Black People In Business – World Wide

The twin-engine Cessna 401 went down Friday afternoon about nine miles west of Chanute, the Kansas Highway Patrol said on their website. The small aircraft landed in a field and skidded about 200 feet before hitting a treeline.

A spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board on Saturday said the pilot had been in contact with air traffic controllers, but there was no distress call.

“There was an altitude change and that was the last transmission,” said spokesman Peter Knudson.

The aircraft caught fire after the crash.

Texas-based Teen Mania Ministries said the eight-seat plane, manufactured in 1991, was headed for the Acquire the Fire conference in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

It had taken off from an airport near Tulsa, Oklahoma, said Elizabeth Cory, a Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman. Oral Roberts University is based in Tulsa.

Killed were the pilot Luke F. Sheets, 23, of Ephraim, Wisconsin; Austin G. Anderson, 27; Stephen J. Luth, 22, of Muscatine, Iowa. All three were recent Oral Roberts graduates. Garrett V. Coble, 29, of Tulsa, a former instructor in the College of Business and a participant in mission trips, was also killed.

Anderson, of Ringwood, Oklahoma, survived the crash, but died of his injuries early Saturday. He had served two tours of duty with the U.S. Marine Corps in Iraq.

Hannah Luce, 22, daughter of Oral Roberts trustee and Teen Mania founder Ron Luce, was hospitalized in Kansas City, Missouri.

The Garden Valley, Texas, resident was in serious but stable condition, with burns on 28% of her body, according to Teen Mania.

“Please pray for all of the families that lost loved ones and for Hannah in the hospital. Pray for God’s peace to be with all of them and pray for Hannah’s healing,” Oral Roberts President Mark Rutland said on the university’s Facebook page.

Anderson and Luth recently had been hired onto the marketing staff of Teen Mania Ministries, a youth ministry organization.

“We are so saddened by what has happened and ask for all those who have been touched by this ministry in some way to rally around the families of all involved in the crash, especially the four young men who passed away. Please lift them up in prayer, and ask for the Holy Spirit to surround them with God’s love and peace,” Ron Luce said in a statement. “They all had a heart for this generation, and were passionately pursuing God’s call on their lives.”

Investigators have not yet identified any witnesses, Knudson told CNN. He did not have information on weather conditions at the time of the incident.

CNN’s Phil Gast contributed to this report.

Jumeirah Group, the global luxury hospitality company and a member of Dubai Holding, is pleased to announce several new appointments for its Sales team around the world.

Austin Frost, Vice President of Sales – Europe

Austin Frost joins Jumeirah after working 20 years for Shangri-La in Asia, the UK, the US and the Middle East, most recently as Vice President of Sales and Marketing. An Irish national, Austin is a graduate from the Regional Technical College in Galway, Ireland and has since developed an extensive background in Hotel Management and specialised in Sales & Marketing. As new Vice President of Sales and Marketing in Europe, Austin will promote Jumeirah’s growing portfolio in Europe, now including hotels and resorts in London, Frankfurt, Rome, Mallorca and Istanbul, while driving business from the European markets to Jumeirah’s other properties in the US, the Middle East and Asia.

Adam Turner, Director of Sales and Marketing, Maldives

Adam Turner has with a strong background in aviation and hospitality. His previous roles include senior management positions with British Airways as part of their commercial team, Director of Leisure Sales with Ritz Carlton in the UK, and most recently Director of Sales and Marketing at Ritz-Carlton in Dubai. In his new role, the British national will be based in Dubai and handle sales for both Jumeirah resorts in the Maldives, Jumeirah Dhevanafushi and Jumerah Vittaveli.

Daniel Kempf, Director of Sales, Jumeirah Bilgah Beach Hotel, Baku

Daniel Kempf has over 10 years of experience in the luxury hospitality industry, having worked with Kempinski as part of pre-opening teams as well as operating hotels in Germany, Eastern Europe and Asia in various managerial functions, most recently as Director of Sales and Marketing in Sofia. A German national, Daniel studied at the Steigenberger Hotelberufsfachschule, Bad Reichenhall and the École Hotelière de Lausanne, and is fluent in English and German. He is joining the pre-opening team for Jumeirah Bilgah Beach Hotel in Baku – the first international luxury city resort in Azerbaijan and Jumeirah’s entry in the CIS, opening in spring 2012.

Emmanuel Vallée, Director of Sales and Marketing, Jumeirah Creekside Hotel, Dubai

Emmanuel Vallée has worked in hospitality for over 15 years for renowned brands such as Le Méridien, Hilton and Accor in the US, France, UK, Morocco. Prior to joining Jumeirah he was Director of Sales and Marketing for Ritz-Carlton in Dubai. A French national, Emmanuel holds a MBA in Hospitality Management from ESSEC Business School in Paris and speaks English, French and Spanish. His interest for arts and culture will serve him well in Jumeirah Creekside as the city hotel, welcoming its first guests in summer 2012, will display an extensive art collection of contemporary middle-eastern artists.

Somalia has been without an effective central government since President Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991.

In 2000 clan elders and other senior figures appointed Abdulkassim Salat Hassan president at a conference in Djibouti. A transitional government was set up, with the aim of reconciling warring militias.

Somalia's parliament met in neighbouring Djibouti in late January and swore in 149 new members from the main opposition movement, the Alliance for the Re-Liberation of Somalia.

The parliament also extended the mandate of the transitional federal government for another two years, and installed moderate Islamist Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad as the new president.

However, the government's military position weakened further, and in May 2009 Islamist insurgents launched an attack on Mogadishu, prompting President Ahmad to appeal for help from abroad.

Al-Shabab appears to have consolidated its position as the most powerful insurgent group by driving its main rival, Hizbul Islam, out of the southern port city of Kismayo in October 2009. They made what they called a tactical retreat from Mogadishu in August 2011.

The long-standing absence of authority in the country has led to Somali pirates becoming a major threat to international shipping in the area, and has prompted Nato to take the lead in an anti-piracy operation.

In 2011, the plight of the Somali people was exacerbated by the worst drought in six decades, which left millions of people on the verge of starvation and caused tens of thousands to flee to Kenya and Ethiopia in search of food.

After the collapse of the Siad Barre regime in 1991, the north-west part of Somalia unilaterally declared itself the independent Republic of Somaliland. The territory, whose independence is not recognised by international bodies, has enjoyed relative stability.

VIVA, Kuwait’s mobile telecommunications service provider, yesterday held its Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) at the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in Kuwait.

The AGM approved the company’s financial results for the year ended December 31, 2011 as well as approving the auditors’ report. The AGM also approved VIVA’s balance sheet and profit and loss accounts for the financial year ended December 31, 2011.

Mr. Adel Al Roumi, Chairman of the Board, said, “We are proud of the tremendous success we have achieved over the past three years, during which time the company has doubled its growth rate. We will continue to invest in our staff and in the infrastructure and technologies that have distinguished VIVA from its competitors and which have allowed us to develop so quickly. VIVA has invested in assets worth KD29m in 2011, which led to a achieving an operating revenue of KD94m (representing 188% of the company’s capital) and with operating profit before the deducting the cost of depreciation, amortization expenses and financing expenses totaling KD0.5m; the company recorded a net loss of KD14m.

Regarding the listing of VIVA’s shares on the Kuwait Stock Exchange, Al Roumi confirmed that the company had requested to apply for listing from the Capital Market Authority on 16 February, 2012 and has yet to receive their feedback.

Salman Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Badran, VIVA’s Chief Executive Officer said: “In light of the fierce competition in the telecom sector in Kuwait, VIVA has been successful in attracting more than one million subscribers on its network in less than three years, attaining 20% of the Kuwaiti telecommunications market share by the end of 2011. I am also pleased to note that over the same period VIVA has become the second largest data service provider in Kuwait by providing ‘broadband’ services through various attractive and innovative smartphone packages.”

“I would like to express my appreciation to all the VIVA family and our partners, customers and shareholders, who we owe our success in 2011,” added Al-Badran.

Abdulaziz Abdullah Al Qatie, Chief Financial Officer said, “VIVA has exceeded its expectations in terms of attracting customers as well as its revenue. We expect to achieve continued growth in revenue, profits, and shareholders rights throughout 2012.”

The Ordinary General Meeting’s attendance was 50.07% of the number of ordinary shares of the company. VIVA’s share subscribers have reached 930 thousand shareholders.

The General Meeting approved all points on the agenda that included:

First: Presentation of the Board of Directors report for the financial year ended December 31, 2011 and its approval.
Second: Presentation of the approved auditors’ report for the financial year ended December 31, 2011 and its approval.
Third: Approval of the balance sheet and profit and loss accounts for the financial year ended December 31, 2011.
Fourth: Approval of the deal with the relevant parties involved.
Fifth: Approval of the Board of Directors’ bonuses.
Sixth: Disclaimer for the Board of Directors and discharging them from everything related to their conduct for the financial year ended December 31, 2011.
Seventh: Election of Board of Directors for the second session for a period of three years.
Eighth: Appointment or re-appointment of the auditors for the fiscal year 2012, and authorize the Board of Directors to determine their fees.

The Board of Directors were nominated with a unanimous vote.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry’s representative observed that in accordance with Article 171, the company’s losses have exceeded 75% of its capital therefore requiring the company to hold an Extraordinary General Meeting.

Following General Meeting, VIVA’s Board of Directors held its first meeting for the second session to discuss the Board’s formation, which resulted in the appointment of Mr. Adel Al Roumi as Chairman of the Board and Dr. Zeyad Al-Otaibi as Vice-Chairman.

VIVA has recorded a number of achievements this year that showcase the company’s progress and growth, these include being awarded the ISO certification for the second consecutive year, following a rigorous assessment of its quality management system and services provided to clients. VIVA also launched a number of services, including: the launch of VIVA Elite, a program providing customers with personal assistant services; the launch of a new range of data roaming packages so customers can now enjoy VIVA’s roaming services while travelling abroad in more than 50 countries; adding new enhancements to Kuwait’s fastest internet service that delivers data at speeds of up to 42.2 Mbps; and the launch of an exclusive prepaid plan which targets the youth, allowing them to enjoy VIVA’s latest telecom services at affordable prices.

What makes this Monday so remarkable is that for the first time in four decades, none of the energy is derived from a nuclear reactor.

Over the weekend, Japan’s last remaining nuclear reactor shut down for regular maintenance. In the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, reactors have not been allowed back on. Japan is now the first major economy to see the modern era without nuclear power.

Tomari Nuclear Power Plant’s reactor 3 in Hokkaido shut down Saturday evening in a much-watched move by government, industry and environmentalists, who are waged in a public battle over the future of Japan’s energy policy.

“I think it is not easy, but this challenge is worth fighting for,” said Greenpeace Japan’s Junichi Sato. “There is an increased chance of earthquakes in Japan, so that has a significant risk to the Japanese people and the Japanese economy. The only way forward is to rapidly shift the energy source from nuclear to other sources of energy.”

That’s not the call just from environmental activists, but from a public suspicious of nuclear energy and its regulatory bodies since a tsunami and earthquake triggered nuclear meltdowns at three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in March 2011.

Thousands marched through the streets of Tokyo on Saturday, celebrating the shutdown of the final reactor.

The protesters waved colorful, traditional “koinobori” carp-shaped banners for Children’s Day that became a symbol of the anti-nuclear movement.

That movement grew from the grass-roots level in the wake of the disaster as the country watched tens of thousands of residents living within a 20-kilometer (12-mile) radius of the nuclear plant evacuated and the remaining area turn into a contaminated wasteland.

Before the Fukushima disaster, Japan relied on nuclear for about 30% of its energy. As reactors have come off-line, the country has increased its imports of fossil fuels.

Japan’s government predicts it won’t be able to keep up that pace, and the void will result in an energy crunch this summer, possibly leading to rolling blackouts.

The national government’s ruling party, the Democratic Party of Japan, has been urging local communities to allow reactors to return to operation.

The party’s deputy policy chief, Yoshito Sengoku, bluntly said without nuclear energy the world’s third-largest economy would suffer. “We must think ahead to the impact on Japan’s economy and people’s lives, if all nuclear reactors are stopped. Japan could, in some sense, be committing mass suicide,” Sengoku said.

Hiromasa Yonekura, chairman of Japan’s biggest business lobby, Keidanren, joined the plea in an April press conference. “We cannot possibly agree to do the kind of energy saving yet again this year, or every year from now on,” he said, referring to the country’s efforts to turn off air conditioners and shift operation of production lines to weekends. “The government must bring the nuclear power stations back into operation.”

Economist Jesper Koll, managing director at JP Morgan, said Japan could avoid the economic fallout by defining a clear energy policy, something it has failed to do so far.

“The issue to the private sector of Japan is the government is taking its time in a very emotional, highly politicized debate. And the end result is very, very slow or no decision-making at all. After all, if you don’t have an energy policy, you don’t really have an economic policy because everything revolves around the energy,” he said.

Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has promised a clear energy policy sometime this year, perhaps by summer.

At a conference last month, the chairman of the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum said the nuclear industry was committed to rebuilding the municipalities around the Fukushima plant, decommissioning that facility and pushing for increased safety measures at plants nationwide.

“We, the nuclear industry, will learn what should be learned from the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. Based on that, we will endeavor to restore the image and position of nuclear energy,” Takashi Imai said.

Nuclear energy must remain part of the government’s policy, he said, “in order for Japan to continue sustainable growth as a nation committed to trade based on science and technology.”

But Yukie Osaki, who used to live in Fukushima, said she won’t accept any policy that includes nuclear energy. “Nobody believes the government anymore when it says nuclear plants are safe,” she said.

“Japan is an earthquake country. It is already dangerous to have nuclear plants here. If we have another accident, we won’t have anywhere to live in Japan anymore.”

A collie and her owner from Aviemore are preparing to bag their final Corbett on Sunday.

Five-year-old Molly and Anne Butler are headed for Garbh Bheinn, near Ardgour.

Corbetts are 220 hills of 2,500ft (762m) to 3,000ft (914.4m) and smaller than Munros, 283 mountains of more than 3,000ft.

Kitchy, a Shetland collie owned by Hamish Brown, was the first recorded dog to complete all the Munros in the 1960s.

Molly's owner is a member of the Mountaineering Council of Scotland (MCofS).

Mike Dales, of MCofS said: "This dog is a fraction of my age, but she has beaten me to that elusive last Corbett.

"Well done Molly."

Russia emerged from a decade of post-Soviet economic and political turmoil to reassert itself as a world power.

Income from vast natural resources, above all oil and gas, have helped Russia overcome the economic collapse of 1998. The state-run gas monopoly Gazprom is the world's largest producer and exporter, and supplies a growing share of Europe's needs.

Economic strength has allowed Vladimir Putin to enhance state control over political institutions and the media, buoyed by extensive public support for his policies as prime minister, president and now prime minister again.

Spanning nine time zones, Russia is the largest country on earth in terms of surface area, although large tracts in the north and east are inhospitable and sparsely populated.

This vast Eurasian land mass covers more than 17m sq km, with a climate ranging from the Arctic north to the generally temperate south.

In the period of rapid privatisation in the early 1990s, the government of President Boris Yeltsin created a small but powerful group of magnates, often referred to as "oligarchs", who acquired vast interests in the energy and media sectors.

President Yeltsin's successor, Vladimir Putin, moved to reduce the political influence of oligarchs soon after taking office, forcing some into exile and prosecuting others.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the former head of the Yukos oil company and a supporter of the liberal opposition, is serving eight years in a Siberian penal colony on tax and fraud charges. Yukos assets were later acquired by the state oil giant Rosneft.

During Mr Putin's presidency Russia's booming economy and assertive foreign policy bolstered national pride. In particular, Russia promoted its perceived interests in former Soviet states more openly, even at the cost of antagonising the West.

The tensest moment came in August 2008, when a protracted row over two breakaway regions of Georgia escalated into a military conflict between Russia and Georgia.

Russia sent troops into Georgia and declared that it was recognising the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, sparking angry reactions in the West and fears of a new Cold War.

At the same time, Moscow threatened to counter plans by the US Bush administration to develop an anti-missile system in Eastern Europe with its own missiles in Kaliningrad Region on Poland's borders. President Obama later withdrew the plan, in a move seen in Russian official circles as a vindication of the assertive foreign policy.

Another source of irritation between Russia and the US is Moscow's role in Iran's nuclear energy programme. Russia agreed in 2005 to supply fuel for Iran's Bushehr nuclear reactor and has been reluctant to support the imposition of UN sanctions on Iran.

A gradual warming in relations between Russia and the US early in 2010 culminated in the signing of a new nuclear arms treaty designed to replace the expired Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start) of 1991.

Though disagreements remain between Moscow and Washington over US plans for a missile defence shield, there are signs that the thaw in relations could extend to a greater willingness on the part of Russia to apply pressure on Iran over its nuclear programme.

Russia's economic power lies in its key natural resources – oil and gas. The energy giant Gazprom is close to the Russian state and critics say it is little more than an economic and political tool of the Kremlin.

At a time of increased concern over energy security, Moscow has more than once reminded the rest of the world of the power it wields as a major energy supplier. In 2006, it cut gas to Ukraine after a row between the countries, a move that also affected the supply of gas to Western Europe

While Russians make up more than 80% of the population and Orthodox Christianity is the main religion, there are many other ethnic and religious groups. Muslims are concentrated among the Volga Tatars and the Bashkirs and in the North Caucasus.

Separatists and latterly armed Islamists have made the Caucasus region of Chechnya a war zone for much of the post-Soviet era. Many thousands have died since Russian troops were first sent to put down a separatist rebellion in 1994.

Moscow is convinced that any loosening of its grip on Chechnya would result in the whole of the North Caucasus falling to anarchy or Islamic militancy.

Human rights groups at home and abroad have accused Russian forces in Chechnya of widespread abuses against the public. Since the 11 September attacks on the US Moscow has tried to present its campaign as part of the global war against terrorism.

In a sign of growing confidence that peace might be returning, the Russian authorities called a formal end to the military operation against the rebels in 2009. Sporadic violence continues, however, with a major suicide bomb blast in September 2010 reigniting the debate about the efficacy of the counter-terror campaign.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The New York Police Department performed more frisk searches of young black men in 2011 than the total number of young black men living in New York City, according to a new analysis of the department’s controversial stop and frisk program.

The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU), a prominent rights group, charged on Wednesday that the program disproportionately targets minorities, particularly young black and Latino men.

Last year the department performed 168,126 on-the-spot searches of black men aged 14 to 24 out of a total population of 158,406, according to an NYCLU analysis of departmental statistics.

The total number of police stops rose from 160,851 in 2003, one year after Mayor Michael Bloomberg took office, to 685,724 in 2011, with only a slight increase in recovered illegal firearms. About 53 percent of those stops resulted in physical searches, according to the NYCLU.

In 2003 the program recovered 604 illegal guns, and in 2011 it seized 780 such weapons.

NYCLU president Donna Lieberman called the stop and frisk program a valuable crime-fighting tool that has been severely abused by the NYPD.

“The spin of the NYPD has been quite successful … in inoculating the NYPD against criticism, but crime has declined in urban areas all over the country without this out-of-control level of abuse of stop and frisk,” she said.

Without disputing the NYCLU’s figures, police challenged the report’s conclusions and responded with their own statistics showing gun violence in the city disproportionately affects the same population of young black men who are being stopped.

The city’s murder rate has dropped significantly for two decades, and falling crime rates in the city have “saved black lives,” the written response said.

“Last year, 96 percent of all shooting victims in New York were black or Hispanic, as were over 90 percent of murder victims,” police said.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly has argued that the department’s aggressive efforts to get illegal guns off the street has driven down crime, protected cops, and made criminals think twice about leaving home with illegal guns.

New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio – a potential Democratic mayoral candidate in next year’s election – called on Bloomberg Wednesday to direct the NYPD to use the department’s widely copied CompStat program to reduce the number of stops and frisks the department performs each year.

CompStat – short for computer statistics – is a police performance management tool put in place in 1995 that tracks and analyzes crime data and holds police district and precinct commanders to account for their crime-fighting performance.

Combating illegal guns in New York has been one of Bloomberg’s signature issues during his three terms in office. He has sent undercover investigators to gun shows in states with weaker gun laws than New York to show how easy it is to circumvent regulations against criminals buying weapons. Last month, Bloomberg said 85 percent of all guns recovered from crimes in New York City came from out of state.

Critics charge police are rapidly losing the support of minority communities, a vital tool in community-based policing.

Only 1.8 percent of blacks and Latinos searched by the police last year had weapons on them, compared with 3.8 percent of whites, the NYCLU report said.

“Ninety-eight percent of the time, (police) are wrong,” said Christopher Dunn, associate legal director of the NYCLU.

The Bloomberg administration did not respond directly to the NYCLU report, but Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson said in a statement “the Stop, Question and Frisk (program) keeps guns and other weapons off the streets and saves lives.

“Make no mistake, we will not continue to be the safest big city in America if Mr. de Blasio has his way,” Wolfson said.

(Reporting by Chris Francescani; Editing by Daniel Trotta and Eric Walsh)