Ships collide off Malaysian coast

Wednesday, 19 August 2009

The MT Formosa Product Brick was travelling from the United Arab Emirates to South Korea [REUTERS] Nine Chinese crew members are missing after a Taiwanese tanker carrying 58,000 tonnes of naphtha, a highly flammable liquid, collided with a cargo ship in one of the world's busiest shipping lanes. A fire broke out on the tanker, en route from the United Arab Emirates to South Korea, after the collision at 10pm (14:00 GMT) in the Strait of Malacca, between Malaysia and Indonesia, on Tuesday, maritime police said. Firefighters were fighting the blaze on the MT Formosa Product Brick, although there was said to be no danger of oil spill from the tanker and the movements of other ships have not been affected. "The MT Formosa Product Brick is on fire and is now listing on its left side. We fear it may sink," Rizal Ramli, a local marine police chief, said. "The collision happened last night in clear weather off Port Dickson. We have rescued 16 crew members, mainly of Chinese nationality," he said. Ramli said two of the rescued crew were Taiwanese. Busy waterway Captain Ahmed Bin Othman, the director-general of Malaysia's marine department, told Al Jazeera that attempts to search for the missing crew were continuing both in the water and on the tanker, but that the heat of the fire was too intense for rescue workers to board the ship. "The vessel has drifted outside the traffic separation scheme and currently it remains outside the traffic seperation scheme," he said. "The tanker was south bound, heading for [South] Korea and the bulk carrier had just left Port Dickson. It was joining the traffic separation scheme and unfortunately they collided in the middle." Port Dickson is in Negeri Sembilan, south of Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital. Othman said that the masters of both vessels were being interviewed to ascertain the cause of events.Accidents in the narrow Strait of Malacca, through which at least 94,000 ships sail annually, are rare. The waterway is one of the busiest in the world and is crucial to Japan's national interests as more than 80 per cent of its oil is carried through it.

Pop star Michael Jackson has died in Los Angeles, aged 50

Thursday, 25 June 2009

Paramedics were called to the singer's Beverly Hills home at about midday on Thursday after he stopped breathing.

He was pronounced dead two hours later at the UCLA medical centre. Jackson's brother, Jermaine, said he was believed to have suffered a cardiac arrest.

Jackson, who had a history of health problems, had been due to stage a series of comeback concerts in the UK on 13 July.

Speaking on behalf of the Jackson family, Jermaine, said doctors had tried to resuscitate the star for more than an hour without success.

He added: "The family request that the media please respect our privacy during this tough time.""And Allah be with you Michael always. I love you."

Concerns were raised last month when four of Jackson's planned comeback concerts were postponed, but organisers insisted the dates had been moved due to the complexity of staging the show.

A spokeswoman for The Outside Organisation, which was organising the publicity for the shows, said she had no comment at this time.

Broadcaster Paul Gambaccini said: "I always doubted that he would have been able to go through that schedule, those concerts. It seemed to be too much of a demand on the unhealthy body of a 50 year old.

"I'm wondering that, as we find out details of his death, if perhaps the stress of preparing for those dates was a factor in his collapse.

"It was wishful thinking that at this stage of his life he could be Michael Jackson again."

Uri Gellar, a close friend of the star, told BBC News it was "very, very sad".

peaking outside New York's historic Apollo theatre, civil rights activist Rev Al Sharpton paid tribute to his friend.

"I knew him 35 years. When he had problems he would call me," he said.

"I feel like he was not treated fairly. I hope history will be more kind to him than some of the contemporary media."

Melanie Bromley, west coast bureau chief of Us Weekly magazine, told the BBC the scene in Los Angeles was one of "pandemonium".

"At the moment there is a period of disbelief. There are hundreds of people outside UCLA waiting for news.

"He was buying a home in the Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles and the scene outside the house is one of fans, reporters and TV cameras - it's absolute craziness.

"I feel this is the biggest celebrity story in a long time and has the potential to be the Princess Diana of popular culture."

Musical icon

MICHAEL JACKSON 1958-2009 Full name: Michael Joseph Jackson Born: August 29, 1958, Gary, Indiana, US Also known as: The King of Pop, Wacko Jacko Biggest hits: I Want You Back, Don't Stop Til You Get Enough, Billie Jean, Bad, Black or White, Earth Song

Paramedics were called to the singer's house in Bel Air at 1221 (1921GMT) following an emergency phone call.

They performed CPR on Jackson and rushed him to the UCLA medical centre.

A spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department said the robbery and homicide team was investigating Jackson's death because of its "high profile", but there was no suggestion of foul play.

Jackson began his career as a child in family group The Jackson 5.

He then went on to achieve global fame as a solo artist with smash hits such as Billie Jean and Bad.

Thriller, released in 1982, is the biggest-selling album of all time, shifting 65m copies, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

He scored seven UK number ones as a solo artist and won a total of 13 Grammy awards.

"For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don't have the words," said Quincy Jones, who produced Thriller, Bad and Off The Wall.

Jackson's body was flown from hospital to the LA coroner's office

"He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I've lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him."

The singer had been dogged by controversy and money trouble in recent years, becoming a virtual recluse.

He was arrested in 2003 on charges of molesting a 14-year-old boy, but was found not guilty following a five-month trial.

The star had three children, Michael Joseph Jackson Jr, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince Michael Jackson II.

He is survived by his mother, Katherine, father, Joseph and eight siblings - including Janet, Randy, Jermaine and La Toya Jackson.

Iran rallies planned amid clampdown

Wednesday, 17 June 2009

Pro-Ahmadinejad supporters were out in force in Tehran on Tuesday [GALLO/GETTY] Anti-government protesters in Iran have announced they are to hold another rally in the capital to dispute the veracity of a presidential election. Supporters of candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi called on Wednesday for a rally to go ahead at 5pm local time (13:30 GMT), despite the authorities imposing a ban on the opposition gatherings. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the incumbent president, was officially declared winner of Friday's election by a margin of two-to-one over Mir Hossein Mousavi. Hossein, a reformist candidate who was the nearest rival to Ahmadinejad, a conservative, has accused the authorities of rigging the vote. But Ahmadinejad has said that the result proved he has popular support. "The election result confirmed the work of the ninth government which was based on honesty and service to the people," he said on Wednesday in a statement to Iran's ISNA news agency. Mousavi has called on his supporters to hold peaceful demonstrations or gather in mosques on Thursday in solidarity with people killed or hurt in the post-election unrest. At least seven people have been killed in clashes between the authorities and the opposition movement, according to state media reports, while hundreds more are thought to have been injured. "In the course of the past days and as a consequence of illegal and violent encounters with [people protesting] against the outcome of the presidential election, a number of our countrymen were wounded or martyred," Mousavi said on his website. "I ask the people to express their solidarity with the families .... by coming together in mosques or taking part in peaceful demonstrations." Reformists detained The announcement of the rallies came as news emerged that two prominent reformists allied to Mousavi had been arrested by the Iranian authorities. Hamid Reza Jalaipour, a sociologist, was arrested at his home on Wednesday morning, Issa Saharkhiz, a colleague, told the AFP news agency. Saeed Laylaz, a political and economic analyst, was also arrested at his home by four officials, a family member said. Jalaipour and Laylaz are also prominent journalists. Iranian police have badly beaten some protesters at the opposition rallies [AFP] Several reformists have been arrested by the Iranian authorities since the protests against the presidential election results began. Foreign media reporters have been banned from covering rallies by those opposed to the result of the vote. With Iranians relying on social networking sites and YouTube to share information, the Revolutionary Guard, an elite military force, warned users on Wednesday that they would face legal action if their uploads "create tension". Alireza Ronaghi, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Tehran, said the move against websites and blogging by the Guard was beyond their remit. "Their move to crack down on websites and blogs is against their constitutional rights, but they see it as things spreading out of hand, so they feel it necessary to intervene at this point," he said. "It is obvious that the Revolutionary Guard does not see itself as a pure military organisation. They been telling the media and activists that the Revolutionary Guard was founded as a political and military foundation of the Islamic Republic, so they see it as appropraite to enter politics whenever they deem fit. Police violence Tens of thousands of pro- and anti-government demonstrators held rival rallies in Tehran on Tuesday, despite calls by Mousaavi to exercise restraint for fear of provoking further clashes. Thousands of people gathered at a government-organised rally in Tehran's central Vali Asr square in support of Ahmadinejad while a similar-sized demonstration was held in the north of the city by those loyal to the opposition. Sadegh Zibakalam, an Iranian political analyst, said that the government had arranged its protest on Tuesday as a response to the opposition movement. "The government doesn't want to appear as being too soft - that's why they called this rally today and asked its supporters to come to the square where Mousavi's supporters had decided to gather," he told Al Jazeera. "By arranging these crowds, the government is making two points. It wants to demonstrate that it is firm in dealing with this crisis, [and] on the other hand they have been called [on] by the pro-government crowd to crack down." The rallies came just hours after the Guardian Council, Iran's most senior legislative body, said it could order a partial vote recount, provided it finds irregularities. The council ruled out annulling the disputed poll, the key demand of the opposition.

Venezuela bans Coke Zero, cites "danger to health"

Thursday, 11 June 2009

CARACAS (Reuters) – The Venezuelan government of U.S.-critic President Hugo Chavez on Wednesday ordered Coca-Cola Co to withdraw its Coke Zero beverage from the South American nation, citing unspecified dangers to health.

The decision follows a wave of nationalizations and increased scrutiny of businesses in South America's top oil exporter.

Health Minister Jesus Mantilla said the zero-calorie Coke Zero should no longer be sold and stocks of the drink removed from store shelves while the government investigated its ingredients.

"The product should be withdrawn from circulation to preserve the health of Venezuelans," the minister said in comments reported by the government's news agency.

Coca Cola said Coke Zero contains no harmful ingredients, but that it will stop production and remove the product from shelves during the ongoing investigation.

"Coca Cola Zero is made under the highest quality standards around the world and meets the sanitary requirements demanded by the laws of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela," the company said in a joint statement with its local bottling company.

Despite Chavez's anti-capitalist policies and rhetoric against consumerism, oil-exporting Venezuela remains one of Latin America's most Americanized cultures, with U.S. fast-food chains, shopping malls and baseball all highly popular.

Mantilla did not say what health risks Coke Zero, which contains artificial sweeteners, posed to the population.

Coke Zero was launched in Venezuela in April and Coca-Cola Femsa, the Mexico-based company that bottles Coke products locally, said at the time it aimed to increase its market share for low calorie drinks by 200 percent.

The bottler was plagued with labor problems last year in Venezuela when former workers repeatedly blocked its plants, demanding back-pay.

The government this year has seized a rice mill and pasta factory belonging to U.S. food giant Cargill and has threatened action against U.S. drug company Pfizer.

Chavez has also nationalized a group of oil service companies, including projects belonging to Williams Companies and Exterran.

Gitmo inmate pleads not guilty

Wednesday, 10 June 2009

NEW YORK: Under heavy guard, a Guantanamo Bay detainee walked into a civilian U.S. courtroom for the first time Tuesday, underscoring the Obama administration's determination to close the Cuban prison and hold trials here despite Republican alarms about bringing terror suspects to America.
Ahmed Ghailani, a Tanzanian accused in two American Embassy bombings a decade ago, pleaded not guilty in English in a brief but historic federal court hearing that transported him from open-ended military detention to the civilian criminal justice system.
President Barack Obama has said keeping Ghailani from coming to the United States "would prevent his trial and conviction." Taking a drastically different stance, House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio labeled Tuesday's move "the first step in the Democrats' plan to import terrorists into America."
Ghailani, accused of being a bomb-maker, document forger and aide to Osama bin Laden, was brought to New York to await trial in connection with al-Qaida bombings that killed 224 people including 12 Americans at the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998.
U.S. marshals took custody of Ghailani from his military jailers and transferred him to a federal lockup in lower Manhattan that currently holds financial swindler Bernard Madoff, and once held mob scion John "Junior" Gotti and blind terror leader Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman.
Short and slim with a wispy goatee, Ghailani walked into the courtroom without shackles or handcuffs, wearing a blue jail smock.
He listened at times through an interpreter but then removed the headphones and appeared to understand what was said in English.
Asked by the judge if he wanted her to "read this big fat indictment," he conferred with his lawyer, said it was not necessary and made his plea: "not guilty."
About 10 deputy marshals were in the courtroom, including two who were behind him.
Ghailani's attorney, Scott L. Fenstermaker, declined comment after the hearing.
"We are ready to proceed in the case," declared Assistant U.S. Attorney David Raskin, who said there was "voluminous" evidence to be shared among attorneys.
U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska acknowledged Ghailani's U.S. military lawyers, Marine Col. Jeffrey Colwell and Air Force Maj. Richard Reiter, who were seated in the courtroom but were not representing him at the hearing.
"Anything you can do to help him transition to the civilian courts will be greatly appreciated," she said.
Ghailani's trial will be an important test case for Obama's plan to close the detention center at Guantanamo in seven months and bring some of the terror suspects there to trial.
Attorney General Eric Holder said, "The Justice Department has a long history of securely detaining and successfully prosecuting terror suspects through the criminal justice system, and we will bring that experience to bear in seeking justice in this case."
Though the bombings were a decade ago, "for us, it's like yesterday," said Sue Bartley, a Washington-area resident who lost her husband, Julian Leotis Bartley Sr., then U.S. consul general to Kenya, and her son, Julian "Jay" Bartley Jr.
"The embassy bombings were a precursor to 9/11. And even though we know that an American embassy located in any country is American soil, I don't think people really understand that," she said.
The U.S. response to the 2001 terror attacks including the opening of the Guantanamo detention center could also complicate Ghailani's case, as defense lawyers are likely to mount legal challenges based on the circumstances of his capture, detention and treatment over the years.
Justice Department officials would not say Tuesday what would be done with Ghailani if he were acquitted, but in past cases a non-citizen defendant would be turned over to immigration authorities for deportation.
There will also be political challenges to Ghailani's trial.
Congressional Republicans have repeatedly contended that transferring terrorist suspects to U.S. soil will threaten public safety. The Guantanamo issue has seemed one of the few issues falling the Republicans' way, as polls suggest that most Americans want to keep the Cuba-based prison operating.
But if Ghailani can be handled without serious incident in New York and elsewhere, the GOP argument may lose steam and Congress may rethink its refusal to fund the closing of Guantanamo. The move also could bolster Obama's efforts to persuade other nations to accept some detainees from the prison.
U.S. officials contend Ghailani began a terrorist career on a bicycle delivering bomb parts and rose through the al-Qaida ranks to become an aide to bin Laden.
After the Aug. 7, 1998, bombings at U.S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Ghailani worked his way up the al-Qaida ranks, according to military prosecutors.
He was categorized as a high-value detainee by U.S. authorities after he was captured in Pakistan in 2004, and he was transferred to the detention center at the U.S. naval base in Cuba two years later.
Ghailani has denied knowing that the TNT and oxygen tanks he delivered would be used to make a bomb. He also has denied buying a vehicle used in one of the attacks, saying he could not drive.
Not only Republican lawmakers have opposed bringing Guantanamo detainees to the U.S. for trial, even in heavily guarded settings. Obama faces pressure from across the political spectrum over his plan to close the detention center. Democrats have said they want to see Obama's plan for closing the base before approving money to finance it, and Republicans are fighting to keep Guantanamo open.
The decision to try Ghailani in New York also revives a long-dormant case charging bin Laden and other top al-Qaida leadership with plotting the embassy attacks, which led then-President Bill Clinton to launch cruise missile attacks two weeks later on bin Laden's Afghan camps.
Four other men have been tried and convicted in the New York courthouse for their roles in the embassy attacks. All were sentenced to life in prison.

Wreckage seen in search area for missing plane

Tuesday, 2 June 2009

Searchers looking for a missing Air France jetliner spotted wreckage Tuesday in the Atlantic Ocean that may have come from the plane, Brazilian aviation officials said Tuesday.

The Airbus 330 went missing over the Atlantic early Monday on the way from Brazil to France.

An airplane seat, orange life vest, small white fragments and signs of oil and kerosene were found 700 kilometers (434 miles) northeast of the Fernando de Noronha archipelago, said Brazilian Air Force spokesman Jorge Amaral. The search will continue, Amaral said.

He said there is not enough material to officially say this is the wreckage from Flight 447, which disappeared early Monday with 228 people onboard.

The debris was found 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the plane's flight path, another Brazilian Air Force official said.

The Airbus A330 encountered heavy turbulence early Monday, about three hours after it left Rio de Janeiro for Paris on an 11-hour flight, according to Air France CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon.

Fernando de Noronha is an archipelago of 21 islands around 354 kilometers (220 miles) off the northeast coast of Brazil. It lies in what could be the flight path between Rio de Janeiro and Paris.

A search was also conducted in waters off the African nation of Senegal, where a crew from the Brazilian airline TAM said they saw "shiny spots" in the sea along the route of Flight 447.

Senegal is northeast of Fernando de Noronha and near what would have been the plane's presumed flight path.

The plane carried 216 passengers -- 126 men, 82 women, seven children and a baby -- and 12 crew members, Air France said. Of the crew, 11 were French and one was Brazilian.

Merkel: Obama helped GM deal

Saturday, 30 May 2009

A phone call with Barack Obama, the US president, helped achieve a breakthrough aquisition of General Motors' Opel unit by Canada's Magna, Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, has said.

"I spoke on the phone with the American president yesterday and we were in agreement that we had to do everything possible to come up with a good result for this complicated task," she said on Saturday.

"That conversation clearly influenced the negotiations last night."

Germany approved a plan for the auto parts maker Magna to move ahead with a rescue of General Motor's Opel unit on Saturday morning.

"Because of the special [GM/Opel] structures, the talks were a real test of transatlantic relations," she said.

Cyclone Aila leaves hundreds dead

Tuesday, 26 May 2009

Some 200 people have been killed after Cyclone Aila swept across eastern India and Bangladesh, flooding villages and leaving millions of people marooned or forced to live in shelters.

The toll in Bangladesh rose to more than 130 following the recovery of dozens of bodies on Tuesday, local media reported.

And in India's West Bengal state, there were reports of 64 deaths, according to Ashok Mohan Chakraborty, the state chief secretary.

Cyclone Aila hit the region on Monday, triggering tidal surges and floods, and officials in both countries said they feared the toll would continue to rise as rescue teams continued their search.

'Millions affected'

Officials in Bangladesh moved about 500,000 people to temporary shelters after they fled their homes to escape huge tidal waves churned by winds of up to 120kph.

"Millions of people have been affected by the cyclone, with half a million in shelters and another half a million forced from their homes or were marooned," a disaster control official told the Reuters news agency in Dhaka, the Bangladeshi capital.

Heavy rain triggered by the storm also raised river levels and burst mud embankments in the Sundarbans delta in West Bengal.

The worst affected area in Bangladesh was the Satkhira district, near the port of Mongla, where a local official said 31 bodies were found in one village.

"The situation here is alarming," Mohammad Abdus Samad, deputy commissioner of Satkhira, told Reuters.

Meanwhile, it remained difficult to assess how the storm and flooding had affected the tiger population in the region as water levels were too high for ecologists and forest officials to survey the area, Mrinal Chatterjee, the project director of the Institute of Nature Lovers and Climbers, an environmental group, said.

About 250 tigers are estimated to live in the Indian side of the Sundarbans reserve, with another 250 thought to reside in the Bangladeshi side of the conservation area.

Source:Al Jazeera

Vienna clashes spark India riots

Monday, 25 May 2009

Hundreds of protesters took to the streets in Punjab over Sunday's attack in Austria [AFP] An attack on a Sikh temple in Austria that left a preacher dead and at least 15 people wounded has sparked angry protests in the north-western Indian state of Punjab. Hundreds of people took to the streets of Jalandhar on Monday, defying a curfew, and setting a train, vehicles and shops ablaze, authorities said. Police opened fire to disperse angry crowds, reportedly killing two protesters in separate incidents, the AFP news agency said. The violence comes a day after Sant Rama Nand, a preacher, was killed when six men firing guns and wielding knives attacked a temple in Vienna, Austria's capital. The clash involved members of several rival Sikh temples in Vienna who had been feuding for several years, local authorities and witnesses said. Authorities in Punjab have imposed a curfew on parts of the state, and the army was placed on standby after the protests broke out. Appeal for calm "The situation remains tense but under control," R K Jaiswal, a senior superintendent, said. The attack in Vienna is the first act of violence involving Sikhs in the city [EPA] Manmohan Singh, India's prime minister, said he was "deeply distressed" by the violence and issued an appeal for calm. The violence in Austria came as preachers led several hundred worshippers in prayer, witnesses said. Witnesses said a group of men had attacked two spiritual leaders, or gurus, who had travelled from India for the ceremony, and their followers had moved to defend them. The two preachers were low-caste Sikhs, belonging to the Dera Sachh Khand group. Leaders at the temple have campaigned against the caste system, angering other Sikhs in Austria who believe the correct traditions have been broken. 'Severely wounded' Michael Froschl, an Austrian radio reporter, told Al Jazeera: "This is the first act of violence involving Sikhs in Vienna. "This religious fighting has come as a shock to the city, as the area is multi-cultural and lives normally go on here without violence. "The full details of the attack are unclear as most of the injured were severely wounded and have been unable to talk to police." A police spokeswoman said six suspects, of whom four were wounded and in serious condition, had been arrested. The possibility that not only the attackers but also some of the worshippers were armed was being investigated. The Sikh community has about 2,800 followers in Austria. About 25 million people observe the Sikh faith worldwide, most of them in northern India.

North Korea conducts nuclear test

Sunday, 24 May 2009

The communist country ,North Korea has staged a "successful" underground nuclear test, the state-run KCNA agency reports.

The agency says it was more powerful than the previous one in October 2006.

South Korea's president has convened an emergency security meeting and Japan is setting up a task force in the prime minister's office.

Just hours later, North Korea appeared to have test-fired a short-range missile, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.

Pyongyang has so far not commented on Yonhap's report.

Following the announcement of North Korea's latest nuclear test on Monday, Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kazuo Kodama said Tokyo would respond "in a responsible fashion" at the UN, without giving further details.

Russia's UN ambassador said an emergency meeting of the Security Council would be held later on Monday.

Accidental millionaires couple of Newzealand

Friday, 22 May 2009

(CNN) -- Police hunting for a New Zealand couple who allegedly fled the country after a bank mistakenly paid them $NZ10 million ($6 million) believe they traveled to Hong Kong.

New Zealand authorities have sought help from Interpol in locating the couple who disappeared May 7, two days after an employee error at Westpac bank paid them 100 times the amount they asked for.

TVNZ, a CNN television affiliate, named the couple as Leo Gao and his girlfriend Cara Young. Gao owned a gas station in Rotorua, a lakeside tourist town famous for its hot water springs and bubbling mud pools.

Police said Friday that the couple were believed to have traveled to Hong Kong.

"Enquiries to locate those individuals are continuing through Interpol in Hong Kong and official channels in Beijing," said Detective Senior Sergeant David Harvey. Watch as 'millionaires' go on the run »

Police were not confirming the identities of those involved but they were working with the family of one of the individuals named in the media, Harvey said.

The family were shocked at their name being associated with the case, he added.

TVNZ said the couple applied for an overdraft from Westpac worth up to NZ$100,000 ($61,000).

However, on or about May 5, the bank erroneously put NZ$10 million ($6.1 million) into their bank account. What would you do in this situation?

TVNZ said Westpac had confirmed that a customer had attempted to unlawfully transfer amounts totaling around NZ$6.7 million ($4.1 million).

Nearly NZ$3 million ($1.85 million) had been recovered and the bank was continuing to vigorously pursue the outstanding amount, Westpac Media relations manager Craig Dowling told the station.

Myanmar: Suu Kyi pleads not guilty at trial, party says

Aung San Suu Kyi declared herself innocent of charges she finally heard in court for the first time Friday, the fifth day of her trial on allegations of subversion.

A television grab shows Aung San Suu Kyi meeting with diplomats at Insein Prison in Yangon on May 20.

"I'm not guilty," the Myanmar opposition leader told the court, according to a spokesman for her party. When the court asked why she claimed innocence, she replied, "I didn't break any law," said the spokesman, Nyan Win.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has been under house arrest for years under orders from Myanmar's military regime. She is being tried on allegations of subversion along with two of her maids for the May 3 incident in which an American, John William Yettaw, 53, swam across a lake to her house and stayed there for at least one night.

If convicted, Suu Kyi, 63, could be sentenced to three to five years in prison. The trial is being held inside a prison compound in Yangon, and all but one day so far has been closed to the public, including the news media and diplomats.

Yettaw -- who also is on trial -- has been charged with violating immigration laws and trespassing. Conviction on the charges would carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison. He is being represented by a lawyer selected by the U.S. Embassy in Yangon.

Suu Kyi's lawyer has said his client asked Yettaw to leave her home immediately, but Yettaw refused, first saying he didn't want to swim in daylight for fear of being captured, and later blaming leg cramps. Yettaw left May 5 and was arrested shortly afterward.

In court on Friday, Yettaw said he made the unauthorized trip to Suu Kyi's house because he had a vision she would be assassinated and wanted to warn her, Win said. He said Yettaw could be seen muttering to himself during the proceedings, including utterances that Suu Kyi is innocent.

The trial will break for the weekend and resume Monday with Suu Kyi's defense, Win said. The trial has prompted international criticism, with nine Nobel laureates -- including Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa -- calling it a "mockery." U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the charges against Suu Kyi "baseless" and accused Myanmar's ruling junta of "continuing (its) resistance to a free and open electoral process."

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told CNN he was in talks with Myanmar's leadership about traveling to Yangon "as soon as possible" to seek the release of Suu Kyi from her long-standing house arrest, as well as steps toward democratization.

"This is an unacceptable situation when she has been under detention for such a long time," Ban said in the Wednesday interview. "She's a Nobel peace laureate."

Myanmar's government has said next year's scheduled elections will reintroduce democracy in Myanmar.

Suu Kyi's lawyers are expected to argue that the pro-democracy advocate knew nothing about the American's plan to visit her and that she tried in vain to get him to leave.

The defense also is expected to turn the charges on their head, arguing that the government has failed to protect Suu Kyi.

The court may be trying to issue a verdict before Suu Kyi's latest round of home detention expires May 27, according to Win.

Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years -- a confinement that the military junta has regularly extended. She has been barred for life from running for political office, but human rights groups suspect that Myanmar's junta is concerned that her release could invigorate the opposition.

Suu Kyi has been the face of Myanmar's pro-democracy movement and the focus of a global campaign to free her. Her National League for Democracy party won more than 80 percent of the legislative seats in 1990, but she was disqualified from serving because of her house arrest, and the military junta ignored the results.

It was during her house arrest that she won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991. Suu Kyi married a British man, who died in 1999, and they have two sons.

Myanmar's government now says citizens who bore children with foreigners cannot run for office

Source:CNN

US burns Bibles in Afghanistan row

Thursday, 21 May 2009

US army colonel: 'The best way to deal with it ... was to burn the Bibles' The US army in Afghanistan has burned Bibles printed in local languages, a US colonel in Afghanistan has said, amid concerns they could have been used to try to convert Afghans. "My understanding is that the [military] leadership confiscated these Bibles so that they could not be distributed around Afghanistan, Colonel Greg Julian told Al Jazeera on Wednesday. "It was their best judgement at the time, that the best way to deal with it, was to destroy them and I understand that they were burnt." Al Jazeera broadcast footage earlier this month showing troops apparently discussing how best to convert Afghans to their faith. 'Hunt them down' Some of the soldiers who appeared in the video have been reprimanded, US government and military officials told Al Jazeera correspondent James Bays. The video, shot about a year ago, appeared to show military chaplains stationed in the US air base at Bagram discussing how to distribute copies of the Bible printed in the country's main Pashto and Dari languages. In one recorded sermon, Lieutenant-Colonel Gary Hensley, the chief of the US military chaplains in Afghanistan, tells soldiers that, as followers of Jesus Christ, they all have a responsibility "to be witnesses for him". "The special forces guys - they hunt men basically. We do the same things as Christians, we hunt people for Jesus ... we hunt them down," he said. "Get the hound of heaven after them, so we get them into the kingdom. That's what we do, that's our business." 'Out of context' Questioned about the footage earlier in the month, Julian told Al Jazeera: "Most of this is taken out of context ... this is irresponsible and inappropriate journalism. "This footage was taken a year ago ... the Bibles were taken into custody and not distributed. "There is no effort to go out and proselytize to Afghans." The military said a soldier at Bagram received the Bibles and did not realise he was not allowed to hand them out. "It's not a preference but, under the circumstances, the leadership made the best decision that they could to ensure that they weren't distributed among the Afghan population. "So, unfortunately, this is the route that we went," he said. Regulations by the US military's central command expressly forbid "proselytizing of any religion, faith or practice". But in the footage chaplains appear to understand their actions were in breach of regulations "Do we know what it means to proselytize?" Captain Emmit Furner, a military chaplain, said to the gathering. "It is General Order Number One," an unidentified soldier replied. "You can't proselytize, but you can give gifts", another said. Source :Al Jazeera

Iran announces new missile test

Wednesday, 20 May 2009

Iran announced Wednesday that it had successfully tested another Sajil missile -- a new generation of surface-to surface missiles.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is greeted Wednesday in northern Iran after saying the nation test fired a missile.

A similar test was carried out in November.

According to state-media reports, the missile -- Sajil-2 -- was launched Wednesday morning from the northern Iranian city of Semnan and reached its target. The reports did not say where it landed.

The Sajil missiles use solid fuel, which comes in smaller containers and helps the rockets travel longer distances, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the semi-official Fars News Agency.

Iran says the missiles have a range of almost 1,250 miles (2,000 kilometers). If tthat's accurate, the missile brings Moscow, Athens and southern Italy within striking distance from Iran, according to Jane's Information Group, which provides information on defense issues.

After the November launch, the United States restated its objection to such tests, saying they violate Iran's obligations under United Nations Security Council resolutions.

U.S. officials have cast doubt on the success of past missile test launches by Iran, including a rocket launch in August and a series of missile tests the previous month.
Source:CNN

Abuse 'endemic' at institutions

Abuse at Catholic institutions was investigated

An inquiry into child abuse at Catholic institutions in Ireland has found that sexual abuse was "endemic" in boys institutions.

It also physical and emotional abuse and neglect were features of institutions.

Schools were run in a severe, regimented manner that imposed unreasonable and oppressive discipline on children and even on staff.

The nine-year inquiry investigated a 60-year period.

source:BBC News

Body of Tamil Tigers leader 'found'

Tuesday, 19 May 2009

Sri Lankan state television has broadcast video footage of what the army says is the body of Velupillai Prabhakaran, the leader of the Tamil Tigers.

The military said the body was found in a lagoon on Tuesday morning, contradicting claims by senior Tamil officials that Prabhakaran was alive in a safe location.

The images also showed what appeared to be Prabhakaran's LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) identity card.

Hours before the images were released, the LTTE dismissed the claims that Prabhakaran was dead and vowed that the Tamil struggle for a homeland would continue.

LITTE leader V.Pirapaharan is alive and safe

Tamil official site rejecting the claim of killing LTTE leader Pirapaharan and others senior leaders.in their official site they mentioned that their leader is still alive and safe.
See their statement regarding the remours of killing LITTE leader.it is taken from the official site of LITTE.

While rejecting Colombo's claim of the killing of LTTE leader V. Pirapaharan and assuring his safety and well-being, LTTE's International Relations Head S. Pathmanathan Tuesday accused Colombo of treachery in the killing of the political wing leaders B. Nadesan and S. Puleedevan. Mr. Pathmanathan said it is a crime against humanity that needs to be investigated. Meanwhile, informed sources told TamilNet that what happened in the early hours of Monday was a well-planned massacre of several unarmed civil officers of the LTTE with the aim of annihilating its political structure. At the orders of a 'top defence figure,' an international arrangement involving ICRC, European diplomats and a Colombo government diplomat to arrange safe exit to the civil officers was defied, the sources said.

Political observers compared Monday's massacre with the prison massacre of Tamil liberation fighters in 1983 and events leading to the collective death of 12 senior leaders and cadres of the LTTE in 1987.

Tamil circles also commented that any surrender of the LTTE as pressed by the International Community would have seen a similar fate to its cadres, had it been heeded.

The clarifications from Mr. Pathmanathan follow:

Statement 1:

I wish to inform the Global Tamil community distressed witnessing the final events of the war that our beloved leader Velupillai Pirapaharan is alive and safe. He will continue to lead the quest for dignity and freedom for the Tamil people.

The President and the Government of Sri Lanka needing to carry on and gloat in the planned Victory Celebrations on Tuesday, had their military establishment deliberately come up with the story detailing the demise of the leader of the LTTE. We categorically reject this and wish to inform the Tamil community to be vigilant and to exercise maximum restraint whilst grieving for the loss of Tamil civilian lives in the barbaric conduct of the final chapters of this battle.

The Tamil freedom struggle is a just cause and will not be quashed by the events of the last 24 hours. Truth and justice will always prevail.

Statement 2:

We wish to bring to the notice of the International Community the events of the last 24 hours in the so called safety zone in the war in Sri Lanka.

Subsequent to our announcement that the LTTE had decided to "silence the guns" in view of the unbearable civilian carnage at the hands of the Sri Lankan military and the heavy weaponry donated to it by third parties, we were informed by some member states of the International Community that arrangements had been made with the Sri Lankan military for discussions on an orderly end to the war.

We were instructed to make contact with the 58th Division of the Sri Lankan forces in the war zone, un-armed and carrying white flags. Head of our Political Wing, Mr. B. Nadesan and Mr. Puleedevan then proceeded to do so. They were un-armed and carrying white flags and were called on by the Officers of the 58th Division to come forward for discussions. When they complied they were both shot and killed. We vehemently condemn this action. The International Community needs to take this into account in its deliberations about charges of "Crimes against Humanity" against the members of the Sri Lanka Government and its military establishment. This act is even more unpalatable when one takes into account that the LTTE released as an act of goodwill, seven Sri Lankan Prisoners of War the day before totally unharmed.

We appeal to the International Community to act now to ensure the safety and basic needs of the displaced people who are suffering in the prison camps of the Sri Lankan military. The onus is now on the International Community to see that further war crimes and crimes against humanity are not committed on Tamils by the Sri Lankan state and to force the Sri Lankan state to yield in to the political aspirations of the Tamil people.

EU official new Lithuania president

Monday, 18 May 2009

The European Union's budget chief has won a resounding election victory for Lithuania's presidency, claiming 69 per cent of the ballots, official results showed.With more than 99 per cent of votes counted on Monday, electoral commission results showed Dalia Grybauskaite had secured a landslide victory, with Social Democrat Algirdas Butkevicius, a distant second with under 12 per cent of the vote.

Grybauskaite declared victory on being elected the Baltic nation's first female president as early results came in on Sunday.

"I congratulate Lithuanians on their decision," she said. "The taste of victory carries with it the weight of responsibility."

Turnout was 51 per cent, just above the 50 per cent needed to give her an outright first round win and avoid a run-off.

The 53-year-old tough-talking former finance minister ran as an independent candidate, enhancing her popularity in contrast to the main political parties, whose standing were hit by the economic downturn and allegations of corruption.

"I think that together we will be able to emerge from these times of hardships much better, much more direct and much richer," she said.

Grybauskaite, a karate black-belt, has said the Baltic state must stabilise its public finances, stimulate exports, absorb EU aid faster and provide tax breaks for small and medium-sized businesses to tackle the economic downturn.

She entered the presidential race in February, after public anger over the economic situation erupted into a riot outside parliament.

Lithuania's president appoints the prime minister and cabinet.

The president also has some influence over economic policies, including the right to veto budget laws, but presidential executive powers are limited to implementing foreign and defence policies together with the government.

Eventually Srilankan Tamil Leader Killed

The elusive and feared Prabhakaran had led the Tigers since the mid-1970s

The leader of the Tamil Tiger rebels, Velupillai Prabhakaran, is dead, the Sri Lankan military has said.

The announcement on state television came shortly after the military said it had surrounded Prabhakaran in a tiny patch of jungle in the north-east.

The head of the Sri Lankan army Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka said the military had defeated the rebels and "liberated the entire country".

The claims cannot be verified as reporters are barred from the war zone.

"Today we finished the work handed to us by the president to liberate the country from the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam)," Gen Fonseka said in the broadcast.

He said troops were working to identify Prabhakaran's body from among the dead.

The BBC's Charles Haviland in Colombo: "The military say he was trying to escape in an ambulance"

Sri Lankan forces had routed the rebels in the past few weeks, over-running their territory and bringing the 26-year war to its conclusion.

The broadcast quoted military officials as saying Prabhakaran was killed along with two of his deputies.

It said Prabhakaran, his intelligence chief Pottu Amman and Soosai, the head of the rebels' naval wing, were shot dead in an ambush in the Mullivaikal district while trying to escape the war zone in an ambulance.

Earlier, at least three senior rebel leaders were killed, including Prabhakaran's eldest son, Charles Anthony, the military said.

State TV broadcast images of what it said was Charles Anthony's body.

Military spokesman Brig Udaya Nanayakkara confirmed Prabhakaran's death, saying 250 Tamil Tigers were also killed overnight.

BBC News

Top 10 Interesting Facts About Barack Obama

Sunday, 17 May 2009

1.) He won a Grammy Award in 2006 for Best Spoken Word Recording. It was for the audio version of his book Dreams From My Father.

2.) He and his wife bought a house in Chicago in 2005. Back then it cost $1.65 million. The house has 4 fireplaces.

3.) He doesn’t like ice-cream. He worked in Baskin-Robbins as a teenager. That’s where his distaste for ice-cream comes from.

4.) He loves playing Scrabble. He never commented on how good he is, though.

5.) He is bi-racial. He was born to a Kenyan father and a white American mother. In his book Dreams From My Father he writes that he barely noticed the racial difference between his mum and dad in his young age.

6.) He experimented with drugs. Back in his early years he tried marijuana and cocaine. According to his own words he is not proud of it and considers it a mistake as a young man.

7.) He smokes but wants to quit. After all, there is a non-smoking policy in the White House.

8.) He was born in Honolulu, Hawaii but went to live in Indonesia with his mum when the parents divorced. There he was introduced to dog meat, snake meat, and roasted grasshopper.

9.) According to his wife Michelle he is very romantic. He is not a door opener but he remembers every anniversary and brings her flowers all the time.

10.) Every night when he is at home he reads the Harry Potter books to his oldest daughter Malia.