Asia Africa Intelligence Wire articles from May 2004

Asia Africa Intelligence Wire archives from May 2004

NAVI MUMBAI SEZ PROJECT TO BE DEVELOPED (Jurong Township and Parsons Brinckerhoff appointed project management consultants to develop Mumbai integrated SEZ).
May 31, 2004... (From India Business Insight) Jurong Township and Parsons Brinckerhoff have been appointed project management consultants to develop the Mumbai integrated SEZ coming up in Navi Mumbai. The project will extend across 33,000 acres and...

DADRI PROJECT TO BE COMMISSIONED BY JULY 2006 (Reliance EGen to commission first module of 1200 mw capacity).
May 31, 2004... (From India Business Insight) Reliance EGen Ltd (REGL) is likely to commission the first module of about 1,100-1,200 mw of the total 3,740 mw Dadri project in Uttar Pradesh by Jul 2006. The second module of around the same capacity will...

CAPEXCIL PLEA TO CONVERT PETRAPOLE LCS INTO PORT (with suitable port management infrastructure and personnel).
May 31, 2004... (From India Business Insight) The Chemicals and Allied Products Export Promotion Council has recommended that Petrapole Land Custom Station be changed into a land port with suitable port management infrastructure and personnel. It has...

DEVELOPMENT OF CONTAINER PORT AND SEZ AT KULPI (with an investment of more than Rs1,000 crore).
May 31, 2004... (From India Business Insight) Bengal Ports Ltd is likely to sign the final agreement with the West Bengal government to develop a container port and a special economic zone (SEZ) at Kulpi, 60 kilometres south of Kolkata. The twin...

ROADS CAUGHT IN A JAM! (India's road network at 3.3 million kilometres is the second largest in the world).
May 31, 2004... (From India Business Insight) India's 3.3 million kilometres (km) road network is the second largest in the world. The national highways span 57,737 km and carry about 45 percent of the traffic. The National Highways Development...

TRAINED TO SUCCEED (it offers programmes for generic skills, on technical subjects and for functional skills).
May 31, 2004... (From India Business Insight) Hindustan Construction Company's (HCC) training department was hived off as a separate entity in mid 2001. It offers programmes for generic skills, on technical subjects and for functional skills. It has...

LARSEN and TOUBRO (L and T)-ECC DIVISION (to regulate and promote constructional vocational training in India).
May 31, 2004... (From India Business Insight) Larsen and Toubro (L and T) aims to regulate and promote constructional vocational training in India so as to develop a modular training system for construction- related trades. Its Construction Skills...

"WE CAN CREATE PROJECTS FOR OTHERS TO MANAGE"-MSRDC (Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation privatises Mumbai-Pune Expressway).
May 31, 2004... (From India Business Insight) The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) has granted Mumbai-based Ideal Road Builders (IRB) the right to collect toll on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway for 15 years. MSRDC will use the Rs918...

SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY PARKS: MARISOFT (Vascon Engineers of Pune has completed the Rs48- crore Marisoft Software Park).
May 31, 2004... (From India Business Insight) Vascon Engineers of Pune has completed the Rs48 crore Marisoft Software Park, which is a joint initiative between the company and Manisha Constructions. The park is commencing its third phase of...

SOFTWARE TECHNOLOGY PARKS: WEIKFIELD IT-CITI INFOPARK (the Rs100-crore software park to have high-speed communication links, access control, fibre optic connectivity, 100% power backup).
May 31, 2004... (From India Business Insight) Vascon Engineers has launched its second software park at the Weikfield estate on the Pune-Ahmednagar highway. The park is estimated to cost Rs100 crore and will be completed in three years in three phases....

SEWRI SEA LINK ATTRACTS THREE BIDDERS (sea link spans 24 kilometres (km), has eight links and is a four-lane dual carriageway).
May 31, 2004... (From India Business Insight) The Maharashtra government has received three bids for constructing the Rs3,600-crore sea link between Sewri and Nhava Sheva. The sea link spans 24 kilometres (km), has eight links and is a four-lane dual...

KOLKATA TO GET LEVITATING TRAIN (Interglob and BCD to build levitating trains in Kolkata on BOOT basis).
May 31, 2004... (From India Business Insight) Interglob of Germany and BCD of Hong Kong are planning to come up with levitating trains in Kolkata on a build-own- operate-transfer (BOOT) basis. The project entails an investment of about $900 million...

250 STORES FROM NEXTRADE PLANNED (Nextrade to set up 250 stors called Internal Affairs by 2009; to open five stores in Bangalore by Jun 2004).
May 31, 2004... (From India Business Insight) Nextrade Enterprises is a kitchen solutions provider and is planning to set up 250 of its store called `Internal Affairs' by 2009. It will open four franchisee outlets at Hyderabad-Secundrabad and two more...

`GOLD COUNTY' TO OPEN IN MUMBAI (Gold County jewellery mall to have 200 small and big showrooms).
May 31, 2004... (From India Business Insight) Neelkanth Group is putting up `Gold County', a modern mall in Mumbai. The project is being set up in a joint venture with Sunshine Enterprises, a consortium of financers and realtors. The jewellery mall will...

CONTINENTAL TO SOURCE TYRE TUBES FROM METRO (which will set up a new 100% export oriented unit (EOU) with an initial investment of Rs30 crore).
May 31, 2004... (From India Business Insight) Continental AG of Germany has signed an agreement with the Metro group to source its global requirements of 4-wheeler automotive tubes. The Metro group will set up a new 100 percent export oriented unit (EOU)...

ATL HOPES TO POST 18% GROWTH IN SALES (has recorded a compounded annual growth rate in sales of 18% over the last 5 years).
May 31, 2004... (From India Business Insight) Apollo Tyres Ltd (ATL) hopes to register an 18 percent growth in its sales during 2003-2004. The company made a net profit of Rs120.02 crore on gross sales of Rs2,025.62 crore in 2002-2003. ATL recorded a...

MRTPC DISPOSES OF COMPLAINT AGAINST DUNLOP INDIA (for allegedly indulging in monopolistic and restrictive trade practices in of aircraft tyres).
May 31, 2004... (From India Business Insight) The Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) has disposed of a complaint against Dunlop India Ltd (DIL) for indulging in monopolistic and restrictive trade practices in the production and...

SRI LANKA VERDICT-I Change Of Government Produces Positive Scenario.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) By PARMANAND The Sri Lankan electorate did prove pollsters and psephologists right by producing a hung parliament on 2 April. In any case the system of proportional representation which Sri Lanka has been...

Fat of the land N-E MPs must learn from PM.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) When new states emerged in the North-east, their leaders practised enriching democracy as explained by MLAs who marry and acquire property immediately on being elected. Nagaland pioneered these unethical...

Hooghly outrage CPI-M invites more trouble ahead.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) It hasn't taken long for Congress leaders in West Bengal to discover what the CPI-M's intentions are even after the support it extended to the government in Delhi. On the one hand, Marxist cadres go on a...

C'wealth capers Islamabad positively dislikes reinstatement.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) General Musharraf's slamming the Commonwealth soon after the Commonwealth took the decision to re-admit Pakistan reveals the compulsions on both sides. Pakistan's suspension followed Musharraf's coup in 1999,...

Suu Kyi Marks A Year In Detention.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Agence France Presse Yangon, May 30. Democracy leader Ms Aung San Suu Kyi today marked one year in detention after a bloody crackdown on Myanmar's Opposition political parties, with her supporters and...

CPM plea on pension scheme.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) New Delhi, May 30. - The CPI-M has demanded scrapping of the Defined Contribution Pension Scheme for government employees, which was initiated by the NDA government, and said private players should have no...

Koi Mil Gaya bags best film award.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Mumbai, May 30. - Film star Hrithik Roshan was adjudged the best actor and Urmila Matondkar the best actress while Dilip Kumar was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement award at the Apsara Film Producers'...

BJP silent on CMP.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Statesman News Service NEW DELHI, May 30. - The BJP's well known faces of economic reform - Mr Yashwant Sinha, Mr Jaswant Singh and the two Aruns (Jaitley and Shourie) - have been strangely silent about the...

One into two theses: DU researchers show the way.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Chanchal Pal Chauhan in New Delhi May 30. - The titles of the two theses are a bit different. But that's just about it. From the Acknowledgement to the Appendix, two dissertations for masters degree submitted...

Mayawati's Doon assets under CBI scanner.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Swati R Sharma in Dehradun May 30. - While investigating the Taj Corridor case the CBI officials in Lucknow have started investigating the property of former UP chief minister and BSP leader Ms Mayawati in...

Arch rivals to oppose Coal Bhavan shift.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Statesman News Service KOLKATA, May. 30 -Sworn political opponents joined ranks for a common cause today. The proposal to shift the Coal Bhavan from Kolkata to Ranchi as proposed by Union coal minister Mr...

Losers vie for recognition.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Sudesh K Verma in New Delhi May 30. - The defeat of 90 sitting BJP MPs has led to a mad rush for either a Rajya Sabha berth or a plum party post. The party will not be able to wrest more than 16 Rajya Sabha...

George salvo at officials.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Statesman News Service NEW DELHI, May 30. - NDA convenor and JD(U) leader Mr George Fernandes today claimed top government and defence officials are queueing up before Congress president Ms Sonia Gandhi and...

Tracing the rise of a star.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Statesman News Service KOLKATA, May 30. - She has mesmerised Bengali cinema-goers with her subtle performances in films like Meghe Dhaka Tara, Komal Gandhar, Lal Pathar, and many more. Veteran actress Supriya...

Top cop 'surprised', rights panel isn't.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) KOLKATA, May 30. - Mr Shivaji Ghosh, joint commissioner (armed police) was surprised when told about the verdict. "This is a matter of concern. We need to understand why people are unhappy". He, however,...

Blowing smoke in the face of law.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Statesman News Service KOLKATA, May 30. - Arun Mondal was puffing nonchalantly just outside the emergency division of the Calcutta Medical College. He "does not care" that tomorrow is No Tobacco Day and is...

Cops arrest cheat.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) KOLKATA, May 30. - Sk Rezayul Islam (28), who had cheated his employer of a sum of Rs 82,000, confessed to the police in the wee hours today. He had been picked up by the police yesterday. According to...

Youth foots the bill for swindle bid.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) KOLKATA, May 30. - An unpaid electricity bill of Rs 2,000 propelled Mr Ashish Chakraborty to try his hand at swindling a couple by offering to volunteer information about their missing daughter. And landed him...

Oh, for an O-C with a sense of duty!
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Statesman News Service KOLKATA, May 30. - The verdict is loud and clear on the Kolkata Police O-Cs. The citizenry do not have much faith in them and want a drastic change in the way they function. They are of...

Suicide shocks Governor wife.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Statesman News Service BHUBANESWAR/CUTTACK, May 30. - Mrs Susheela Rajendran wife of the Orissa Governor and the president of the Mahila Dakhyata Samiti, yesterday, expressed deep shock and anguish over the...

Lack of flood measures raises hackles at disaster control meet.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Statesman News Service KENDRAPARA, May 30. - Members participating in the disaster mitigation preparatory meet held here recently took strong exception to the lack of proper measures to thwart flood threat in...

HC directs govt to form panel for combating.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Statesman News Service Cuttack, May 30. - The Vacation Court of the Orissa High Court today directed the state government to form an expert committee to chalk out an action plan to tackle the outbreak of...

BJD elects office-bearers.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Statesman News Service BHUBANESWAR, May 30. - In the nomination of the office-bearers of the BJD parliamentary party here today, Mr Prasanna Acharya, Sambalpur BJD MP and former leader of the party in the...

ABVP flays Left bid to 'tamper with' Bengali language.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Statesman News Service Cuttack, May 30. - The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad is concerned over the West Bengal Left Front government's alleged bid to change the Bengali language, grammar, form of some...

Farmers threaten suicide.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) BOLANGIR, May 30. - Surendra Jhankar, Padmavati Meher and Sautikhai Amat have one thing in common besides being farmers. All three are among the 20 depressed members of Baidynath Cooperative Society in Sonepur...

US protects Pervez from them.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Srinjoy Chowdhury in New Delhi May 30. American security services protect two Presidents. America's and Pakistan's. For obvious reasons, neither the Americans nor the Pakistanis want to make too much of this...

BRIEFS.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Eight Indians among 22 killed in Saudi Arabia Dubai, May 30. Commandos today ended a 25-hour hostage drama storming a luxury housing complex in the Saudi Arabian oil city of Al-Khobar, freeing over 50 people...

Ban on LTTE to continue, says Patil.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) BANGALORE, May 30 Dismissing the MDMK leader Mr Vaiko's demand for a review of the ban on LTTE, Union home minister Mr Shivraj Patil today asserted that the ban on the Tamil Tigers would continue. 'Our stand...

Mufti lets forces down.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Statesman News Service SRINAGAR/NEW DELHI, May 30. The killing of militants and security forces has become a routine feature in Jammu and Kashmir. But what is not routine is the fact that the chief minister...

Public posturing not to help Indo-Pak talks.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Nilova Roy Chaudhury in New Delhi May 30. One of the key elements of the historic 6 January 2004 India-Pakistan joint statement (after then Prime Minister Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, met Pakistan President...

Century-old book shop on College Street gutted.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) KOLKATA, May 30. A portion of Das Gupta & Co, a 118-year-old bookstore on College Street, was gutted today. Mr Aurobindo Dasgupta, proprietor of the fourth-generation family business, was speechless. 'I have...

Bhupathi-Mirnyi in last eight.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Press Trust of India NEW DELHI, May 30. - Third seed Mahesh Bhupathi and Max Mirnyi of Belarus thrashed Croatian pair of Mario Ancic and Ivan Ljubicic in straight sets to storm into the quarter-finals of the...

Sania on song.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) HYDERABAD, May 30. - Sania Mirza won the Regione House $10,000 tournament defeating Magda (Romania) 6-3, 6-4 in the finals at Compobasso, Itlay. Down by 2-3, Sania kept her nerve to win four games in a row...

Safin courts new controversy.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) PARIS, May 30. - Marat Safin did it again. No, he didn't drop his shorts, the unconventional method of celebration he chose after winning a point earlier in the week. But for the second match in a row at the...

Schumacher restores old order.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Agence France-Presse NURBURGRING (Germany), May 30. - World champion Michael Schumacher restored Formula One to normal order today when he won the European Grand Prix at a canter as Ferrari claimed their...

Portugal & Croatia win, Holland upset.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Associated Press EINDHOVEN (Netherlands), May 30. - Euro 2004 finalists Portugal and Croatia got easy warm-up wins yesterday, while the Netherlands and Greece lost their matches just two weeks before the...

Dutch turf beckons Indian hockey stars.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Press Trust of India NEW DELHI, May 30. - Top Indian hockey players could soon be seen in action in the prestigious Premier League of the Netherlands as several Dutch clubs have queued up to sign them after...

PCB thumbs down for 'skipper' Inzy.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) ISLAMABAD, May 30. - Acknowledging that Inzamam-ul-Haq was not an inspirational leader, Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mr Shahryar Khan said the team was found lacking in unity and national spirit in the Test...

IFA academy kicks off.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Uddalak Das in Haldia May 30. - The Indian Football Association-County Sports Federation Football Academy Training Programme was formally inaugurated at the Durgachak Stadium here today. The commencement of...

Serena wins French hearts.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Associated Press PARIS, May 30. - Serena Williams won her fourth-round match and won over French Open fans today. Jeered earlier in the tournament, Williams drew only cheers after beating Shinobu Asagoe...

PEOPLE & PLACES.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Test-tube sperm SINGAPORE - The world is used to test-tube babies, but scientists in Singapore are claiming a world first: test-tube sperm. Researchers at the National University of Singapore have succeeded in...

Stop, look, proceed.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) THE ISSUE: If Manmohan Singh doesn't believe in 'privatisation as an ideology', does he accept the position that it is the government's business to run hotels, manufacture bread and make ball-bearings? As an...

Show Uncle Sam the door!
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) THE ISSUE: Torture and abuse is endemic to all wars; the problem is that the Americans claim they are in Iraq as liberators. The photographs of barbaric treatment meted out to Iraqi prisoners by their...

Machiavellian masterstroke?
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) THE ISSUE: Sonia's a saint, BJP's been banished to the political wilderness, secularism is safe... all because the Congress got 140-odd seats! Sonia is no saint. She has proved to be a pragmatist par...

Crisis grips Lanka coalition.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Colombo, May 30. Serious differences within Sri Lanka's ruling coalition came to the fore today with the Marxist Janatha Vimukti Peramuna accusing President Chandrika Kumaratunga of violating the common...

Nepal bus blast kills 1.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Kathmandu, May 30. Maoists triggered an explosion in a bus near the capital's Royal Nepal Airlines office today killing one and injuring at least 21, police said. The rebels detonated the bomb inside a...

Sharon takes a step back, postpones vote.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Agence France Presse Jerusalem, May 30. Israeli Prime Minister Mr Ariel Sharon decided today to postpone a vote on a revised version of his controversial Gaza pullback plan until next week's Cabinet meeting,...

First train leaves Grozny for Moscow in five years.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Moscow, May 30. The first passenger train bound for Moscow in almost five years left the war-shattered Chechen capital Grozny today under heavy armed security, media reported. The train left Grozny just...

Remember love, says Yoko.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Stockholm, May 30. Yoko Ono, the widow of slain Beatle John Lennon, covered herself with a black cloth bag, tied people in a crowd together with blue string and asked them to 'Remember Love' as she opened her...

Sunni cleric shot in Karachi.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Agencies Islamabad, May 30. A senior Sunni Muslim cleric, Maulana Nizamuddin Shamzai, with close links to Afghanistan's ousted Taliban, was gunned down in Karachi by unidentified gunmen early today,...

Allawi consults Brahimi on govt.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Associated Press BAGHDAD, May 30. Names of two key Kurdish politicians and a French-educated Shi'ite economist were floated for key Cabinet posts yesterday as Prime Minister-designate Mr Iyad Allawi consulted...

USA rules out independent Taiwan.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Beijing, May 30. Ahead of a crucial vote in the UN Security Council on a draft resolution on Iraq, US President George W Bush has assured China that it would adhere to the one-China policy and would oppose...

Hostage crisis over, 22 dead.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Agencies Dubai, May 30. Commandos today ended a 25-hour hostage drama storming a luxury housing complex in the Saudi Arabian oil city of Al-Khobar, freeing over 50 people held captive by the militants who...

Saddam's pistol on George Bush's desk.
May 31, 2004... (From The Statesman (India)) Washington, May 30. Mr George W Bush has been given a pistol Saddam Hussein had with him when he was captured and now proudly shows it to selected guests, Time magazine reported today. The gun was taken from...

Contracts Awarded.
May 31, 2004... (From Technews.com) Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. of Newport News, Va., won a $182.45 million contract from the Navy for design, material, construction, systems development, engineering services and feasibility studies for the...

Japan, Netherlands to Discuss Revision to Tax Treaty.
May 31, 2004... (From Jiji) Tokyo, June 1 (Jiji Press)--Japan will launch negotiations with the Netherlands this month to revise the bilateral tax treaty, aiming to scrap double taxation on cross-border dividends to boost corporate activities, the...

Homowo 2004.
May 31, 2004... (From Accra Mail (Ghana) - AAGM) This year's Homowo will signal the rebirth of the festival as a major national and international event. AMA boss Nii Adjiri Blankson and Acting President of GTC, Nii Adote Obuor II have called on Accra's...

A Good Work Done.
May 31, 2004... (From Accra Mail (Ghana) - AAGM) Byline: Timothy Antwi-Otoo The reward of good work done is in Heaven but it is necessary to recommend people on earth when they do good work. For some Ghanaians workers, raining in the morning...

Of Loans & Groans.
May 31, 2004... (From Accra Mail (Ghana) - AAGM) Byline: Boakye K. Agyarko This is the concluding part of our commissioned article on high finance which was first published last Wednesday May 26, 2004 in a special edition titled "Banker takes NDC...

Homowo 2004.
May 31, 2004... (From Accra Mail (Ghana) - AAGM) The Acting President of the Ga Traditional Council, Nii Adote Obuor II and the Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) have jointly communicated to the media, the preparations they are...

Stanchart Makes Presentation.
May 31, 2004... (From Accra Mail (Ghana) - AAGM) Byline: Maame Efua Moses Standard Chartered Bank has presented monies to World Vision Ghana, Committee of Vice Chancellors and Action Aid Ghana at a presentation ceremony in Accra. Mr. Ebenezer...

Ghana Expo 2004: the Journey to Atlanta USA.
May 31, 2004... (From Accra Mail (Ghana) - AAGM) Byline: Sam Appiah Ghana EXPO 2004, a trade investment, exhibition and seminar will take place at the prestigious Georgia World Congress Centre in Atlanta Georgia from September 23 to 26, 2004 with...

ADB President Calls for Interest in Operations.
May 31, 2004... (From Accra Mail (Ghana) - AAGM) Mr. Omar Kabbaj, President of the African Development Bank (ADB) Group has urged the continent's Parliaments to wake up to the operations of the Bank in order to facilitate the full potential of...

A Truly Puzzling Situation.
May 31, 2004... (From Accra Mail (Ghana) - AAGM) Byline: A. R. Harruna Attah Last week I found myself in a major activity of talking to a number of highly educated and professional Ghanaians in a controlled atmosphere. It was not a laboratory...

Bulldog Santos Grind Sweet Win Against Babes.
May 31, 2004... (From Cape Argus (South Africa) - AAGM) Byline: Rodney Reiners Santos were made to sweat before winning through to the next round of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Cup soccer competition. Ghana's King Faisal Babes...

Flair Or Force for Boks?
May 31, 2004... (From Cape Argus (South Africa) - AAGM) Byline: Dale Granger Springbok rugby coach Jake White will for the first time show whether he wants his team to be a brain or a brawn-orientated one when a shadow Bok team lines up against a...

Greyling to Face R100m Inquiry.
May 31, 2004... (From Cape Argus (South Africa) - AAGM) Byline: Maureen Marud The flamboyant Eben Greyling, a former Hout Bay businessman who owes investors about R100 million, is being called to account for the missing money. Greyling, who is...