A four member delegation led by Mrs. Zeng Weiyu, Vice Director of the 16th Asian Games communication and promotion division who arrived in the island on a promotional campaign met the officials of the National Olympic committee of Sri Lanka at Olympic House in Colombo yesterday.

The other members in the party are Sha Jian (H.R. Dept) Miss Wu Qing (Games Communication and Promotion Dept) Wang Chohna (Marketing Dept).

Weiyu addressing the officials said the 16th edition will comprise 42 sporting disciplines - 28 Olympic events and 14 non Olympic events.

The non Olympic events are very much familiar to the Asian Region. Cricket is the latest addition to the games.

Gungzhon Games organisers are making every effort to make this the best ever Games in the region With the experience the Chinese gained with the holding of the last Olympic Games, we are geared up to do everything possible to make it the most successful one.

The Guangzhon Organisers expect 14,000 participants, 6500 technical officials, nearly 10,000 media men from all part of the region and 2000 officials from OCA and IOC.

She said we are here after visiting a few countries, but Sri Lanka is one of our most friendly countries. We are very keen to see a big contingent of participants for the Guangzhon Games next year and hope that they will win many medals.

Chinese and Sri Lankan cultural ties too are very much familiar and also the Guangzhon City too has the same climatic conditions as Sri Lanka and Lankans who arrive there will be at ease.

Our promotional team will leave today for Maldivies for the next stage with happy memories.

At this meeting mementos were exchanged between the NOC and the visiting delegation.

They too presented replicas of Mascots for the 16th Asian Games, while Visa Stamping too was performed to mark the visit of the team.

The team led by Weiyu will visit all 44 participating countries before the count down of the games on November 12, 2009.

The Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) is seeking the assistance of 19 police stations in the city to curb the dengue menace as some of the Public Health Inspectors who had gone to inspect premises had been threatened by certain residents, Commissioner Badrani Jayawardana told the Daily News yesterday.

Already 58 people have been prosecuted for keeping stagnant water in their premises, breeding grounds for mosquitoes and 50,000 houses were checked and many awareness programs conducted to keep the city clean but the mosquito menace is still not under control, she said.

Campaigns were carried out even during the weekends, from the beginning of the year with shramadana programs. The Civil Defence Force also took part.

Cleaning of drains with the participation of prisoners and CMC workers were carried out to eradicate the mosquito menace but the problem has still been not completely resolved, she said. “There were eight deaths in the city limits while 560 dengue cases were reported this year.

“But when comparing these figures with the 2004 figures, the number of patients reported in June 2004 was 300 but this year it was only 160 patients,” CMC Medical Health Officer Dr. Pradeep Kariyawasam said.

“Cleaning premises and dumping garbage near the road side would not solve the problem.

“Even a tea spoon full of water is enough for the dengue mosquito to breed. But the conservative attitude of some residents and even officials prevented the eradication program becoming successful,” he said.

High profile committee to steer election campaign

CHAMINDA PERERA Agriculture Development and Agrarian Services Minister and SLFP General Secretary Maithreepala Sirisena yesterday said the United People’s Freedom Alliance has appointed 11 member high profile committee to steer the election campaign in the Uva Province. This committee headed by SLFP General Secretary and Minister Maithreepala Sirisena will maintain close coordination with the Badulla and Moneragala district election committees which are led by UPFA General Secretary and Education Minister Susil Premajayanth and Power and Energy Minister W.D.J. Seneviratne. The Minister said similar committees will be appointed to conduct the election campaign in the Vavuniya Urban council and Jaffna Municipal Council areas.

UPFA General Secretary and Education Minister Susil Premajayantha yesterday handed over the UPFA nominations for the Uva Provincial Council election to Badulla District Retuning officer Rohana Keerthi Dissanayake and Moneragala District Assistant Returning Officer Namal Thalangama at the Badulla and Moneragala district secretariats.

Uva Paranagama SLFP Chief Organiser and former Uva Province Chief Minister A.M. Buddhadasa, will lead the candidates contesting the election from the Badulla district while Kataragama Devale Basnayaka Nilame Shashindra Kumara Rajapaksa will lead the candidates in the Moneragala district. Addressing the media after handing over of the UPFA nomination list to the Badulla Returning Officer, the Minister said the UPFA’s victory at the election is inevitable.

He said the UPFA candidates contesting the upcoming provincial election represent professionals and men and women of the three communities.

Acceptance of nominations for the Uva Provincial election will end at 12 noon today. The Returning officers of the respective districts are set to declare the date of the election after the period for the acceptance of nominations ends.

The period granted by the Elections Commissioner for the independent groups to forward their deposits ended yesterday at 12 noon. The JVP and the UNP nomination lists are expected to be handed over to the respective returning officers today.

Meanwhile, Up Country People’s Front (UPF) led by Minister P. Chandrasekaran has decided to contest the Uva Provincial Council election on its own without joining any other party, UPF Vice President A. Ravindakumar said. The UPF will contest under the mamoty symbol.

Over 800,000 voters in the Badulla and Moneragala districts are qualified to vote at the election to elect 32 members to the Uva Provincial Council. Over 23 percent of population in the Badulla district are living in the estate sectors.

Mount Lavinia Additional District Judge Macki Mohamed yesterday issued notice on the Leader Publications and two others, Lal Wickrematunga and journalist Fredrica Jansz, to appear in Court on July 9 and to show cause why they should not be dealt for contempt of Court.

At the commencement of the two cases where, Defence Secretary Rajapaksa had filed against the Leader Publications, the Counsel for Leader Publications informed the Judge they are not appearing for the respondents, the Leader Publications, and withdrew from the two cases.

In this case, Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa sought Rs. 1 billion as compensation from the Leader Publications and Sunday Leader newspaper for publishing an article defamatory of him. The Court issued an injunction order on the defendants on December 14, 2008 prohibiting them to publish articles defamatory of the petitioner Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.

Subsequently on May 14, 2009, the date on which they were required to file objections, the defendants came to Court and pledged not to publish anything defamatory to the petitioner and agreed to face punishment for contempt of Court if the pledge was not honoured.

Judge Mohamed issued notice on the respondents after lengthy submissions made by Senior Attorney M.U.M. Ali Sabry, Senior Counsel for the Defence Secretary. Senior Counsel Ali Sabry submitted that the counsel who appeared for late journalist Lasantha Wickrematunga and the Leader Publications on the last hearing date, gave an undertaking to Court that they will not publish any articles or any statements defamatory to Defence Secretary Rajapaksa in the future.

Violating the undertaking given to Court on the last hearing date, the Leader Publication had published an article on May 25, 2009 defamatory to the Defence Secretary.

In that article the writer had compared the Defence Secretary with the LTTE leader.

The writer’s name was also not mentioned in that article. This is gross violation of human rights, Senior Counsel Sabry said.

The Defence Secretary and an Officer of the Navy came to Court yesterday to give evidence and informed the public about the correct picture of the “Mig Transaction,” As the Counsel for the respondents were not present in Court, we had to move for a date, the Senior Counsel Sabry said.

Earlier, Senior Counsel Sabry emphasised that if the Leader publications violate the conditions agreed in Court, they will file action against them in Court.

Senior Counsel Sabry with Samith Fernando, Laksith Jayawardena and Rajitha Dissanayake instructed by Sanath Wijewardena appeared for the Defence Secretary. The case will be called again on July 9, 2009.

Lee has taken 310 Test wickets at an average of just over 30

Brett Lee will take a big first step to returning Australia’s Test side when he lines up against Sussex in his side’s first Ashes warm-up game on Wednesday.

The 32-year-old played the last of his 76 Tests in December before undergoing foot and ankle surgery.

Australia will be without Mitchell Johnson, who is being rested and Shane Watson, who has a knee injury.

Sussex’s South African player Pepler Sandri will make his debut for a side containing Luke Wright and Ed Joyce.

“Lee’s jumping out his skin to get back out there on Wednesday,” said Australia captain Ricky Ponting, ahead of the 12-a-side four-day game.

“He’s looking good at the moment. He’s trained harder than I’ve ever seen him train before.”

Australia will also face the England Lions before the first Ashes Test gets underway in Cardiff on 8 July.

Lee, who has taken 310 Test wickets at an average of slightly above 30, is no longer an automatic choice to lead the bowling attack and will vie for a place with fellow pacemen Ben Hilfenhaus, Mitchell Johnson, Stuart Clark and Peter Siddle.

Spinner Nathan Hauritz is expected to play against Sussex.

“It’s important for him and all our bowlers to take what opportunities come their way in the next couple of weeks,” said Ponting.

“We’ve got some big selections to be made there as far as the make-up goes for the first Test. All the guys know that.”

Sussex expect more than 20,000 fans to attend over the four days and have named a strong team for the clash.

THE ASHES SERIES 8-12 Jul: 1st Test, Cardiff 16-20 Jul: 2nd Test, Lord’s 30 Jul- 3 Aug: 3rd Test, Edgbaston 7-11 Aug: 4th Test, Headingley 20-24 Aug: 5th Test, Oval

“It’s an honour to play against any international side and especially one as revered as Australia,” said Mark Robinson, the club’s professional cricket manager.

“It’s a great opportunity for this Sussex team to play and put a marker down for the Club and themselves for the future.”

Ponting also admitted he felt the game at Hove would be perfect preparation for English wickets: “We believe that the conditions here are more like the Cardiff wicket than anywhere else in the country so it will be good to get used to the pace and the bounce.”

---

Sussex:
Beer, Hamilton-Brown, Hodd (wkt), Hopkinson, Joyce, Kirtley, Martin-Jenkins, Nash, Ollie Rayner, Sandri, Wright and Yardy (c).

Australia: Ponting (c), Hughes, Katich, Clarke, Hussey, North, Haddin (wkt), Hauritz, Lee, Siddle, Hilfenhaus, Clark.

Madoff is likely to spend the rest of his life in prison Disgraced US financier Bernard Madoff’s lawyer has said his client deserves 12 years in prison for his crimes. In March, Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 charges that he masterminded a $50bn (£35bn) investment fraud. He will be sentenced on 29 June and could be jailed for up to 150 years. Madoff is 71 years old now. New York District Judge Denny Chin has received more than 100 letters from angry victims of Madoff’s fraud, with some calling him a “monster”. ‘Hysteria’ Madoff’s lawyer, Ira Lee Sorkin, urged Judge Chin to “set aside the emotion and hysteria” that surrounds the case. “We seek neither mercy nor sympathy,” Mr Sorkin wrote in court papers. But victims of Madoff - who admitted operating a massive Ponzi scheme for decades - were unmoved by the plea. “If he was hung by his toes for 12 years then maybe that sentence would be acceptable,” said Candace Newlove of Colorado, who said her family was ruined by Madoff. Judge Chin received 113 letters and e-mails from people who had lost money in the Madoff scandal. Many urged him to sentence Madoff to the maximum 150 years in prison.

The world’s largest chip maker has teamed up with the world’s largest mobile phone maker to create what they say will be a “new exciting industry”.

Intel and Nokia said their “technology collaboration” would deliver new mobile computing products - beyond existing smartphones, netbooks and notebooks.

But both companies added it was still too early to talk about product plans.

The deal gives Intel its first real breakthrough in the multi-billion dollar mobile-phone market.

“This collaboration will drive exciting new revenue opportunities for both companies and shape the next era of mobile computing,” said Anand Chandrasekher, Intel’s senior vice president of its ultra-mobility group.

Nokia’s executive vice president for devices, Kai Oistamo said: “It will be compelling not only for our companies, but also for our industries, our partners and, of course, for customers.”

“Brave new world”

Both companies said the partnership would centre around several open-source mobile Linux software projects, including the Moblin platform for Atom-based processors and the Maemo operating system developed by Nokia.

Intel will also acquire a licence from Nokia that is used in modem chips to connect to third generation cellular networks.

Intel’s chips power most of the world’s personal computers

Although Intel makes chips for Wi-Fi and WiMax networks, it has previously lacked the technology to provide a complete technology package for portable device makers.

In a conference call with reporters, neither company would not be drawn on what any future products would look like.

“We will talk about products when we are ready to talk about products,” said Mr Chandraseckher

“With the convergence of the internet and mobility as the team’s only barrier, I can only imagine the innovation that will come out of our unique relationship with Nokia. The possibilities are endless.”

ABI Research says that last year a total of 1.2 billion mobile phones were sold globally.

Mr Oistamo was equally tight-lipped on the subject of future products, but he added: “We will explore new ideas in designs, materials and displays that will go far beyond devices and services on the market today.

“The future is truly exciting and there is a lot of room here to redefine what mobile is and what it can do as we create this brave new world.”

“Wave of the future”

Intel’s microprocessors are found in eight out of 10 personal computers, while Nokia boasts around a billion customers but is not as big a player in the US as it is in Europe.

The alliance could spell stiffer competition for ARM Holdings, which is one of the biggest suppliers of chips in the cell phone marketplace.

The deal will boost Nokia’s presence in the United States

Analysts welcomed the collaboration, which they described as significant for both companies.

“Intel has really been trying to get a foothold in the wireless world in the worst way,” Will Strauss, principal analyst with Forward Concepts told the BBC.

“They know portability, mobility is the wave of the future. Nokia is the world’s biggest cell-phone maker in the world so getting a piece of Nokia’s business is a big deal.

“For Nokia its a way to get into notebooks and netbooks. They are not big there and partnering with Intel as the largest manufacturer of chips will lend them credibility in that market,” said Mr Strauss.

Gerry Purdy, who is the chief mobile analyst at Frost & Sullivan agreed the deal is a win-win for both Intel and Nokia. He added that while the first product could be a year or so away, it should have the potential to shake up the market.

“I believe this will impact the industry for many years to come and accelerate the adoption of smartphones in the world. At the moment they are at 10% of market share. I predict that will grow to 50-60% in the next five years as a result of this partnership.

“The direction we are heading is more computing power. We are seeing some exciting iPhone-like capability out there like graphics interactivity, multi-touch, video, lots of multi-media and the like.

“All those things are exciting in the industry but they are not pervasive and I think maybe this collaboration will help create that,” Mr Purdy told BBC News.

Microsoft Security Essentials is aimed at home users. A trial version of Microsoft’s free anti-virus software has been launched in the US, China, Brazil, and Israel. Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) promises to provide people with basic protection against viruses, trojans, rootkits and spyware. The software giant has been criticised in the past for failing to include free security software with Windows. Its first security package, Windows Live OneCare, failed to attract many customers and will be discontinued. Microsoft is hoping that MSE, available as a free download from its site, will prove more popular. It has said it will automatically update it for users. However, rival security vendors have questioned whether Microsoft can compete with more established anti-virus players. Family doctor “Early reviews of the beta are showing that it under-performs when compared to existing freeware products, and well below paid solutions,” said security firm Symantec in a statement. “Referring to Microsoft’s basic anti-virus and anti-spyware product as an essential security solution is misleading. Consumers need firewall protection, web protection, anti-spam and identity safeguards,” it said. J.R Smith, chief executive of security firm AVG, said Microsoft’s entry into the security market could “further confuse consumers about the inherent security of their computer”. “It’s important to recognise that Microsoft’s role in the internet security realm is much like your relationship with your trusted family doctor. They can help diagnose the problems. In addition, they treat many general ailments. In the end, though, they are not a replacement for a specialist when you need one,” he said. Initially 75,000 trial versions of MSE, codenamed Morro, will be available in the US, Brazil, China and Israel. The software will be rolled out in other countries later this year.

Mr Kirk has accused the Chinese of hurting American steelmakers The US and European Union (EU) have filed complaints that China is unfairly limiting its raw material exports. In the trade cases filed with the World Trade Organization (WTO) the US and EU said China was giving its domestic industry access to cheap materials. China said it was meeting its WTO obligations and would contest the case. The case may be the first of many between the world’s largest nations as countries have sought to protect their industries amid the global recession. The cases concern the export of materials such as coke used to make steel, for which it is one of the largest producers, as well as bauxite and magnesium. Consultation period “The United States believes that China is unfairly restricting exports of raw materials,” US Trade Representative Ron Kirk said. “These actions are hurting American steel, aluminium and chemical manufacturers, among other industries, that desperately need these material to make their products.” Mr Kirk said the US had decided to pursue a WTO case after two years of talks between the Chinese and the previous administration of former President George W Bush had failed to reach a resolution. China responded that its goal was to “protect the environment and natural resources, and the Chinese side considers the relevant policy to be compliant with WTO regulations”. China has also responded by launching a complaint over a US ban on the imports of Chinese poultry, which has been in place since the bird flu scare in 2004. The US and EU complaints now trigger a 60-day consultation period. If the dispute is still not resolved, they can formally request a hearing panel, which could hear the case for up to a year. If they win, the US and EU would then be given the go-ahead by the WTO to impose economic sanctions on China.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development says the world economy is near the bottom of the worst recession in post-war history.

The body that represents the 30 most industrialised nations said that those economies would shrink 4.1% this year.

But it adds that recovery is likely to be “weak and fragile” for some time.

The UK is in “a sharp recession”, it says, with output set to decline by 4.3% in 2009. worse than its previous forecast of a 3.7% fall.

The OECD predicts zero growth in the UK economy in 2010, and says the UK budget deficit will reach 14% next year - both worse than UK government estimates.

It looks like the worst scenario has been avoided OECD

It says the pace of the global downturn is now moderating after the sharp drop in the six months to March, but it still expects world output to shrink by 2.2% this year.

However, this is the first time for two years it has revised upwards its overall economic forecasts, especially for 2010, with the economies of Japan and the US now expected to decline less sharply than projected in its previous report.

Signs of hope

It says the advanced economies will return to weak growth of 0.7% in 2010, compared with its previous forecast of a contraction of 0.1%.

WORLD GROWTH FORECAST UK 2009 -4.3%; 2010 0.0% USA 2009 -2.8%; 2010 0.9% Eurozone 2009 -4.8%; 2010 0.0% Japan 2009 -6.8%; 2010 0.7% OECD 2009 -4.1%; 2010 0.7% World 2009 -2.2%; 2010 2.3% Source: OECD Economic Outlook

“It looks like the worst scenario has been avoided,” the OECD said.

“Even if the subsequent recovery may be slow, such an outcome is a major achievement of economic policy.”

The OECD adds that there are already signs of recovery in the large non-OECD countries such as China, and that in the US activity could bottom out in the second half of 2009.

However, it is more pessimistic about the prospects for the UK and the eurozone.

It says that “signs of impending recovery in the euro area are not yet clearly visible” because of housing bubbles, damage to the financial sector, and export setbacks.

And it warns that in the UK, rising public sector deficits will need to be reined in as recovery takes hold, and urges the government to develop a “concrete and comprehensive plan” to ensure debt is on a declining path.

It also warns that unemployment could still rise to above 10% in the UK, the eurozone, and the US.

The collapse in world trade, which is projected to fall by 16% this year, has hit major exporting countries such as Germany and Japan particularly hard.

Policy measures

Output in the eurozone may recover more slowly than elsewhere

The OECD says that not only have its growth projections been revised, but the risks that things might be worse than expected are lower.

It says financial conditions might improve more quickly that it has assumed, although there is still a risk of an adverse reaction in bond markets to the high levels of government debt.

“A really disastrous outcome has become more of a remote risk,” said OECD chief economist Jorgen Elmeskov.

He told the BBC that “this was a policy-driven upturn”, but it was still not clear when private demand would be able to replace public demand, and he urged governments to “stay the course”.

The OECD says that “it would be tempting but wrong” to relax the extraordinary policy effort of the last nine months.

It says there is still more that policy can do to ensure a faster and more robust recovery, especially by removing the uncertainty over impaired bank assets.

The OECD adds that there are major challenges in eventually rolling back the range of government interventions to stabilise the financial system - in particular, it calls for coordination across countries to avoid fear of competitive disadvantage blocking progress.

And it says that tough measures will be needed to eventually reduce government budget deficits that have been stretched by the crisis. It urges governments to begin planning for such adjustments now even if they cannot be fully implemented until the economy improves.