spill. A senior administration official said the meeting will take place at the White House. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting had not been formally announced.

For the relief well to succeed, the bore hole must precisely intersect the damaged well. If it misses, BP will have to back up its drill, plug the hole it just created, and try again.

The trial-and-error process could take weeks, but it will eventually work, scientists and BP said. Then engineers will then pump mud and cement through pipes to ultimately seal the well.

As the drilling reaches deeper into the earth, the process is slowed by building pressure and the increasing distance that well casings must travel before they can be set in place.

Still, the three months it could take to finish the relief wells — the first of which started May 2 — is quicker than a typical deep well, which can take four months or longer, said Tad Patzek, chair of the Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering Department at the University of Texas-Austin. BP already has a good picture of the different layers of sand and rock its drill bits will meet because of the work it did on the blown-out well.

On the slim chance the relief well doesn't work, scientists weren't sure exactly how much — or how long — the oil would flow. The gusher would continue until the well bore hole collapsed or pressure in the reservoir dropped to a point where oil was no longer pushed to the surface, Patzek said.

"I don't admit the possibility of it not working," he said.

A third well could be drilled if the first two fail.

"We don't know how much oil is down there, and hopefully we'll never know when the relief wells work," BP spokesman John Curry said.

The company was starting to collect and analyze data on how much oil might be in the reservoir when the rig exploded April 20, he said.

BP's uncertainty statement is reasonable, given they only had drilled one well, according to Doug Rader, an ocean scientist with the Environmental Defense Fund.

Two relief wells stopped the world's worst peacetime spill, from a Mexican rig called Ixtoc 1 that dumped 140 million gallons off the Yucatan Peninsula. That plug took nearly 10 months beginning in the summer of 1979. Drilling technology has vastly improved since then, however.

So far, the Gulf oil spill has leaked between 19.7 million and 43 million gallons, according to government estimates.

In the meantime, BP is turning to another risky procedure federal officials acknowledge will likely, at least temporarily, cause 20 percent more oil — at least 100,000 gallons a day — to add to the gusher.

Using robot submarines, BP plans to cut away the riser pipe this week and place a cap-like containment valve over the blowout preventer. On Monday, live video feeds showed robot submarines moving equipment around and using a circular saw-like device to cut small pipes at the bottom of the Gulf.

The crews will eventually cut the leaking riser and place the cap on top of it, the company hopes it will capture the majority of the oil, sending it to the surface.

"If you've got to cut that riser, that's risky. You could take a bad situation and make it worse," said Ed Overton, a Louisiana State University professor of environmental sciences.

BP failed to plug the leak Saturday with its top kill, which shot mud and pieces of rubber into the well but couldn't beat back the pressure of the oil.

Meanwhile, the location of the spill couldn't be worse.

To the south lies an essential spawning ground for imperiled Atlantic bluefin tuna and sperm whales. To the east and west, coral reefs and the coastal fisheries of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas. And to the north, Louisiana's coastal marshes.

More than 125 miles of Louisiana coastline already have been hit with oil. "It's just killing us by degrees," said Tulane University ecologist Tom Sherry.

It's an area that historically has been something of a superhighway for hurricanes, too.

If a major storm rolls in, the relief well operations would have to be suspended and then re-started, adding more time to the process. Plugging the Ixtoc was also hampered by hurricane season, which begins Tuesday and is predicted to be very active.

Three of the worst storms ever to hit the Gulf coast — Betsy in 1965, Camille in 1969 and Katrina in 2005 — all passed over the leak site.

On the Gulf coast beaches, tropical weather was far from some tourists' minds.

On Biloxi beach, Paul Dawa and his friend Ezekial Momgeri sipped Coronas after a night gambling at the Hard Rock Casino. Both men, originally from Kenya, drove from Memphis, Tenn., and were chased off the beach by a storm, not oil.

"We talked about it and we decided to come down and see for ourselves" whether there was oil, Momgeri said. "There's no oil here."

Though some tar balls have been found on Mississippi and Alabama barrier islands, oil from the spill has not significantly fouled the shores.

Still, the perception that it has soiled white sands and fishing areas threatens to cripple the tourist economy, said Linda Hornsby, executive director of the Mississippi Hotel and Lodging Association

"It's not here. It may never be here. It's costing a lot of money to counter that perception," Hornsby said. "First it was cancelations, but that evolved to a decrease in calls and there's no way to measure that."

Yet there was fear the oil would eventually hit the other Gulf coast states. Hentzel Yucles, of Gulfport, Miss., hung out on the beach with his wife and sons.

"Katrina was bad. I know this is a different type of situation, but it's going to affect everybody," he said.

Attorney General Eric Holder plans to visit the Gulf Coast on Tuesday and meet with state attorneys general. Several senators have asked the Justice Department to determine whether any laws were broken in the spill.

Aide: Abbas says no need to quit peace talks

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 04:07:00 +0000

RAMALLAH, West Bank – An adviser to Mahmoud Abbas says the Palestinian president sees no need to quit indirect Mideast peace talks over Israel's interception of a Gaza-bound ship.

The killing of nine pro-Palestinian activists in Monday's Israeli raid has raised concern that U.S.-led efforts to broker an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal could be disrupted.

Abbas met late Monday with senior PLO officials to assess the situation. Abbas adviser Mohammed Ishtayeh says Abbas told the group there is no need to quit the negotiations since the Palestinians are talking to the U.S. and not to Israel.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli commandos rappelled down to an aid flotilla sailing to thwart a Gaza blockade on Monday, clashing with pro-Palestinian activists on the lead ship in a botched raid that left at least nine passengers dead.

Bloodied passengers sprawled on the deck and troops dived into the sea to save themselves during several hours of hand-to-hand fighting that injured dozens of activists and six soldiers. Hundreds of activists — many of whom were apparently Turkish — were towed from the international waters to Israeli detention centers and hospitals.

International condemnation was swift and harsh as Israel scrambled to explain how what was meant to be a simple takeover of a civilian vessel went so badly awry.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abruptly canceled a planned meeting with President Barack Obama in Washington to rush home. The global reaction appeared likely to increase pressure to end the embargo that has plunged Gaza's 1.5 million residents deeper into poverty.

Most of the information about what happened on the single ship where violence broke out came from Israel, which cut off all communication to and from the activists and provided testimony and video evidence that its soldiers came under attack by activists armed with metal rods, knives, slingshots and two pistols snatched from the troops.

Passengers reached at an Israeli hospital and journalists aboard the ship accused the soldiers of using excessive force. One passenger, who identified himself as American, spoke briefly with reporters.

"I'm not violent. What I can tell you is that there are bruises all over my body. They won't let me show them to you," he said before he was pushed away by a security escort.

A soldier identified only as a sergeant told reporters at a military briefing that the activists on board "were armed with knives, scissors, pepper spray and guns." He said he was armed only with a paintball rifle. "It was a civilian paintball gun that any 12-year-old can play with," he said. "I saw my friends on the deck spitting blood."

The high-seas confrontation was a nightmare scenario for Israel, which insisted its soldiers were simply unprepared for what awaited them on the Mavi Marmara, the ship carrying 600 of the 700 activists headed for Gaza. Instead of carrying their regular automatic rifles, the Israelis said they went in with non-lethal paintball guns and pistols they never expected to use.

Israel intercepted the six ships carrying some 10,000 tons of aid for the isolated seaside territory, which has been blockaded by Israel for three years, with Egypt's cooperation. The Israeli government had urged the flotilla not to try to breach the blockade before the ships set sail from waters off Cyprus on Sunday and offered to take some aid in for them.

Israel has allowed ships through five times, but has blocked them from entering Gaza waters since a three-week military offensive against Gaza's Hamas rulers in January 2009.

Key regional ally Turkey withdrew its ambassador on Monday, the U.N. Security Council held an emergency session, the British foreign secretary demanded an end to the blockade of Gaza, and Jordan called Israel's raid a "heinous crime."

An al-Jazeera journalist delivering a report before Israel cut communications said Israel fired at the vessel before boarding it. In one web posting, a Turkish television reporter on the boat cried out, "These savages are killing people here, please help" — a broadcast that ended with a voice shouting in Hebrew, "Everybody shut up!"

Al-Jazeera said that eight staff members were detained while covering the story, and asked for the Israeli government to release them immediately.

The military said naval commandos descending from a helicopter onto the deck of a Turkish-flagged ship were assaulted by armed activists. Military footage showed activists swarming around the commandos as they rappelled from a helicopter one by one, hitting them with sticks until they fell to the deck, throwing one off the ship and hurling what the military said was a firebomb.

Speaking alongside the Canadian prime minister, Netanyahu expressed "regret" for the loss of life but said the soldiers "had to defend themselves, defend their lives, or they would have been killed."

Activists said Israeli naval commandos stormed the ships after ordering them to stop in international waters, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) from Gaza's coast.

A spokeswoman for the Free Gaza movement, which organized the flotilla, said the group's goal — beyond just bringing supplies to the impoverished territory — was to shatter the blockade.

"What we're trying to do is open a sea lane between Gaza and the rest of the world," Greta Berlin said in Cyprus. "We're not trying to be a humanitarian mission. We're trying to say to the world, 'You have no right to imprison a million and a half Palestinians.'"

Israel's international image had already taken a beating from allegations that it committed war crimes during its 2008-2009 winter war in Gaza, and from widespread global opposition to the blockade. Hamas was also accused of rights violations in that conflict.

Relations with Turkey, a key supporter of the aid flotilla but also until recently Israel's staunchest ally in the Muslim world, were badly damaged by Monday's events, possibly irreparably. Ankara announced it would recall its ambassador and call off all military exercises with Israel. Around 10,000 Turks marched in protest.

At the U.N., Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu called the raid "murder conducted by a state" and demanded an immediate Israeli apology, international legal action and an end to the blockade.

The bloody showdown came at a sensitive time for Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking. Netanyahu had hoped to receive a high-profile expression of support from Obama after months of strained relations over Israeli settlement construction.

Obama voiced "deep regret," over the raids, and the White House said he and Netanyahu agreed by phone to reschedule White House talks. The U.S. recently began mediating indirect peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians following a 17-month breakdown in contacts.

Israel's immediate concern on Monday was what to do about the boats and their passengers. It ferried the wounded to hospitals by helicopter and towed the six ships to port, giving each of the activists a choice of deportation or detention.

By late Monday, about 150 of the activists — most from Turkey — had been taken off the boats, Israeli Interior Ministry spokeswoman Sabine Haddad said, adding the process would continue into Tuesday. She said about 30 had agreed to be deported, and the rest would be detained.

A commando who spoke to reporters on a naval vessel off the coast, identified only as "A," said he and his comrades were taken off guard by a group of Arabic-speaking men when they rappelled onto the deck. He said some of the soldiers were stripped of their helmets and their pistols and some had jumped overboard to escape the violence.

A high-ranking naval official displayed a box confiscated from the boat containing switchblades, slingshots, metal balls and metal bats.

Turkey's NTV network showed activists beating one commando with sticks as he landed on deck. Dr. Arnon Afek, deputy director of Chaim Sheba Medical Center outside Tel Aviv, said two commandos were brought in with gunshot wounds. Another had serious head wounds, Afek added.

At Barzilai hospital in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, a few activists trickled in under military escort, claiming they had been beaten during the assault.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the Israeli "massacre" and declared three days of mourning across the West Bank.

Ismail Haniyeh, leader of the rival Hamas government in Gaza, condemned the "brutal" Israeli attack and called on U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to intervene.

Ban condemned the violence.

"I am shocked by reports of killings," he said. "It is vital that there is a full investigation to determine exactly how this bloodshed took place."

After nightfall, Hamas-linked militants fired a rocket that exploded in Israel, the militants and the Israeli military said. Nobody was hurt. The militants said the rocket attack was in response to Israel's raid on the flotilla.

sanya mirza Valima pic

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 10:23:00 +0000

Iceland volcano 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 08:45:00 +0000

REYKJAVIK, Iceland, April 21 (UPI) -- An estimated 75 percent of the usual number of passenger flights over Europe were expected back in the air Wednesday as skies clear from volcanic ash.

Officials reopened airports across the continent a week after the eruption of a volcano under Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier sent a huge plume of smoke, ash and grit into the air.

The fear that a buildup of volcanic debris could cause jet engines to fail led authorities to ground thousands of flights into and out of European airports. Millions of passengers were affected and the airline industry losses could approach $2 billion.

Airlines worked to fit the passengers who had been stranded for days onto flights. It was expected to be several days before the backlog was met and air traffic returned to normal levels.

The bulk of the flights canceled Wednesday were shorter trips.

It wasn't only travelers who were inconvenienced. Industry was also affected, the BBC said. Grounded flowers and food from Africa will likely have to be thrown out as spoiled, parts from Germany for automakers in Japan were delayed, idling plants, and goods waiting to be shipped from China, the world's largest exporter, remained in Asia.

Scientists said Wednesday the volcano at Eyjafjallajokull wasn't as active as it had been over the last week but warned such eruptions are unpredictable and could cause other nearby volcanoes to also erupt, which could spew another ash cloud dangerous to air travel.

Airspace in Norway and Sweden shuts again

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 08:42:00 +0000

BRUSSELS – Aviation authorities say they have closed the airspace over parts of Norway and Sweden as shifting winds send a new cloud of volcanic ash over Scandinavia.

The Swedish aviation authority says airspace is still open over the capital Stockholm, but closed over the southern cities of Goteborg and Malmo, and large parts of western and northern Sweden.

Authority spokesman Bjorn Stenberg says changing winds meant the ash cloud over Sweden didn't disperse as forecast. Meanwhile, new ash clouds are blowing in over western Norway.

Norwegian authorities say Oslo remains open but airspace over western Norway has closed again, including Stavanger and Bergen.

Eurocontrol says it expects nearly 22,000 flights over Europe on Thursday.

DO U BELIEVE THIS????

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 03:48:00 +0000

Try making a guess what it is...........

No, it is not a software company.

Scroll down for the answer

This is the house of Sania Mirza in Banjara Hills, Hyderabad .

She bought a mountain for 9 crores and built this building with 31Crores.

Toyota to temporarily halt sales of Lexus GX 460

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 06:39:00 +0000

WASHINGTON – Toyota Motor Corp. is temporarily halting sales of the 2010 Lexus GX 460 after Consumer Reports issued a rare "Don't Buy" warning amid concerns the large SUV has handling problems that could cause it to roll over during sharp turns.

The Japanese automaker said Tuesday it had asked dealers to temporarily suspend sales of the SUV while it conducts its own tests on the GX 460.

"We are taking the situation with the GX 460 very seriously and are determined to identify and correct the issue Consumer Reports identified," said Mark Templin, Lexus vice president and general manager.

The decision to stop selling the SUV is the latest blow to Toyota's tarnished safety reputation after the recall of millions of cars and trucks over gas pedals that are too slow to retract or that can become stuck under floor mats. The GX 460 is not covered by the pedal recalls.

But it reflects Toyota's attempt to respond more quickly to safety concerns after federal investigators accused the automaker of dragging its feet on recalls to address the faulty gas pedals. Toyota faces a $16.4 million fine from the Transportation Department and has until April 19 to decide whether to contest the penalty or accept it.

Toyota said about 6,000 GX 460s from the 2010 model year have been sold since the vehicle went on sale in late December and an estimated 1,600 of the SUVs are at dealerships.

Consumer Reports is closely read by many car buyers before choosing a new car or truck. In January, it pulled its "recommended" rating on eight vehicles recalled by the automaker due to faulty gas pedals.

The magazine said the Lexus problem occurred during tests on its track. In a standard test, the driver approached a turn unusually fast, then released the accelerator pedal to simulate the response of an alarmed driver. This caused the rear of the vehicle to slide outward.

In normal cases, the electronic stability control should quickly correct the loss of control and keep the SUV on its intended path. But with the GX 460, the stability control took too long to adjust, which could cause a rollover accident if one of the sliding wheels were to strike the curb or another obstacle, said Gabriel Shenhar, Consumer Reports' senior auto test engineer who was one of four testers who experienced the problem.

The magazine said it is not aware of any reports of the GX 460 rolling over. It tested two separate vehicles, both of which experienced the problem, but neither rolled over.

The warning label on the model will remain until Toyota addresses the handling issue with the seven-seat SUV.

Templin said in a statement he was "confident that the GX meets our high safety standards" and said Toyota's engineering teams were testing the GX using Consumer Reports' specific parameters. Lexus will provide a loaner car for any customer who bought a 2010 GX 460 and is concerned about driving the vehicle, Templin said.

Customers who have questions or concerns about the GX 460 can call Lexus at (800) 255-3987.

The "Don't Buy" label is unlikely to hurt Toyota's broader sales since the GX 460 accounts for a fraction of its total, said Erich Merkle, president of the consulting company Autoconomy.com in Grand Rapids, Mich. However, it comes at an unfortunate time as the automaker tries to move beyond the recalls.

"I think it will have a bigger impact from a negative-PR perspective than from an actual sales perspective," Merkle said.

The GX 460, which starts at about $52,000, is built on the same platform as the Toyota 4Runner. However, Consumer Reports said the problem did not occur during similar tests on the 4Runner. According to Toyota's Web site, both vehicles are about six feet tall but the GX 460 is about 3 inches taller.

Consumer Reports said the last vehicle to receive such a safety warning was the 2001 Mitsubishi Montero Limited, a large SUV. In that case, testers said the wheels lifted off the road during standard avoidance-maneuver tests, which also posed a rollover risk.

At the time, Mitsubishi disputed the magazine's findings and did not make any modifications to the vehicle, Mitsubishi spokesman Dan Irvin said. The designation appeared to have little effect on the Montero's sales, which increased overall during the second half of 2001.

The Montero remained on sale in the U.S. until 2007 and continues to be sold overseas as the Mitsubishi Pajero.

Toyota shares traded in the U.S. fell 52 cents to $79.03.

Obama: China joining UN talks on Iran sanctions

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 06:36:00 +0000

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama, wrapping up a 47-nation nuclear security summit, said Tuesday he is confident China will join other nations in pressing for tough new sanctions on Iran for continuing to defy the international community in seeking nuclear weapons.

"Words have to mean something. There have to be some consequences," Obama told reporters at a news conference at the conclusion of the two-day gathering.

He was asked about China's reluctance in the past to join other major nations in backing tough sanctions.

Chinese President Hu Jintao on Tuesday gave a speech to the group calling for "effective" measures to safeguard nuclear weapons and materials but stopped short of mentioning Iran's program.

Hu and Obama met for 90 minutes on Monday after which U.S. officials said the two agreed to tell their aides to work on a tough new sanctions program. However, a Chinese spokesman did not mention sanctions in his description of the meeting.

China imports oil from Iran and in the past had been reluctant to endanger that supply line.

"The Chinese are obviously concerned about what harm this might have on the economy generally," Obama said. "Iran is an oil-producing state. ... A lot of countries around the world have trade relationships with Iran and we're mindful of that."

But Obama said Hu had assured him that China would participate in drafting sessions at the United Nations on a new tough sanctions regime.

"I think that we have a strong number of countries on the Security Council who believe this is the right thing to do," Obama said. "But I think these negotiations can be difficult," he added.

China is one of five permanent members of the Security Council with veto powers, along with the U.S., Russia, Britain and France.

Obama said that the new sanctions would make it easier to isolate Iran, as the global community had done for North Korea as it continued to develop nuclear weapons.

Obama said Pyongyang had chosen a path of "severe isolation," which has hurt the North Korean people. Obama said he hoped sanctions would add pressure on North Korea's leaders to return to the six-party talks.

But Obama said he believes the U.S. approach would make it more likely for North Korea to alter its behavior rather than allowing the communist nation to operate its nuclear program without consequences — and could have a similar impact in Iran.

"Sanctions," Obama acknowledged, "aren't a magic wand."

"What sanctions do accomplish is hopefully to change the calculus of a country like Iran so that they see that there are more costs and fewer benefits to pursuing a nuclear weapons program," he said.

On an area of major disagreement with China, Obama acknowledged that he did not win a concession from Hu that China would move to let its currency rise with market forces.

China sees the matter as "a sovereign issue," Obama said. However, he emphasized, "It is actually in China's interest to achieve this rebalancing."

China currently pegs its currency, the yuan, to the U.S. dollar. American manufacturers claim this severely holds down the price of Chinese products in other markets, making their own goods less competitive.

Obama was asked whether some of the momentum built at the summit on combatting the spread of nuclear weapons could be transferred to other causes, such as achieving peace in the Middle East.

"The need for peace between Israelis and Palestinians and the Arab states remains as critical as ever," he said. But, in a sober assessment, he added: "It is a very hard thing to do."

"Even if we are applying all of our political capital to that issue, the Israeli people, through their government, and the Palestinian people, through the Palestinian Authority, as well as other Arab states, may say to themselves, 'We are not prepared to resolve these issues no matter how much pressure the United States brings to bear.'"

Throughout his news conference, Obama struck a measured tone about the role of the United States in international affairs. He made it clear it was absolutely the role of the U.S. to lead on matters such as nuclear security if other countries are to do their part.

But on getting countries in the Mideast to agree to peace, on getting the Chinese to move to a market-based currency, on getting Iran and North Korea to play by international rules on nuclear compliance, on getting countries to live up to their fresh pledges on nuclear security, Obama repeatedly said the U.S. can't enforce the world. Countries must respond on their own.

"In all of our efforts internationally, in every treaty that we sign, we're relying on goodwill on the part of those who are signatories to those efforts. That's the nature of international relations," he said.