Libya: South Africa's Jacob Zuma in peace mission

 

 Jacob Zuma is heading for Libya for what is being seen as a last attempt to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.

It is unclear if the visit, Mr Zuma's second, will focus on exit strategies for leader Col Muammar Gaddafi.
Rebels fighting Col Gaddafi's forces since February have refused to negotiate unless he steps down.
Meanwhile Mr Zuma's ruling African National Congress has condemned the Nato bombing of Libya.
"We... join the continent and all peace loving people of the world in condemning the continuing aerial bombardments of Libya by Western forces," the ANC said in a statement on the eve of the visit.
Nato imposed a no-fly zone in Libya in March as Col Gaddafi's forces threatened to overrun rebel-held parts of the country.
International pressure on Col Gaddafi continues to grow, with the G8 calling for his departure on Friday and Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev saying on Saturday that he no longer had the right to lead Libya.
The rebels welcomed the G8 statement.
"The entire world has reached a consensus that Col Gaddafi and his regime have not only lost their legitimacy but also their credibility," said rebel leader Mustafa Abdul Jalil in a statement.
Attack helicopters Mr Zuma's Monday visit was part of efforts by the African Union to persuade Libya to adopt political reforms needed to end the crisis, said his spokesman Zizi Kodwa.

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One of Col Gaddafi's advisers admits the South African president's visit may be their last chance of a diplomatic way out, but says there's no possibility of the man they call the brother leader stepping aside - as both Nato and the rebels are demanding.
There is support for the alliance though on the streets of Tripoli, even as life gets tougher. Petrol shortages are now so severe people report queuing for up to five days.
No-one likes being bombed, said one resident and anti Gaddafi campaigner, but we need Nato to get rid of him.
But his opponents are still too scared to protest openly in Tripoli.

But one source at his office, who refused to be named, told AFP news agency the purpose of the visit was to discuss an exit strategy for Col Gaddafi.

Mr Zuma's visit comes days after the UK and France announced they were sending attack helicopters to join the Nato effort, as the alliance attempts to break the deadlock which has left the rebels in control of eastern Libya and the government running most of the west.
The UK has also said it could use "bunker busting" bombs, capable of penetrating reinforced buildings, in a matter of hours in Libya.
"We are not trying to physically target individuals in Gaddafi's inner circle on whom he relies but we are certainly sending them increasingly loud messages," said Defence Secretary Liam Fox.
UN Security Council Resolution 1973 authorised air strikes to protect Libyan civilians from attacks by forces loyal to Col Gaddafi.
The UN vote followed the violent suppression of protests against Col Gaddafi's regime, and military strikes against his forces in support of the rebels, which began on 19 March.

Fuel price hike catches Indian commuters off guard

Each day Ashish Razdan drives to work from his home in Navi Mumbai to his office in Andheri.

The 26km journey takes the young IT worker at least an hour in each direction and it is a commute that has become increasingly expensive.
When Ashish decided to buy his car three years ago, running costs were much lower.
"It's gone up I would say by 20-22 rupees," he says. "If I talk about my pocket every month or so I have to pay around 8,000 rupees ($176; £108)… which is a huge cost for me."
In Mumbai a litre of petrol now costs an average of 68.33 rupees per litre.
The government sets the price of most fuels, but since it deregulated petrol prices in June last year, a litre now costs around 22% more.
Ashish says he sometimes wishes he had bought a diesel car instead. He's been looking at alternative ways to save on fuel costs.
One of those is car-pooling. But such schemes are yet to gain much momentum in Mumbai, and so far he has not managed to share the journey.
Greener and cheaper

In the Mumbai suburb of Goregaon West, Ramkumar Gurumoorthy is at a small garage called Suman Auto.

He is getting his petrol car converted so that it can run on compressed natural gas (CNG).
He explained why he was switching fuel: "Initially when I bought a petrol car it was more affordable at that time," he says.
"But now the prices are going up and up. I thought to turn to CNG which is more economical and better for our day-to-day usage," he adds.
Even with the cost of the conversion, Ramkumar says he expects to save money.
All auto-rickshaws and most taxis in Mumbai operate on CNG. There is also a growing number of private car owners switching to the fuel.
At Greenglobe Fuel Solutions many cars are being fitted with CNG kits. These enable petrol and diesel vehicles to run on compressed natural gas as well, so they can operate on a dual-fuel basis.
The manager Paresh Vira says when fuel prices go up the company sees an upturn in business.

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Watch: Paresh Vira explains how a CNG kit works.

"Suppose on the routine days we are switching over some five or seven vehicles. The day the price hike is announced, the next 10 or 15 days we are totally booked," he says.
Greenglobe claims that car owners can save 40 to 70% on petrol costs.
While CNG is cheaper and has cleaner emissions, it has drawbacks, too. In India it's widely available only in 10-to-12 major cities. Longer journeys away from those conurbations, therefore, require the original diesel or petrol fuel.
No surprise
Three state-owned corporations - Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum, and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation - provide most of the country's petroleum.
While the firms are supposedly free to set petrol prices at market rates, they have made a move to put them up only now that assembly elections are out of the way.
The latest petrol price rise was much expected. However the 8.3% increase is the steepest so far.
When it comes to diesel, kerosene and cooking gas the government still maintains a tight rein.
A ministerial panel had been expected to deliberate over fuel prices last week. However, as yet no further price rises have been announced.
Higher fuel costs are very unpopular among Indians, and there have already been a couple of small-scale protests.
A lorry-drivers' association has also threatened strike action should diesel prices rise.
Loss-making

However, some experts suggest that more fuel price hikes are inevitable.

"There'll be more price rises for sure, because these companies cannot take losses beyond a point," says Madhu Nainan, editor-in-chief of industry bulletin Petrowatch.
"They borrow at market rates to sustain their day-to-day operations, to expand their businesses and keep pace with the rising demand for fuel," he adds.
India imports approximately 80% of its oil requirements.
The state-run oil firms sell petrol, diesel, kerosene and cooking gas, at prices below what it costs to bring them to the pump.
In return they receive a subsidy from the government, which partly offsets their retail losses.
Mr Nainan adds: "If they can't get a price that is more or less close to the international price, then they'll end up making huge losses and be unsustainable in the long run."
Raising the prices of other fuels besides petrol could help reduce the government's subsidy burden and alleviate some of the losses imposed on India's oil companies.
However, raising prices also risks fanning another problem facing India's economy.
It is already contending with a high level of inflation.
Any further fuel price rises would also be very unpopular and could leave India's motorists feeling the pinch.

Foreign investment in Indian oil exploration waning

As India's economy grows and the country looks to become a major player in the global field, its demand for oil has been outpacing supply at an alarming rate.

In its effort to quench the nation's thirst for oil, India has auctioned off many areas to private companies for exploration.
Under the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP), the government has offered various blocks, hoping to attract foreign capital and expertise, especially from explorers such as BP, BG Group, Cairn and Santos Ltd.
The reason is simple. India currently imports more than 75% of the crude oil its economy needs.
The country is hoping for massive investment in the explorations sector to speed up the hunt for sources of oil.
But despite the efforts by the government, investment has slowed in the last couple of years.
Overall foreign direct investment (FDI) flowing into the country dipped sharply by 22%, to $21bn (£13bn) in 2010 from $27bn in 2009.
FDI is crucial to energy-hungry India. It is hoping for at least $40bn investment in the exploration sector to reduce its dependence on foreign oil.

However, many feel that the authorities are not sending the right signals.

The country's biggest oil find in the last 25 years is in Barmer in north-west India.
Known as the Mangala field, it was first of the three discoveries that Cairn India - a subsidiary of UK company Cairn Energy - put into production.
This field was to produce nearly 20% of India's crude oil needs.
Using the Cairn discovery as a role model, the government was hoping to make India's oil exploration programme a success.
Royalties spat
But Cairn Energy has hit some serious obstacles.
The Mangala field and tempting discoveries were on offer as part of a deal where British company Vedanta Resources agreed to buy 51% of Cairn India Ltd.
But this has been stuck for more than nine months over a spat about oil royalties.
State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has a 30% share in the agreement, but it pays 100% of the royalties on those assets to the government, while India had offered a "royalty holiday" scheme to Cairn as a part of the exploration deal.
But now with profits soaring, ONGC wants a rethink on this agreement.
A group of ministers has been asked to decide whether imposing conditions on the company will violate India's bilateral investment promotion treaty (BIPA) with the UK.
However, analysts say they are confident that the authorities will settle the issue quickly.
"We are pretty optimistic that the government is going to really push this fairly strongly from a policy standpoint and a regulatory standpoint to make it attractive for people to come and invest in India," said Dilip Khanna, of Ernst & Young.
Negative impact

A more affluent middle class has triggered a rise in the demand for oil in India

Despite the optimism of industry watchers, the indicators point in the opposite direction.
In March this year under NELP, the government had offered 34 exploration blocks for auction, of which one didn't have any bidders and 14 got just one bid each.
Major explorers, like Exxon Mobil, Chevron, BP and Royal Dutch Shell, avoided the auction.
Analysts say that this is a worrying trend for the development of the sector.
"There is a requirement of expertise, which these international companies can bring with them, and that would make a huge difference in the energy scenario going forward," said Varun Bhutani, of Halliburton Consulting.
However, some analysts see this reluctance on behalf of foreign investors as almost a tribute to the growing confidence and expertise of the Indian companies.
"You have Indian players who can take up the responsibility going forward. So the reliance on foreign players to that extent has come down," said Nabin Ballodia, of KPMG
Mixed Signals
The Cairn Vedanta deal is not the only factor that is keeping foreign companies away from Indian shores.
Many companies are put off by the lack of clarity in India's exploration and production policies as seen in gas-pricing and tax-holiday concessions.
The first eight rounds under the NELP were eligible for a seven-year profit-linked tax holiday on production of mineral oil.
But now India is expected to bring in the new Direct Tax Code - a major tax-reforms policy which is likely to become effective on 1 April 2012.
As per this bill, exploration companies will be entitled to investment-linked tax deduction rather than a profit-linked tax holiday.
Oil and gas are deemed national assets, so it's tightly regulated both in policy and pricing in India.
And unless there is more clarity in the country's energy policies, most global majors will continue to shun the country's energy sector as an investment destination.

Chennai Super Kings retain Indian Premier League title

Indian Premier League final, Chennai:

Chennai Super Kings 205-5 (20 overs) beat Royal Challengers Bangalore 147-8 (20 overs) by 58 runs

Match scorecard (external site)

Chennai are celebrating after successfully defending their trophy

Chennai Super Kings successfully defended their Indian Premier League title on home soil by beating Royal Challengers Bangalore by 58 runs.

Murali Vijay smashed 95 from 52 balls, adding 159 in 14.5 overs with Mike Hussey (63), as Chennai made an imposing 205-5 from their 20 overs.
Bangalore lost big-hitting West Indian opener Chris Gayle in the first over and were never in the hunt.
India captain Mahendra Dhoni lifted the trophy for the second successive year.
Dhoni won the toss at Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium, as he had in their 22-run win against Mumbai Indians in the 2010 final.

Indian Premier League finals

• 2008: Rajasthan Royals beat Chennai Super Kings
• 2009: Deccan Chargers beat Royal Challengers Bangalore
• 2010: Chennai Super Kings beat Mumbai Indians
• 2011: Chennai Super Kings beat Royal Challengers Bangalore

But Vijay and Hussey helped them post the highest total of the four IPL finals which have been contested so far, with Vijay hoisting six sixes and his Australian partner adding three more.
Dhoni joined in the fun with a cameo innings of 22 from 13 balls, including two maximums of his own, as Bangalore captain Daniel Vettori, the former New Zealand skipper, rotated his bowlers in vain.
Having handed the new ball to spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (3-16), Dhoni then caught Gayle for a third-ball duck when he edged behind the stumps, and Bangalore fell well short despite Virat Kohli's 35 and Saurabh Tiwary's unbeaten 42.
Chennai have now contested three of the IPL's four finals, winning for the last two years.
Aside from Eoin Morgan - who made 137 runs in 12 games for Kolkata - English players have made little impact on the 2011 tournament.
Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Dimitri Mascarenhas and Kevin Pietersen were bought at this year's auction but missed the tournament through injury, while Michael Lumb (Deccan) and Owais Shah (Kochi) made only four appearances between them.

 

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel won his first Monaco Grand Prix and pulled further ahead in the championship.

Vettel seals dramatic Monaco win

By Sarah Holt
BBC Sport in Monte Carlo

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel won his first Monaco Grand Prix and pulled further ahead in the championship.
Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and McLaren's Jenson Button, who briefly led the race, had closed in on Vettel but a late safety car helped the German.
Alonso finished second for the first time in 2011, with Button third and Red Bull's Mark Webber fourth.
Lewis Hamilton became embroiled in a row over critical comments about stewards after finishing sixth.

The Englishman was called before officials for two separate incidents and, asked why he had been to see stewards five times in six races this year,

The race was poised for a thrilling finish as Vettel, Alonso and Button were covered by less than a second and chasing each other hard.

But with just seven laps to go, Renault's Vitaly Petrov got caught in a pile-up and plunged his Renault into the barriers at the Swimming Pool.
After complaining of pain in his left ankle the Russian was taken to hospital for a body scan, but Renault subsequently released a statement confirming there was no swelling or broken bone.
The reappearance of the safety car released the pressure on Vettel, and when the race resumed 20 minutes later with the three leaders all having changed their tyres, Vettel comfortably held off Alonso and Button to add the Monaco title to his growing collection.
Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said it had been particularly pleasing to win after the team had experienced a series of unexpected problems during the race.
"We had problems at Sebastian's first stop, we had radio issues and didn't get the tyres on that we wanted, so we had to change our strategy," said Horner.
"The main thing was that we didn't panic. We tried something a bit different, which was very aggressive, but Seb was making it work - that was what won him the race today.
"He was pretty confident, kept talking to his engineers, focusing on areas he could be quick."
BBC F1 chief analyst Eddie Jordan praised Vettel.

"Since he became world champion he has been supreme," said Jordan.
"He is always in the right place - but he also had luck on his side."
Monaco is regarded as the most challenging circuit on the calendar because the narrow, twisting streets push the drivers to the limit.
And Vettel had taken his first pole in Monte Carlo during a qualifying session which had been overshadowed by Sergio Perez's heavy crash which kept him out of the race.
Button, who started alongside Vettel on the front row, tried to play a decisive card in the race when he triggered the pit stops on lap 15.
Vettel had no choice but to respond and came in for his first stop on the following lap, but his crew of mechanics in the Red Bull garage did not have the tyres ready. The resulting delay saw Vettel return to the track in second place.
With a clear track ahead of him, Button quickly built a lead over the world champion.
But while a clever strategy call helped McLaren and Hamilton win in China, this time their attempt to out-think Red Bull backfired.
Button was on a three-stop strategy and when he came in for a second time Vettel regained the lead, and Button dropped to third after his final stop.
The Englishman refused to blame his team's strategy for failing to deliver him his first win of the season.
"We had to take the risk and go for more stops so we shouldn't be upset with what we did," said Button.
"The team did a great job this weekend and I was happy with our strategy. We had to try to do something different to beat Vettel, it was working but it didn't work in the end."
Alonso had muscled his way past Webber and up to third with a typically aggressive start and the Spaniard gained another place thanks to a two-stop strategy.
Vettel looked in real danger as his one-stop strategy meant he had to nurse his tyres for more than 60 laps.
But the restart after the second safety car meant the three leading cars were able to change their tyres and Vettel comfortably cruised to the line.
Alonso said: "Seven days ago we were two minutes behind the leaders and now we are fighting for victory.
"The car is identical to Barcelona so [this result] is just related to Monaco's unique circuit.
"It is also true that the car is working well on the supersoft tyres. They will be available for the next two races so hopefully we can repeat this performance."
Hamilton had a rollercoaster of an afternoon and was constantly in the thick of the action.
After a tussle with Michael Schumacher's Mercedes, Hamilton received a drive-through penalty after he bumped Massa in a three-way battle with Webber at the hairpin.

It's not too late [to win the world championship] but it's not looking great
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton

The Englishman was ninth with seven laps to go, before Jaime Alguersuari's Toro Rosso rode over his McLaren, breaking the rear wing.
The team repaired Hamilton's car before the restart but Hamilton was soon back in trouble with the stewards when he collided with Pastor Maldonado's Williams at Sainte Devote - an incident for which he was subsequently penalised with the addition of 20 seconds to his finishing time, although the punishment which left his finishing position unchanged.
The battle at the hairpin also had repercussions for Massa as Hamilton hustled him again in the tunnel, and as the McLaren sailed safely through, Massa lost control on the tyre debris in the tunnel and hit the barriers.
It is the second race in a row that Massa has retired.
"I was quite a lot quicker than Massa, I went up the inside - and he turned in," said Hamilton in a fiery interview after the race.
"I get the penalty [though], which is usual. He held me up in qualification, I got the penalty. He turned in to me, I got the penalty.
"But you get done trying to put on a show, trying to make a move. Fair play, if I feel I've gone too late I'd hold my hand up to admit I've caused an incident.
"It's not too late [to win the world championship] but it's not looking great."
Schumacher, a five time Monaco winner, conjured up memories of former glories in the opening stages of the race when he brilliantly passed Hamilton at the hairpin.
"That's something I thought you'd never see," said BBC F1 co-commentator David Coulthard. "Hamilton, one of the best racers in the world, caught napping by Schumacher - an inspired move."
But Schumacher fell back as his tyres quickly deteriorated, a problem with which his Mercedes team-mate Nico Rosberg also struggled, before Schumacher eventually retired with a fire in his airbox. Rosberg went on to finish 11th.
There was some much-needed positive news for Sauber as Kamui Kobayashi finished fifth on a one-stop strategy. It was very nearly fourth, the Japanese driver only being passed by the charging Webber on the penultimate lap.
Kobayashi called it a "great achievement" after a difficult weekend with his team-mate Perez still recovering in hospital after a qualifying crash which left him with concussion and a bruised thigh.
Adrian Sutil collected sixth for Force India, but his team-mate Paul di Resta was 15th after receiving a drive-through penalty for a mis-timed pass on Alguersuari.