Millions of pilgrims assemble in Mina today

MAKKAH: More than 2.5 million pilgrims, including 1.7 million from abroad, will assemble in the tent city of Mina today at the start of this year's annual pilgrimage. Thousands of pilgrims left for Mina yesterday afternoon.The Saudi government has provided all facilities in Mina and other holy sites to receive the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who have come from different parts of the world. About 100,000 security officers have been deployed to ensure their safety.More than two million faithful, mostly pilgrims, attended the Friday prayers at the Grand Mosque in Makkah yesterday. In his Friday sermon, Sheikh Saud Al-Shuraim, the imam of the mosque, said the Haj reflected the unity and equality among Muslims.“All Muslims must learn lessons from this great religious event. The Haj should encourage them to work in unison, to be compassionate to one another and strengthen their cooperation. There are no national or racial slogans or party flags. There is only one flag. The flag of Lailaha Illallah Muhammad Rasulullah (‘There is no god but God and Muhammad is his Prophet’),” the imam told the faithful.Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, director of Haj security at the Interior Ministry, said about 30 percent of pilgrims would leave tonight for Arafat for the standing ritual on Sunday on the Haj climax.A large number of security officers have been deployed in desert roads leading to Makkah in order to prevent illegal pilgrims who do not posses valid Haj permits from entering the holy city, Maj. Gen. Ali Habab Al-Nafie, commander of the Haj security forces, said yesterday.“Drivers who smuggle illegal pilgrims to Makkah will be arrested and handed over to concerned authorities to punish them,” Al-Nafie told local Arab media. “We have taken this issue seriously and we have already identified the routes that could be used for smuggling pilgrims.”Sudanese President Omar Bashir, Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have also arrived to perform Haj this year.Saudi Ministry of Health has readied more than 14,000 units of blood and its derivatives to meet the requirements of pilgrims. The ministry has made arrangements to supply more than 37,000 meals among patients admitted to its hospitals in the holy sites.

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92,000 Devotees Airlifted to Saudi Arabia For Hajj

ISLAMABAD: More than 92,000 intending pilgrims have so far been airlifted to Saudi Arabia to perform forthcoming Hajj since the beginning of pre-Hajj flights operation on November 02, to transport 160,000 pilgrims selected under government and private schemes.

These pilgrims were flown to Jeddah and Madina by 250 flights from Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad airports, Joint Secretary (Hajj), Ministry of Religious Affairs, Muhammad Jamil told media here on Friday.

The Joint Secretary said all the intending pilgrims are proceeding for Hajj in accordance with the flight schedule and there had never been delay of any Hajj flight.

About arrangements for the pilgrims in Saudi Arabia, he said the required number of buildings have already been acquired to accommodate pilgrims being sent under the government scheme.

A hospital and dispensaries, equipped with paramedical staff including specialist doctors have been set up in Makkah and medicine have also been provided at these clinics.

He said the main medical mission is located at Pakistan House, near Haram, with a capacity of 30 beds.

He said the medical mission has so far attended 29,112 Pakistani pilgrims, out of these 82 were hospitalized in the mission hospital, while 54 were referred to Saudi hospitals, adding, 96 were discharged after the medical treatment.

In reply to a question, he said according to information received from Makkah as many as 18 Pakistani pilgrims have died due to natural causes, out of which 7 have been laid to rest.

He said heirs of the deceased have been intimated about the sad demises in Saudi Arabia. The Joint Secretary informed that till now 742, out of 965 seasonal staff,medical mission, khuddam ul hujjaj and local khuddam have been deployed at Jeddah, Makkah and Madina to facilitate our pilgrims.

The remaining 223 seasonal staff, medical mission and khuddam ul hujjaj are being flown to Holy land shortly. About complaints of hujjaj in Saudi Arabia, he said there were 398 minor complaints by hujjaj, which have been properly addressed.

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CCP to look into increase in Hajj fares

ISLAMABAD: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) would look into the reported increase in the Hajj fares by two international airlines. “We will use advocacy tool to look into the matter” said Chairman CCP Khalid Mirza while talking to newsmen on Thursday. He added that the CCP has received complaints from the intending pilgrims and “we are looking into it for explaining the matter”. He was of the view that there was no open sky policy agreement between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia for the airlifting of the intending pilgrims. Only two international airlines are allowed to operate Hajj flights from Pakistan to Saudi Arabia and vice versa. He was of the view that CCP is in the favour of competition between more than two airlines, in order to create competitive environment in the air fares.S Korea to provide $205m in loans to PakistanISLAMABAD: Pakistan and South Korea here on Thursday signed two loan agreements worth US$205 million under the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF). The agreements were signed by Secretary Economic Affairs Division, Farrakh Qayyum and South Korean Ambassador to Pakistan, Shin Un on behalf of their respective governments while State Minister for Economic Affairs, Hina Rabbani Khar, witnessed the signing ceremony. The first agreement was in connection with framework arrangement between the two governments concerning loans from EDCF for the year 2008-2011. Under this agreement, Pakistan would be entitled to avail opportunity of EDCF loan from South Korea up to $160 million at the interest rate of 0.1pc with repayment period of 35 years including grace period of 10 years.Trading on LSE remains at a standstillBy our correspondentLAHORE: Trading activities remained standstill at Lahore Stock Exchange (LSE) on Thursday along with the offices at the LSE building, which remained empty. However, trading of only 500 shares has been recorded as compared to the previous day’s zero share business. Over all 88 companies’ shares floated at LSE floor, out of which only Pakistan cement lost it rates while no trading has been recorded in the rest of the floated shares. LSE-25 index closed at 2823.62 points after registering a decline of 1.74 points.Reserves fall by $100mBy our correspondentKARACHI: Pakistan’s foreign currency reserves dropped $100 million or 1.5 per cent to $6.636 billion in the week ended on November 15, 2008. Reserves in the previous week that ended on November 8 stood at $6.736bn. Liquid foreign reserves with State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) came down to $3.459 billion from previous week’s $3.496 billion. Those held by other banks were also down to $3.177 billion from $3.239 billion. The fast depletion of foreign currency reserves last week pushed Pakistan to seek $7.6 billion loan from IMF. The first trench of the loan is expected sometime later this month.Rupee weaker in dull tradeKARACHI: The Pakistani rupee ended weaker on Thursday in dull trade but dealers said they expected it to remain stable for the next few weeks following a government agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The rupee was quoted closing at 79.30/35 to the dollar compared with Wednesday’s close of 79.22/28. The agreement with the IMF on a $7.6 billion emergency loan should help the rupee stabilise, at least in the short term, after a sharp depreciation of the currency this year as a balance of payments crisis developed, dealers said. The rupee has lost 22.3 per cent against the dollar this year.35pc margin on LCs removedKARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan has decided to remove the condition of 35 per cent cash margin requirement on import letters of credit for certain items. Banks have been advised to refer to BPRD circular letter No32 dated November 11, 2008 on the above subject. However, other instructions contained in the above referred circular letter will remain unchanged, said a SBP circular here on Thursday.Jewellery, investment demand buoys goldLONDON: Gold prices rose on Thursday, buoyed by interest from jewellery makers and investors seeking safety, but a stronger dollar against the euro and lower oil prices are expected to weigh on sentiment. Spot gold was higher at $742.35/744.35 an ounce at 1407 GMT from $732.40 in New York late on Wednesday when it touched $762.30 an ounce, its highest in more than a week. Data from the World Gold Council showing an 18 per cent jump in demand for gold to 1,334.4 tonnes and a 56 per cent rise in investment demand to 382.1 tonnes in the third quarter has helped sentiment.BoK officers ask govt to solve problemsBy our correspondentPESHAWAR: The Bank of Khyber Officers Association (BoKOA) on Thursday demanded of the government to solve problems being faced by bankers. The demand was made by the association members at a meeting with Provincial Finance Minister Humayun Khan in the chair. The participants urged the minister to help resolve issues regarding bonuses, housing society, and living allowance. They demanded of the government to play its role in the release of bonus to the staff ahead of Eidul Azha. BoKOA General Secretary Saifur Rehman said despite current economic crises, the BoK has earned Rs600 million profit in nine months; which is 46 per cent higher than that of the last year. The finance minister asked the BoK managing director to look into the matter and resolve the issue immediately and also consider other issues on priority basis. Towel exporters seek R&D supportKARACHI: Towel manufacturers have urged the government to cut mark up rates and also allow them R&D facility as the cost of input has increased manifold during the last eight months.In a statement here on Thursday, former chairman, Korangi Association of Trade and Industry (KATI) and leading towel manufacturer, Sheikh Manzar Alam said that the cost of raw material, dyes and chemicals has increased exorbitantly and towel exporters cannot compete in the international market unless R&D support is available to them and mark up is reduced. He said that industrial production was declining in the country due to rising cost of business and feared that this can lead to unemployment. He said that there was an urgent need to save the textile industry from crisis as it accounts to 70 per cent of the country’s total exports.PQ activityKARACHI: Cargo throughput at Port Qasim (PQ) during the 24 hour period ended 0800 hours on Thursday, stood at 63,782 tonnes; comprising 47,914 tonnes imports and 15,868 tonnes exports. Berth occupancy was maintained at seventy per cent, where seven vessels ACX Marguerite, CMA CGM America, Musan, Gan Bake San, Darya Radhe, Ginga Cougar and YM Cultivation were loading/offloading containers, cement, wheat, chemicals and coal respectively during the said period. Kobe, QIA Fuja’a and Marion Green carrying containers and project cargo were expected to berth at Container terminal and Multipurpose terminal respectively, later on Thursday, while Fatima, CSAV Morumbi, Sea Sky and Ann were due at PQ the same day.World’s poorest nations call for more aidSIEM REAP, Cambodia: The world’s poorest countries on Thursday called on rich nations to continue giving aid despite the global financial crisis. The appeal from trade ministers and representatives from nearly 50 Least Developed Countries ended two days of talks in Cambodia’s tourist hub Siem Reap to discuss trade and the credit crunch. Jointly organised by the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the meetings discussed the need for an Aid for Trade (AFT) initiative to speed up trade reforms in poor countries.


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Last hajj flight to take off on Dec 2

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Religious Affairs, Syed Hamid Saeed Kazmi Monday said out of total 164,746 pilgrims, 70,000 have so far landed in Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj. "The last flight of pre-Hajj operation would take off on December 2, while the return flights would start on December 12," he told a news conference here. He said the pilgrims landing at Madina were satisfied about the arrangements, while those reaching Makkah had to face some minor difficulties like accommodation at long distance, adding "a shuttle service has been started for their movement but many of them are ignorant about this despite huge publicity." The Minister said such problems the hajj operation faced delay of about six weeks as case to determine quota of private Hajj tour operator was sub-judice in the Supreme Court. Some of the pilgrims affiliated with private tour operators have not yet received visas due to delay in the issuance of bar-codes by the Saudi government, he added. "There is no delay on our part. It may be due to the non-issuance of bar-code on passports by Saudi ministry, containing whole bio-data of pilgrims, accommodation and date of departure and return," he explained. Hamid Saeed Kazmi also categorically rebutted reports about differences between him and the secretary, adding both were performing their duties in a cordial atmosphere. He said to avoid inconvenience, the ministry would not add any other family member after the prescribed schedule, be it in name of Mehram or youngster to support old-aged parents. The Minister told media that out of 30,000 quota for private tour operators, only 109 were surrendered which have been accommodated under government scheme, so he said there is no question of leftover quota of private tour operators as being reported in media. Hamid Saeed Kazmi sought help from media to trace the people either from within the ministry or outsiders allegedly involved in illegal sale of forms for Hajj, despite the fact that the ministry had not issued such forms even to parliamentarians. He expressed readiness to have any check of the parliamentary committee to ensure transparency in Hajj operation. "I would have no objection if a special parliamentary committee is formed or matter is referred to the Standing committee of Parliament on religious affairs," the Minister added. Secretary Religious Affairs Naguibullah Malik said complaints about non-verification of professional background of private tour operators are due to lack of any regulatory mechanism in this regard, which he said would be established to remove such concerns. He said not only the ministry but also the law enforcement agencies are working to detect illegal activities and money-making in name of this `holy operation,' adding that it is an offense and action would be taken under law against those found involved in such crime.

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Women find men with facial scars attractive

London, Nov 17 : Here’s something exciting for men dreading facial scars. A new study has found that scars increase men''s attractiveness to a woman.
The research team from the universities of Liverpool and Stirling has found that even though women find men with scars on their face more attractive, they would not have a long-term relationship with them.
During the study, almost 220 people were asked to look at pictures of men and women, some of which had been manipulated to have different scars.
It showed that women, who were shown faces of men with and without different scars rated the scarred faces as better looking.
However, they did not enhance women''s attractiveness to men.

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Child Abuse: World Travel Market Boosts UN Campaign

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) campaign to Protect children from exploitation in travel and tourism has received a boost from the chairman of the World Travel Market, Fiona Jeffery. Jeffery said that children labour and sexual exploitation in the global travel industry must end, insisting that children must come first in every consideration. Jeffery, who made the declaration at a pre-launch meeting at the on-going World Travel Market in Excel, London said that the campaign would make people realise that abuses against children were totally unacceptable and cannot be tolerated anywhere in the world. ''I hope World Travel Market's support in some modest way will help to give the campaign more public profile, influence and, of course, publicity. Clearly, that is what we need, to signal loud and clear our total abhorrence of what can only be described as something straight out of the pages of a dark Charles Dickens novel. ''It's about children's rights, rights to safety and protection at all times, enabling them to lead normal lives,'' she said , adding that ''the terrible fact remains that despite increased reporting of sex offenders who are arrested for child abuse abroad, governments are not working to stop child sex tourism. '' Jeffery also appealed to the 45,000 delegates attending the meeting to join the UNWTO initiative and spread the word globally. According to an estimate by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), 246 million children are engaged in child labour, while millions are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.

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Jazeera Airways to spend $2.4bn on aircrafts

JEDDAH: Jazeera Airways is spending $2.4bn on new aircraft by 2014 and increasing its number of international destinations to 85 from 26 by 2012 as part of ambitious expansion plans, the airline's chairman and chief executive said on Tuesday.The carrier, which has hubs in both Kuwait and Dubai, has 33 Airbus A320s on order and will become the largest operator of the aircraft in the Middle East by 2014, Marwan Boodai, said at an event marking the unveiling of Jazeera’s seventh new A320.He said the airline planned to increase annual passenger numbers from the current 1.2 million to 8.5 million in the next four years by adding new routes over the next four years across the region.But Boodai said the airline may be able to accelerate its growth plans as other airlines feel the affects of the global financial crisis.He said Jazeera may be able to buy delivery slots from aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus as both were 'overbooked' and not able to deliver to Jazeera at the "right times". But he added that Jazeera had not had any delays with delivery of any of its seven A320s from Airbus to date."With the turmoil internationally we have a better chances to acquire more assets, more aircraft faster than what we could do before. If we have a chance to acquire more aircrafts that will be reflected in Jazeera's business case," Boodai said.He said the expansion scheme would be funded by international partners including banks, with the most competitive borrowing rates for the seventh and eighth aircrafts offered by European banks. In addition, four aircraft it will take next year will be leased through its subsidiary, Shahab Leasing.He added Jazeera was able to protect itself from the financial turmoil by repositioning itself within the aviation market to attract more business and leisure traffic.He said third quarter results would be announced in the next ten days time and were "healthy".Boodai said Jazeera worked on a flexible fare system whereby fares would continue to reflect the drop in fuel prices."As an airline the lower it goes the better,” he said. “When it comes to oil prices going up to $140 a barrel the price was unbelievable and something should have done. But the further the prices drop we are going to have more passengers travelling."Its new routes include Khartoum, Muscat, the Maldives, Sharjah, Karachi, Daman, Ankara, Aqaba, Peshawar, Riyan and Antalya.Launched in 2004, Jazeera Airways is the first private scheduled airline in the Middle East and is still the only carrier that is neither owned nor subsidised by any government.Its capital in 2008 to date was $73 million, with profits of $8.4 million.

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British Airways is now effectively ‘London Airways’

London, Oct 28 : British Airways has stopped being the UK’s national carrier and effectively become London Airways.
Though the airline still operates flights from Manchester, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen, but passengers choice of destination from these cities is limited: They can fly to any other city they like – so long as it is London, The Independent reported.
At the weekend, the airline axed the last international flight that neither departed from nor arrived at one of the London airports, the 44-year-old link from New York to Manchester.
The slots at JFK have been redeployed for a new BA route from Gatwick.
“The decision to withdraw the Manchester-New York service was a business decision based on the increasingly poor performance of the route. With increased transatlantic competition, sadly the passenger yield was diluted and the route was no longer viable,” said a spokesman for BA.
The service flew in competition with Delta and Continental, both of which have extensive domestic networks offering hundreds of connecting flights. In addition, the airline had to crew the service from London, which added further cost.
The Manchester-New York link was opened in May 1964, the first regular intercontinental route in a network from the North-west’s main airport that would later see BA flying to Dubai, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Los Angeles.
Even when these services were withdrawn, many European services survived. As recently as 2006, BA flew from Manchester to Nice, Rome and Venice.
Other UK airports tell a similar story, according to figures given by the schedules specialist OAG.
In October 2003, BA operated a total of 583 flights from Bristol and 336 from Inverness. Today, BA has no links with either airport. After BA Connect failed to staunch the losses on regional routes, the operation was sold to its rival, Flybe. (ANI)


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PIA to launch direct flight from Lahore to New York

Updated at: 1826 PST, Friday, October 24, 2008 KARACHI: Pakistan International Airline (PIA) has decided to operate a direct flight from Lahore to New York twice week while flights are also being introduced from Sialkot to Abu Dhabi and Muscat.According to a circular of PIA the direct flight from Lahore to New York will be operated on Saturday and Wednesday every week and preparation in this regard are being given final shape.The national flag carrier will also operate two additional flights – one from Sialkot to Abu Dhabi on every Sunday starting from October 26 and another from Sialkot to Muscat every Wednesday from October 29.

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