Bader al-Humaidhi

KUWAIT CITY, Nov. 4--OPEC member Kuwait’s oil minister has offered to resign after some members of parliament voiced resistance to his appointment a week ago, TradeArabia reported.
Al-Anba newspaper said the minister, Bader al-Humaidhi, met with Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah late on Friday to discuss the possible resignation and al-Watan newspaper said the prime minister might accept on Sunday.
Changes in oil minister usually have no effect on Kuwait’s energy policy, which is set by a council that includes oil industry and other government officials. Parliamentarian Saleh Ashour told al-Anba that Humaidhi’s resignation was verbal.
The government and parliament of the Persian Gulf Arab state have been locked in a standoff for much of the year, delaying reforms such as a bill to cut tax on foreign firms and plans to explore oilfields.
Humaidhi, a former finance minister, took the oil portfolio in a broad cabinet reshuffle a week ago, but deputies critical of his past performance immediately opposed his appointment.
Islamist MP Dhaifallah Buramia submitted a request to question Humaidhi last month after a newspaper suggested he had made administrative and financial mistakes as finance minister.
Kuwait’s ruler, Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, who has the last say in politics, addressed the reopening of parliament after the summer break last week and told deputies and the government to work together.
Analysts say he was on the brink of dissolving parliament earlier this year because of the deadlock.
The Oil Ministry portfolio had been vacant since June when Sheikh Ali al-Jarrah al-Sabah quit averting a non-confidence vote in parliament.

A woman walks past a billboard promoting the African Summit in Beijing, 31 October 2006.

KIGALI, Rwanda, Nov. 4--A Chinese Diplomat has defended his country’s increasing presence in Africa. The Chinese Acting Ambassador to Rwanda, Wang Xinm. Li said. “China is not motivated by the continent’s resources. Our friends will continue making noise but this will not stop us from supporting African states and improving people’s standards of living,“ he said, www.allafrica.com wrote.
He insisted no one will stop China’s engagement in Africa’s economic and political fields. “You cannot expect no noise from other causes of the world,“ Wang Xinm.Li said but added that, “Nobody will silence us.“
The US and European governments have tried to link the 2008 Beijing Olympics with Chinese policy in Darfur, saying they run counter to the Olympic spirit.
Last year, Beijing held a Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), and China pledged to offer $5 billion in preferential loans and credits, and double aid to Africa by 2009, while announcing a package of assistance, investment, trade and other key projects for public health and education in Africa.
About 41 heads of state and senior officials of 48 African countries took part in the diplomatic event which was held under a theme “Friendship, Peace, Cooperation and Development.“
Wang said there is a need to promote a balanced, coordinated and sustainable development of the global economy to enable all countries to share its benefits and realize common development and prosperity.
Last year, China and Rwanda recorded a total trade turnover of more than US$34million.
Rwanda exports to China have increased by more than 80 percent between 2004 and last year.
Also a number of Chinese companies have started investing in Rwanda.
A Chinese based company recently launched a subsidiary in Rwanda to provide digital Pay-TV and broadband Internet services.
Rwanda’s Foreign Affairs Minister Charles Murigande in the recent past said China’s investment shows its commitment to strengthen cooperation between the two countries.
China is actively involved in infrastructure construction, finance, technology and communications, education, Health and road construction in Rwanda.

The PC’s role in Japanese homes is diminishing, as its once-awesome monopoly on processing power is encroached by gadgets such as smart phones that act like pocket-size computers, advanced Internet-connected game consoles, digital video recorders with terabytes of memory, AP wrote.
“A new PC just isn’t high on my priority list right now,“ said a customer shopping at a Bic Camera electronics shop in central Tokyo.
Japan’s PC market is already shrinking, leading analysts to wonder whether Japan will become the first major market to see a decline in personal computer use some 25 years after it revolutionized household electronics--and whether this could be the picture of things to come in other countries.
“The household PC market is losing momentum to other electronics like flat-panel TVs and mobile phones,“ said Masahiro Katayama, research group head at market survey firm IDC.
Overall PC shipments in Japan have fallen for five consecutive quarters, the first ever drawn-out decline in PC sales in a key market, according to IDC. The trend shows no signs of letting up: In the second quarter of 2007, desktops fell 4.8 percent and laptops 3.1 percent.
NEC’s and Sony’s sales have been falling since 2006 in Japan. Hitachi Ltd. said Oct. 22 it will pull out of the household computer business entirely in an effort to refocus its sprawling operations.
“Consumers aren’t impressed anymore with bigger hard drives or faster processors. That’s not as exciting as a bigger TV,“ Katayama said. “And in Japan, kids now grow up using mobile phones, not PCs. The future of PCs isn’t bright.“
PC makers beg to differ, and they’re aggressively marketing their products in the countries where they’re seeing the most sales growth--places where residents have never had a PC. The industry is responding in two other ways: reminding detractors that computers are still essential in linking the digital universe and releasing several laptops priced below $300 this holiday shopping season.
And, though sales in the US are slowing too, booming demand in the developing world is expected to buoy worldwide PC shipments 11 percent to an all-time high of 286 million in 2007. And, outside Japan, Asia is a key growth area, with second-quarter sales jumping 21.9 percent this year.
Hitachi had already stopped making PCs for individual consumers since releasing this year’s summer models, although the Tokyo-based manufacturer will keep making some computers for corporate clients. Personal computers already accounted for less than 1 percent of Hitachi’s annual sales. It’s clear why consumers are shunning PCs.
Millions download music directly to their mobile devices, and many more use their handsets for online shopping and to play games. Digital cameras connect directly to printers and high-definition TVs for viewing photos, bypassing PCs altogether. Movies now download straight to TVs.
More than 50 percent of Japanese send e-mail and browse the Internet from their mobile phones, according to a 2006 survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The same survey found that 30 percent of people with e-mail on their phones used PC-based e-mail less, including 4 percent who said they had stopped sending e-mails from PCs completely.
The fastest growing social networking site here, Mobagay Town, is designed exclusively for cell phones. Other networking sites like mixi, Facebook and MySpace can all be accessed and updated from handsets, as can the video-sharing site YouTube.
And while a lot of the decline is in household PCs, businesses are also waiting longer to replace their computers partly because recent advances in PC technology are only incremental, analysts say.
At a consumer electronics event in Tokyo in October, the mostly unpopular stalls showcasing new PCs contrasted sharply with the crowded displays of flat-panel TVs.
“There’s no denying PCs are losing their spunk in Japanese consumers’ eyes,“ said Hiroyuki Ishii, a sales official at Japan’s top PC maker, NEC Corp. “There seems to be less and less things only a PC can do,“ Ishii said. “The PC’s value will fade unless the PC can offer some breakthrough functions.“
Sony Corp.’s desktop computers have folded up to become clocks, and its latest version even hangs on the wall. NEC is trying to make its PCs’ cooling fans quieter--to address a common complaint from customers, it says.
Still, sluggish sales weigh on manufacturers.

LONDON, Nov. 4--Airlines face passing rising fuel costs onto passengers with increased fares, analysts say, UPI wrote.
The recent surge in oil prices to record levels, closing Friday at $95.93, caused analysts to warn consumers that airlines may be forced to raise rates, the Times in London reported Saturday.
Airlines hedge against rising oil prices, but the escalating fuel crisis limit the protection of some carriers for next year.
British Airways, for example, hedged on 45 percent of its 2008 fuel at $76 a barrel, but may be forced to pay record rates for the latter half of next year, the Times said.
Gary Chapman of the Dubai based carrier Emirates said, “We are not as heavily hedged next year and it was a tough call not to increase the percentage covered. It does leave us exposed to the risk of high prices next year.“
Escalating oil prices caused American and Delta Airlines to impose an additional $20 surcharge on airfares.
Some major carriers posted record profits recently. However, an economic recession in 2008 may affect the future revenue as the financial slowdown decreases discretionary spending.

BERLIN, Nov. 4--Germany’s Finance Minister Peer Steinbruck warned against going back on tough spending restrictions which have helped relaunch the economy, ahead of a crunch meeting of the ruling coalition on Sunday.
“This will not work with me,“ Steinbruck said, in an interview published Saturday, of the growing pressure within his centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) for bigger social benefits, AFP reported.
Leaders of the conservative Christian Union alliance, which has governed with the SPD for the past two years, are to meet in Berlin on Sunday in a bid to overcome the crisis caused by SPD calls for an easing of spending restrictions.
Steinbruck, the chief architect of the recent success of Europe’s biggest economy, told the Leipziger Volkszeitung regional newspaper that no-one “should believe that the lock gates can be reopened“.
The newspaper interpreted his comments as being a threat to resign, but Steinbruck’s ministry made it known that this was not the case.
The heads of the rival parties in the left-right government are to discuss the SPD’s demands for transport subsidies for workers, extra family benefits and more payments for the long term unemployed.
The finance minister fears that such measures could undo the reforms started by the previous government under the SPD’s Gerhard Schroeder.
Chancellor Angela Merkel also warned “we must not undermine all that has been gained“ in an interview with the Welt am Sonntag newspaper to appear Sunday. The conservative Merkel, who has been accused by some of ignoring domestic policy, highlighted that budget consolidation and cutting unemployment remained her priorities.
German business leaders are also worried about a possible change of policy.
Unemployment is now at its lowest level in 12 years and is expected to go lower in 2008 while Germany could register a budget that balances receipts and spending next year.

ABU DHABI, UAE, Nov. 4--More than 8,000 commercial pilots will be needed over the next 20 years to satisfy demand from expanding Middle East carriers, holding up huge career opportunities for Persian Gulf nationals, according to one of the UAE’s leading flight acadamies.
Horizon International Flight Academy (Horizon), which is based in Al Ain, the second-largest city in Abu Dhabi emirate, says massive fleet development among the region’s commercial carriers, including Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways, is spurring demand, WAM reported.
“The only thing that can be done to meet the shortfall is to train more people for careers as pilots. The pilot profession is appealing more to Emirati youth including women who have begun to show an interest. Horizon is at the forefront of meeting this demand by offering internationally recognized flight instruction locally,“ said Mohammed Humaidan Al Zaabi, director general of Horizon--which is a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development Company.
“Aerospace experts are predicting the world’s aviation fleet will double to more than 35,000 aircraft by 2025, with three out of every five wide body aircraft delivered over the next 10 years going to the Middle East and Asia. The career potential for locals is huge.“
Horizon, which has over 90 percent UAE national enrolment, is now planning a major recruitment drive at the 2007 Dubai Airshow, which will be held in Nov. 11-15. “The Academy is noted for its rapid expansion and we will continue to keep up with the pace,“ Al Zaabi added.
Industry training ranks high on the Middle East’s aviation agenda as the region develops its own indigenous aerospace sector which has led Dubai Airshow organizers, fairs and exhibitions to expand the specialized training.
“Demand is such that the pavilion is now sold out with major names, including international training and simulation provider CAE and the diversified Emirates Link Group (Elite), which represents Stockholm’s SAS Flight Academy, Aviation Australia, Careflight and PHS Professional Helicopter Services,“ explained Alison Weller, F&E’s Director, Aerospace Division.
The training & simulation pavilion is being presented in cooperation with ETS News, the global magazine and website for aviation training industry.
The 2007 Dubai Airshow will be the biggest to date with up to 900 exhibitors expected from 50 countries.

DUBAI, UAE, Nov. 4--The government-owned Dubai Ports World was expected to sell 2.822 billion shares in a public offering starting Sunday in a price band of US$1 to US$1.30, the company’s officials said.
The company has the option to issue an additional 498 million shares if demand is strong, taking the total to 3.32 billion, AFP reported.
The IPO is the biggest attempted in the Middle East, beating the US$2.7 billion Saudi Telecommunications Company share sale in 2002 and the US$1.8 Saudi Kayan Petrochemicals Company offering this year.
DP World would raise US$4.3 billion if the shares are priced at the upper end of the band, Dow Jones Newswires reported Sunday. The 3.32 billion shares represents a 20 percent stake in the company.
The opening closes for retail buyers on November 15, but institutional investors will be able to bid for shares until November 21. The IPO is intended as a book-building issue, which allows the market to determine the price within a band of US$1 to US$1.30.