Gulf Daily News (Manama, Bahrain) back issues from June 2008:
Visa woe for Scrabble ace.
Jun 11, 2008 ... Byline: Geoffrey Bew NEW immigration rules in Bahrain have prevented a top Filipino wordsmith from taking part in the 18th Gulf Scrabble Championship (GSC), it emerged yesterday. Highly-rated star Ronald Credo, from the UAE, was due to arrive in Manama on Thursday night and was ...
Salem and Sultan enter final round.
Jun 11, 2008 ... BAHRAIN'S veteran golf players Hamad Salem, Abdulla Sultan and Diab Sager were yesterday among the players who advanced to the final round of the BMW Golf Cup International Bahrain qualifier, being held at His Majesty King Hamad's private golf course in Saffriya. The trio were ...
Goys tennis set.
Jun 11, 2008 ... THE 22nd edition of the Goys President's Tennis Championships, sponsored by GPIC, gets underway today at the Bahrain Tennis Club (BTC) courts in Juffair. The inauguration will be held under the patronage of BTC president Khamis Al Muqla. Today's schedule: 6pm, Jamal ...
Italy outplay Iran.
Jun 11, 2008 ... TOKYO: Three-time former world champions Italy moved another step closer to the Beijing Olympics when they breezed past Iran in the men's volleyball final qualifying round yesterday. The Italians chalked up a 25-16, 25-20, 25-18 victory for their fifth straight win to remain ...
Miller helps Aces post thrilling win.
Jun 11, 2008 ... WILLIE Miller buried a tough fade-away jump shot with 1.7 seconds to play to lift the Alaska Aces to an 86-84 victory over the Air21 Express yesterday in the Philippine Basketball Association Fiesta Conference. Miller's basket game him a game-high 21 points to lead the victors, ...
Weekley leads at St Jude.
Jun 11, 2008 ... MEMPHIS, Tennessee: Boo Weekley grabbed a one-shot lead after the opening round of the six million-dollar St Jude Championship, last tuneup event before the US Open. Weekley fired a five-under-par 65 at TPC Southwind, nabbing six birdies with just one bogey. "I drove ...
Sports meeting to discuss regional issues.
Jun 11, 2008 ... GENERAL Organisation for Youth and Sports (Goys) president Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa will head for Egypt today to attend the 31st Arab Sports Ministers' Council meeting, to be held tomorrow at the Arab Union premises in Cairo. Shaikh Fawaz will be accompanied by Goys ...
Texting our way into oblivion...
Jun 11, 2008 ... Byline: LES HORTON I rarely text people, since it seems pointless to me to use a phone as a typewriter when it would be just as easy to talk directly to the other party. But yesterday I got drawn into a texting war, having thought it the best medium through which to ...
Bachchan opens Indian 'Oscars' in Bangkok.
Jun 11, 2008 ... BANGKOK: Indian film star Amitabh Bachchan yesterday kicked off a weekend-long Bollywood extravaganza in the Thai capital, where stars will dazzle movie fans with the subcontinent's version of the Oscars. "In today's world, where there are so many differences, animosity and hatred, cinema ...
Terror plot sparks alert in Pakistan.
Jun 11, 2008 ... ISLAMABAD: Pakistan was on maximum alert early today after police seized three cars packed with more than 500kg explosives. Six people, including three would-be suicide bombers, were also held near Islamabad, officials said. The discovery of the massive bombs in the army ...
Israel vows attacks on Gaza Strip.
Jun 11, 2008 ... TEL AVIV: Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said yesterday a major military operation into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip was looking more likely despite Egyptian attempts to mediate a truce. "According to the information as it is now, the pendulum is much closer to tough ...
Mugabe's 'food politics' rapped.
Jun 11, 2008 ... WASHINGTON: A Zimbabwean government bent on staying "in power at all costs" is using food as a political weapon by denying food aid to opposition supporters, the US ambassador to Zimbabwe charged yesterday. Ambassador James McGee said President Robert Mugabe's government is ...
Iraq to curb US troop movement.
Jun 11, 2008 ... BAGHDAD: Iraq said yesterday it would not grant US troops freedom of movement for military operations in a new agreement being negotiated on extending the presence of American troops on its soil. Deputy Prime Minister Barham Salih said the US wanted its forces to operate without ...
Ninth 'Big Brother' launch attracts 5m.
Jun 11, 2008 ... LONDON: The first show of the ninth series of Big Brother has pulled in an audience of 5.4 million people. Last year's launch show drew 6.2m viewers. This year's figures also included those watching the time-delayed Channel 4+1 service. The opening show saw a record 16 ...
Rowling hails power of imagination.
Jun 11, 2008 ... CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts: J K Rowling stressed the crucial importance of imagination during a speech at Harvard University's spring commencement, saying, "We do not need magic to transform our world." The Harry Potter author also spoke about the benefit of failure, recalling ...
Top CBB official retires.
Jun 11, 2008 ... MANAMA: The deputy governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) Anwar Khalifa Al Sadah has retired after 27 years of service, officials confirmed yesterday. During nearly three decades of work he helped introduce new regulations for the sukuk market ...
JOBLESS BLOW FOR US.
Jun 11, 2008 ... WASHINGTON: The US unemployment rate surged to 5.5 per cent last month, its highest in more than 3-1/2 years, as the barely growing economy lost jobs for the fifth straight month. The jump in the monthly jobless rate was the biggest in 22 years and fired concerns the economy was ...
Fears over 'sovereign wealth funds overdone'.
Jun 11, 2008 ... WASHINGTON: Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs), seen as the new heavyweights of global finance, have stirred political fears in Western capitals, but a report says the giant investment funds should not be viewed as economic threats. The Monitor Group consultancy said in a survey to ...
Bahrain firm signs Nigeria gas accord.
Jun 11, 2008 ... LAGOS: Oil-and-gas-rich Nigeria has signed a deal with two foreign firms, including a Bahrain-based firm, to explore its huge gas resources and shore up its foreign earnings, the gas minister was quoted as saying yesterday. "We want gas resources to develop our resources, our ...
German luxury car brands hit.
Jun 11, 2008 ... FRANKFURT: Germany's luxury car brands felt the pinch last month from weakening US and domestic markets, as global vehicle sales fell at Mercedes-Benz and growth slowed at BMW and Audi. Thanks to the launch of popular new versions of its 1 Series range of compacts, BMW data ...
$8bn US subprime blow for Japanese companies.
Jun 11, 2008 ... TOKYO: Losses from investments tied to the US subprime-mortgage market cost Japanese financial firms about $8 billion as of the end of March, Japan's financial regulator said yesterday, up 42 per cent from December. Total exposure to subprime-related investments came to one ...
Detainee 'pressured by KSM'.
Jun 11, 2008 ... GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba: US military officers responsible for defending Guantanamo detainees said they will investigate why five men accused in the September 11 attacks were allowed to talk among themselves at their arraignment and allegedly pressure one of the defendants to reject ...
Turks march against scarf ban.
Jun 11, 2008 ... ISTANBUL: Hundreds of women wearing head scarves protested in Turkey yesterday against a court ruling to cancel a reform, which would have allowed students to wear the Muslim garment at university. They women demonstrated in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir after Friday ...
War hero, 112, gets fly-by.
Jun 11, 2008 ... LONDON: His life has spanned parts of three centuries. But extreme age and being confined to a wheelchair didn't prevent Henry Allingham, Britain's oldest living man, from celebrating his 112th birthday in style yesterday. Allingham is also the oldest living Royal Air Force veteran and one ...
Leap of faith for charity.
Jun 11, 2008 ... LANGAR, England: The archbishop of York made a parachute jump for charity yesterday, returning to earth exhilarated by the experience. Archbishop John Sentamu, 58, made his jump yesterday from 3,800 metres in tandem with a veteran of the Red Devils parachute team. The team were ...
Inter-faith centre proposed.
Jun 11, 2008 ... MECCA: Leading Islamic scholars proposed yesterday creating a centre that would promote relations among different religions. Wrapping up a three-day international conference in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, the scholars urged the creation of the King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz ...
23 killed in Lanka bombings.
Jun 11, 2008 ... COLOMBO: At least 23 people were killed and 67 wounded in Sri Lanka yesterday in two Tamil Tiger bomb attacks on public buses packed with civilians, officials said. A crowded state-run bus travelling just south of Colombo was peppered with red-hot shrapnel from a powerful ...
Pakistan defends talks with Taliban.
Jun 11, 2008 ... ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's foreign minister said in Afghanistan yesterday that his government was not in talks with "terrorists" but only with "peace-loving" elements as part of a multipronged strategy to fight extremism. Shah Mahmood Qureshi met President Hamid Karzai and other ...
Labour market 'downturn worse'.
Jun 11, 2008 ... NEW YORK: A surprisingly large jump in the US unemployment rate during last month signaled that the length and depth of the current labour market downturn may well be worse than anticipated. Another several months of job losses are likely, analysts and staffing executives said, ...
IT'S NADAL VERSUS FEDERER.
Jun 11, 2008 ... PARIS: Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will play out Act III of their intriguing Roland Garros rivalry after they both trudged into the French Open final last night. Raw desire and an indomitable spirit allowed three-times champion Nadal to survive a late fightback from Novak Djokovic and ...
Anderson puts England on top.
Jun 11, 2008 ... NOTTINGHAM, England: James Anderson recorded his Test-best figures with both bat and ball here yesterday as England took control of their series finale with New Zealand at Trent Bridge. Anderson claimed all six wickets to fall to leave New Zealand 96 for six, still 69 short of ...
Mumbai's plan for 94m statue stirs debate.
Jun 11, 2008 ... NEW DELHI: Mumbai is planning to build a towering monument to a beloved warrior-king that is taller than the Statue of Liberty - but, if initial reaction is any gauge, the memorial may not be a crowd-pleaser. The government of Maharashtra state, where Mumbai is located, this ...
Shaikh Salman claims third best mark in F3 practice.
Jun 11, 2008 ... BAHRAIN'S Shaikh Salman bin Rashid Al Khalifa struggled yesterday in three practice sessions heading into the fifth round of the British Formula Three National Championship. The race weekend is being held at the Snetterton Race Circuit in Norfolk, England. The ...
Air India 'can ground overweight crew'.
Jun 11, 2008 ... NEW DELHI: An Indian court has ruled that the national airline Air India can ground overweight cabin crew members. Two years ago Air India warned its nearly 1,600 cabin crew workers to shape up in two months or risk being assigned to ground duties. When the airline grounded ...
Berlusconi supports rival bid for Alitalia.
Jun 11, 2008 ... ROME: Silvio Berlusconi, tipped to become Italy's prime minister after next month's vote, has suggested an Italian rival bid to Air France-KLM's offer for Alitalia could emerge, sending the stricken airline's shares soaring. Political rivals dismissed it as election rhetoric, ...
Euro zone services sector slows.
Jun 11, 2008 ... LONDON: Euro zone services activity cooled a bit more than expected this month as the euro soared to a record high against the dollar, but growth has not slowed enough yet to prompt an interest rate cut, data showed yesterday. The RBS/NTC Eurozone Purchasing Managers Index for ...
Europe may survive crisis as US faces recession.
Jun 11, 2008 ... PARIS: The US economy is teetering on the brink of recession but euro zone countries could pull through the global financial crisis without special measures.The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said slashed US growth estimates for the first half of this year, ...
49pc Chinese urban consumers face prices blow.
Jun 11, 2008 ... BEIJING: A record 49.2 per cent of Chinese urban consumers think prices are unacceptably high, a quarterly central bank survey of households released yesterday showed. That was up from 47.6pc in the previous poll. But only 48.9pc of those polled expect inflation to ...
Toyota planning Korea push.
Jun 11, 2008 ... SEOUL: Toyota Motor yesterday said it will start selling the hybrid Prius and two other models in South Korea next year as it expands its offerings in the country beyond the luxury Lexus brand. "It's a big challenge for Toyota," chairman Fujio Cho said of the decision by Japan's ...
Pearl deal on track.
Jun 11, 2008 ... LONDON: Britain's Resolution brushed aside concerns over its planned takeover by Pearl yesterday, as the insurer submitted revised paperwork to the regulator which will pave the way for the deal to be sealed. The acquisition of Resolution by its arch-rival, agreed last ...
Dubai regrets collapse of Colonial takeover bid.
Jun 11, 2008 ... DUBAI: State-owned Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD) said it regretted not reaching a deal to buy the rental business of Spanish real estate firm Colonial. "We regret that, despite best efforts by all parties, no agreement could be found," ICD chief executive officer ...
Low wages 'harming expats'.
Jun 11, 2008 ... POOR pay and living standards blight life in the Gulf for the majority of Indian workers, says a migration expert.People migrate to improve their livelihood, said Dr S Irudaya Rajan, chair professor at the Trivandrum (Kerala)-based Centre for Development Studies' Research Unit on ...
US factory data reflects fear of recession.
Jun 11, 2008 ... NEW YORK: Evidence of US recession mounted yesterday with reports showing Mid-Atlantic factory activity in its worst slump since the start of the Iraq war and more workers claiming jobless benefits. Separately, the private Conference Board reported its forecasting gauge fell for ...
Sculptor to prove his mettle.
Jun 11, 2008 ... IRAQI artist Ahmed Al Bahrani will exhibit his work at the Albareh Art Gallery, Adliya, from Monday. The event will be held under the patronage of General Directorate of Nationality, Passports and Residence Under-Secretary Shaikh Rashid bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, who is honorary ...
Woman's murderer loses his appeal.
Jun 11, 2008 ... Byline: MOHAMMED ASLAM An armed robber who attacked and killed a 68-year-old Bahraini woman has lost his appeal against a life jail sentence. The 27-year-old Bahraini was convicted of manslaughter and armed robbery by the High Criminal Court and jailed in October last ...
Friday's sermons in many languages.
Jun 11, 2008 ... MOSQUES around Bahrain are offering Friday sermons in different languages today. Following is a schedule for the sermons, provided by the Justice and Islamic Affairs Ministry: Urdu: Abu Bakr Al Sadeeq Mosque, Al Mehza'a Mosque and Al Fateh Mosque in Manama, Shaikh ...
Unity pledge by Bahrain clerics.(Conference notes)
Jun 11, 2008 ... Byline: MOHAMMED AL A'ALI BAHRAINI Sunni and Shi'ite clerics put aside their differences last night, in the hope of achieving unity between both sects. The clerics were invited by the Islamic Enlightenment Society to take part in its seventh annual unity conference, ...
Fun-filled day at walkathon.
Jun 11, 2008 ... A WALKATHON to raise health awareness gets underway at 11am today at Amwaj Island's Beach Club, Muharraq. The first Annual Shoe Mart Walkathon is split into two routes - 3km and 5km. All walkers are requested to meet at the Beach Club at 10am to be allocated one of ...
Raft race targets BD30,000.
Jun 11, 2008 ... THIRTY teams will go head to head today in the Bahrain Raft Race at Al Bander Hotel and Resort, Sitra. The event is the Rotary Club of Salmaniya's biggest annual fund-raiser and aims to raise BD30,000 for local causes, said race team committee head Don Donitz. "We ...
Volunteers set off on India camp tour.
Jun 11, 2008 ... FOURTEEN children and seven volunteers from the Chinmaya Society in Bahrain will leave today for a week-long summer camp in India. The camp is organised by the society's India-based Bala Vihar, at the Chinmaya International Foundation, Kochi, Kerala. The children aged ...
GDN marks 30 years...
Jun 11, 2008 ... Byline: Geoffrey Bew POLITICAL turmoil and strife in the Middle East continue to dominate the GDN headlines, 30 years to the day after the newspaper was launched. Bahrain's first English-language daily appeared on March 21, 1978. Prime Minister Shaikh ...
Prices impact in spotlight.
Jun 11, 2008 ... BUSINESS leaders from across the Gulf will discuss the impact of the region's soaring inflation levels at a two-day event in Bahrain starting on Sunday. Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman Dr Esam Fakhro will give the welcome speech in the seminar and Gulf ...
Leadership skills help for young.
Jun 11, 2008 ... A GROUP of disabled youngsters from the US and Bahrain returned yesterday after a four-day trip to Hawar Island as part of a three-week international youth exchange programme. The group left on Sunday and took part in various activities, including sailing, swimming, water games, ...
Irish group to buy stake in cement firm.
Jun 11, 2008 ... DUBLIN: Acquisitive Irish building materials group CRH will enter the Indian market after agreeing to buy 50 per cent of cement maker My Home Industries Limited (MHIL) for 290 million euros ($456m). Dublin-based CRH, which has used acquisitions to grow into one of the world's ...
Residents hunt for stolen Barbar relic.
Jun 11, 2008 ... Byline: MOHAMMED AL A'ALI MEMBERS of the public yesterday launched their own hunt for an ancient artefact stolen from temple ruins. They were hoping to succeed where Interpol and the Bahraini police force have so far failed to hunt down a 3,500-year-old relic stolen ...
Tickets for Kiran Bedi talk on sale.
Jun 11, 2008 ... TICKETS are now on sale for a talk entitled the Leela Jashanmal Lecture, which honours the late Indian Ladies Association's (ILA) founding member Leela Jashanmal. It will be the first event since the new ILA executive committee took charge and features India's most famous ...
Siemens to sell division.
Jun 11, 2008 ... FRANKFURT: German industrial giant Siemens plans to sell its electronic components and circuit boards division or merge it with a competitor owing to tough market conditions, a spokesman said yesterday. The Electronic Assembly Systems unit, which employs 2,100 people, "no longer ...
Relative conned by travel agent.
Jun 11, 2008 ... Byline: MOHAMMED ASLAM A TRAVEL agent who conned his relative out of more than BD1,700 has been jailed for six months. The 33-year-old Bahraini accepted money from his relative, who was in the UAE, and was supposed to supply him with plane tickets. ...
BD40m grant hit by another delay.
Jun 11, 2008 ... Byline: MOHAMMED AL A' ALI THE BD40 million aid package to help needy Bahrainis cope with inflation could be further delayed, after two parliamentary committees rejected the Shura Council's amendments. Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa had earlier ...
Charity abseil chance for 'daredevils'.
Jun 11, 2008 ... Thrill-seekers are still being urged to register for a charity abseil down a 150-foot high building in Juffair. The event is being held to raise funds for Dreamflight Bahrain, in which two seriously ill Bahraini children will go on a trip of a lifetime to Disney World in ...
'Stop relying on cheap labour'.
Jun 11, 2008 ... Byline: SOMAN BABY BAHRAIN must be "weaned off" its dependence on low-paid labourers and start paying its own citizens more money if its labour reforms are to succeed, according to a Singaporean expert. Loh Kok Choy also stressed the importance of improving ...
China urged to play key role in Doha trade talks.
Jun 11, 2008 ... BEIJING: A top US trade official yesterday urged China and other emerging economies to be more bold about opening their markets in order to help get the Doha round of global trade negotiations back on track. US Trade Representative Susan Schwab said that, in meetings with ...
Bear Stearns staff offered bonuses.
Jun 11, 2008 ... NEW YORK: JPMorgan Chase & Company is offering bankers at Bear Stearns bonuses to stay and support the controversial takeover, a person familiar with the situation said yesterday. JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon met hundreds of Bear Stearns executives on Wednesday night - ...
Splashing out in oasis of fun.
Jun 11, 2008 ... Byline: MANDEEP SINGH One of the region's largest water parks, Bahrain's $50 million (BD18.9m) Lost Paradise of Dilmun, opened yesterday for the 2008 season, with a record opening day attendance. Hundreds of people, including invited media and other guests, along ...
High oil prices blow to FedEx profit outlook.(Financial report)
Jun 11, 2008 ... DETROIT: FedEx Corporation yesterday reported a higher-than-expected third-quarter net profit, but gave a low outlook for the current quarter citing soaring fuel prices and slowing US economic growth, sending the package delivery company's shares down more than two per cent. ...