Faulty tunnel to reopen soon

Norway’s transport minister confirmed Thursday that the Hanekleiv Tunnel, part of a key motorway between Oslo and the south coast, will finally reopen July 6.

Tunnels on the E-18 highway through Vestfold are due to reopen July 6. PHOTO: JON-ARE BERG-JACOBSEN

The tunnel has been closed since last Christmas, when part of it collapsed. Other tunnels along the E-18 highway were also closed after inspectors deemed them in need of reinforcement as well.

Work to reinforce the tunnels and get them reopened has been going on ever since, in an effort to ease traffic congestion on a route that’s one of the most heavily used in Norway during the summer months. That’s when tens of thousands travel to summer homes along the coast known as Sørlandet.

Only one of the two parallel tunnels will reopen, meaning traffic from the four-and six-lane stretches of the motorway will need to funnel into two lanes. That’s bound to cause congestion, but it’s better than forcing all the summer traffic back onto the old two-lane highway that runs through the towns of Sande and Holmestrand.

A meeting Thursday between the state highway department and construction firm Veidekke set July 6 as the reopening date, and ruled out further delays.

The tunnels were built in 2003 and their troubles have been a major embarrassment to Norwegian officials who pride themselves on tunnel construction.

Lifted and published by African Press in Norway(APN)/ African Press International(API) Source.aftenpostenEng

Bail for Pakistan – same sex pair

Doctors say Raj is still a woman, despite sex change operations Pakistan’s Supreme Court has ordered that a couple jailed for perjury in a row over the husband’s sex should be released on bail, their lawyers say.The ruling came after a judge agreed to hear appeals against the convictions. The couple say they are man and wife, but the Lahore high court ruled last month that the husband was, in fact, a woman, despite sex-change surgery. The case is thought the first of its kind in Pakistan where homosexuality and trans-sexuality are largely taboo. ‘Lied’ Shumail Raj, 31, had sex-change surgery to become a man and then married Shahzina Tariq, 24, a cousin. The judgement of the high court has been suspended and the Supreme Court has ordered their release Lawyer Babar Awan She was aware of his condition but says she needed his help to avoid being forced into wedlock with someone else. The couple originally sought the protection of the courts but were arrested last month after the bride’s family questioned whether Raj was a man. Judges in Lahore jailed the couple for three years and fined them 10,000 Pakistani rupees ($165). They found that the couple had lied about Raj’s sexual status and said their marriage was un-Islamic because it was same-sex. But on Thursday, the couple’s lawyers said the judgement of the high court had been suspended “The Supreme Court has ordered their release,” said lawyer Babar Awan, Reuters news agency reports. Bail is reported to have been set at 50,000 rupees ($825) each. No date has been given for the appeal hearing to begin. ‘Against Islam’ Raj is reported to have undergone surgery twice in Pakistan over the past 16 years to become a man. Shumail Raj (left) and Shahzina Tariq appealed to the president But tests carried out by doctors on behalf of the Lahore high court ruled that Raj, who has a beard and moustache, was still a woman. Raj himself says that he needs to go abroad for more treatment even though his breasts and uterus have been removed. Ms Tariq’s family wants to annul the wedding on the grounds that it is against Islam for two women to marry. But the couple argue that they married to protect the bride from being sold into marriage to pay off her uncle’s gambling debts. Ms Tariq says they are not homosexuals and they married because they are in love.

Lifted and published by African Press in Norway(APN)/ African Press International(API) Source: BBC

South Africa’s main trade unions have ended their four-week strike, which has closed most of the country’s schools and hospitals.

South Africa’s main trade unions have ended their four-week strike, which has closed most of the country’s schools and hospitals. The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has decided to accept the government’s offer of a 7.5% pay rise – they had demanded 9%.

The government had originally offered 6%, while the unions had wanted 12%.

Correspondents say it has been the biggest strike since the end of apartheid in 1994.

Cosatu said the strike, which involved hundreds of thousands of people, had been a “historic turning point in the lives of public-sector workers”.

“This combination of unity and militancy means that never again will the employer dare to treat us with the callous indifference they have displayed in the past and during this dispute, until they were forced to compromise when confronted by the militancy and determination of their workforce,” it said.

Before the decision was announced, one union official told the Business Day newspaper that teachers wanted to end the strike, as school holidays had started.

In pictures: SA strike Strike voices Unions flex their muscles

But a Cosatu statement said that teaching unions were not prepared to sign the deal and would continue talks with the government.

On Monday, two independent unions pulled out of the strike, accusing Cosatu of being “greedy and opportunistic”, saying the 7.5% offer was “fantastic”.

The labour movement accuses the government of promoting big business at the expenses of poor South Africans.

BBC correspondent in Johannesburg Peter Biles says the strike has been hugely disruptive and many workers are beginning to feel the impact caused by the loss of wages.

Economists estimate that the cost to South Africa’s economy could be as much as 3bn rand ($418m).

Inflation fears and resulting interest rate hikes have prompted the central bank to warn against large wage increases.

Lifted and published by African Press in Norway(APN)/ African Press International(API) Source:BBC