Father, stepmother beheaded for killing daughter

DUBAI, Jan 18: A man and his second wife have been publicly beheaded in Saudi Arabia for torturing and killing his nine-year-old daughter out of spite for his first wife.

The grieving mother of the girl, Ghosun, in the highly publicised case taken up by the Saudi media, said she felt justice had been served and that she could now sleep in peace.

People slammed the government and Human Rights Commission for not doing enough in the case initially.

The incident highlighted the recent trend involving the abuse of children of divorced parents where the father wrests custody of the child from his ex-wife as an act of revenge and then the stepmother becomes involved in the abuse.

Ghosun's father Ahmed Haji, divorced his wife and took custody of the girl. Later he married another woman named Iman. Together the two were found guilty of brutally beating, torturing and eventually murdering the daughter of Haji's first wife out of sheer vengeance.

A top official who endorsed the beheading told Arab News that there were some scholars who believe that a father should not be executed for killing his own child. (UNI)

CGG Veritas to set up research centre in India

SINGAPORE, Jan 18: Global geophysical services and equipment provider, CGG Veritas is planning to set up a research centre in India in view of its importance of being a major oil and gas market.

CGG Veritas chairman and chief executive Robert Brunck announced this at the opening of the company's Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore yesterday.

He said CGG Veritas is already operating a data processing centre in Mumbai, while pointing out that the company was expanding in Asia in line with the increasing oil and gas activities.

Brunck said Veritas would also double its research & development spending in Asia to 30 million dollars over the next two years.

"We want to work as Indians in India, Chinese in China and Singaporeans in Singapore to grow the business," he said while stressing the importance of local research centres in main oil and gas exploration centres.

The 55 million dollar regional headquarters in Singapore will house 220 people, he said, projecting a staff growth of 10-15 per cent a year in line with the high level of demand from the Asian oil and gas exploration sectors. (UNI)

Chart Thai, Puea Pandin agree to join PPP-led coalition

BANGKOK, Jan 18: The Chart Thai Party and the Pua Pandin Party jointly announced Friday to join the People Power Party (PPP) led coalition government to be formed in Thailand.

Chart Thai Party leader Banharn Silapa-archa and Puea Pandin Party leader Suwit Khunkitti made a joint offcial announcement Thursday that they will join the coalition Government of the PPP.

"The two parties had agreed to work together as earlier announced and decided to join the coalition for the sake of the country," said Banharn here at a press conference.

"Conflicts in the past should not be kept forever but they should be set aside so that everything can be done for the sake of the country," the former prime minister said.

However, he did not say whether he would support PPP leader Samak Sundaravej to become the new prime minister, saying that such a statement should wait until the Parliament speaker is chosen.

Meanwhile, Mr. Suwit said that he wanted to build confidence among Thais, and it would eventually help restore investor confidence.

Meanwhile, PPP Deputy Secretary General Noppadol Pattama said Friday the party would formally invite Mr. Banharn and other coalition parties by letter to discuss the policy and agenda of the new government being formed. (AGENCIES)

30 arrested from Nepal's Supreme Court for contempt

KATHMANDU, Jan 18: Thirty people were arrested from the Nepal's Supreme Court premises for alleged contempt of court.

The incident occurred yesterday when some three dozen people entered the Supreme Court during a hearing on land acquisition by a government body and allegedly raised slogans accusing the judges of being involved in corruption.

The people entered the court room using security passes and shouted slogans such as "Down with corrupt judges!" when the hearing started, court officials said.

Justices Bala Ram KC and Top Bahadur Magar were hearing a case filed by Bharat Mani Devkota against Kathmandu Valley Town Development Committee. The committee had allowed Chamati Land Integrated Project to acquire land in several Kathmandu Municipality Wards. The acquisition has affected 3,134 families in the Naya Bazaar area.

The incident came a day after the Apex Court enforced a special security plan to deal with the threats to judges and lawyers from mobs and concerned people.

Nepal Bar Association Vice President Hari Upreti has deplored the incident and asked that those found guilty should be subjected to contempt of court.

Registrar Timilsina said, "We have taken the incident seriously and now we need to review our security plan." (PTI)

New delivery of Russian nuclear fuel to Iran: official

TEHRAN, Jan 18: Russia today delivered a third consignment of fuel for Iran's Bushehr nuclear power station, the official news agency IRNA reported.

"The third load of fuel arrived today morning at the Bushehr site" in the south of the country, IRNA quoted the Organisation for Production and Development of Nuclear Energy as saying in a statement.

Like the first two consignments, the third weighed 11 tonnes. The five loads to come "will be delivered to Iran under the foreseen calendar," the statement added.

Russia is to deliver a total of some 82 tonnes of nuclear fuel in eight consignments over a two-month period. The first and second loads were delivered on December 17 and 28.

Iran insisted on December 30 that its first nuclear power station would be launched in the summer of 2008, despite the plant's Russian constructors saying it would not go on line until the end of the year.

"The Bushehr nuclear power station will launch at a capacity of 50 per cent next summer," said Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, quoted by IRNA.

A Russian contractor is finishing the construction of the much-delayed 1,000-megawatt plant in the southern city of Bushehr. Moscow also agreed to deliver the nuclear fuel required by the facility.

A spokeswoman for the Russian contractor Atomstroiexport said earlier that it would take at least a year to launch the power station.

"We can predict that the Bushehr station will be launched no earlier than the end of 2008 due to the current situation," Irina Yesipova said on December 20. (AGENCIES)

Japan to starve anti-whale protesters of fuel

CANBERRA, Jan 18: Militant anti-whaling campaigners vowed more confrontations with Japan's whaling fleet near Antarctica today, while the whalers aimed to exhaust the protest ships' fuel supplies to force them out of the area.

Whaling was to resume after the return to their ship of two Sea Shepherd Conservation Society activists, who were detained after boarding a Japanese harpoon ship on Tuesday.

Australian Benjamin Potts and Briton Giles Lane were picked up by an Australian fisheries icebreaker from the Yushin Maru No.2 in the Southern Ocean early on Friday and greeted back aboard their protest vessel, Steve Irwin, as heroes.

''They've been on a hunger strike since they were taken,'' Sea Shepherd spokesman Jonny Vasic said. ''It was well worth the cost of saving whales.''

Potts said Sea Shepherd would continue protests as the Yushin Maru headed back to the rest of the six-ship Japanese fleet to resume whaling until the end of the season next month. Activists chased the whaler after the release of the pair, attempting to foul its propeller.

''We'll continue to harass the Japanese fleet and prevent them from whaling,'' Potts told Australian radio.

But a spokesman for the whaling fleet of three hunting ships, observer vessels and a factory ship said the Japanese were aiming to force the protesters to run out fuel by making them follow the fleet, prompting the protesters return to Australia.

''Eventually they will run out of fuel and both Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd will have to return to Melbourne,'' Glenn Inwood told Reuters.

''That's probably the safest option for everyone as Japan can resume the programme in safety,'' Inwood said.

Vasic said the Sea Shepherd vessel had about two weeks' fuel left. Greenpeace wouldn't say how much longer their protest ship could last.

''We'll stay down here as long as we can and crawl into port on the last fuel vapours,'' Greenpeace chief executive Steve Shallhorn said.

TANKER TACTICS

The Japanese fleet has its own tanker and re-supply ship.

Potts accused the Japanese of using extreme tactics in icy waters capable of killing a person in minutes.

''They intended to throw me overboard,'' he told local radio. ''Two guys picked me up by the shoulders, and the gunner, the guy that shoots the whales, picked my legs up and they attempted to tip me over.''

Each side accused the other of behaving like terrorists and Australia acted as intermediary, picking up the pair in a patrol ship gathering photographic evidence for an international legal challenge against Japan's scientific whaling.

Australian Home Affairs Minister Bob Debus urged Sea Shepherd skipper Paul Watson, who last year threatened to ram the Japanese flagship and collided with a harpoon vessel, to moderate his hardline methods.

''The Australian government repeats its call for calm and for all sides to respect the paramount importance of safety at sea,'' Debus told Reuters.

But Vasic said there was no need to switch tactics, despite the chance of another confrontation and an Australian police investigation into the latest incident.

''To us, the people who need to moderate their tactics are the Japanese whalers,'' Vasic said.

Asked if Tokyo had handled the confrontation appropriately, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura said an examination was underway.

''We need to go over the facts and have relevant authorities review what happened,'' Machimura told reporters.

Inwood said the fleet had defences to ward off more protests including high-pressure hoses used against Lane and Potts.

Watson, a Greenpeace founding father before forming the more radical Sea Shepherd, has accused Greenpeace of doing little other than filming the Japanese to produce ''whale snuff flicks''.

Greenpeace's Shallhorn says Japanese at home have rarely seen whale killing on television until this year. He said the footage ''could really turn public opinion very quickly''.

Japan plans to hunt almost 1,000 minke and fin whales for research over the Antarctic summer, but has abandoned the cull of 50 humpback whales after international condemnation and a formal diplomatic protest by 31 nations.

Despite a moratorium on whaling, Japan is allowed an annual ''scientific'' hunt, arguing whaling is a cherished cultural tradition and the hunt is necessary to study whales. Its fleet has killed 7,000 Antarctic minkes over the past 20 years. (AGENCIES)

Google announces aid for Indian NGOs, institutions

SILICON VALLEY, Jan 18: Google's philanthropic arm today announced more than USD25 million in grants for a wide-ranging environmental, energy and poverty combating efforts, including USD 2 million to Indian NGO 'Pratham' for an education project.

The company also announced USD765,000 for Bangalore-based Centre for Budget and Policy Studies, USD660,000 for Center for Policy Research, USD 1,015,000 for Institute for Finance Management & Research (IFMR) while NGO database information PRS Legislative Research will get USD880,000.

It is part of USD 175 million the company's board pledged in 2005 to spend over three years. When Google went public in 2004, executives pledged to donate one per cent of the company's equity and one percent of profits to philanthropy. The company's market capitalisation was nearly USD190 billion.

"We started with an idea and a vision to make the world a better place," said Google vice president of online operations Sheryl Sandberg, a member of the Google.Org board of directors.

"We now embark on trying to work with people all over the world. We realize we are a small player, but we hope to be a player that catalyzes others."

In the area of improving public services, Google.Org said USD two million of the funding will go to Pratham to create an independent institute that will conduct the nationwide Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) as well as large scale assessments in the education sector.

The Centre for Budget and Policy Studies analysis group is working to create a Budget Information Service for local governments to improve district- and municipal-level level planning.

The Center for Policy Research, an action-oriented think tank based in India, will be helped to increase the debate and discourse on issues of urban local governance and urban service delivery.

IFMR will be working to create district level development indices in India and to support mapping of information including research, government, non-government.

PRS Legislative Research is being granted the aid to increase citizen engagement, track the performance of members of parliament, and procure photocopies of state laws throughout India.

As part of its "predict and prevent" push, Google.Org is donating USD2.5 million to respond to biological threats to the Global Health and Security Initiative (GHSI), a group set up by the Nuclear Threat Initiative run by US Senator Sam Nunn.

But the largest chunk, USD10 million each will go to California-based eSolar, which designs solar thermal power plants and Makani Power Inc. To support R&D on high-altitude wind energy extraction technologies aimed at producing utility-scale power cheaper than coal. (PTI)

Money matters bond doomed marriages together

LONDON, Jan 18: And they lived happily ever after for the fear of financial and emotional hardships-- is how the real life story ends.

A new survey revealed that as many as half of all marriages in Britain were unhappy, but millions of men and women would not walk away for fear of financial and emotional hardship.

The study revealed that 56 per cent of people admitted they were not completely happy in their relationship-- and more than half said they had considered divorce.

Money worries were the reason behind 29 per cent of the respondents staying in a doomed marriage while it was the fear of losing their home for another 42 per cent.

Thirty-seven per cent said they were staying because of their children. The survey, commissioned by Seddons solicitors after a rush of New Year divorce applications, showed 30 per cent of men are scared that they would have to be without their children, The Telegraph reported.

More than half also admit they would miss the financial security that comes from being with their husband or wife, and the same number say they would stay for the sake of the family unit. (UNI)

Most wives would divorce if they could afford it: Survey

LONDON, Jan 18: Most of the wives would leave their husbands if they could afford it, a survey has shown.

In a study of married men and women, the majority of wives - 59 per cent - said they would divorce immediately if their future economic security was assured.

Among both sexes, more than one in ten wished they had married someone else. The survey found than half of husbands thought their marriage was "loveless".

Relationship experts in UK have warned couples to avoid getting stuck in a rut - or risk the trauma of divorce.

"Divorce impacts on every single area of a person's life. Dividing up the family home, pets and everything they own is just part of the process," a spokesperson for Relate, the relationship counsellors, was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail online.

The British survey of 2,000 adults revealed that almost 30 per cent said they were staying in a doomed marriage to save themselves going through a massive upheaval. Nearly half of those questioned, both men and women, would stay with their partner for the sake of the family unit.

Thirty per cent men said they were staying for the sake of children, being scared that they would have to leave without their kids.

Fifty-six per cent admitted they were not completely happy in their relationship - and more than half said they had considered splitting from their partner.

The survey was commissioned by solicitors Seddons after a rush of divorce applications in Britain during the first week of the new year. (PTI)

Major Chinese lenders' NPL ratio drops to 6.7 pct

BEIJING, Jan 18: The non-performing loan (NPL) ratio of China's major commercial lenders fell to 6.7 percent at the end of 2007 compared with 7.51 percent a year earlier, the banking regulator said on Friday.

The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) said on its Web site that major banks, which it classifies as the ''Big Four'' state-owned lenders plus 12 joint-stock ones, made 298.7 billion yuan ($41.2 billion) in profits last year.

That marked growth of nearly 24 percent from a year earlier.

The agency added that Industrial and Commercial Bank of China <601398.SS><1398.HK>, Bank of China <3988.HK><601988.SS>, China Construction Bank <0939.HK><601939.SS> and Bank of Communications <3328.HK><601328.SS> had an average NPL ratio of 2.87 percent at the end of 2007.

Beijing has spent tens of billions of dollars on capital injections for those four lenders as part of an overhaul of the sector that has seen them take on strategic investors and carry out public listings.

The government is expected to carry out a similar bailout soon for Agricultural Bank of China [ABC.UL], the weakest of the ''Big Four'' state banks, which also includes ICBC, Bank of China and Construction Bank.(AGENCIES)

Virtual operations to make real surgeons proficient

LONDON, Jan 18: It may not sound good to you specially if you are to go under the knife soon but it is true that more and more aspiring surgeons are honing their skills on computer games.

A study has found that students become more proficient at making the delicate and smooth movements needed in surgery after playing certain computer games.

Mark Marshall, director of simulation and training at the Banner Good Samaritan Medical Centre, in Phoenix, Arizona, asked eight trainee doctors to spend an hour playing games on a console before performing surgery using a software system that recreates, a human body in 3D and monitors surgeons' hands as they operate electronically.

By recording the precision of the trainees' hand movements, Marshall's team could Judge how good each was at a variety of procedures that would be used in real operations.

The researchers found that the students scored better at practice operations after playing games on Nintendo's Wii console, an effect attributed to the wireless controllers used to direct the onscreen action, New Scientist reported.

''Our trial shows this improves the skills of the surgeons when they are told to pick exercises within the games. It makes their training much, much quicker. How long depends on the surgical speciality, but usually it's somewhere between four to six years, Mr Marshall said.

However, researchers said it was crucial for the trainees to be given particular exercises to focus on while playing the games, and that not all games helped hone surgery skills. (UNI)