Ashin Mettacara

Meeting with His Holiness (Video)

2011-04-24T17:55:00.003+05:30

This is a part of video of meeting with His Holiness, but sorry for that I cannot give audio. I hope you can understand.

Super Moon

2011-03-20T01:48:00.003+05:30

Date: 19/03/2011
Date: 10 pm
Tech: Samsung mobile & 12" Meade Telescope
Place University of Mumbai
Moon position: 14% larger than normal moon after 18 years (1993)

Samsung (Duos) & 6 " Celestron Telescope

This is from my friend, but quality is poor. Just for knowledge
Nokia C5 & 6 " Celestron Telescope
Time: 11 pm

The Moon and a cheap mobile

2011-03-19T12:50:00.004+05:30

These are the pictures of the Moon I took it last night with the help of telescope. It was also a combination of Samsung mobile and telescope.
Time: 12 am
Date: 19/03/2011
Place University of Mumbai, Physic Department
If you want to see those pictures clearly, click the pictures

Burmese monks met H.H. the Dalai Lama

2011-02-19T12:25:00.004+05:30

19,Ashin Mettacara met H.H. the Dalai Lama at Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai. They both had a good discussion about education and the role of monks (Sangha). His Holiness also granted for the five or six Burmese Buddhist monks to study at Tibetan College . The Burmese monks who are studying at Tibetan College will be sponsored by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Dalai Lama to address Mumbai University students

2011-02-17T23:00:00.002+05:30

(Photo: http://www.pluggd.in)/

Mumbai, Feb 17 (IANS) Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama will address around 500 students of the Mumbai University here Friday, a varsity official said.

'The Dalai Lama will talk to students on 'Ancient Wisdom, Modern Thought' and then take questions from them,' the official told IANS.

'The university had initiated talks with the Dalai Lama to address students. He gladly accepted and gave us a date,' he added.

Dalai Lama will also meet university officials and academicians from different departments.

This is his first visit to the university, the official added.

Dalai Lama will also attend another programme in Mumbai organised by the Bihar Foundation and deliver a discourse on the occasion.

Burma, Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi is really free now

2010-11-13T16:34:00.002+05:30

Aung San Suu Kyi is really free now.

Michelle Obama to visit University of Mumbai Liberary

2010-11-03T23:30:00.004+05:30

(Photo: Moonbettery)

The US first lady, Michelle Obama, has planned to visit the library of Mumbai University, one of the oldest university libraries in India at 6 pm on November 6, the day of Obama's arrival to India. Mumbai University was established in 1857 and the Library became operational in 1880. Then, she will meet and interact with differently-abled children and the programme is organized by the NGO, Making A Difference (MAD).

Hindustan Times: In New Delhi on November 8, she will be visiting the National Craft Museum, Pragati Maidan. The US first lady will be visiting the museum from 10. 55 am to 12 noon. After paying homage to the father of nation, Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat, President Obama will be heading for official talks at the Hyderabad House when the first lady goes to the museum.

Burma: Cyclone Bijli may hit Myanmar in 48 hours

2010-10-09T19:55:00.010+05:30

(Photo: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov)

Reportedly News: Cyclone Bijli may hit Myanmar in 48 hours. People living in Yangon, Mandalay, Shan State and Nay Pyi Taw should be prepared.

Current News: Heavy rains on 6 , 7 and 8 October caused floods, landslides and damages on some parts of motor roads and railroads in some States and Regions.

Pakistan bans minister's travel after graft ruling

2009-12-18T16:19:00.002+05:30

Pakistani lawyers celebrate Wednesday's Supreme Court decision in Lahore, Pakistan on Thursday, Dec. 17, 2009. Pakistan's president faced fresh calls to step down Thursday after the Supreme Court struck down an amnesty that had protected the increasingly unpopular leader and several of his political allies from corruption charges. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

(AP)-Pakistan's anti-corruption agency has barred the defense minister and nearly 250 other top officials from leaving the country as political turmoil deepens following a Supreme Court ruling that struck down a graft amnesty.

The agency said Thursday that the officials were now under investigation following this week's court verdict, which meant that up to 8,000 graft and other cases dating back to the 1990s have, or will soon be, reopened. The decision has roiled the country's political elite just as the United States is looking for a solid partner to help it fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban along the Afghan border.

U.S.-allied President Asif Ali Zardari and several of his key aides are among those who benefited from the amnesty deal. Zardari is protected by constitutional immunity from any criminal prosecution, but opponents say they plan to challenge his eligibility for office.

Pakistan's anti-corruption agency said 247 people who had cases withdrawn under the amnesty had been blocked from travel because cases against them were now under investigation. It did not say who was on the list, but Pakistani news channels reported that Interior Minister Rehman Malik — a key aide of Zardari — was included, as well as Defense Minister Ahmed Mukhtar.

Mukhtar told a local television station that immigration officials at the airport had barred him from boarding a Pakistani International Airlines plane to China along with the navy chief late Thursday. He said he planned to take delivery of a new warship. It was not clear what he was being investigated for.

While the armed forces are under nominal civilian control, analysts say that in reality the top brass — not Mukhtar — make the decisions regarding defense issues. As such, investigations against him and Malik are not expected to directly impact the country's fight against militancy in the border regions.

Wednesday's Supreme Court ruling has significantly weakened Zardari and raised question marks over his future. It has been welcomed by many Pakistanis, who viewed the graft amnesty as an immoral piece of legislation that whitewashed the crimes of the elite.

The 54-year-old, who heads the country's largest party, is already unpopular, in large part because of his close ties with Washington. He now faces the prospect of bruising court battles that will likely mean old corruption charges come under fresh scrutiny.

Zardari's aides said any corruption charges against him were politically motivated and noted that they have never been proved despite being aired since the 1990s. Critics countered he was morally obligated to resign, at least while the court heard any challenges to his rule.

"It will be in his own interest, it will be in the interest of his party and it will be good for the system," said Khawaja Asif, a senior leader from the opposition Pakistan Muslim League party.

The Obama administration needs political stability in Pakistan to succeed in neighboring Afghanistan, where violence against U.S. and NATO troops is running at all time highs. Washington is trying to get Islamabad to crack down on insurgents close to the northwestern border who it says are behind much of the insurgency in Afghanistan.

Earlier Thursday, two U.S. missile strikes pummeled targets in the border region killing 17 people, local intelligence officials said. The latest attacks in more than 40 this year rained down Thursday on North Waziristan, a haven for al-Qaida and the Taliban, including groups determined to push the U.S. and NATO out of Afghanistan.

It was not immediately clear exactly who or what was the target of the strike, and the Pakistani officials said they were trying to establish the identities of the dead.

In the first strike, two missiles hit a car carrying two suspected insurgents in Dosali village, officials said. Later Thursday, the 10 missiles fired by five drones killed 15 people in two compounds in the Ambarshaga area. At least seven of the dead were foreigners, the officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media.

The missile strikes have killed scores of suspected al-Qaida and Taliban militants, but angering many Pakistanis who point to the resulting civilian casualties. Pakistan regularly condemns the attacks as violations of its sovereignty, but it is believed to secretly aid the U.S. campaign.

The U.S. rarely acknowledges the covert, CIA-run missile program. But when officials have confirmed the attacks, they say the drones are a crucial tool and note that the missiles have slain several top al-Qaida operatives as well as Pakistani Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud.

Information from the tribal regions is nearly impossible to independently verify because access to the areas is severely restricted.

National Buddhist Convention kicks off in birthplace of Gautam Buddha in Nepal

2009-12-18T16:12:00.002+05:30

(Xinhua) -- The 10th National Buddhist Convention has kicked off at Dharmodaya Bihar in Lumbini, the birthplace of Gautam Buddha in southern Nepal on Friday.

According to Friday's The Kathmandu Post, President Ram Baran Yadav inaugurated the convention Thursday afternoon.

Minister for culture Minendra Rijal is also attending the program with the president.

Buddhists from across the nation are participating at the program.

Ambassadors of Thailand and Sri-Lanka were present in the two-day conference where over 1000 Buddhists have participated.

In the run-up to the convention, a golden-coated Buddha statute was set up with the rituals as per the various Buddhist traditions.

Buddhist monks may soon learn science in monasteries

2009-12-18T16:02:00.002+05:30

(Indianexpress)-The Buddhist monasteries across the world may soon start teaching modern science. This was stated by Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama in Lucknow on Thursday.

“We want to introduce the subject as part of the curriculum in our monasteries,” Dalai Lama said at the annual conference of Neurological Society of India at Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences.

“We have already started sending select students to study modern science for a five-year period at a university in Atlanta in the US,” he added. Currently, the Dharamshala monastery teaches the subject of Science of Mind and Reasoning.

Emphasizing on the power of meditation and need for more scientific research on it, Dalai Lama said: “We recently conducted a study with the help of scientists in America on a group of people and found that after three weeks of meditation their blood pressure reduced, mind became calmer and it further improved their clarity, and reduced stress.”

“There are lots of things in our brain that are still to be explored. We need meditation to bring changes in it,” he added.

The Nobel Peace Prize Laureate said science must find ways and means to bring compassion, love and conviction — important for a healthy body, mind, family and community.

“Modern education is only digging with brain and not doing much with the mind. Some efforts should be made to promote moral ethics,” said Dalai Lama.

“Of late, there has been a positive sign in science. Earlier, spirituality was not involved in science, but now it has began to feel and realise that the state of mind is very crucial,” he said adding some scientists have expressed that destructive emotions were eating immune system.

He said further scientific research should be made on the level of consciousness. “We have seen several instances in our monasteries when a person is clinically dead, but the body remained fresh for several days. In one such instance, a monk who was declared brain dead turned out alive after 10 days. More research work is required to assess such happenings and our concepts should be based on reason and experimentation,” he said.

Talking about religion and science going together, the Dalai Lama emphasised the importance of investigation and experimentation. “Even Lord Buddha told his followers not to merely accept the teachings, rather investigate and experiment as well,” Dalai Lama said.

Dalai Lama called himself a “son of India”, and “a messenger and promoter of non-violence.”

Blast in northern Myanmar kills 7

2009-12-18T15:46:00.002+05:30

The Karen National Union has been fighting the Myanmar government for autonomy for more than five decades

(AP)-A bomb planted at a fair celebrating the ethnic Karen minority's New Year holiday killed seven people and wounded 11 others, state media reported Friday.

The bomb exploded Wednesday evening near food stalls at a festival ground in Hpa-pun in northern Karen state where celebrations were under way for the lunar Karen New Year, the Myanma Ahlin newspaper reported.

Myanmar's tightly controlled state media typically reports violence several days after it occurs.

No one claimed responsibility for the blast, which the newspaper blamed on rebels from the Karen National Union. The KNU has been fighting for more than 60 years for greater autonomy from Myanmar's central government, but its strength has dwindled over the past decade because of army offensives and divisions within its ranks.

The paper warned that rebels might try to create panic by exploding more bombs and called on the public to report any suspicious activities to authoritie

SEA Games: Malaysia beats Vietnam 1-0 in final

2009-12-17T17:49:00.002+05:30

(The Star)-Malaysia won the SEA Games football gold after a 20-year lapse when it beat favourites Vietnam 1-0 in the final at the Main Stadium of the National Sports Complex here on Thursday.

The Under-23 side took the game to the Vietnamese in the second half after seeing Vietnam dominate the match in the first 45 minutes.

Malaysia who beat Laos 3-1 in the semi-final had faced an in-form Vietnam who beat Singapore 4-1 in the other semi-final.

The final was the second meeting between the two teams as Vietnam had beaten Malaysia 3-1 in their group match.

MYANMAR APPEAL TO FIFA FOR MORE FUNDING

2009-12-17T17:43:00.001+05:30

(AFF)The Myanmar Football Federation (MFF) have appealed to world body FIFA for more funding in 2010, said president Zaw Zaw.

Zaw Zaw said that he had already submitted a ten-point plan to FIFA outlining the areas in which assistance are needed and they included referee training, stadium development and maintenance, accounting methods, youth development, women’s football and long-term planning.

“We still have a lot of weaknesses and we need help from international organisations like FIFA,” said Zaw Zaw.

“FIFA have previously helped us with a football academy project in Mandalay which cost USD1 million and which will open in February 2010.”

U Zaw Zaw said the MFF’s expenditure would rise dramatically next year when more of the Myanmar National League (MNL) clubs begin playing at their regional bases.

FIFA development manager for Asia, David Borja said the world football body is pleased with the progress MFF have made in 2009 and would consider supporting the federation further.

“I think 2009 has been a remarkable year for Myanmar football, it has really entered a new era and become professional,” said Borja.

“We are very impressed with the improvement and we are considering now whether to accept the MFF proposal – so far they have done a good job.”

Benitez: Torres must take it easy

2009-12-17T15:44:00.002+05:30

Photo by: stevengerrard.net

(PA)-Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez is handling Fernando Torres' comeback from injury carefully as he intends to get the best out of his star striker over the coming months.

The Spain international was left on the bench for Wednesday night's 2-1 victory over Wigan, although his 64th appearance, off the bench, proved to be timely as he scored the crucial second goal 14 minutes later. Torres' scrambled home his 61st Liverpool goal on his 100th appearance for the club after David Ngog had put his side ahead with a glancing 10th-minute header. Charles N'Zogbia's injury-time consolation caused some concern but the Reds held on for only their fourth win in 16 matches and just their second at Anfield since September 26.

"I wanted to keep him back because he was really tired after the last game (Sunday's defeat to Arsenal)," said the manager.

"I told him I wanted to protect him and it would be good for me to play him at the end and he was good too. I think he will be ready for Portsmouth."

Benitez admitted victory was the most important thing on an emotional night when the club marked the 50th anniversary of legendary boss Bill Shankly's first game in charge with a host of former stars were paraded at half-time.

"It was very important to win, to get three points, with a lot of positives," said Benitez.

"It does not matter if we couldn't score more goals and be more relaxed in the second half but, at the end of the day, three points is key.

"We needed to get these three points and be ready for the next game. We are thinking about one game at a time so now Portsmouth (on Saturday) is the target."

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez's side have now won only two of their last 10 matches and are just two points clear of the relegation zone, having conceded the most goals in the Premier League with 17 in their last four away games.

Martinez said: "I have mixed feelings. The first goal is really soft for our standards, it was a lapse in concentration. When you come to places like Anfield if you do that you are going to make things very difficult for yourself."

LFC 2-1 Wigan: Rafa's reaction

2009-12-17T15:27:00.002+05:30

(Liverpoolfc)The Reds boss was delighted that his side marked the 50th anniversary of the great Scot's arrival with a 2-1 success over the Latics and was quick to praise the impact of his number 9. "It was a fantastic achievement for him," he told his post match press conference. "He was tired after the last game, so I told him if I don't play you it would be good. But at the end, I had to play him and that worked out well too."

He added: "Everybody here knows how important Bill Shankly was to this club. To see the former players around was very positive. We have a fantastic club with a great history."

Liverpool made a dream start to the proceedings when David Ngog headed home in the ninth minute and from there it looked like the floodgates might open.

However, the Reds contrived to miss a number of opportunities before Torres sealed victory, leaving the boss to admit the win was all that mattered.

"It was very important to win and get the three points," he said. "There were a lot of positives. We knew that we had to win and it doesn't matter about whether we could score more goals. Maybe we could have been more relaxed in the second-half but at end of the day three points was the key.

"It was important for everyone to get the three points. We can now relax and be ready for the next game. We will think about one game at a time and we will now look towards Portsmouth.

"We have spoken about winning games in a row. We have now won one and must look to the next game. We want the chance to talk about winning three games in a row, but first we must win the second one.

"In a top side it is always difficult because normally you have to win trophies. This is one of the biggest clubs in the world and people talk about having to win. It is normal. I'd rather that than just looking to survive."

Asked about the growing reputation of Ngog, who notched his sixth of the season, Benitez added: "Ngog is improving. He had another chance with his left foot that could have led to a second goal but he is doing really well. You can see he is another option for us. If Torres cannot play, he can start and if Fernando can play, he can be a substitute.

"We have some players who need to play games and improve match fitness. It depends on each game. Fernando can play against Portsmouth. Gerrard is also playing games in a row and Aquilani had some minutes - it is very positive. We will see if we can keep everyone fit."

The boss also had words of praise for Javier Mascherano, who produced another impressive showing in the midfield.

"He's doing well and working hard," he said. "He is the Javier we knew we had, but I still think he can improve. He is working hard and is an inspiration for the other players. Everyone knows he is a key player for us."

Spokesman: Berlusconi spent better night

2009-12-17T15:09:00.001+05:30

This video image made available by RAI TG3 shows Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi sitting in his vehicle after an attacker hurled a statuette striking the leader in the face at the end of a rally in Milan, Italy on Sunday Dec. 13, 2009. (AP Photo/RAI TG3 via APTN)

(AP)-Silvio Berlusconi's spokesman says the Italian premier has spent a better night in the hospital, four days after he was attacked by a mentally ill man.

Berlusconi's doctor has said he expects the premier to be discharged Thursday from Milan's San Raffaele Hospital.

The premier's spokesman, Paolo Bonaiuti, said in an interview on Sky TG24 TV that Berlusconi was "calm" when he awoke and asked to see his daily newspapers.

Bonaiuti said Berlusconi spent "a more serene night" compared to previous ones.

A day earlier, doctors said the 73-year-old media mogul still had a lot of pain from Sunday's attack and had difficulty in eating.

The attack broke Berlusconi's nose and two teeth and cut his face and lips.

Vietnamese Buddhists seek asylum in France

2009-12-17T14:59:00.001+05:30

The Vietnamese Buddhist leader Thich Nhat Hanh, left, attends a ceremony in Ho Chi Minh City in 2007. Photograph: AP

(Guardian)-Hundreds of Vietnamese followers of a radical Buddhist leader have called on the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, to grant them temporary asylum, a week after they were attacked by vigilantes allegedly hired by the Vietnamese authorities.

Representatives of the followers yesterday urged Sarkozy to grant them asylum "until it is safe for them to return to Vietnam to practise their faith, together".

About 380 young monks and nuns were forced to flee Bat Nha monastery in central Lam Dong province at the end of September after the authorities reacted angrily to a call by their exiled spiritual leader, Thich Nhat Hanh, to end religious intolerance and disband the country's notorious A41 religious police.

Supporters say that several monks were beaten and four were sexually assaulted, while two others were held under house arrest without charge.

The year long standoff between the Buddhists and the Vietnamese authorities took another violent turn last week when the government sealed off a temple where 200 followers had been taking refuge.

A 100-strong armed mob, allegedly directed by undercover police and communist party officials, assaulted the occupants and attempted to clear them from Phuoc Hue pagoda in Lam Dong province.

The attack forced an EU delegation to abandon a fact-finding mission to the temple, and the abbot, Thich Thai Thuan, was forced to write a note urging the followers to leave the temple by the end of the year.

"They pressured me to sign the paper to evict the monastic," he told Radio France. "They forced me, so I had to sign."

Campaigners said the attacks were proof of Vietnam's contempt for human rights and called on the international community to take action.

"Vietnam's international donors should insist that the government halt the attacks on the monks and nuns in Lam Dong, allow them to practise their religion, and prevent any further violent expulsions," said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director of Human Rights Watch.

"And they should make clear they will keep close tabs on the situation."

The EU, one of Vietnam's biggest donors, pledged $1bn in aid earlier this month, but pressed the government to lift its restrictions on the media and permit religious freedoms and political dissent.

"The vigilante action to prevent diplomats from meeting with the monks and nuns is a real slap in the face to the EU," Pearson said. "The EU needs to make clear that it has leverage and will use it."

The EU delegation was sent after the European parliament passed a resolution last month condemning the Buddhists' violent expulsion.

Nhat Hanh helped popularise Buddhism in the west and was nominated for the Nobel peace prize by Martin Luther King.

His followers, who describe themselves as the "most radical and fastest growing" in Vietnam, say the government regards their leader as a threat to its authority.

He was forced to leave the former South Vietnam in 1965 because of his opposition to the Vietnam war.

During his exile in France he sold millions of books and brought Buddhist thought to a new audience in the west through his Zen teachings and peace activism.

His return to Vietnam in 2005 – with the government's blessing – after 39 years in exile raised hopes for a new era of religious freedom in the country.

All religious activity remains under state control, but the government insists it respects the freedom to worship and described the recent attacks as a dispute between rival Buddhist groups.

FDA panel backs new use for AstraZeneca's Crestor

2009-12-16T20:42:00.002+05:30

An FDA panel has recommended that the statin Crestor be used in some who have no heart disease to prevent heart attacks.
(newscom.com)

(AP)-Federal health advisers said Tuesday that expanded use of AstraZeneca's cholesterol pill Crestor can benefit patients with healthy cholesterol levels by preventing heart attack, stroke and death.

A Food and Drug Administration panel of experts voted 12-4 with one abstention that Crestor's benefits outweigh its risks in patients with normal cholesterol and no history of heart disease, setting the stage for a dramatic expansion of a drug that is already a blockbuster.

The FDA is not required to follow the group's advice, though it usually does. A decision is expected in the first quarter of next year.

A positive ruling would allow AstraZeneca to market the drug to more than 6.5 million new patients who traditionally have not been candidates for cholesterol-lowering drugs.

The company based its request on a much-heralded study published last year, showing a 44 percent reduction in heart problems even among patients with normal cholesterol levels. All the patients had elevated levels of the so-called C-reactive protein, however, a key indicator of inflammation that can lead to clogged arteries, causing heart attack or stroke.

Scientists are still unsure whether the positive results were due to lower cholesterol or C-reactive protein, since Crestor reduces both.

Panelists acknowledged the risks of Crestor, including a 27 percent higher rate of diabetes seen in patients taking the drug, compared with those taking a dummy pill. But the majority said the diabetes side effect is probably common to all statin drugs and that it is outweighed by Crestor's benefits.

"I do think the diabetes problem is real, but I'm comforted by the fact that the drug works even in that patient group, so it's very convincing," said Michael Proschan, a statistician with the National Institutes of Health.

The four panelists who voted against expanded use said they were uncomfortable recommending a drug with risks to patients who are healthy.

AstraZeneca officials said they would focus on marketing the drug to patients with health issues that put them at increased risk of heart problems, such as a smoking habit or family history of hypertension.

"Our goal is not to be treating very low-risk patients because in that setting the benefits might not be enough to outweigh the risks," said Howard Hutchinson, AstraZeneca's chief medical officer.

Crestor was AstraZeneca's third-best selling product last year with sales of $3.6 billion. Since the publication of the last year's study, Crestor has increasingly been taking share away from competitors, including Pfizer's Lipitor.

In the last quarter sales rose 30 percent to $1.15 billion compared with the prior year period.

Shares of AstraZeneca rose 32 cents Tuesday to close at $46.10.

Even as the British drugmaker moves toward expanding sales of Crestor, it is also fending off challenges to the franchise from would-be competitors.

Last week a judge in U.S. District Court of Delaware declined to dismiss a legal challenge to Crestor's patent from seven generic drug companies.

The companies — which include Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Apotex and Sandoz — are seeking to launch their own low-cost generic versions of Crestor. The case is slated to go to trial in February next year.

Philippine volcano rumbles with fresh explosions

2009-12-16T14:54:00.003+05:30

Lava cascades down the slopes of Mayon volcano in Legazpi city, Albay province, at dawn Tuesday Dec. 15, 2009 about 500 kilometers (310 miles) south of Manila, Philippines. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, PHIVOLCS, has raised the five-alert level to three following increased activity of the country's most active volcano and residents are prohibited from venturing into the 6-kilometer (4 miles) permanent danger zone. In December 2006 ash deposits from a previous eruption rolled down its slopes at the onslaught of a typhoon killing more than a thousand residents living around the cone-shaped volcano. (AP Photo/Nelson Salting)

(AP)-The Mayon volcano, which has blown its top nearly 40 times in 400 years, menaced nearby residents with small eruptions of ash and lava Wednesday as Philippine authorities moved more than 30,000 people to shelters in case of a larger eruption.

Trickles of lava rolled down the 8,070-foot (2,460-meter) mountain towering over the Albay Gulf in the central Philippines, while five new ash explosions, one of them reaching 550 yards (500 meters) in the air, shook Mayon's steep slopes, said chief state volcanologist Renato Solidum.

During the day, the summit is shrouded in white clouds of dust and ash, and dark orange lava becomes clearly visible in the nighttime. Residents of Legazpi city on the foothills of the cone-shaped mountain converge in a downtown park at night to watch the spectacle from a safe distance.

"There is the possibility that it can turn into the explosive phase of the eruption," Solidum told The Associated Press. "Right now, we cannot say for sure, but the initial phases of 2000, 2001 and 2006 eruptions are almost the same."

Scientists raised the alert level on Mayon to two steps below a major eruption after ash explosions late Monday. Albay provincial authorities quickly started moving thousands of families from a five-mile (eight-kilometer) danger zone around the mountain.

More than 30,000 had been transported out of the critical area by Wednesday, or 65 percent of the targeted population, said Cedric Daep, head of the provincial disaster management office.

"We have no more residents inside the danger zone. We are evacuating only those nearby," he said. Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales had ordered a tight watch to prevent farmers from entering the zone, Daep said. The evacuation area includes three cities and five municipalities.

"It is such a big area. The objective is zero casualty," he said.

Residents in Albay are used to moving away from Mayon. Nearly 50,000 people live in the farming area.

Mayon last erupted in 2006, when about 30,000 people were moved. Another eruption in 1993 killed 79 people.

The first recorded eruption was in 1616 but the most destructive one came in 1814, killing more than 1,200 people and burying a town in mud. The ruins of the church in Cagsawa are among the Philippines' most iconic attractions.

The Philippines lies along the Pacific "Ring of Fire," where volcanic activity and earthquakes are common. About 22 out of 37 volcanos in the archipelago are active.

Britain vows to end arrest threats to Israeli VIPs

2009-12-16T14:50:00.002+05:30

FILE - In this Dec. 31, 2008 file photo, then Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, center, looks at the damage to the classroom of a school, caused by a rocket fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza, in the southern Israeli city of Beersheba. Israel says Britain had issued an arrest warrant for former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. A foreign ministry statement on Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2009 provided no details but urged Britain to make such legal actions impossible.(AP Photo/Tara Todras-Whitehill, Files)

(AP)-Britain pledged Tuesday to reform a peculiar legal power that lets judges order the arrest of visiting politicians and generals — a threat currently focused on Israeli visitors that, one day, might be invoked against Barack Obama or Vladimir Putin.

Lawyers working with Palestinian activists in recent years have sought the arrest of senior Israeli civilian and military figures under terms of "universal jurisdiction." This ill-defined legal concept empowers judges to issue arrest warrants for visiting officials accused of war crimes in a foreign conflict.

Their latest target is Tzipi Livni, Israel's former foreign minister and current opposition leader, who staunchly defends Israel's invasion of the Gaza Strip. Israel's government confirmed Tuesday that she canceled a planned London trip this month after her office received news of a secretly issued arrest warrant awaiting her arrival.

Foreign Secretary David Miliband later announced that Britain would no longer tolerate legal harassment of Israeli officials in this fashion.

Speaking after meeting Israel's London ambassador Tuesday night, Miliband said the British law permitting judges to issue arrest warrants against foreign dignitaries "without any prior knowledge or advice by a prosecutor" must be reviewed and reformed.

Miliband said the British government was determined that arrest threats against visitors of Livni's stature would not happen again.

"Israel is a strategic partner and a close friend of the United Kingdom. We are determined to protect and develop these ties," Miliband said. "Israeli leaders — like leaders from other countries — must be able to visit and have a proper dialogue with the British government."

Previously, British judges in private have accepted petitions from anti-Israeli activists to arrest Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and Israeli army generals when they set foot in England. Barak successfully argued he enjoyed diplomatic immunity as a serving government leader, while several other Israelis have made U-turns for home when informed of the warrants.

Legal experts in England and Israel say "universal jurisdiction" could be abused endlessly to harass, if not effectively incarcerate, any high-profile visitor who oversaw a military or anti-terrorist operation.

"Why not use this against Vladimir Putin over Russia's role in Chechnya? There is no end to it," said Yehuda Blum, Israel's former ambassador to the United Nations, who teaches law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. "The abuse and misuse of this concept of universal jurisdiction should be discontinued."

Experts said the legal concept would face decisive scrutiny if, instead of targeting Israelis, a judge's arrest warrant targeted a past or current American or European head of state.

Eugene Rogan, director of the Middle East Center at Oxford University in England, said the demands of global diplomacy required leaders to be able to travel abroad without facing arrest threats.

He noted that American officials had refrained from taking part in International Criminal Court proceedings in The Hague, Netherlands, in fear that they might face arrest threats themselves.

"Pressures in the long run will weigh against this kind of use of international law because it will inhibit political actions," Rogan said.

Sonya Sceats, an international law expert at the Chatham House think tank in London, said the Livni arrest threat throws into bold relief how much ambiguity exists in Britain's laws on universal jurisdiction.

"This area of law is still quite unsettled," she said, noting it might even be invoked against current government leaders despite their presumed state of diplomatic immunity.

Spain and Britain jointly pioneered the universal jurisdiction concept when, in 1998, Britain executed a Spanish arrest warrant for former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. British authorities kept Pinochet under house arrest in London until releasing him on humanitarian grounds in 2000.

Pro-Palestinian activists in Britain long have hoped to capture Israeli officials in the same net that once held Pinochet.

"We cannot talk tough on terrorism and be weak on war crimes," said Chris Doyle, director of a lobbying group called the Council for Arab-British Understanding.

"Parties in Israel must realize there is a consequence to their behavior. For decades they've violated Security Council resolutions and international law with little or no consequence," Doyle said.

Livni, a one-time lead negotiator in Israeli diplomacy with Palestinian leaders, enjoys a dovish reputation in much of the West despite her support for invading Gaza to stop rocket fire by Hamas militants.

"I would make the same decisions all over again," Livni said in a speech Tuesday.

AP: Myanmar opposition leader meets party elders

2009-12-16T14:36:00.002+05:30

(AP)-Myanmar's detained opposition leader was allowed out of her home Wednesday to meet three ailing elders of her political party, with whom she discussed a reorganization of its leadership.

Reporters were not allowed to observe the meeting, but witnessed cars driving both Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest, and her National League for Democracy colleagues to a state guest house usually used for meetings with the detained opposition leader.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi, 64, met for about 45 minutes with party chairman Aung Shwe, 91, Secretary U Lwin, 86, and Lun Tin, 88. Suu Kyi was last allowed to meet with her party's leadership at a state guest house in January 2008.

U Lwin told reporters afterward that Suu Kyi told them she wanted to reorganize the party's Central Executive Committee and needed their permission to do so.

He said that they agreed to the proposal and told her that they would continue "to support and stand for the party."

Myanmar's military government has said it will hold a general election year, but has not yet set an exact date or passed the necessary laws. Suu Kyi's party won the last election in 1990, but the military refused to allow it to take power.

The constitution adopted last year that set up next year's polls was considered undemocratic by the NLD, and it has not yet committed to taking part. The constitution has clauses that would ensure that the military remains the controlling power in government, and would bar Suu Kyi from holding office.

U Lwin said Suu Kyi paid her respects in a traditional manner to the elders, kneeling in front of them, and gave them gifts of baskets containing fruit and nutritional drinks and medicine.

He said Suu Kyi was happy to see them and they felt the same way.

"We haven't seen her for a long time. She looks a bit thinner," said U Lwin.

The meeting came more than a month after Suu Kyi sent a letter to junta chief Senior Gen. Than Shwe. In it, she sought permission to meet several elderly colleagues, and separately with other members of her party's central executive committee. She also requested a meeting with the junta chief to discuss how they can cooperate for the national interest.

The government's liaison with Suu Kyi, Relations Minister Aung Kyi, informed her last week that she would be allowed to meet the elderly party leaders, though not where she requested — at their homes — but at a place arranged by authorities.

Suu Kyi's legal team will present their arguments at the Supreme Court next Monday appealing against this year's extension of her house arrest. She has been detained for about 14 of the past 20 years.

Kurt Cobain's Daughter In Custody Drama

2009-12-15T16:47:00.002+05:30

(XFM)-The daughter of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love is currently the centre of another guardianship battle. Frances Bean, now 17 years old, is now being looked after by Cobain's mother Wendy O'Connor and his sister Kimberley Dawn.

According to The Sun, court papers have appointed her relatives to "provide for temporary care, maintenance and support" until February 2010, with another hearing to name a "general guardian" to happen at a later date.

However, the reasons for the change in circumstances are not clear. Love temporarily lost custody of Frances Bean in 2003 after being hospitalised following an overdose.

Research Links Radiation From CT Scans To Cancer Risk

2009-12-15T16:44:00.002+05:30

(SmartAboutHealth) - A new study has found alink between the radiation people are exposed to during CT scans, and an increased risk of cancer.

The study was carried out by researchers led by Dr. Rebecca Smith-Bindman from the University of California, San Francisco. What they found may change the frequency at which CT scans are given.

CT scans are extremely common in the U.S. as well as other countries around the world.

They are usually given to patients on an annual basis and are given to over 65 million people yearly.

The CT scans are highly-effective in the way in which theya re able to show scans of the body to help diagnose medical conditions.

The problem with them though is that they expose patients to an extremely high level of radiation.

CT scans expose patients to far more radiation than through a normal X-ray, and the study has shown that this causes an increased cancer risk.

The study was carried out by collecting data from over 1,100 patients from the San Francisco area.

What they found was that the dose of radiation they were exposed to varied greatly.

Those who were exposed to high levels of radiation saw their risk of cancer increase considerably.

The conclusion was that the CT sacns would cause roughly 30,000 future cases of cancer, and roughly 14,000 deaths.

The report was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Thai spy released from jail

2009-12-15T16:36:00.001+05:30

Sivarak Chutipong, a Thai man convicted last week of spying, leaves a ceremony at Hun Sen’s house with his mother after receiving a Royal pardon.

(Phnompenhpost) A THAI man convicted of espionage last week was officially released from Prey Sar prison on Monday amid a visit to Cambodia by fugitive former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and an intervention by Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Sivarak Chutipong, an airport engineer arrested last month for leaking information about Thaksin’s flight schedule during the ex-premier’s November visit to Cambodia, was sentenced to seven years in prison by Phnom Penh Municipal Court last week. After receiving a Royal pardon from King Norodom Sihamoni on Friday, however, Sivarak attended a ceremony at Hun Sen’s Phnom Penh residence Monday to celebrate his release.

“I feel very happy that I have freedom again. I really appreciate [Hun Sen’s] kindness in helping me,” Sivarak said, adding that he may return to Cambodia after a trip home to Thailand.

“From now on, Sivarak has freedom to carry out any business,” Hun Sen declared as he presented the 31-year-old with a copy of the pardon.

Following the ceremony, also attended by Sivarak’s mother and four members of Thailand’s Thaksin-associated Puea Thai party, Hun Sen held a closed-door meeting with Thaksin. Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan said he was unsure of the duration of Thaksin’s visit, but said the onetime telecommunications mogul was due to meet with Cambodian officials in his capacity as government economics adviser.

Thaksin went into self-imposed exile last year to avoid a jail term for corruption, following his ouster in a 2006 coup. Thailand demanded his extradition when he visited Cambodia last month, though this was immediately rebuffed, with the Cambodian government arguing that Thaksin was prosecuted for political reasons.

Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs deputy spokesman Thani Thongphakdi welcomed Sivarak’s release, but said it would not necessarily augur a restoration of full diplomatic ties. Thailand withdrew its ambassador to Phnom Penh last month in protest of the Kingdom’s advisory appointment of Thaksin, and Cambodia followed suit shortly afterwards.

“I think it’s a separate issue between the overall relations between Thailand and Cambodia and the issue of ... Sivarak,” Thani said.

Eang Sophalleth, a spokesman for Hun Sen, said Sivarak was being freed “because of Prime Minister Hun Sen’s concern for the love between a mother and son and also the intervention from his excellency Thaksin Shinawatra”.

Eang Sophalleth added that though it was Sivarak who faced criminal charges, the Thai government bears responsibility for his ordeal. Sivarak told the Municipal Court that in leaking Thaksin’s flight information, he was acting on a request from Kamrob Palawatwichai, the first secretary of the Thai embassy in Phnom Penh, who was expelled from Cambodia for his involvement in the case.

“Without any request, Sivarak would not be victimised like this,” Eang Sophalleth said.

Thaksin also reportedly told Hun Sen that Sivarak was a “political victim of the Thai government”, according to CTN television.

Thani argued, however, that in staging his controversial visits to Cambodia, Thaksin himself was the root of Sivarak’s troubles.

“In looking at this issue, one would have to take in the whole picture and see how the whole episode started,” Thani said.

Tiger Woods - Buddhism, baptism and death

2009-12-15T16:21:00.004+05:30

(Tiger Woods and Wife Elin Nordegren
-AP)

(Examiner) Tiger woods announced Friday that he will be leaving golf indefinitely to become a better person. The World's most famous role model, also left a brief note on his Foundation's website, stating that the staff will continue their efforts in his absence.

It seems Tiger is too afraid or ashamed to face the public in person. The only responses from the Billionaire Golfer regarding his astonishing fall from favor. have been tight and concisely written addresses on his websites.

The Foundation was created by Tiger and his now deceased Father. In describing his Foundations work the website states, "From early childhood, I dreamed of being the world's best golfer. I worked hard and applied my family's values to everything I did. Integrity, honesty, discipline, responsibility, and fun: I learned these values at home and in school, each one pushing me further toward my dream."

Where did Tiger Woods go wrong? His spiritual roots lie in Buddhism from his Mother's side. His father was seen as a devoted mentor and a constant by his side until his death in 2006. Was it after the death of his father that Tiger slipped into transgressions? In October 2007, it was reported by babyrazzi.com that Tiger missed his daughter's baptism. Elin joined with her twin sister and parents in Stockholm, Sweden to baptize the couple's three month old daughter, Sam. Tiger was at a charity event in California.

Tiger Woods has been in hiding, with the media speculating daily about his and his wife's, Elin Nordegren's whereabouts. A home on a remote island in Sweden and his boat are all under media surveillance.

His first admission of transgression came days after his car accident on the American Thanksgiving weekend, where Tiger was taken to hospital. Rumors of his wife smashing his black Cadillac SUV with a golf club, to Tiger overdosing on prescription drugs, as multitudes of women come forward with stories of sexual affairs with the married golfer, have now come to the surface.

His business relationships, built on what was thought to be, not only his superb skill as the World's Greatest Golfer but his squeaky clean image as decent loving family man, are going sour with big names like Gillette pulling out.

Tiger Woods still remains a Role Model on Rolemodel.net. Is Tiger Woods really serious about becoming a better father, husband and person? Let's hope so. The world needs good role models and if Tiger can manage to redeem himself and really become a better person, then all the power to him.

Myanmar opposition leader meets with lawyers to discuss appeal

2009-12-15T16:10:00.001+05:30

(Earth Times) Detained Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was allowed a rare meeting with her lawyers Tuesday to discuss her appeal, government sources said. The country's ruling military junta allowed her legal team of Kyi Win, Nyan Win, Hla Myo Myint and Khin Htay Kywe to visit her house-cum-prison in Yangon, where Suu Kyi has been kept under detention for 14 of the past 20 years.

The 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate last met with her legal team on November 26 when they disclosed that the Supreme Court had decided to hear Suu Kyi's request for an appeal against her recent sentence of 18 months of detention for allowing an uninvited US national to visit her home in May.

The Supreme Court was due to decide on December 21 whether to hear Suu Kyi's appeal.

She was originally sentenced to three years in jail with hard labour for allowing American John Yettaw to swim to her house on Inya Lake in May, an act that was ruled a breach of her terms of imprisonment. The sentence was commuted to 18 months of house arrest.

Many analysts said Yettaw's bizarre swim to Suu Kyi's home in early May to warn her of an assassination attempt he dreamed about was an unexpected gift to the ruling generals because her previous period of detention was about to expire.

Her latest sentence should keep her out of circulation next year when the military plans to hold the first general election since 1990.

Yettaw, 53, was sentenced to seven years in jail but was soon allowed to leave the country.

The United States and many Western countries have warned the junta that if the upcoming election is to be seen as credible, Suu Kyi and the country's other political prisoners should be released beforehand.

AP: 8 killed in suicide bombing

2009-12-15T15:36:00.002+05:30

An injured man is carried away from the Heetal Hotel after an apparent suicide car bomb was detonated in front of the hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan Tuesday Dec. 15, 2009.(AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

(AP)A suicide car bomber struck a heavily guarded neighborhood Tuesday near the home of a former Afghan vice president and a hotel favored by Westerners, killing at least eight people and wounding dozens, officials said.

The Afghan Interior Ministry said the target of the bombing was unclear, but security officials at the scene said the bomber was going after the home of former first vice president, Ahmad Zia Massoud. He is the brother of legendary anti-Taliban hero, Ahmad Shah Massoud, who was killed by al-Qaida two days before the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

"Of course we were the target," said Shah Asmat, an aide to the former vice president. "Before, the Taliban killed Massoud. Now, they tried to kill his brother."

Afghan President Hamid Karzai, during a speech he was delivering at a conference on corruption, said two of Massoud's guards were among those killed in the explosion.

In a statement released later, Karzai strongly condemned the terrorist attack. He instructed government officials to thoroughly investigate the incident and identify those responsible.

"This terrorist attack, which killed and wounded innocent civilians, was an attack on humanity and Islam," Karzai's statement said.

Ministry of Interior spokesman Zemeri Bashary said four men and four women died in the midmorning blast. He said about 40 others were wounded.

"It was a suicide attack," Bashary said. "We are investigating. We don't know the target of the attack."

The midmorning blast, in Kabul's congested Wazir Akbar Khan district, slightly damaged the Heetal Hotel, which is owned by the son of Burhanuddin Rabbani, who served as president of Afghanistan from 1992 until 1996.

An Afghan intelligence official in charge of security for the hotel said he did not think the Heetal was the target because the blast occurred about 30 yards (meters) from the entrance. The official declined to be named because he was not authorized to provide information about the blast. The official, who suffered cuts to his face, was standing in the front of the hotel when the explosion occurred.

Three homes, including the former vice president's, were severely damaged and windows in nearby buildings were shattered. A large cloud of dark gray smoke rose from the area as firefighters worked to extinguish flames from the burning vehicle.

A witness at the scene, a 22-year-old English student at Kabul University, reported seeing a black, four-wheel drive vehicle near the hotel.

"It drove very slowly to the checkpoint," said Hamayun Azizi. "And then it blew up."

The explosion flipped the vehicle, which landed upside down about 10 yards (meters) from the blast site, according to a witness at the scene. The blast, which occurred at the entrance to a street leading to the hotel, created a crater, roughly 1 meter deep and 2 meters wide, in the street.

Members of the Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police secured the area.

The explosion was heard a few miles (kilometers) away by about 200 people gathered at the Foreign Ministry for a three-day conference on corruption in the Afghan government. Those at the conference paused for a moment after the blast. After a delay, the event began with Karzai's speech.

Separately, five Afghans and a Nepalese national were killed in an explosion that occurred at a foreign organization operating in Paktia province, said Gen. Azizdin Wardak, police chief of Paktia province in eastern Afghanistan. No other details were available.

Myanmar monk's curiosity delays flight by 7 hours

2009-11-25T16:06:00.004+05:30

Monk opens plane's emergency exit for fresh air

A Buddhist monk who opened the emergency exit of an airplane just before take off because he wanted some fresh air forced the plane to delay its flight for almost seven hours at Kolkata airport yesterday morning.

As result of his action, the airport authorities evacuated all the passengers onboard and grounded the plane for nearly seven hours until all the safety drills were completed.

The Hindu newspaper reported that the bizarre incident happened on Air India's flight IC-727 that was heading to Yangon with 135 passengers on board.

The monk from Myanmar, a 45-year-old Waza Thunga, believed to be a second time flier, was feeling claustrophobic inside the plane, which was still on the runway, and decided to open the emergency exit next to his seat after browsing the plane's safety manual.

"As soon as he pulled the safety clutch, the emergency window opened and the emergency bells rang.

"The occurrence of such a situation is rare but what can you do to prevent such a thing. How can we control it if a passenger sets off an alarm by mistake," the airline's spokesman Pulok Mukherjee told the newspaper.

It is not known whether the airline took any action against the monk, who spoke very little English.

--newsStraitstimes--

BBC: President Obama replies to Cuba's dissident blogger

2009-11-20T11:29:00.002+05:30

US President Barack Obama has engaged in an unprecedented written exchange with a blogger in Cuba who is openly critical of its communist government.

Cuba's blogger Yoani Sanchez

His comments came after prize-winning blogger Yoani Sanchez sent questions chiefly about US-Cuba relations.

Mr Obama said in one of the responses he wanted better ties, but indicated it was up to Cuba to act.

Ms Sanchez, 34, has also sent questions to Cuban President Raul Castro, but has not received a reply so far.

The White House confirmed the US president had written to Ms Sanchez.

President Obama's reply was posted on the dissident Cuban's blog

Asked if he was prepared to hold direct talks with Cuba, the US president said he was not interested in "talking for the sake of talking".

He said he wanted "direct diplomacy" with Cuba.

"The United States has no intention of using military force in Cuba... Only the Cuban people can bring about positive change in Cuba and it is our hope that they will soon be able to exercise their full potential."

'Repressive system'

Ms Sanchez's Generation Y blog on the trials and tribulations of everyday Cuban life has won several major international journalism awards.

But the BBC's Michael Voss in Havana says that recently, her postings appear to have become more political.

Last week she claimed she had been briefly detained and beaten by members of the state security forces, which prompted a letter of concern from the US state department.

In a report released this week, Human Rights Watch accused President Raul Castro of perpetuating the repressive system of his brother Fidel.

The report said the authorities relied on a law which allows the state to jail people even before they commit a crime.

It documented more than 40 cases where individuals had been jailed for "dangerousness" for such activities as staging peaceful protests or organising independent trade unions.

--BBC--

N.Korea nuke talks top Obama agenda in Seoul

2009-11-20T00:30:00.001+05:30

Obama and Lee pass by the South Korean Honor Guard on their way to the presidential office in Seoul. Obama later calls the ceremony "the most spectacular ceremony for a state visit that we've been involved with as we've traveled."
(Newscom/Yonhap)

SEOUL — US President Barack Obama arrived in South Korea Wednesday on the last leg of his debut Asian tour, with North Korea's nuclear programme due to top the agenda after three days of negotiations in China.

Obama and his host President Lee Myung-Bak, who hold summit talks Thursday, were expected to be largely in step on efforts to bring the North back to the six-nation nuclear disarmament talks it quit in April.

South Korea's decision to expand its aid mission to Afghanistan, and to send troops to protect its workers, is also to be welcomed.

But Seoul is showing signs of impatience at US efforts to renegotiate parts of a sweeping free trade agreement (FTA) signed almost 29 months ago but still awaiting ratification.

"We hope President Obama will express a more aggressive position on the FTA and are working towards that end," Lee's spokeswoman said this month.

Obama's arrival in Seoul followed stops in Japan and Singapore and his first trip as president to China, which he ended on Wednesday with talks with premier Wen Jiabao.

Obama and Wen hailed their countries' willingness to build a new, in-depth partnership as they sat down for discussions and a working lunch in Beijing, echoing comments made Tuesday by the US leader and Chinese President Hu Jintao.

They also broached the thorny issue of trade, following tensions over accusations of dumping and other unfair trade practices made by both sides, as well as the value of the Chinese yuan.

China's official Xinhua news agency said Wen and Obama also touched on North Korea, where the Chinese premier was told by leader Kim Jong-Il last month that Pyongyang was willing to return to six-party nuclear disarmament talks.

Communist North Korea has tested Obama's administration this year with a series of missile launches, a second atomic weapons test and a number of hostile gestures towards close US ally South Korea.

The US stations 28,500 troops in the South to deter any threat from the North and Obama was to address some of them Thursday afternoon before departing for Washington.

The navies of North and South Korea engaged in a brief but intense firefight last week after Seoul said a North Korean boat crossed the disputed sea border.

Obama said Saturday in Japan that Washington would not be "cowed" by the North's nuclear threats, but was ready to offer the isolated country a secure and prosperous future in return for full denuclearisation.

Since August Pyongyang has put out peace feelers both to Seoul and Washington. Leader Kim Jong-Il has expressed readiness to return to the six-party forum if bilateral talks expected next month with the United States are satisfactory.

The US special envoy for North Korea, Stephen Bosworth, will visit Pyongyang by the end of this year. But Washington stresses that his only goal is to bring the North back to the six-party forum, which groups the two Koreas, the United States, China, Russia and Japan.

China and the United States want the talks to resume "as soon as possible", Obama said Tuesday after talks with President Hu in Beijing.

Lee and Obama have developed a "close relationship" in the six-party talks and other issues, Obama's top East Asia aide Jeffrey Bader said this month.

But Lee was expected to press his guest on the free trade deal, which has been in limbo since it was signed in June 2007.

"The president (Lee) is expected to stress the importance of the FTA in that it has been over two years since the deal was signed and it needs to be quickly enacted," a Seoul presidential official said this week.

As a presidential candidate Obama termed the pact "deeply flawed" and his administration has since indicated it wants changes to open South Korea wider to US beef and auto exporters.

Seoul opposes any renegotiation of what would be the biggest US trade pact since the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement. Obama has said he is committed to the deal but has not set a timeframe for ratification.

Koreans who hope the US leader will bring some positive news are likely to be disappointed, according to Victor Cha of the US Center For Strategic and International Studies.

Cha said in a commentary Obama had not enunciated a trade policy despite attending APEC, whose economies make up almost half the world's trade.

"South Korea meanwhile has grown impatient and has negotiated FTAs with other major economies, including the European Union and India, to the disadvantage of US businesses," he said.

--AFP--

Sen. Kerry's daughter arrested in LA on DUI

2009-11-20T00:13:00.002+05:30

Alexandra Forbes Kerry

LOS ANGELES — The daughter of Sen. John Kerry has been arrested in Hollywood for allegedly driving drunk.

Los Angeles police say 36-year-old Alexandra Kerry was stopped by officers on a Hollywood street at about 12:40 a.m. Thursday and failed a sobriety test.

Officer Bruce Borihanh says she was booked at the Hollywood police station and was held for about five hours. She was released at about 5:30 a.m. after posting $5,000 bail.

Borihanh didn't immediately have other details.

Alexandra Kerry is the eldest daughter of the Massachusetts senator, the Democrats' 2004 presidential nominee.

She has produced documentaries and has had several small acting roles.

Requests for comment from Alexandra Kerry's agent and John Kerry's office were not immediately returned.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The daughter of Sen. John Kerry has been arrested in Hollywood for allegedly driving drunk.

Los Angeles police say 36-year-old Alexandra Kerry was stopped by officers on a Hollywood street at about 12:40 a.m. Thursday and tested positive for driving under the influence.

Officer Bruce Borihanh says she was booked at the Hollywood police station and was held for about five hours. She was released at about 5:30 a.m. after posting $5,000 bail.

Borihanh didn't immediately have other details.

Alexandra Kerry is the eldest daughter of the Massachusetts senator, the Democrats' 2004 presidential nominee.

She has produced documentaries and has had several small acting roles.

Requests for comment from Alexandra Kerry's agent and John Kerry's office were not immediately returned.

--AP--

Clinton says Karzai's speech 'new starting point'

2009-11-20T00:04:00.000+05:30

Afghan President Hamid Karzai (L) passes an honour guard as he arrives for his swearing in ceremony

KABUL — US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Thursday, saying his inauguration speech marked a "new starting point" for the war-torn country.

Speaking to reporters after attending the ceremony in Kabul at which Karzai was sworn in for another five-year term, Clinton praised his commitment to eradicating endemic official corruption.

"President Karzai's inaugural address provides an important new starting point and we intend to build on it," Clinton said.

"He was particularly strong on the steps that he intends to take regarding corruption," she said, adding it "set forth an agenda for change and reform".

"So many brave Americans are serving here because we believe that we can make progress," she said.

"We are under no illusions about the difficulties of this mission. The road ahead is fraught with challenges and imperfect choices. Setbacks are inevitable and we have to be realistic about what we can achieve," Clinton told reporters.

In what appeared a response to criticism from Karzai and other senior Afghan officials that donor countries should be responsible for where their money goes, she said the United States was working to track development aid.

"As we call for accountability from others, we will hold ourselves accountable as well.

"We are working to ensure that development funds are tracked, accounted for and used as intended, that our detention facilities and procedures are consistent with our security and our values, that we do everything we can to minimize civilian casulaties," she said.

Clinton was the most senior Western official to attend Karzai's swearing-in ceremony, which was attended by 800 guests, including 300 foreigners.

While Karzai has earned the opprobrium of the international community since a fraud-tainted election highlighted the massive levels of official corruption in Afghanistan, his inauguration speech generally won praise.

He pledged to clean up corruption, eradicate drug production and trafficking, work towards ending a Taliban-led insurgency, and see that Afghan security forces can take over from international forces in five years.

The United States and NATO have more than 100,000 troops in Afghanistan fighting the Taliban, which has become more virulent in recent months, with foreign troop deaths nearing 500 this year alone.

US President Barack Obama is considering requests from his commanders on the ground to add up to 40,000 troops, and has said his decision will be announced within weeks.

Asked about the warlords and alleged drug dealers and rights abusers that have appeared in past Karzai cabinets, Clinton said US concerns on this score had been conveyed to the Afghan leader.

"What we are looking for in the second term of President Karzai is an effective government that respects the rights of the people of Afghanistan, delivers services to them, responds in a transparent and accountable way to the concerns of the people," she said.

"We expect that the government he is putting together will abide by the direction that his inaugural speech set," she said.

Karzai is expected to announce his cabinet line-up in about two weeks.

--AFP--

Buddhists in Vietnam appeal for UN protection

2009-11-19T23:04:00.002+05:30

Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh and his followers

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - Followers of the Zen Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh are being harassed in his native Vietnam, and they need the United Nations to step in to protect them, a representative said Wednesday.

In a meeting this week with an official of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the representative, Trung Hai, appealed for 'protection' for monks and nuns who are facing 'ever-stronger pressure' from the authorities.

'We are hoping that the high commissioner (Navanethem Pillay) will put pressure on the government to reconsider more closely our situation and to find solutions,' the monk told AFP in Geneva. The UNHCR official is to take up the issue with Vietnam's ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Trung Hai added. Thich Nhat Hanh, 83, has been a key figure in the growth of Buddhism in the West, but his opposition to the Vietnam war led to a life in exile in France where he established the Plum Village retreat in the Dordogne region.

He was allowed to return to his homeland for a visit in 2006.

Trung Hai, who has been living several months in France, was especially worried for fellow followers of Thich Nhat Hanh inside Vietnam who are facing what he called 'concrete threats' and 'harassment' from the authorities.

Some 100 monks were forced out of their monastery in Bat Nha, near Bao Loc city, in September, he said, while other followers have taken refugee in another nearby monastery where they are coming under 'strong police pressure'.

'For the authorities, we are illegal,' he said.
--AFP--

Nicole Richie is hospitalized for pneumonia

2009-11-19T22:54:00.002+05:30

LOS ANGELES — Nicole Richie has been admitted to a Los Angeles hospital and is being treated for pneumonia. Her representative says she's doing well.

Publicist Nicole Perna said Wednesday the 28-year-old actress checked herself into Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Richie was in a Los Angeles courtroom earlier this week after asking for a restraining order against two celebrity photographers. A judge granted that request.

Richie costarred with Paris Hilton on the television show "The Simple Life" and is the daughter of singer Lionel Richie. She has since become a fashion and jewelry designer and occasional actress.

Richie gave birth to a son, Sparrow James Midnight Madden, in September. She and her partner, rocker Joel Madden, have a daughter, Harlow, who turns 2 in January.

--AP--

A Great Wall: Obama tours China's iconic site

2009-11-18T16:12:00.002+05:30

U.S. President Barack Obama during a tour of the Great Wall in Badaling, China, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2009. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

BEIJING — President Barack Obama absorbed history's expanse Wednesday from atop the Great Wall of China, a manmade wonder of such enormity that Obama found himself putting daily life in perspective.

"It's magical," Obama said, walking down a ramp alone, his hands in his pockets. "It reminds you of the sweep of history and our time here on earth is not that long. We better make the best of it."

A must-see for presidents from President Richard Nixon on, the Great Wall was one of Obama's major sightseeing stops during his diplomatic tour of Asia.

Dressed in a winter jacket against a biting wind, Obama led a knot of people for a half-hour jaunt up the crenelated wall toward a watchtower, a restored section originally built 500 years ago.

Obama walked down the last ramp by himself in a choreographed moment for photographers. White House aides were exultant afterward that "the shot" they had planned turned out perfectly.

The earliest sections of the wall were built more than 2,000 years ago. From the portion where Obama stood, the mountainside vistas were majestic.

Obama's tourism breaks at the Great Wall and the Forbidden City's former imperial palaces on Tuesday were the only diversions on an eight-day Asia trip meant to show U.S. reengagement with the region.

Obama sought to reassure allies in Japan and Southeast Asia — a mission he would continue in South Korea later Wednesday. In China, he tried to lend positive momentum to relations with the new world power and potential rival.

Stops at landmark tourist sites used to be — and often still are — compulsory for foreign dignitaries visiting China. Nixon's foreign affairs strategist Henry Kissinger suspected his Chinese hosts scheduled sightseeing to drag out his time — and perhaps drag out concessions.

History matters to the Chinese, who take pride in being heirs to a civilization of 4,000-plus years and believe the past offers insights into their present.

The head of China's legislature, Wu Bangguo, told Obama on Monday, "In China, there is a saying that if you want to appreciate the history of China in the past 100 years, go to Shanghai; in the past 1,000 years, come to Beijing; and for the past 2,000 years, go to Xi'an" — the imperial capital of China's first emperor and later dynasties.

Obama replied that he was impressed with the dynamism of Shanghai, where he held a town hall-style meeting with Chinese youth Monday and which, he said, is "a sign of China's emergence as a great economic power." His rapid 30-minute run through the vast Forbidden City on Tuesday was "a reminder of the incredible traditions and heritage of the Chinese people."

After the Wall, Obama headed for South Korea, for his first visit and the last stop on his Asian swing. How to coax nuclear-armed North Korea to return to disarmament talks is the top issue for Obama's meetings Thursday with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in the capital, Seoul.

A longtime U.S. ally whose president is strongly pro-U.S., South Korea looks in many ways like the easiest part of Obama's Asia's swing.

Obama and Lee have taken a skeptical view of North Korea's recent conciliatory rhetoric to resume negotiations over its nuclear program, only weeks after it exploded a nuclear test-device and test-fired missiles. Last week, the North and South Korean navies skirmished in disputed waters for the first time in seven years, sending a North Korean patrol boat retreating in flames.

The clash was a reminder that the Korean Peninsula remains a volatile flash-point for the United States, which fought North Korean and Chinese forces to a standstill in the 1950-53 Korean War.

--AP--

Myanmar mulls railway link with China

2009-11-18T15:54:00.002+05:30

Yangon - Myanmar has opened discussions on building a railway link between its north-eastern Shan State and China's Yunnan province, media reports said Wednesday.

'The Myanmar-China railway link will connect Lashio, capital of Shan state in the north, and Jiegao town of Yunnan province, China,' The Yangon Times weekly reported.

Officials from China's Railways Ministry recently visited Myanmar to discuss the proposed link, the Burmese-language weekly said.

'Three possible routes for the railway link have already been chosen,' the newspaper said. Construction costs for the new railway link were estimated at 500 million dollars.

Myanmar currently has a rail track between Yangon, Myanmar's former capital, and Lashio.

--M&C--

Queen Rania loves the internet

2009-11-18T15:17:00.002+05:30

Queen Rania on Facebook

Jordan's Queen Rania has praised the internet for helping her keep in touch with friends.

The 39-year-old royal - who is known to be an avid fan of social networking websites - says she updates her Twitter account, Facebook profile, Youtube channel and her own website regularly because she believes it is the "simplest" way to communicate.

She said: "Social networks are the fastest, flattest, and simplest tools to connect with everyone, from new-found friends and former flatmates to favourite athletes and artists."

Rania is also grateful for how the internet allows her to chat freely with her followers without intimidating them.

She explained: "The Internet has made it easier for everyone to communicate with their fans and friends, whether you're a blossoming blogger or a seasoned politician. For people in my position, it helps demystify the title and clarify what it is I do and what it is that's important to me."

Meanwhile, Rania - who is married to Jordan's King Abdullah II - opened an orphanage in Wadi Seer, just outside the Jordanian capital of Amman yesterday (27.10.09).

The queen spent time chatting with youngsters at the Mathbet Dar Al Iman Orphanage and played games with 10 of them in the home's kindergarten.

Later, Rania spent time visiting several impoverished families - who are forced to cram up to 10 relatives into their homes constructed from scrap metal and plastic - to check on their living conditions and needs.

Following the visit, Queen Rania ordered the families to be moved into a more suitable home.

--M&C--

Women face tough choices on abortion coverage

2009-11-17T22:05:00.001+05:30

FILE - In this July 17, 2007 file photo, Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., takes part in a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke, FILE)

NEW YORK — Millions of American women will face tough choices about abortion coverage if restrictions in the House health care bill become law, both sides in the abortion debate agree.

Divisions over abortion are a major obstacle in President Barack Obama's push for health care overhaul, with both sides arguing over how to apply current law that bars taxpayer dollars for abortions in a totally new landscape. Under pressure from the Catholic Church and abortion foes, the House added tough restrictions to its version of a health care bill.

The measure would prohibit the proposed new government-run insurance plan from covering abortions except in cases of rape, incest or to save a mother's life, and bars any health plan receiving federal subsidies in a new insurance marketplace from offering abortion coverage. If women wanted to purchase abortion coverage through such plans, they'd have to buy it separately, as a so-called rider on their policy.

"It forces insurance companies and women to navigate a series of chutes and ladders to get abortion coverage at the end of the day," said Donna Crane, policy director for NARAL Pro-Choice America.

The amendment's proponents says its goal is simply to ensure that a long-standing ban on using federal dollars for elective abortions is extended to coverage plans arising from new health care legislation.

Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., an abortion foe, insisted the amendment is not a dramatic change in current law, offered to negotiate if his critics could convince him otherwise, and said it leaves ample alternatives for women to obtain coverage if they use their own money and are willing to buy a separate, add-on plan.

"If you really still want this coverage, you can have it," he said. "The only difference is that more people will have to make that decision that they didn't confront before. ... More people are going to have to choose, 'Is this a benefit I want?'"

Crane and other abortion-rights advocates say the amendment would make it harder — in some cases perhaps impossible — for millions of women to have health insurance that covers abortion. They depict it as one of the gravest assaults ever on American women's reproductive rights.

Two large groups of women would not be affected by the amendment: low-income women already ineligible for abortion coverage because they rely on federal Medicaid funds for health care, and women who have abortion coverage through the private plans of their own or their husbands' large employers. Most Americans currently have employer-sponsored coverage.

That leaves a significant number of other women likely to be affected — women who would be prime candidates for joining the new federally subsidized plans, but in the process might have to forgo abortion coverage they had previously under a private plan. These would include self-employed women who must buy their own coverage, divorced women who formerly were insured through their husbands' employers, and women who work in small businesses whose owners decide to seek more affordable coverage through the new exchange.

"This is a middle-class abortion ban that would impact millions of middle-class women," added Cecile Richards, president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. "It's saying to them, 'You can't get full coverage that meets your needs.'"

Abortion-rights activists say the option of buying additional coverage for abortion — a so-called rider — is a false promise. They cite the examples of Oklahoma and North Dakota, where riders have had negligible use even though allowed under state laws that otherwise ban insurance coverage of elective abortions.

"Abortion coverage should be part of the regular package," Crane said. "Women don't expect unplanned pregnancies and don't expect their wanted pregnancies to go wrong. ... They don't anticipate needing abortion coverage so they wouldn't buy a rider."

Kristin Binns of WellPoint, Inc., which oversees health plans serving 35 million Americans, said it's impossible for the insurance industry at this stage to estimate how much such riders would cost and the extent to which they might be offered.

"We don't have a clue," she said.

Douglas Johnson, the National Right to Life Committee's legislative director, said it's difficult to forecast the restrictions' practical impact, but he agreed that some women now covered for abortions would face restrictions if they wanted to switch to potentially cheaper coverage in the new insurance marketplace, known as an exchange.

"There's a choice they are offered by the government — this gift, this great subsidy — and this plan is not going to cover everything, as a matter of public policy," he said. "If there's a market (for add-on abortion riders), if there are people who think it's that important, it will be offered."

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 21 million people would purchase individual coverage through the exchange, under the House plan. That would amount to about 7 percent of Americans under the age of 65. Of those, about 18 million would have government subsidies and thus would have to be in plans that don't cover abortions.

"Beyond that, it's an open question for individual insurance companies — how much of their business is in the exchange or outside it," said Adam Sonfield of the Guttmacher Institute, which studies reproductive-rights issues.

Stupak says one reason his amendment's impact would be limited is because only a small fraction of abortions — 13 percent by Guttmacher Institute estimates — are paid for directly by private insurance. The vast majority are paid for in cash, even by women with abortion coverage who do so out of privacy concerns.

However, Dr. Willie Parker, an abortion provider in Washington, D.C., noted that insurance coverage could be vital for women with health problems who need hospital abortions costing many thousands of dollars, compared to roughly $400 to $800 for a first-trimester abortion in a clinic.

"The cash option was a challenge for many women even in more reasonable economic times," Parker said. "I see that becoming worse as people have to make hard decisions because abortion is not considered part of health care."

Obama says he wants to strike a balance on the issue, but whether such middle ground can be found remains unclear.

Thailand says diplomats visit alleged spy in Cambodia

2009-11-17T22:00:00.002+05:30

Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen (R) talks to former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra (L) in Siem Reap province

BANGKOK — Cambodian officials allowed Thai diplomats Tuesday to make their first visit to a Thai national held on charges of spying on fugitive former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, Thai officials said.

Siwarak Chothipong, 31, an employee at the Cambodia Air Traffic Service, was arrested Thursday on charges of supplying details of Thaksin's flight schedule to his country's embassy when the Thai tycoon visited Phnom Penh last week.

His arrest deepened a diplomatic crisis between the neighbouring countries over Cambodia's appointment of Thaksin as an economic adviser and its refusal to extradite the ousted prime minister to Bangkok.

"The Thai charge d'affaires and three to four embassy officials are visiting Siwarak at prison now and have reported back to the ministry that everything is well," said Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, secretary to the Thai foreign minister.

"He told diplomats that he was well treated. We are asking him about the case details, the charges, how we can defend him and who should be appointed as a lawyer," Chavanond told reporters in Bangkok.

Siwarak was also allowed to talk to his mother in Thailand on the telephone for the first time since he was arrested, Chavanond said.

Cambodia expelled the first secretary of Thailand's embassy in Phnom Penh last Thursday after alleging that Siwarak had passed information to the diplomat. Thailand reciprocated hours later.

Thaksin was toppled in a coup in 2006 and is living abroad to avoid a two-year jail term for corruption, but he has been stirring up protests in his homeland against the current Thai government for the past year.

Angered by his presence in Cambodia, Thailand last week put all talks and cooperation programmes with Cambodia on hold and tore up an oil and gas exploration deal signed during Thaksin's time in power.

Tensions were already high between the two countries following a series of deadly military clashes over disputed territory near the 11th century Preah Vihear temple on their shared border.

Sarah Palin coy about 2012 run, but door is open

2009-11-17T21:43:00.003+05:30

In this photo released by ABC, former Alaska Governor and Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, left, is photographed with ABC's Barbara Walters, at a New York City hotel, Friday, Nov. 13, 2009. Walters' interview with Palin will air in segments starting with "Good Morning America," on Monday, Nov. 17. (AP Photo/ABC, Steve Fenn)

Sarah Palin said in an interview broadcast Tuesday that a 2012 presidential bid is "not on my radar," but wouldn't rule out playing some role in the next presidential election.

"My ambition, if you will, my desire is to help our country in whatever role that may be, and I cannot predict what that will be, what doors will be open in the year 2012," she told Barbara Walters.

When asked whether she'd play a major role, the former Republican vice presidential candidate replied that "if people will have me, I will."

Palin is making the rounds to promote her new book, "Going Rogue," which came out Tuesday. On Monday, she appeared on "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

Palin said she's gotten plenty of offers during the past few months, including to open up her family for a reality show, that she has rejected. She also said she wasn't sure whether a talk show would be best for her family.

"I'd probably rather write than talk," she told Walters.

The former Alaska governor said she'd rate President Barack Obama's performance a 4 out of 10. She criticized the president for his handling of the economy and for "dithering" on national security questions.

"There are a lot of decisions being made that I — and probably the majority of Americans — are not impressed with right now," she said on ABC. She said Obama's Nobel Peace Prize was "premature."

Palin also discussed David Letterman, whom she criticized for a sexually suggestive jokes made at the expense of her teenage daughter in June. Letterman eventually apologized to Palin.

Palin told Walter she has ruled out an appearance on Letterman's late night TV show. "I don't think that I'd want to boost his ratings," she said. "I do want him to sell my book, though I hope he keeps it up."

The title of Palin's book refers to a phrase John McCain's campaign used to describe his vice presidential running mate going off message. In the book, she criticizes the people who ran McCain's campaign and says she wished she had been allowed to speak more freely. But she told Walters the outcome probably would not have been different if she had.

"The economy tanked," she said. "(The) electorate was ready, sincerely, for change."

On the controversy about the $150,000 spent on her wardrobe by the campaign, Palin said there was a double standard: No one ever questions male candidates where their shoes or suits came from, she said. In the end, she added: "The clothes all went back. They were never my clothes."

Despite the internal squabbling and ultimate loss, Palin said she would go through the experience again. "(I) would do it again in a heartbeat," she told Walters.

And though she backed the first federal bailout, Palin says she would not support a second. "That did not put our economy back on the right track. So we learn from our mistakes."

During her interview with Winfrey, which was taped last week, Palin said that it's heartbreaking to see the road that Levi Johnston, the father of her grandson, has taken and that the soon-to-be Playgirl model hasn't seen his baby in a while.

The new memoir doesn't mention Johnston, who has sparred repeatedly with his former mother-in-law-to-be. When Winfrey asked about Johnston, Palin said she didn't think "a national television show is the place to discuss some of the things he's doing and saying."

But Palin went on to say she finds it "a bit heartbreaking to see the road that he is on right now" and that "it's not a healthy place to be."

Palin also said Johnston remains a member of the family and that they can work out any troubles. She said she prays for him and that he has an "open invitation" to Thanksgiving dinner.

Winfrey began the interview by asking Palin if she felt snubbed at not getting an invitation to "The Oprah Winfrey Show" last year. Winfrey said she didn't have any candidates on her Chicago-based show during the campaign because of her support for President Barack Obama.

Palin said she didn't feel snubbed and told Winfrey, "No offense to you, but it wasn't the center of my universe."

--AP--

50 feared dead in Burma ferry accident

2009-11-17T18:45:00.001+05:30

At least 50 people are feared drowned after a passenger ferry crashed into an oil barge in Burma.

The accident happened Sunday when the wooden boat carrying nearly 180 passengers was travelling along the Ngawun river in the southern Irrawaddy Delta.

An official in the area said that 'The boat sank after colliding with an oil barge. We have recovered 34 bodies and there are at least another 16 people missing who are believed to have drowned.'
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'Other passengers were rescued from the water and have gone back to their home villages.'

The vessel, named the Naywintun, or Rising Sun, was travelling between the towns of Pathein and Thetkelthaung when it sank.

Officials in Burma, officially known as Myanmar, said the Red Cross in the area was helping survivors.

Most people living in the low lying region rely heavily on poorly maintained river ferries for transportation around its flooded plains.

--RTE--

Thousands cheer stars of 'Twilight' sequel in LA

2009-11-17T18:36:00.001+05:30

Robert Pattinson arrives at The Twilight Saga: New Moon premiere on Monday, Nov. 16, 2009, in Westwood, Calif. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

LOS ANGELES — Exactly 12 months ago, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson were surprised to be greeted by throngs of eager fans of the novel "Twilight" at the premiere of the big-screen adaptation.

What a difference a year makes.

The actors unveiled the sequel — "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" — at the same location Monday night in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. But this time they knew what was coming.

"I'm not as scared as I was last year," said Stewart, despite a brief touch-and-go moment as she signed autographs. "At some point, the security guy said, 'This is very unsafe.' And I was like, 'Uh.' Other than that, everything was cool."

Pattinson, who plays vampire Edward Cullen in this latest adaptation of author Stephenie Meyer's popular series, said this year's crowd of thousands of screaming fans was larger than the 2008 turnout.

"And it seems different to me because we have done this world tour in the last week and it has just been unbelievable in every single city," he said. "It is about 10 times bigger than any other city in the world."

Some "twi-hards" __ as they call themselves __ arrived as early as Thursday afternoon to secure a place in line for tickets allowing them to watch the stars' arrivals on the red carpet. The 800 available tickets were all distributed by Monday morning, but the line still stretched for blocks well after lunchtime.

Nicole Zamora, 36, was sixth in line after getting to Westwood on Thursday afternoon. She and her three sisters wore "New Moon" T-shirts they'd made for the occasion and said they spent the weekend "reading, listening to the iPod and trying to sleep — anything to pass the time."

Christina Fuentes and four of her friends traveled from New Jersey for the "New Moon" premiere. The 24-year-old wore vampire teeth ("They just clip on," she said) and carried a homemade sign that read, "We flew in from NJ! We've been camping out for three days just to see you!" She pasted her airline boarding pass to the poster as proof.

Scores of other fans — mostly young women — crowded onto street corners near the Mann Village and Bruin theaters, site of the premiere. They sat on beach chairs, displayed homemade signs and wore T-shirts proclaiming their allegiance to either the handsome vampire played by Pattinson or his werewolf rival, Taylor Lautner.

Lautner, who rises to headliner status in "New Moon," said he was also amazed by Monday's fan response.

"It's the amount of passion," he said. "It's not normal."

--AP--

Leading Kosovo parties claim victory in first vote

2009-11-16T17:34:00.002+05:30

Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci gives a thumbs up as he claims victory in the Balkan state's capital, Pristina

PRISTINA — Kosovo's two coalition parties claimed victory in the country's first election since declaring independence as the election commission postponed Monday releasing complete results.

Prime Minister Hashim Thaci said his Democratic Party of Kosovo (PDK) won convincingly in 20 out of 36 municipalities in Sunday's local elections.

"The victory of the PDK presents a referendum about good governance in the Republic of Kosovo," he told to hundreds of his followers who were chanting his name.

On the other side, the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) of President Fatmir Sejdiu, which is the junior partner in the governing coalition, claimed absolute victory in the capital of Pristina by wining the mayor's post and the majority in the local assembly.

"It was a good day for the LDK," vice-president of LDK, Lutfi Haziri, told reporters, claiming his party won also in several important Kosovo's municipalities.

Kosovo citizens went to the polls Sunday for the first time since the ethnic Albanian majority declared independence from Serbia in February 2008. Its independence has been recognised by 63 countries including the United States and the most of the European Union.

According to the electoral commission, some 45 percent of the 1.5 million eligible voters voted for mayors and local representatives in what Serbia sees as a renegade southern province.

Despite its previous promise, the electoral commission failed to release the first preliminary results of the vote by Sunday midnight. It released only preliminary results for nine small municipalities.

"It was not possible to complete the results in such a short time," chairwoman of the election commission, Nesrin Lushta, told reporters, promising the complete results by late Monday afternoon.

However, thousands of sympathizers of the both parties celebrated separately on Sunday evening by taking the streets of Pristina, honking their car horns, waving party flags and setting off firecrackers.

Voting passed off calmly, with turnout among minority Serbs higher than expected in central Kosovo where around 80,000 out of 120,000 members of the community live.

Election authorities said there had been no major irregularities.

International observers were expected to announce Monday afternoon if the vote met standards.

Runoffs will be held on December 13 in municipalities where candidates fail to win more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round.

--AFP--

AP: Bombing at police station in Pakistan kills 4

2009-11-16T13:40:00.001+05:30

Pakistani police officials and local residents gather at the site of car bombing at a police station in Badh Ber near Peshawar, Pakistan on Monday, Nov. 16, 2009. A pickup truck laden with explosives attacked a police station in northwestern Pakistan, killing people in an area that has become the focal point for militant retaliation against a recent army offensive. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)

PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A pickup truck laden with explosives blew up in front of a police station in northwestern Pakistan on Monday, killing at least 4 people in an area that has become the focal point for militant retaliation against a recent army offensive.

The massive explosion caused a wide swath of destruction in the town of Badh Ber, severely damaging the station and a nearby mosque and completely destroying several houses and shops.

Suspected militants have killed more than 300 civilians and security personnel in the last month in an attempt to weaken the country's resolve to continue the military operation in the tribal area of South Waziristan, where al-Qaida and Taliban leaders are believed to be hiding.

"We have to continue this war against terrorists and have to keep our nerves," said Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the information minister for North West Frontier Province where Badh Ber is located.

Police opened fire on the pickup truck as it approached a checkpoint in front of the police station, but the driver was able to detonate his explosives, said Liaqat Ali Khan, the senior police chief in the main northwestern city of Peshawar.

"The sound of the blast was very loud, and when I rushed out from my home I saw everything was destroyed here," Tariq Hasan told AP Television News. "My house was destroyed by the blast."

The attack killed four people and wounded 30 others, said Sahib Gul, a doctor at a hospital in Peshawar where the dead and injured were brought.

Some of the wounded included policemen, said Hussain.

Local television footage showed rescue workers searching for survivors amid a tangle of bricks and twisted metal and police examining the deep crater caused by the explosion. The blast killed a horse that was attached to a wooden carriage and injured another nearby.

An explosives expert, Tanvir Ahmed, estimated the pickup truck was carrying about 550 pounds (250 kilograms) of high explosives when it attacked the station, a much larger amount than has been used in many similar bombings carried out in recent weeks.

"This is an obvious reaction to the operation in the tribal areas," said Sahibzada Anees, a senior government official in the area.

Badh Ber is located some seven miles (12 kilometers) south of Peshawar. The area in and around the city, which borders Pakistan's semiautonomous tribal region, has experienced a wave of attacks since the army launched its South Waziristan offensive in mid-October. More than 50 people have been killed in the area in a little over a week.

Hussain, the information minister, said the South Waziristan operation has driven many militants out of the tribal region into places near Peshawar, making the area a prime target for attacks.

"Terrorists have spread into our settled areas and have surrounded Peshawar, but they cannot defeat our resolve," said Hussain.

Obama says freedoms are `universal rights'

2009-11-16T13:34:00.002+05:30

U.S. President Barack Obama points to a member of the audience as he takes questions during a town hall style event with Chinese youth at the Museum of Science and Technology in Shanghai, Monday, Nov. 16, 2009. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

(AP)SHANGHAI — Pressing for freedoms on China's own turf, President Barack Obama said Monday that individual expression is not an American ideal but a universal right that should be available to all.

In his first presidential trip to Asia, Obama lauded cooperative relations with China but sought to send a clear message to his tightly controlled host country. Just as Obama said few problems can be solved unless U.S. and China work together, he prodded China to accept what he called "universal rights."

"We do not seek to impose any system of government on any other nation," Obama said at a town hall at a museum here, believed to be the first such format used by a U.S. president on Chinese soil. "But we also don't believe that the principles that we stand for are unique to our nation."

He added: "These freedoms of expression, and worship, of access to information and political participation — we believe they are universal rights. They should be available to all people, including ethnic and religious minorities, whether they are in the United States, China or any nation."

Obama sought to find a political balance with China, addressing long-standing U.S. concerns about human rights but extending his hand to a critically important partner on economic and security matters.

"More is gained when great powers cooperate than when they collide," he said in his opening statement.

In one form or another, though, the theme of free expression kept emerging.

"I'm a big supporter of non-censorship," Obama said in the course of answering one question about Internet usage. Given where Obama was speaking, such a comment was pointed. China has the world's largest population of Internet users — and the world's most extensive system of Web censorship.

The government carefully monitors how the Internet is used in China, from what sites are visited to what content is posted on sites hosted both inside and outside of China.

Obama's town hall was not broadcast live across China on television. It was shown on local Shanghai TV and streamed online on two big national Internet portals, but the quality was choppy and hard to hear.

U.S. ambassador Jon Huntsman called Obama's event the first ever town-hall meeting held by a U.S. president in China. Yet former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush also spoke to students and took questions from them during stops in China.

With a smile, Obama said he has never used the popular social networking site Twitter. But he broadly defended unrestricted Internet access as "a source of strength." And he said the free flow of information, including criticisms of his presidency, has helped by forcing him to consider other opinions.

The town hall was considered a signature event of Obama's weeklong trip to Asia. He was to end his day in Beijing in meeting with Chinese President Hu Jintao.

China is a huge and lucrative market for American goods and services, and yet it has a giant trade surplus with the U.S. that, like a raft of other economic issues, is a bone of contention between the two governments. The two militaries have increased their contacts, but clashes still happen and the U.S. remains worried about a dramatic buildup in what is already the largest standing army in the world.

Amid all that, Obama has adopted a pragmatic approach that stresses the positive, sometimes earning him criticism for being too soft on Beijing, particularly in the area of human rights abuses and what the U.S. regards as an undervalued Chinese currency that disadvantages U.S. products.

At the town hall, one student asked him about the honor and burden of winning the Nobel Peace Prize. He said he is a symbol of the shift in world affairs that his administration is trying to promote, but reiterated that he didn't think he had deserved the award.

Obama said there are few global challenges that can be solved unless the U.S. and China cooperate.

As nations prepare for next month's climate change conference in Copenhagen, Obama said leaders will be watching what the U.S. and China do. He says "that is the burden of leadership that both of our countries now carry."

The two nations are working together more than ever on battling global warming, but they still differ deeply over hard targets for reductions in the greenhouse-gas emissions that cause it. China has supported sterner sanctions to halt North Korea's nuclear weapons program, but it still balks at getting more aggressive about reining in Iran's uranium enrichment.

Obama recognizes that a rising China, as the world's third-largest economy on the way to becoming the second and the largest foreign holder of U.S. debt, has shifted the dynamic more toward one of equals. For instance, Chinese questions about how Washington spending policies will affect the already soaring U.S. deficit and the safety of Chinese investments now must be answered by Washington.

One closely watched test of the line Obama is walking on China will be how he addresses human rights, including religious freedom in the officially atheist nation. Aides said in advance that Obama would raise several human rights issues privately with Chinese leaders, including President Hu.

The White House hoped Monday's town hall meeting with Chinese university students would allow Obama to telegraph U.S. values — through its successes and failures — to the widest Chinese audience possible.

But those hopes had their limits in communist-ruled China.

Obama's China visit features the only sightseeing of his high-intensity Asian journey. He will visit the Forbidden City, home of former emperors in Beijing, and the centuries-old Great Wall outside of the city. Visiting a country's noted landmarks is considered a sign of respect in the world of diplomacy. But Obama aides also have learned that finding some tourist time serves to both calm and energize their boss amid the always grueling schedule of a foreign trip.

Kim Tae-hee Wants 'Iris' to Become Turnnig Point

2009-11-16T13:19:00.003+05:30

South Korean Actress Kim Tae Hee

Actress Kim Tae-hee said Monday that she had been severely hurt by a controversy over her acting ability.

``I admit that there are problems in my acting. But I want to see `Iris' mark a turning point in my acting career,'' said Kim amid cheers in an interview with Yonhap News, referring to the TV drama now being broadcast on KBS TV. ``I have hardly been shaken by groundless rumors but the dispute over my acting is most painful.''

Kim, 29, is said to be one of the most beautiful actresses in the country. She received a bachelor's degree in fashion design at the prestigious Seoul National University.

Kim rose to stardom through her portrayal of an evil stepsister in ``Stairway to Heaven,'' the SBS TV series, in 2003.

``I have a complex about myself. After starting my acting career, I found my future bleak. Still, I feel it very difficult to act,'' said Kim who reportedly achieved perfect scores in every subject during her three years in middle school in Ulsan, the southeastern industrial city.

She is now playing the role of a profiler at the state intelligence agency in ``Iris,'' where she falls in love with a colleague agent played by actor Lee Byung-hun. The drama's viewing rate surpassed 30 percent last week.

--The Korea Times--

Tears as PM apologises to 'Forgotten Australians'

2009-11-16T13:13:00.002+05:30

CANBERRA — Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made an emotional apology on Monday to half-a-million "Forgotten Australians" who faced sexual abuse, violence and forced labour in childcare homes over a period of decades.

Victims among the 1,000 people who packed Parliament House for the address burst into tears as Rudd detailed heart-rending cases of neglect in Australia's orphanages and institutions from 1930 to 1970.

"We come together today to offer our nation's apology. To say to you, the Forgotten Australians, and those who were sent to our shores as children without their consent, that we are sorry," he said.

"Sorry that as children you were taken from your families and placed in institutions where so often you were abused. Sorry for the physical suffering, the emotional starvation and the cold absence of love, of tenderness, of care.

"Sorry for the tragedy, the absolute tragedy, of childhoods lost. Childhoods spent instead in austere and authoritarian places where names were replaced by numbers, spontaneous play by regimented routine, the joy of learning by the repetitive drudgery of menial work."

Hundreds of thousands of disadvantaged children, including some 7,000 sent from Britain, were ripped from their homes to live in poorly monitored state and church institutions where many were abused, ignored or forced into unpaid labour.

The statement echoes Rudd's historic February 2008 apology to Australia's downtrodden Aboriginal population for their mistreatment since white settlement in 1788.

It has also made waves in Britain where Prime Minister Gordon Brown is set to apologise to more than 130,000 disadvantaged children who were shipped to Australia and other former colonies.

A 2004 Senate inquiry recommended the apology after unearthing hundreds of disturbing stories from children placed in care after their families broke down, their mothers were unmarried or they were considered uncontrollable.

The probe found widespread assault and emotional, physical and sexual abuse, as well as neglect, humiliation and the deprivation of food, education and medical care.

Many never knew their parents or siblings, or even their own names, which could change each time they moved accommodation. Sometimes they were referred to simply by a number.

"The truth is, this is an ugly story. The truth is great evil has been done," Rudd said.

Many of the children were not told the truth about what happened to their parents, while their families were lied to as well, the inquiry found.

It said the legacy of these experiences had left many people emotionally scarred, with many resorting to drug and alcohol abuse and an "abnormally large" percentage committing suicide.

Frank Golding, who spent a decade in an orphanage in Victoria state, was among many present who were simply unable to contain their emotions.

"There were lots of people in and around me who were tearful, as I was, surprisingly," he told AFP. "It gets to you. There were lots and lots of people whose noses and eyes were streaming."

Some victims are still in prisons and mental health hospitals, while others suffer depression and feelings of worthlessness. Just days before the apology, one man who campaigned all his life for forgotten Australians killed himself.

"You have that insecurity and lack of self-esteem and all of that with you forever," Caroline Carroll, who chairs the Alliance for Forgotten Australians, told AFP earlier.

"That feeling of never being good enough doesn't go away."

--AFP--

In first visit to China, Obama walks a tightrope

2009-11-16T09:58:00.002+05:30

U.S. President Barack Obama, center left, attends a bilateral meeting with Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Yu Zhengsheng, center right, at Xijiao State Guest House in Shanghai, China, Monday, Nov. 16, 2009. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

(AP)SHANGHAI — President Barack Obama sought a political balance Monday on his first trip to China, seeking help on urgent global problems while weighing if and when to raise concerns over human rights.

Obama's agenda began with talks with local politicians and, in one of the marquee events of his weeklong Asian trip, he was to conduct an American-style town hall with Chinese university students.

The president's first stop in Shanghai was the tranquil grounds of the Xijiao State Guest House, where he met with the city's mayor for about a half-hour and had lunch.

"Both of the countries have benefited greatly from the progress we have made over the last two decades," Obama said as the two sides' vast delegations were arrayed in a giant meeting room.

Thirty years after the start of diplomatic relations between the United States and China, the ties are growing — but remain mixed on virtually every front.

The two nations are working together more than ever on battling global warming, but they still differ deeply over hard targets for reductions in the greenhouse-gas emissions that cause it. China has supported sterner sanctions to halt North Korea's nuclear weapons program, but it still balks at getting more aggressive about reining in Iran's uranium enrichment.

Obama arrived in Shanghai late at night, in a driving rain, hustling through a phalanx of umbrella-holding dignitaries to reach his limousine. He was to end his day in Beijing.

China is a huge and lucrative market for American goods and services, and yet it has a giant trade surplus with the U.S. that, like a raft of other economic issues, is a bone of contention between the two governments. The two militaries have increased their contacts, but clashes still happen and the U.S. remains worried about a dramatic buildup in what is already the largest standing army in the world.

Amid all that, Obama has adopted a pragmatic approach that stresses the positive, sometimes earning him criticism for being too soft on Beijing, particularly in the area of human rights abuses and what the U.S. regards as an undervalued Chinese currency that disadvantages U.S. products.

Obama recognizes that a rising China, as the world's third-largest economy on the way to becoming the second and the largest foreign holder of U.S. debt, has shifted the dynamic more toward one of equals. For instance, Chinese questions about how Washington spending policies will affect the already soaring U.S. deficit and the safety of Chinese investments now must be answered by Washington.

Second, Obama wants not to anger Beijing, but to encourage it to pair its growing economic and political clout with greater leadership in solving some of the most urgent global problems, including a sagging economy, warming planet and the spread of dangerous weapons.

Obama has talked warmly toward China, particularly in the days leading up to his visit.

"The United States does not seek to contain China," Obama said in a speech from Tokyo on Saturday. "On the contrary, the rise of a strong, prosperous China can be a source of strength for the community of nations."

One test of the line Obama is walking on China will be human rights, including religious freedom in the officially atheist nation. Aides said in advance that Obama would raise several human rights issues privately with Chinese leaders, including President Hu.

But it was unlikely he would repeat those messages too stridently in public, out of concern for angering his hosts. Even before arriving in China, for example, he declined to get specific about human rights concerns with China in his Tokyo speech and eschewed the traditional presidential meeting with the Dalai Lama while he was in Washington in June.

Obama said he would see the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader later, a decision welcomed by Chinese officials who pressure foreign governments not to meet with the Dalai Lama and spurn Tibetans' desires for autonomy from Chinese rule.

The White House hoped Monday's town hall meeting with Chinese university students would allow Obama to telegraph U.S. values — through its successes and failures — to the widest Chinese audience possible.

But those hopes will have their limits in communist-ruled, tightly controlled China. The particulars of the town hall, including whether it could even be called one, were the subject of delicate negotiations between the White House and the Chinese up to the last minute. It remained unclear, for instance, whether — and how broadly — it would be broadcast on television and how much of a hand the central government had in choosing those allowed to question the U.S. president.

Obama deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes said Obama would call at random on several of those in the audience, to be made up of hundreds of students hand-picked by the department heads of Shanghai-area universities, and would also answer questions solicited in advance by the White House from "various sources on the Internet."

Even if the event is only aired on China's main English-language TV channel, which has very few viewers, the White House will stream the conversation live on http://www.whitehouse.gov, an unblocked site in China.

From Shanghai, Obama was to be off to the capital of Beijing for the pomp and substance of a two-day state visit hosted for Obama by Hu.

Obama's China visit features the only sightseeing of his high-intensity Asian journey. He will visit the Forbidden City, home of former emperors in Beijing, and the centuries-old Great Wall outside of the city. Visiting a country's noted landmarks is considered a sign of respect in the world of diplomacy. But Obama aides also have learned that finding some tourist time serves to both calm and energize their boss amid the always grueling schedule of a foreign trip.

Shaolin Temple Web Site Attacked

2009-11-16T09:39:00.003+05:30

Shaolin Temple Abbot Shi Yongxin poses with the certificate of a luxury cassock, which was given to him as a gift by a silk company, in Songshan, Henan province, June 7, 2009. [CFP]

The kungfu master never saw this punch coming.

Shi Yongxin, the abbot of the Shaolin Temple, a Chinese monastery famous for its martial monks, fell victim to an online hoax in which the front page of the temple's website was replaced with a fake letter of remorse.

"I traded the monastery's tranquility and holy Buddhism for the fame of Shaolin and myself," said the post, which appeared early Wednesday morning.

It accused Shi of commercializing the 1,000-year-old temple during his 10 years at the helm, staining the religion's reputation and breaching its fundamental discipline.

It was the second cyber attack in one week against the website and was meant to damage the temple's reputation, said an employee from the legal affairs department of a company affiliated with Shaolin. He refused to give his name.

"We have reported this attack to the police," he said on the phone. "The website will reopen with an official statement in two or three days."

But he did not disclose the details of the statement and refused to comment on the identities of possible attackers.

It was not clear whether Shi has knowledge of the attack.

The post was picked up by a number of media outlets and spread across China's cyber world.

The site has been inaccessible since Wednesday morning as its operators shut it down for investigation.

Shi has made a name for himself and the Shaolin temple by establishing at least five businesses using the Shaolin name in the past decade.

He also launched the "Kung Fu Star" reality competition in 2006, received contestants from a Chinese beauty pageant called "Miss Tourism", met foreign politicians and made friends with Hollywood celebrities.

But Shi's successes have also drawn criticism. There have been reports he owns a chauffeured premium SUV, wears a 160,000-yuan ($23,400) designer robe and has housed a mistress.

Shi has never admitted to these claims.

--China Daily --

Screen legend Lauren Bacall given Oscar for life's work

2009-11-16T09:25:00.002+05:30

Though Lauren Bacall starred in more than 30 movies, the actress never won an Oscar.

Hollywood presented its first Oscars of the awards season late Saturday, honoring screen acting legend Lauren Bacall with a statuette for her life's work in film.

"I can't believe it!" Bacall gushed, as she was awarded the Governor's Award at a ceremony that offered a foretaste of Oscar glitter and glamour.

(AFP)The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences also honored director Roger Corman, cinematographer Gordon Willis and producer John Calley at the ceremony attended by an array of Hollywood luminaries -- from George Lucas to Quentin Tarantino.

Bacall, one of the most successful screen sirens of the 1940s and 1950s made her screen debut in the classic film "To Have and Have Not" in which she played the love interest of real-life future husband Humphrey Bogart, to whom she paid homage in her remarks.

"He gave me a life and changed my life," she said of the "Casablanca" screen hero to whom she was married from 1945 until his death in 1957.

The Oscar statuettes for most recipients will be given out at a star-studded ceremony on March 7 at Hollywood's Kodak Theater.

China investigates 2 deaths after flu vaccinations

2009-11-16T09:15:00.002+05:30

A woman and a child wear masks as they wait for a H1N1 flu check-up at a temporary H1N1 flu treatment centre at a hospital in Seoul November 3, 2009.[Agencies]

(AP)BEIJING — Two people in China who received swine flu vaccinations died in the past week but at least one death appears unrelated to the vaccine and the other was being investigated.

The country's health ministry reported the deaths late Friday on its Web site — the first time China has announced deaths with potential links to the Chinese-made swine flu vaccine.

An autopsy showed one victim suffered a heart attack and, "experts have basically ruled out the possibility that the patient's sudden death was the result of immediate allergic reactions to the flu vaccines," the ministry statement said.

Experts were waiting for more lab results, it added.

An autopsy on the second person was scheduled for late Friday, but no results had been reported Saturday morning.

The statement gave no details on the two people, and phone calls to China's health ministry went unanswered Saturday.

The Hunan provincial health department in southern China posted a statement on its Web site Friday saying a teacher died Monday while playing basketball, eight hours after being vaccinated.

A spokeswoman for the World Health Organization office in China said the second death was a man from Tianjin, southeast of Beijing.

"Our assessment of the safety of the Chinese vaccine hasn't changed," said spokeswoman Vivian Tan. "The deaths are unfortunate, but we need to get to the bottom of it."

The health ministry has said more than 13 million Chinese have received the swine flu vaccine.

"So far from the sheer numbers vaccinated, there's a very small number of mild and ever smaller number of serious reactions. We still believe it is generally safe and effective," Tan said.

The health ministry statement said 1,235 people had been suspected of having abnormal reactions to the vaccine as of Wednesday. Reactions included fever and swelling.

Fifteen people had relatively serious responses such as anaphylactic shock, a severe allergic reaction that can be deadly.

The health ministry statement said the vaccines are generally safe and vaccinations will continue.

As of Friday, China reported about 66,000 cases of swine flu, including 43 deaths.

Militants attack 2 anti-Taliban figures

2009-11-15T22:36:00.002+05:30

Pakistani workers move an injured victim of suicide car bombing from a vehicle onto a stretcher upon his arrival at a local hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009. A suicide car bomber killed people Saturday at a police checkpoint on the outskirts of the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar, in the latest in a string of militant attacks targeting the city, officials said. (AP Photo/Mohammad Iqbal)

(AP)Militants staged a pair of attacks against anti-Taliban figures in northwestern Pakistan on Sunday, killing one of the men as part of an escalating campaign to weaken the country's resolve to fight Islamic extremism.

Suspected militants have killed more than 300 civilians and security personnel in the last month in retaliation for an army offensive launched in the tribal area of South Waziristan, where al-Qaida and Taliban leaders are believed to be hiding.

The government has supplemented its military campaigns by helping tribal leaders and local government officials set up militias to battle the Taliban. The militias, known as lashkars, have been compared to Iraq's Awakening Councils, which helped U.S. forces turn the tide against al-Qaida there.

As in Iraq, militants in Pakistan have targeted the leaders of such groups.

A group of militants opened fire on the house of an elder, Malik Sher Zaman, in the Bajur tribal region around midnight on Sunday, killing him several months after he signed an agreement with the government to battle the Taliban, said senior local official Abdul Malik. The militants blew up part of his house in the Mamund area after the attack, he said.

Several hours later, more than a dozen militants opened fire on the house of an anti-Taliban mayor outside the main northwestern city of Peshawar, but security guards repelled the attack, killing three of the assailants, said police official Nabi Shah.

The militants who initiated the attack against Mayor Mohammad Fahim Khan's house in Bazid Khel town, some 10 miles (15 kilometers) south of Peshawar, had disguised themselves by donning burqas, the all-encompassing garments traditionally worn by Muslim women, said Shah.

"Seeing three burqa-clad women early in the morning, Fahim Khan's security guards challenged them, and the men threw away their disguise and opened fire," Shah said. "But the guards were alert and they retaliated quickly."

The guards killed the three militants, but several others joined the fight, Shah said. The two groups waged a gunbattle before the remaining militants fled, he said.

Khan is the second mayor to be attacked in the last week who has organized a lashkar to fight against the Taliban. A suicide bomber hit a crowded market outside Peshawar last Sunday, killing 12 people, including a mayor who once supported but turned against the Taliban.

Khan said he would continue his campaign against the Taliban despite repeated attempts on his life.

"Militants have exploded three bombs near my house, killing innocent people, and they have opened fire on me several times but have failed so far," Khan said. "These attacks will not weaken my resolve against militants."

A growing number of recent attacks in Pakistan have targeted civilians, including a suicide bombing at a market in Peshawar in late October that killed 112 people, the deadliest attack in Pakistan in more than two years.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks targeting public places, but Pakistani officials have blamed the Taliban.

In a video released Sunday, the group denied the allegations, saying it was focused on attacking the Pakistani government and did not believe in killing civilians.

Repeating conspiracy theories that have appeared in local media, Taliban spokesman Azam Tariq blamed the recent attacks, including a suicide bombing at an Islamic university in the capital, on the Pakistani government and the private security firm formerly known as Blackwater.

"The dirty Pakistani intelligence agencies, for the sake of creating mistrust and hatred among people against the Taliban, are carrying out blasts at places like the Islamic university, Islamabad, and the Khyber bazaar, Peshawar," said Tariq, who appeared in the video at the base of a large tree flanked by gunmen.

He wore a white and gray turban and a traditional white Pakistani robe with an olive green vest.

The video, which was posted on YouTube, carried the logo of al-Qaida's media wing, As-Sahab. It was the first time the Taliban spokesman has appeared in an As-Sahab video, showing the growing links between the two groups.

By denying responsibility for killing civilians, the Taliban could make it more difficult for the government to convert public anger into greater support for the South Waziristan offensive and other efforts to crack down on militants.

Myanmar Student Monks in Sri Lanka protest at Junta visit

2009-11-15T22:26:00.002+05:30

Burmese monks living in Sri Lanka have also protested against the visit.

The general is on his first overseas trip for five years, and this is the first visit to the island by a Burmese leader for more than 40 years.

Sri Lanka and Burma have religious and cultural ties going back centuries. Many Burmese monks study in Sri Lanka.

Shouting that General Than Shwe should leave Sri Lanka, this small group of demonstrators held banners accusing the Burmese military government of grave human rights abuses and calling them "killers of Buddhist monks" - a message they hope will resonate in this country which is itself over 70% Buddhist.

"We are ashamed to see these kind of military leaders visiting our country. So we staged this protest to mark our sign of protest and our disgust for this kind of visit," lawyer Shiral Lakthileka said.

An association of Burmese monks in Sri Lanka has echoed these sentiments, criticising Than Shwe's visit.

In a statment they said they would refuse all offerings from Than Shwe and his delegation if they come to their temples - an action considered highly insulting.

Many Burmese monks studying in Sri Lanka have a large temple in the capital.

But monks from Sri Lanka itself are due to bestow blessings on the general before he leaves.

The official flags of welcome are out for Than Shwe on this rare foreign trip for him.

The Sri Lankan government, annoyed by Western criticism of its conduct of the war, has been moving closer to states that are out of favour in Western capitals.

Burma was President Rajapaksa's first foreign destination after the war victory earlier this year.

--BBC--

APEC leaders call for new growth strategies

2009-11-15T22:18:00.002+05:30

APEC leaders attend a breakfast meeting in Singapore, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009. (AP Photo/Shizuo Kambayashi, Japan Pool)

SINGAPORE — Stimulus spending and other emergency measures have set the stage for global economic recovery, but nations must push ahead with free trade and investment to ensure growth, President Barack Obama and fellow Asia-Pacific leaders said Sunday.

Obama and 20 other leaders, meeting in Singapore for the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum, rejected protectionism and agreed to develop long-term strategies that take into account the diverse needs of economies in a region stretching from Chile to China.

Recovery is not yet on solid footing and the region "cannot go back to growth as usual," Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said, reading from a joint statement by the APEC leaders.

"We need a new growth paradigm. We need a fresh model of economic integration," they said. "We will pursue growth which is balanced, inclusive, and sustainable, supported by innovation and a knowledge-based economy, to ensure a durable recovery that will create jobs and benefit our people."

To that end, APEC members pledged to maintain economic stimulus policies until a durable recovery has clearly taken hold.

Nations must work toward "strong, sustainable and balanced global economic growth" with policies that expand opportunities for all, including women and small business owners; take better care of the environment; and promote development while reducing poverty and ensuring security, they said.

There was no mention of currency rates in the final statement, despite finance ministers' calls earlier in the week for maintaining "market-oriented exchange rates." That was a reference to the Chinese currency, the yuan, which critics say is kept artificially undervalued, making exports of other countries less competitive.

Asked if leaders discussed the argument that controlled exchange rates such as China's constituted a form of protectionism, Lee said: "Some leaders expressed their concern about the possibility of currency movements that could become unstable and the potential problems that could arise if governments had to continually intervene in order to manage their currencies."

A push for concrete goals for reductions of greenhouse gas emissions was omitted from the statement. A previous draft had pledged a 50 percent reduction from 1990 levels by 2050, but the final communique committed only to working toward "an ambitious outcome" at climate talks in Copenhagen, Denmark, next month.

Obama and other world leaders agreed Sunday that the Copenhagen summit will be merely a way station, not the once hoped-for endpoint in the drive for a new global climate-change treaty.

The World Wildlife Fund's Global Climate Initiative said leaders must begin taking stronger action.

"Deleting rather than strengthening emission reduction targets in their leaders' declarations — like they did here in Singapore — is certainly not a solution," spokeswoman Diane McFadzien said in a statement. "Leaders have to take the bull by the horns, and finally tackle the difficult questions, instead of constantly avoiding them."

APEC, which accounts for 40 percent of the world's population and 54 percent of global output, was created 20 years ago to promote trade and integration among Pacific Rim nations. Pledges are nonbinding, and the forum's scope has expanded to encompass issues such as climate change, energy and food security, and politics.

One key APEC goal is the creation of a free-trade area covering all 21 APEC economies — an ambition that many acknowledge is years away.

There had been concerns that the U.S., the world's biggest economy, and other nations might turn inward as they grapple with the worst global financial crisis in decades. Washington has been sitting on free-trade pacts with South Korea, Colombia and Panama, and is embroiled in a dispute with China over tariffs slapped on Chinese-made tire imports.

But Obama added his voice to calls for expansion of free trade rather than resorting to protectionist measures. Leaders pushed hard for progress on talks to liberalize world trade and supported studies on the benefits of a future Asia-Pacific free trade area.

They also pledged to make it 25 percent cheaper, faster and easier to do business in Asia-Pacific by 2015.

Later Sunday, Obama — holding Washington's first-ever summit with Southeast Asian leaders — told Myanmar's prime minister that the military junta must free pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners. A joint statement, however, made no mention of political prisoners or the Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has spent the last 14 of 20 years in detention.

Singapore was Obama's second stop on a tour of Asia that began in Japan and will take him to China and South Korea.

Restaurants in multicultural Singapore had special dishes on the menu in celebration of the visit, including the Obama Burger at O'Leary's in the mall below the APEC convention center and Obama Chicken Rice, featuring yams, mushrooms, dried prawns and dark soy sauce.

"Of all the people coming, I only love Obama," food stall operator Alan Ng, who whipped up the Obama special, told the New Paper in Singapore.

One Irish pub has renamed itself O'Bama's. Its motto: "Change you can drink to."

--AP--

Sri Lanka’s President Rajapaksa ‘feared coup’ after defeat of Tamil Tigers

2009-11-15T22:14:00.002+05:30

General Sarath Fonseka, left, wrote a bitter letter of resignation

President Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka was so afraid of a military coup after the defeat of the Tamil Tigers that he warned India to place its troops on high alert as recently as last month, according to the former head of the Sri Lankan Army. General Sarath Fonseka, who led the victorious campaign against the Tigers only to be sidelined two months later, made the allegation in a bitter resignation letter, seen by The Times yesterday.

General Fonseka, who was switched to the largely ceremonial role of Chief of Defence Staff in July, said the Government alerted India on October 15 that a coup was imminent, “unnecessarily placing Indian troops on high alert”.

“This action tarnished the image and reputation gained by the Sri Lankan Army as a competent and professional organisation capable of defeating a terrorist group,” he said.

After resigning, General Fonseka is now expected to challenge Mr Rajapaksa in a presidential election due by April. His letter drew no immediate response from Indian officials, while a Sri Lankan minister said only that the Government would study its contents. “The President has ordered a study of [Fonseka’s] letter and we will make a suitable response,” Mahinda Samarasinghe, the Human Rights Minister, told reporters.

Although the letter does not specify what action Mr Rajapaksa wanted India to take, the implication was that its troops should intervene in case of a coup.

India sent peacekeeping troops to Sri Lanka in 1987, but they were soon drawn into the fight with the Tigers, and withdrew in 1990. The Tigers then assassinated Rajiv Gandhi, the former Indian Prime Minister, in 1991.

The General’s letter reveals for the first time the rift that developed between the Army and Government after the end of the 26-year civil war in May.

It also adds to the charged political atmosphere in Sri Lanka since General Fonseka emerged as a potential challenger to Mr Rajapaksa, who has been riding a wave of popularity since the war ended.

General Fonseka is considered a national hero by most of the ethnic Sinhalese majority community and is therefore likely to split the ruling alliance’s support base in the elections.

Although he has a reputation as an outspoken Sinhalese nationalist, he criticised Mr Rajapaksa for failing to make peace with the ethnic Tamil minority since the Tigers’ defeat.

“Your excellency’s Government has yet to win the peace, in spite of the fact the Army under my leadership won the war,” he said

--TimesOline--

AP: Obama tells Myanmar junta to free Suu Kyi

2009-11-15T22:00:00.002+05:30

SINGAPORE — An official says President Barack Obama has told Myanmar's junta to free pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.

Obama delivered the message during his summit Sunday with leaders of 10 Southeast Asian nations, which included Myanmar Prime Minister Gen. Thein Sein.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs has told reporters that Obama called on Myanmar to free Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, and end oppression of minorities.

He says Obama "brought that up directly with that government," press secretary Robert Gibbs said.

Nobel Peace laureate Suu Kyi has been in detention for 14 of the last 20 years.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

SINGAPORE (AP) — President Barack Obama and his Southeast Asian counterparts are expected to drop a call for Myanmar's ruling generals to release political prisoners, including pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, ahead of elections next year.

A joint statement to be issued after a summit Sunday between the U.S. president and leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations — their first ever — devotes an entire section to Myanmar, a major irritant in relations between the two sides.

The leaders emphasized, "the general election to be held in Myanmar in 2010 must be conducted in a free, fair, inclusive and transparent manner in order to be credible to the international community," according to a final draft of the statement obtained by The Associated Press.

Obama, in a broad policy speech in Tokyo on Saturday, made a point of mentioning Suu Kyi by name.

But the leaders' statement does not make any mention of political prisoners — including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi, who has spent 14 of the last 20 years in detention. The omission is glaring, since the U.S. had insisted on the inclusion of such a clause in a previous draft.

According to the old draft, the U.S. wanted to insert a line calling on the junta to "help create the conditions for credible elections, including by releasing political prisoners and initiating a dialogue with political parties and ethnic minority groups."

The final draft only has leaders calling on the military government to initiate "a dialogue with all stakeholders to ensure that the process is fully inclusive."

The Myanmar government has said it intends to hold elections next year but has not clarified whether Suu Kyi will be allowed to participate. The junta refused to honor the result of the last elections in 1990 when Suu Kyi's party won by a landslide.

Although the United States recently eased its policy toward Myanmar by initiating talks with the generals, it has made clear economic sanctions won't be lifted until Suu Kyi is released.

Earlier this month, two senior U.S. diplomats went to Myanmar for talks, and also had a private meeting with Suu Kyi. It was the highest-level U.S. visit to Myanmar in 14 years.

Sunday's U.S.-ASEAN summit — held just after the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum ends — is the outcome of the new thinking in Washington that ignoring Myanmar will not yield any results, and relations with Southeast Asia should not be held hostage by the junta.

Previous administrations had refused to hold summits with ASEAN because it meant sitting at the same table with Myanmar, which is a member of the regional grouping.

On Sunday, Obama and Myanmar Prime Minister Gen. Thein Sein were likely to sit side by side, but it was not known if they would hold direct talks.

Analysts say the U.S. will continue to be tough, even in face-to-face talks.

"No one should expect America to simply say nice, soothing things to the generals in Myanmar," said Simon Tay of the Singapore Institute for International Affairs think tank. "The signals that the Americans and all of us in Asia expect are for clean, decent elections in Myanmar."

--AP--

Than Shwe concludes Sri Lanka visit

2009-11-15T21:21:00.003+05:30

Nov 15, Colombo: Concluding a successful four-day official tour in Sri Lanka, the visiting leader of Myanmar left the country today.

The Chairman of the Union of Myanmar, Senior General Than Shwe arrived in Sri Lanka last Thursday with his wife to visit several revered Buddhist sites and participate in a series of religious activities, on an invitation made by his Sri Lankan counterpart President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

During his stay in Sri Lanka, General Shwe paid homage to the Temple of Tooth Relic in Kandy, Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi in Anuradhapura and historical Kelaniya Temple and participated in several Bodhi Poojas.

The Government Information Department this morning presented a special photo album compiled with the photos taken during his visit to General Than Shwe in appreciation of his visit to Sri Lanka.

--ColomboPage-

U.S. Army Sending First Buddhist Chaplain to Iraq

2009-10-31T23:17:00.002+05:30

Chaplain Thomas Dyer is the first Buddhist chaplain in the U.S. Army's history. He will be commissioned to Iraq in December.

All Army chaplains wear the same uniform, and all of them answer to the same calling: to provide comfort and to relieve the suffering of American soldiers.

But one chaplain stands out from the crowd. Thomas Dyer is the first and only Buddhist chaplain in the history of the U.S. Army.

Dyer will be deployed to the Middle East in December along with the 278th Armored Calvary Regiment. Although his faith is grounded in pacifism, the 43-year-old Dyer says war has become a necessary part of peace.

"My teacher has concluded that without the military, without civil protection, the world would enter into a very dark place very quickly," Dyer told Fox News. "There aren't that many caves to run to, there aren't that many mountains to go to anymore. And if we don't have protection, we suffer greatly."

A former Baptist preacher, Dyer found his new faith a few years ago through the practice of intense meditation. Born in Nashville, Tenn., he says his Christian background gives him an advantage in meeting the demands of a military with diverse spiritual needs.

“It has made me kind of like someone who is bilingual, where they can speak two languages, or bicultural,” he said. “I am kind of like a bi-religious person, so I am able to make connections with soldiers in a way that is very familiar to them, so I don’t look so scary or ... strange.”

Less than one percent of the United States population is Buddhist, and Buddhists make up only three-tenths of a percent of the military. But Dyer has quickly gained the respect of his Christian colleagues, who make up the vast majority of military chaplains. He has also fostered a close relationship with his chaplain assistant, Spc. Jonathan Westley, who's trained specifically to protect him.

"It definitely was something different when I got to meet him for the first time last year,” Westley told Fox News. “Fortunately, we clicked right from the start."

Dyer will be a spiritual guide to all soldiers, not just Buddhists. He says no matter what their faith, all soldiers at war have common spiritual needs.

"They have a lot to bear. The training is tough. The environment is rough at times ... and as a result of this they will come to someone who wants to help," he said.

Religion aside, he says, soldiers face death daily, and what matters most to them is that someone who knows what they’re going through cares about their fate

--Fox News--

Sri Lanka President: The development of the Buddha's birth place is the responsibility of the whole Buddhist world

2009-10-31T15:54:00.002+05:30

President declared opened Sri Lanka Monastery funded by Sri Lanka Lumbini Development trust

President Mahinda Rajapaksa making brief statement to the pressmen gathered there said that the development of Lumbini, one of the most sacred sites of the Buddhists all over the world was not only the responsibility of the Nepalese government but also the rest of the world including Sri Lanka.

Rajapaksa a devout Buddhist said coming here to Lumbini , the birthplace of Prince Siddhartha who later attained Buddhahood through an ascetic life was his life long dream.

He said in the years to come Lumbini will attract increasing numbers of pilgrims and made a personal donation of US 10,000. At this time the information officer of the Lumbini Development Fund Hari Dhoj Rai showed him the master plan for the Lumbini Development.

The Nepali government beefed up high security around Lumbini due to the visit of President Rajapaksa and he also offered pooja at Maya Debi (Devi) Temple at Lumbini, Nepalese reports said.

The main business of the President's visit to Lumbini was to gift and dedicate the first phase of the Sri Lanka Maha Viharaya at Lumbini that was built at the cost of 74 million Rupees of state money. The completed phase consists of a library, a resting place, a museum and a monastery.

In fact, the Sri Lanka Lumbini Development Trust Fund was established 25 years ago when President Rajapaksa was a novice MP in the parliament and the work at the Sri Lanka section was started then. But unfortunately, the work had been neglected until the President re-invigorated it. The Sri Lankan monastery has been established on land leased by the Nepalese government to Buddhist nations to construct monasteries of their own traditions.

The Sri Lanka government has announced that it would put up the second phase of the Sri Lanka monastery at the cost of 194 Million Rupees. captions of the photos attached (Pix by Sudath Silva)

President Mahinda Rajapaksa and First lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa visit the birth place of lord Buddha at Lumbini on 30th.

--Ministry of Defence--

India-Myanmar relations : A review

2009-10-31T15:30:00.002+05:30

By R. Swaminathan

Relations between India and Myanmar over nearly five decades have been governed by many complex factors. Amongst them are the strategic location of Myanmar, India’s commitment to idealism-driven support to the restoration of democracy in Myanmar, realism-driven need to deal with those actually governing the country, the implications of China’s increasing presence and role in Myanmar etc. China, fortunately for it, has been able to make its foreign policy decisions without having to bother about the nature of the regime in any country.

India and Myanmar share a complicated and delicate history, marked as much by mistrust as amity. For those who may be interested, a “Historical Background” is annexed to this paper.

POLITICAL

Pro-Democracy Protests in 2007

A series of anti-government protests started in Myanmar on 15 August 2007. The immediate and stated cause of the protests was mainly the decision of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) to remove fuel subsidies, resulting in very steep increases in the prices of diesel, petrol and compressed natural gas. The first demonstrations were dealt with quickly and harshly, with many arrested and detained. Starting 18 September, the protests were led by thousands of Buddhist monks, and those were also allowed to proceed. Initially, only a few hundred monks walked down the streets but, by end-September, the protesting crowds had grown to 100,000 – both monks and democracy activists. There was a renewed government crackdown on 26 September.

The military junta’s actions against the “peaceful” and “almost Gandhian” ptotestors evoked a considerable amount of international condemnation. However, Beijing expectedly showed more interest in maintaining stability than in pushing for democracy.

In an official statement issued in the wake of the violence, India expressed its support for the "undaunted resolve of the Burmese people to achieve democracy". The Burmese language service of All-India Radio (AIR) was more outspoken in its criticism of Myanmar's military government. It said that India was gradually succeeding in weaning Myanmar away from its near-total dependence on China for economic and military support. It could not therefore be expected to take the strong position that the US, the European Union and Myanmar dissidents were asking her to take; and thus risk - to China's benefit - the precious foothold it had achieved in Myanmar over the previous decade.

Ibrahim Gambari, the United Nations special envoy to Myanmar, undertook a tour across Asia, with the hope of cajoling Asian governments to take a tougher stance on the junta’s crushing of the protests. When he called on India (in October 2007) to join other countries in pressing Myanmar’s military rulers to stop their campaign of repression against pro-democracy protesters, the Indian government described Myanmar as its “close and friendly neighbor” and assured that it would help in Myanmar’s national reconciliation. India’s decision to avoid direct criticism of the military regime came in for a lot of adverse comments. However, it is not as if India was totally silent on the issue. When Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win, who visited India in January 2008, called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the PM emphasized that there was need for greater urgency in bringing about political reforms and national reconciliation. “This process has to be broad-based to include all sections of society, including Aung San Suu Kyi and the various ethnic groups.”

Aung San Suu Kyi

Aung San Suu Kyi (the daughter of “General” Aung San) has been under house arrest almost continually since 1989. When anti-government protests intensified in September 2007, hundreds of monks paid respects to her at the gate of her home. This was the first time in four years that people were able to see her in public. On 29 September, she was allowed to leave her house briefly to meet with a UN envoy who was trying to persuade (eventually, successfully) the junta to ease its crackdown against pro-democracy protesters.

On 4 May 2009, a mentally unbalanced American (John Yettaw) swam across the lake and entered the house of Aung San Suu Kyi, uninvited, and remained there for two nights. Instead of faulting those in charge of security, both the intruder and Suu Kyi were held in prison and put on trial. While the intruder was sentenced to imprisonment, Suu Kyi was awarded (on 11 August 2009) an additional 18 months of house arrest – beyond the earlier term which was due to end on 27 May 2009. The sentencing once again showed how the milit.ary junta was determined to stop her participation in the elections to be held in 2010. In a declared act of “benevolence”, the government had commuted the court’s original sentence of three-years hard labour.

Aung San Suu Kyi’s conviction drew almost universal condemnation. President Obama demanded her immediate release while British Prime Minister Gordon Brown stated that "This is a purely political sentence designed to prevent her from taking part in the regime’s planned elections next year" and called for a UN embargo on all arms exports to Burma. President Nicolas Sarkozy of France sought fresh restrictions on Myanmar's two important export items - rubies and hardwood. Thailand was even more explicit and urged Myanmar to immediately free Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest to allow her to play a role in next year's general election. However, action by the U.N. Security Council was stalled due to reservations on the part of Russia and China. “India’s reaction to the conviction of Aung San Suu Kyi was shameful to say the least. It had not one word of condemnation or even ‘disappointment”, wrote Col. Hariharan, a very senior analyst of intelligence and security issues.

Suu Kyi is said to have written a letter to Than Shwe, offering to work towards reducing international sanctions on Myanmar, and asked to meet representatives of the US, EU and Australia. Either in a reaction to this or in response to US overtures and demands, two meetings were held in October 2009 between the junta's liaison officer (Labor Minister and retired Major General Aung Kyi) and Suu Kyi. She was also allowed to meet with representatives from the US, Australia and the European Union. Her National League for Democracy (NLD) party has also been allowed to meet with foreign diplomats, including a meeting (on 20 October 2009) with the US charge d' affaires. Cynical observers may say that the generals are making yet another attempt to put off international pressure, only to revert back to repression once attention shifts elsewhere. Or, are the generals playing the US card against China, knowing that any improvement in relations with Washington will improve its leverage with Beijing?

Prime Minister General Thein Sein told (on 25 October 2009) the leaders attending the East Asian Summit in Thailand that the junta will consider relaxing the terms of Suu Kyi’s house arrest if she “maintains a good attitude”. He also said that she can contribute to national reconciliation.

Sanctions Regime

World governments remain divided on how to deal with the military junta in Myanmar. Calls for further sanctions by Canada, United Kingdom, United States, and France are opposed by some countries (including China) on the ground that "sanctions or pressure will not help to solve the issue". India had also resolutely opposed the US call for sanctions on Myanmar. There is some disagreement over whether sanctions are the most effective approach to dealing with the junta, with some opining that sanctions may have caused more harm than good to the people.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) has estimated that about 800,000 people are subject to forced labour in Myanmar. It announced in November 2006, that it will seek to prosecute members of the ruling junta – at the International Court of Justice – for crimes against humanity, over this issue.

The military junta moved the national capital from Yangon to a site near Pyinmana in November 2005, and officially named the new capital as Naypyidaw (meaning "city of the kings") on 27 March 2006. In a futile gesture of criticism, many countries still consider the capital to be Rangoon.

Shifting US Position

India has been advising the west to engage with Myanmar and take off the pressure of sanctions. Many in the west thought this was India’s way of keeping up with China. The Obama Administration, after an eight-month-long review, has apparently decided to engage with Myanmar’s generals. On 29 September 2009, US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell held his first meeting with Myanmar’s Science Minister U Thaung in New York. One of the key issues that India may take up during discussions with Campbell when he transits New Delhi this week, en route to Yangon, will be the delinking of the fledgling engagement process from next year’s elections in Myanmar. This, incidentally, will be the first US official visit to Myanmar in decades. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said (after the East Asian Summit in Thailand) that there was an "atmosphere of hope" about improving relations between Myanmar and the United States.

Dr. Subash Kapila, a noted International Relations and Strategic Affairs analyst, has very recently written a scholarly paper, which can be seen at www.southasiaanalysis.org. He has argued that the United States has for decades shunned Myanmar politically and economically, on the grounds of human rights abuses and democracy. India adopted the same stance till the early 1990s. In the process, both succeeded in pushing Myanmar closer to China. India has to some extent retrieved its strategic losses by a political and economic reach-out to Myanmar. The US is still dithering, though the Obama Administration has made some tentative moves towards normalization of relations with Myanmar. The strategic key for checkmating in South East Asia lies in Myanmar. Dr. Kapila has advocated that the US should frame its future policy towards Myanmar based on the considerations that Myanmar is of geo-strategic significance for US Naval interests, that Myanmar has not been adversarial to the US geo-politically, Myanmar’s importance for South East Asian Security, and that the US could use India as a bridge to reach-out politically to Myanmar. He has also emphasized that Myanmar has not yet become a full strategic satellite of China and that such an eventuality can be pre-empted.

Almost simultaneously, the US House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee was told on 21 October 2009 that a high-level US delegation is expected to visit Myanmar in the coming weeks, in an attempt to progress the US efforts to engage with the military junta. The talks will center on improving the human-rights situation in Myanmar, the claimed intention to move towards democracy, and increasing US influence in a country widely viewed as a key regional ally of China – through improved diplomatic relations. The delegation is hoping to meet Aung San Suu Kyi and representatives of ethnic groups. This policy shift is apparently a part of the US desire to build stronger ties with South East Asia. Some analysts say that it is caused by the realization that Chinese influence in the region has increased considerably in the past decade, when US attention was diverted elsewhere. This may be the beginning of a quiet competition between Washington and Beijing for influence in South East Asia. A US-Myanmar detente would undoubtedly be viewed as a threat to Beijing's strategic interests in the region. A repeal of even some sanctions (before or after the 2010 election) would put the US in direct competition with China for influence in Myanmar.

The US efforts to counterbalance China's influence in South East Asia have a difficult road ahead in Myanmar. China has already secured a strong position in Myanmar, but the US currently has very little leverage. It has no aid programs, civil society building projects or military-to-military exchanges. Even the US diplomatic mission is headed by a charge d' affaires, since the US withdrew its ambassador in 1988.

India-Myanmar Bilateral Relations : Realism Influencing Policy

As a legacy of British rule, Indians had to face (not so latent) resentment amongst the Burmese; due to Indian soldiers (under the British Army) having fought against BIA, due to the perception that Indian officers and staff functioned as tools of the British colonial regime and due to the alleged exploitation by Indian traders and businesses.

India’s relations with Burma were mostly cordial in the early years after independence. Prime Ministers U Nu and Jawaharlal Nehru were close personal and were both prominent figures in Non-Aligned Movement. India helped Myanmar survive its first difficult years as an independent state, including crucially when various political and ethnic insurgent groups threatened to break the new country apart. Without India's massive military and economic aid, U Nu's government may probably have collapsed. However, Indo-Myanmar relations chilled after General Ne Win's military coup in March 1962. Many former democratic leaders of the Myanmar, including U Nu, were given asylum in India.

Personal relations between Indira Gandhi and Ne Win were good. The xenophobic policies of his Revolutionary Council and the nationalization of privately owned businesses and factories (of which an estimated 60% were owned by people of Indian origin) made thousands lose their properties and livelihood. During the four-year period spanning 1964-68, nearly 150,000 Indo-Burmese had to leave the country.

Myanmar is of great strategic significance to both India and China, thanks to its location and long borders with both countries. In the early years of the military regime, India pushed hard for democracy. Myanmar thus gradually moved to embrace China. China has the advantage of being able to work comfortably with authoritarian and quasi-democratic regimes, without any schizophrenic (ideological) commitment to democracy. China has become to Myanmar an increasingly attractive source of low-interest loans, grants, development projects, technical assistance etc. Combined with China's "no strings attached" approach to aid, this is making China a more attractive partner to regimes with questionable records in human-rights and democracy.

By 1993, it seemed obvious that, despite the charisma of Aung San Suu Kyi, the movement for democracy was not making much progress and that the military regime was going ahead with making peace with the ethnic minorities. There was little or no possibility of the military regime relinquishing power to the National League for Democracy. In the absence of dialogue with the Myanmar military, insurgency and narcotics smuggling were assuming alarming proportions in the states bordering Myanmar. In a classic example of how a nation's interests often override normally expected human behavior, pragmatism became the hallmark of India's relations with Myanmar. Quiet contacts were established and a series of agreements signed to deal with cross-border terrorism and narcotics smuggling and to promote trade and economic development along the Indo-Myanmar border.

During the tenure of Narasimha Rao as Prime Minister, India realized that giving too much weight to human rights and democracy in Myanmar over strategic considerations may not be in its long term interests. It started basing its policy not on idealistic ‘isms’ but on national security considerations. It was increasingly felt that the way to bring about change is not through isolation, but through active engagement and persuasion. Accepting the realities, India's call for democracy in Myanmar has been muted in recent years. This has invited a lot of criticism from “purists”. There has also been severe international criticism of India’s closer engagement with the military junta, at a time when the US and EU were concentrating on sanctions, driving Myanmar into even greater isolation.

The success of a nation’s foreign policy is not judged by the high moral grounds that it adopts, but by the advantages that accrue to it. India also realized that the main beneficiary of strained India-Myanmar relations was China, whether for access to all-important hydrocarbon energy sources, transport corridors or strategic control of the Indian Ocean. Thus, a new chapter began.

Energy-starved India has been courting Myanmar, which is rich in natural gas. India has been trying to look after its own practical interests by maintaining good relations with the military junta in Myanmar. Not only is India eager to cash in on Myanmar’s substantial reserves of natural gas, but Indian officials also hope that Myanmar government would help in controlling anti-Indian insurgents along the border.

Rajiv Sikri (a former Secretary in the Ministry of External affairs) has said that India is obviously not doing enough in Myanmar. Decision-makers in New Delhi are not bestowing serious and sustained attention to Myanmar, since the bordering North East states are themselves political lightweights in the eyes of geographically distant New Delhi. This is in sharp contrast to the attention that, for example, Sri Lanka or Afghanistan gets. If Myanmar were to get even half of the grant assistance and the attention that India has given Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, India would considerably improve her position there. There is no time for India to lose in giving much higher priority to relations with Myanmar.

As Kris Srinivasan, a former Foreign Secretary, has observed “The rationale for India’s policy to befriend Myanmar despite that regime’s ill-treatment of people of Indian origin and repression of its own citizens is understandable, but the lack of beneficial results from the new orientation is harder to comprehend. The new strategy has failed even partially to open a closed polity.”

ECONOMIC

Economic Cooperation

Fruitful and balanced economic cooperation may be the most effective method of engaging with Myanmar. During the 9th round of consultations between foreign offices of the two countries in November 2008, the two delegations being led by the Foreign Secretaries, it was decided to implement promptly the bilateral agreements [a framework agreement on the construction and operation of a multi-modal transit and transport facility on the Kaladan River, a MOU on intelligence exchange to combat transitional crime including terrorism, and an agreement on avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion] signed in April during the visit to India by Maung Aye. Vice Chairman of the SPDC (also Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Defense Services and Commander-in-Chief of the Army). In June 2008, Myanmar and India had reached four more economic cooperation agreements, during the visit of Minister of State for Commerce and Power (Jairam Ramesh). These agreements related to bilateral investment promotion, a USD 20-million credit line between the Exim Bank of India and the Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank (MFTB) for the establishment of a manufacturing facility, another 64-million-dollar credit line for three 230 KV transmission lines; and for establishing banking arrangement between the Myanmar Investment and Trade Bank and the United Bank of India.

Most of the economic transactions have so far been between the two governments, in areas like agriculture, telecommunications, aviation and gas exploration. Myanmar has been trying to entice Indian companies to invest in sectors like pharmaceuticals, cement, fertilizer, steel, IT and food processing; but Indian firms seem reluctant to invest, for fear of a repetition of the earlier nationalization drive.

Myanmar-compiled figures show that India's contracted investments in Myanmar reached USD 219.57 million as of January 2008, of which USD 137 million was in the oil and gas sector. India has given USD 100 million credit for Myanmar’s infrastructure, while USD 57 million has been offered to upgrade the railway system. A further USD 27 million in grants has been pledged for road and rail projects, but there is little yet to show in terms of concrete benefit.

Trade

India-Myanmar bilateral trade reached USD 995 million in 2007-08, with Myanmar's exports accounting for USD 810 million. India is Myanmar's fourth largest trading partner (after Thailand, China and Singapore) and absorbs about 25% of its total exports. India hopes to double by 2010 the bilateral trade that now stand at $ one billion.

It is axiomatic that Myanmar needs help from her friends. In order to improve Myanmar’s multi-lateral trade, India can take the initiative by bringing in the ambit of bilateral trade products like bicycles and spare parts, life saving drugs, fertilizers, textiles, gold plated jewelry, fruits, pulses, tea, gems etc. Already, India imports about 60% of Myanmar’s export of pulses. India can provide the technology to improve productivity in Myanmar’s tea industry. Indian expertise in gem cutting and polishing can be harnessed to provide a boost to the semi-precious gem industry in Myanmar.

Border Trade

It was hoped that greater border trade with Myanmar, on the basis of the agreement signed in 1994, would help revitalize the economy of the North East and help to quell narcotic and arms trafficking, but the hope has not been fulfilled. Only one of the two proposed border posts is open. The road on the Indian side to Moreh is sub-standard. Two-way trade is constrained by the small list of tradable goods, excessive regulation and restrictions; and is negligible compared to trade across the Myanmar’s borders with China and Thailand. India’s North East is swamped by goods of Chinese origin, but there is hardly any movement of Indian exports in the opposite direction.

India and Myanmar are considering the upgradation of the border trade carried out at Reedkhoda (India) and Tamu-Moye (Myanmar) to “normal” trade. This was discussed at the third meeting of Myanmar-India Joint Trade Committee held in October 2008 during the second visit of Indian Minister Jairam Ramesh.

Quest for Energy

Nearly seventy percent of India’s oil is imported and only half its gas demand of 170 million cubic meters a day is met internally. China also imports about 40% of its demand. The two countries account for almost 35% of the growth in the global demand for energy. This dependence on imports has forced both countries to bid aggressively for overseas oil assets.

Expecting an exponential growth in its energy demands due to its expanding economy, India has been trying hard in recent years to secure energy supplies. Unfortunately, India’s oil diplomacy has not been sufficiently geared to meet the challenge; and its oil companies have been outsmarted (or under-bid) by Chinese firms in several deals. In the last few years, ONGC has been thwarted by Chinese firms in Kazakhstan, Ecuador and Angola. Top Chinese offshore producer CNOOC Ltd. acquired a 45 % stake in a Nigerian oil and gas field for USD 2.3 billion. ONGC was also in this race, but withdrew due to objections in the cabinet.

Most embarrassingly, India also lost a deal in Myanmar where no open bidding was held. Myanmar decided to decline gas supply to the (proposed-but-grounded) Myanmar-Bangladesh-India pipeline. Instead, it signed an agreement with Petrochina, under which Myanmar’s ministry of energy agreed to sell 6.5 TCF from A-1 block (Rakhine coastline) reserve through an overland pipeline to Kunming, for 30 years. All this happened despite the fact that India’s ONGC Videsh Ltd (OVL) and GAIL (India) Ltd., between them, hold 30% participating interest in this block. Anyhow, Myanmar could not be expected to have waited indefinitely for India and Bangladesh to resolve their mutual differences over a project based on sound economic logic but delayed because of domestic political compulsions. Myanmar, however, says that it could still supply gas to the tri-nation gas pipeline from other gas blocks if Bangladesh and India were successful in ironing out their differences. In answer to the question as to who lost Myanmar, Rajiv Sikri (a former Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs) has written “Various actors bear a collective responsibility”.

In return for various economic concessions (and support in the UN), China seems to have been given preferential access to exploit Myanmar's natural resources and port facilities along Myanmar's coast. Chinese investment includes involvement in the Shwe gas project off Myanmar's western coast. Human rights organizations allege that the offshore project and a dual oil and gas pipeline being constructed from the coast to Kunming have already resulted in human rights abuses and will likely result in many more as the projects progress.

China was scheduled to begin (in September 2009) the laying of 1,100 kms-long, parallel oil and natural gas pipelines from the deep-sea port at Kyaukpyu (on Myanmar’s Arakan coast in the Bay of Bengal) to Kunming. The pipeline will also tap into key blocks in Myanmar’s energy-rich Shwe gas fields that have been given on a 30-year lease to a Chinese-led consortium. The pipeline project was agreed to during the visit Maung Aye to Beijing in mid-June 2009. It will reduce China’s dependence on the narrow Malacca Straits, through which 80% of its oil imports of four million barrels per day currently pass. When the oil and gas pipelines are completed by 2013, Chinese tankers will dock at Kyaukpyu port to transport 600,000 barrels per day from West Asia and Africa. The gas pipeline can move about 12 billion cubic meters of gas annually.

In late September 2007, when the pro-democracy protests were under way, India’s Minister for Petroleum (Murli Deora) visited Myanmar and secured a contract for three deep-water gas exploration projects for the ONGC.

Infrastructure Projects

Both India and China are interested in implementing infrastructure projects in Myanmar, to get access to the Bay of Bengal, India for the North-East and China for its landlocked Yunnan province. India and China had planned to rebuild the (World War II) Stillwell Road, on which work by the Chinese has already started. Recent reports say that India has lost interest in the project. A 1,500 km Trans-Asian Highway between India and Thailand and a railway from Hanoi to Imphal are still being talked about.

The 160 km India-Myanmar Friendship Road, between Tamu and Kalemayo (Myanmar) and going on to Kalewa, was built by India in 2001. It is now being strengthened and resurfaced. It effectively links Manipur with Myanmar. Two other sections at Rhi-Tidim and Rhi-Falam across the border from Mizoram are under way.

An optical fibre network has been laid from linking Kolkata with Yangon and Mandalay.

Kaladan Project

The Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit-cum-Transport Project is essentially transportation project on the River Kaladan, which flows in and out of Mizoram and is navigable all the way to the sea. It empties into the Bay of Bengal near the port of Sittwe (formerly known as Akyab). This port will be developed by India into a major commercial hub, to distribute Mizoram's bamboo crops and Myanmar's forest wealth. Besides 225-km waterway, the project also envisages construction of two roads, ie.e 117 km extending NHI54 to the border and 52 km from the border to Kaleutwa. Sea lanes are also to be developed between Sittwe and Kolkata and Visakhapatnam. Sittwe could also become a major distribution center for oil and gas supplies to India’s North-East.

Kaladan, a wide river with perennial water flow, originates in the upper reaches of Myanmar, enters Mizoram and then meanders back into Myanmar to continue its passage south to the Bay of Bengal. Navigation with 500-ton river crafts is possible all the way from Mizoram. Gooda from the North-East could easily be transported by river to the Bay of Bengal and then onwards to markets in India and elsewhere. The circuitous surface route via Assam and through the Siliguri Corridor could be avoided, cutting transportation costs by nearly half.

Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Jairam Ramesh, announced on 7 January 2008 that India has decided to undertake the project at a cost of more than USD 120 million. The port will be India’s gift to Myanmar, but India would have usage rights. Ramesh termed it as “the most significant initiative the Indian government has taken in South-East Asia”.

When Myanmar realizes the full potential of this project, it may begin utilizing the river for domestic navigational purposes also. Sittwe could eventually become the onshore hub of Myanmar's gas industry once the vast reserves in the Shwe fields in the Bay of Bengal are developed. It is a win-win situation for both India and Myanmar. Further development of the Sittwe port into a gas and oil transshipment terminal may add to its importance. More funds will be required to develop Sittwe to its full potential, but India may (and should) not be averse to putting up the additional funds.

Cyclone Nargis

Cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar on 3 May 2008, causing heavy damage in the densely populated, rice-farming delta of the Irrawaddy Division. There were reports that more than 200,000 people were dead or missing, in the worst recorded natural disaster in Myanmar’s history. UN estimates projected that as many as one million people were left homeless. In the immediate days following the disaster, the military regime complicated recovery efforts by delaying the entry of planes delivering medicine, food, and other supplies. A US naval task force carrying much-needed relief supplies, helicopters and other vehicles as well as manpower was denied permission, based on fears that it could be a prelude to a military invasion. Indian leaders sent condolence messages and rushed urgently needed relief and medical supplies to the affected areas, using two naval ships from Port Blair.

MILITARY

Insurgencies in Myanmar

About twenty minority groups have been carrying on insurgency against the Government of Myanmar, with the Karen being the largest of them. The BBC had estimated in 2004 that upto 200,000 Karen have been driven from their homes during decades of war, with 120,000 more refugees from Myanmar, mostly Karen, living in refugee camps in Thailand, across the border. Another estimate says that more than two million people have fled from Myanmar to Thailand. There are accusations against the military government of “ethnic cleansing”.

Since Beijing reversed its previous policy and withdrew support to the insurgent Burmese Communist Party (BCP) in the 1980s, the BCP collapsed in 1989 resulting in the formation of several ethnic-based insurgent organizations, including narcotics trafficking by the United Wa State Army, now active along the China-Myanmar border.

In early August 2009, in the Kokang incident in Shan State in northern Myanmar, junta troops fought for several weeks against ethnic minorities including Han Chinese, Wa and Kachin. In the first days of the conflict, as many as 10,000 Burmese civilians are said to have fled to Yunnan province in neighboring China. The incident annoyed China.

The military junta has been applying pressure for the ceasefire groups to become border guard units, under army control. Ethnic leaders have so far resisted the demand and with a deadline set for the end of October 2009, civil war may become a possibility. So far, China has been careful to provide only enough support to ethnic insurgents to deter the Myanmar Army from making any rash moves (like at Kokang). This situation may change if closer ties develop between Myanmar and the US.

Insurgencies in India

A (limited) joint Indo-Myanmar military operation against insurgents (striding the Indo-Myanmar border) was undertaken in 1995. However, cooperation in taking action against the cross-border militants petered out. India and Myanmar have varying problems with different sets of insurgents and do not share the same priorities in addressing them. During his visit to India in April 2008, Maung Aye (Vice Chairman of SPDC) assured that Myanmar will never allow the use of its territory by any organization that harms neighboring countries. At the same time, he acknowledged that, likewise, India does not allow its territory to be used by any organization against Myanmar.

Defence Relations

High-level military-to-military contacts began in 2000. In January, Indian Army Chief General Ved Prakash Malik paid a two-day visit to Myanmar. This was followed by the reciprocal visit by his Myanmar counterpart, General Maung Aye, to the northeast Indian city of Shillong. In the aftermath of these meetings, India began to provide non-lethal military support to Myanmar troops along the border. Most of the Myanmar troops' uniforms and other combat gear originated from India, as were the leased helicopters Myanmar needed to counter the ethnic insurgents operating from sanctuaries along both sides of the border.

Since the initial exchange of visits, there has been a steady flow of high level visits from both sides. Junta chief, General Than Shwe, visited India In 2004, followed in December 2006 by the third-highest ranking officer in Myanmar's military hierarchy, General Thura Shwe Mann. The latter toured the National Defense Academy in Khadakvasla and the Tata Motors plant in Pune, which manufactures vehicles for India’s military.

After the relatively small-scale pro-democracy demonstrations in 1988, China stepped in with enhanced military aid, enabling Myanmar's army to expand to some 500,000 men, the second-largest standing army in South east Asia. Indian military is also concerned about China modernizing the naval bases at Hanggyi, Cocos, Akyab,, Mergui and the port at Kyauk Phuy. The situations seems to have become an unequal triangular relationship, where one party seems to be reaping all the benefits.

Some Conclusions

Though China has been able greatly to improve its position in Myanmar and has cultivated civil and military officials, Beijing's efforts in Myanmar may have started running into the pervasive xenophobia and wariness of dependence on any singular foreign power.

Myanmar is not a democracy or a pluralistic society where clamour for human rights, adherence to international norms and standards have much chance of strict observance. It is one of the few bastions of totalitarian governance in the world today. India may have been making a mistake in looking at Myanmar through the Indian prism and experience. The people, the civil society (what there is left of it) and the media behave very differently than in India. The junta seems to believe that they do not matter much and behaves very differently from the governments in India. It should be taken into account that the Myanmar leadership is perceived as being reclusive and essentially xenophobic, almost happy to be in their own “time warp”, wish to be left alone (except as demanded by the changing international situation) and do not want the dominance of any country in Myanmar’s affairs. They also display occasional touches of racialism. Myanmar’s leadership is able to afford the luxury of such positions mainly because of the country’s strategic geographic location and because it has perhaps the largest military in South East Asia. This view of an untrained amateur student of human behavior (like me) may or may not be valid, but is worth consideration by Indian policy-makers.

With all his experience, Rajiv Sikri :feels that Myanmar regards China’s growing influence with suspicion and sees India as the only viable means to balance China’s increasing encroachment, especially in the Kachin and Shan states. For this and other reasons, Myanmar is keen to have good relations with India. India needs to fine-tune its strategy for dealing with Myanmar, focusing not on what should be or might have been, but on what can be done.

Apart from inadequate awareness and respect for the psyche of the leadership in Myanmar, India has not shown much subtlety or finesse (not even matching the limited subtlety or finesse shown in Sri Lanka) in dealing with them. There is no evidence of a clear vision about what we want and how to get it. There is hardly any visible coordinated stance or approach, with too many loose cannons around. Often, India seems to be shooting at its own toes instead of at the target. On the commercial and trade fronts, where most deals are government-to-government, the government’s bureaucratic procedures seem to dominate the decision-making process in the public sector oil companies. There is an urgent need to change this to become commercially competitive in today’s fast-paced international milieu.

Fortunately, India currently enjoys fairly good political, economic and military-relations with Myanmar. India is also involved in infrastructure projects for better India-Myanmar connectivity. However, one cannot but agree with Kris Srinivasan when he concludes that “The outcomes of the energies expended by India over the past two decades have been negligible. The situation calls for a re-appraisal designed to turn the tide more in our favour.

([This paper was prepared by R. Swaminathan, President & DG, International Institute for Security and Safety Management (New Delhi), and former Special Secretary, DG (Security), Govt. of India, for presentation on 29 October 2009 at the National Seminar on “Recent Developments in Myanmar : Implications for India”, organized jointly by the Department of Politics & Public Administration (University of Madras) and Center for Asia Studies (Chennai). He can be contacted at rsnathan@gmail.com)

A N N E X U R E

Historical Background

The Union of Myanmar, known as Burma till 1989, is the largest country by geographical area (678,500 sq kms) in mainland Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China on the northeast (with the Hengduan Shan mountains as the boundary), Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest and the Bay of Bengal to the southwest. One-third of Myanmar’s total perimeter forms an uninterrupted coastline of 1,930 kilometres. Myanmar and India share a border of over 1,600 kilometers. The country's culture, heavily influenced by its neighbours, is based on Theravada Buddhism.

Known human habitation in Myanmar goes back nearly 5000 years, from when the Mon, considered to be the first inhabitants, settled in central Myanmar and along the eastern coast of Bay of Bengal. It is believed that the Mon established some trade and cultural contacts with the early inhabitants of India. The Burmans (originally from Yunnan), who established their first kingdom in Myanmar in 849 A.D., eventually absorbed the communities of the Mon and Pyu people. King Anawrahta (r 1044-1077) set up the Pagan Kingdom bringing about the first unified state of Myanmar. Kublai Khan’s victory in 1287 started a period of continual conflicts that continued for many centuries. The appearance of Europeans had little effect on Myanmar due to these conflicts, until they infringed on the British Raj in Bengal. This brought about British intervention (from 1824) and, though Rangoon was occupied in 1853, all of Burma was formally annexed to British India only in 1886. Burma was administered as a province of British India until 1937, when it became a separate colony. One of the results of the British occupation was the flow of Chinese and Indian immigrants, who tended to exploit the Burmans. Indians were drafted in large numbers into the colonial army during the three Anglo-Burma wars in the 19th century, and about 400,000 Indians were taken there to run various public services. The persons of Indian origin on the eve of the Japanese invasion numbered about 1.1 million.

Strong Burmese resentment against the British was noticed as early as 1919. It was often vented in violent riots that paralyzed Yangon on occasion. Much of the discontent was caused by a perceived disrespect for Burmese culture and traditions, like the British not removing their shoes upon entering Buddhist temples or other holy places. When scandalized Buddhist monks attempted to physically expel a group of shoe-wearing British in Eindawya Pagoda (Mandalay) in October 1919, the leader of the monks was sentenced to life imprisonment for attempted murder. Such incidents inspired the Burmese resistance to use Buddhism as a rallying point for their cause. Buddhist monks became the vanguards of the independence movement, and many died while protesting. Students were also active participants in anti-British activities.

Nationalist sentiments became more evident with the start of World War II. A student leader, Aung San (and his “thirty comrades”) went to Japan for “training”. On return, they founded the Burma Independence Army (BIA) in Bangkok (which was then under Japanese occupation) on 26 December 1941, with the help of Japanese intelligence. When Rangoon fell in March 1942, the BIA formed an administration for the country that operated in parallel with the Japanese military administration. On 1 August 1943, the Japanese declared Burma to be an “independent” nation, and Aung San was appointed War Minister. Later, Aung San became skeptical of the Japanese promises and made plans to organize an uprising in Burma (in cooperation with Communist leaders Thakin Than Tun and Thakin Soe), with help from the British authorities in India. On 27 March 1945, he led the BNA in a revolt against the Japanese occupiers and helped the Allies defeat the Japanese; and the British established a military administration.

The Anti-Fascist Organisation (formed in August 1944) was transformed into the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League (AFPFL), a united front consisting of the BNA, the Communists and the Socialists. The BNA was gradually disarmed by the British, when the Japanese were driven out of Burma. Aung San turned down the rank of Deputy Inspector General of the Burma Army and became the military leader of the People's Volunteer Organisation. He was popularly referred to as Bogyoke (meaning General).

After civilian government was restored in Burma in October 1945, Aung San became the President of the AFPFL in January 1946. In September, he was appointed Deputy Chairman of the Executive Council of Burma by the new British Governor, and was made responsible for defence and external affairs. [This was analogous to the appointment of Jawahar Lal Nehru as the Vice President of the Interim Government in India, in June 1946.] The communists left the AFPFL, when Aung San and others accepted seats on the Executive Council. Aung San (at the age of 31) was to all intents and purposes the Prime Minister. On 27 January 1947, Aung San and Clement Attlee signed an agreement in London guaranteeing Burma's independence within a year. In April, the AFPFL won 196 out of 202 seats in the Constituent Assembly. Tragedy struck on 19 July 1947, when a gang of armed paramilitaries broke into the Secretariat Building and assassinated Aung San and six of his cabinet ministers, who were participating in a meeting of the Executive Council. [The assassination was allegedly carried out on the orders of political rival U Saw, who was subsequently tried and hanged.] U Nu, (a former student leader) and Foreign Minister Ba Maw took over the leadership of the government and AFPFL.

The country became independent on 4 January 1948, as the "Union of Burma". It became the "Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma" on 4 January 1974, before reverting to the "Union of Burma" on 23 September 1988. On 18 June, 1989, the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) adopted the name "Union of Myanmar".

Military Rule

Civilian government ended in 1962 when General Ne Win led a military coup and put U Nu in prison. Myanmar now has one of the longest surviving military regimes in the world. Ne Win ruled for nearly 26 years and pursued policies in the name of “Burmese Way to Socialism”. Between 1962 and 1974, Burma was ruled by a Revolutionary Council headed by the general, and almost all aspects of society (business, media, production - including the Boy Scouts) were nationalized or brought under government control. In an effort to consolidate power, General Ne Win and many top generals “resigned” from the military and took civilian posts. They held “elections” under a one-party system and Ne Win ruled Burma between 1974 and 1988, through the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP), which was the sole political party allowed to function. The Burmese Way to Socialism adopted Soviet-style nationalization and central planning and was a kind of an amalgam of Buddhism and Marxism. During this period, Burma became one of the world's most impoverished countries.

People whose ancestors were not from the "original" Myanmar races, i.e. Sino-Burman and Indo-Burman communities, were classified as “associate citizens" or “resident aliens”, with the right to vote, but not allowed to be elected or hold government positions above a certain level. This and the wholesale nationalisation of private enterprises led to the exodus of about 300,000 Burmese Indians.

Almost from the beginning of military rule, there were sporadic protests against it, many organized by students, and were almost always violently suppressed by the government. Student protests were violently broken up every year during 1974-77. Unrest over economic mismanagement and political oppression led to widespread pro-democracy demonstrations throughout the country in 1988. Security forces killed thousands of demonstrators. Ne Win stepped down in July. Aung San Suu Kyi (the daughter of Aung San), in partnership with Brigadier Aung Gyi and General Tin U, tried to appease those who resented the military rule and was only partly successful. Defense Minister General Saw Maung staged a coup in September and formed the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). In 1989, SLORC declared martial law after widespread protests. In July, Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest and General Tin U put in prison.

In May 1990, the government held free elections for the first time in almost 30 years. The National League for Democracy (NLD), the party of Aung San Suu Kyi, won 392 out of a total 489 seats, and 60 % of the votes. The election results were, however, annulled by SLORC, which arrested most of its top leaders and declared that a non-military government could not be established in Myanmar, without a new constitution. The award of the Nobel Peace Prize to Aung San Suu Kyi in 1991 put a lot of pressure on the SLORC. When General Than Shwe took over as SLORC chairman in 1992, many political prisoners were released and Aung San Suu Kyi was allowed visits from her family; and later allowed to meet a U.S congressman, a UN official and an American reporter.

In 1992, SLORC unveiled plans to create a new constitution through the National Convention, which began 9 January 1993. When the military directed it to give it a major role in the government, NLD party members walked out the convention. The National Convention continues to convene and adjourn. Many major political parties, particularly the NLD, have been absent or excluded, and little progress has been made.

The State Law and Order Restoration Council was renamed as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) in 1997, with the same leadership as the SLORC.

On 7 February 2008, SPDC announced that a referendum would soon be held relating to the new Constitution, and that elections would be held by 2010. The referendum, held on 10 May 2008, promised a "discipline-flourishing democracy" for the country. The referendum is seen by many as an effort to “legalise” the perpetuation of the military rule.

--Sri Lanka Guardian--

Protect Buddhism in the country, chief incumbents ask Sri Lanka President

2009-10-31T15:14:00.002+05:30

Chief incumbents of all four Buddhist chapters in the country asked President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday to reestablish the Ministry of Buddhist Affairs with immediate effect to protect the Buddhism.

Sending a special letter to President Rajapaksa, chief incumbents of all four chapters, including Malawathu and Asgiri pointed out that the Sri Lanka as a nation has promised to protect the Buddhism through its constitution.

However, the government in 2006 abolished the Ministry of Buddhist Affairs and established a common Religious Affairs Ministry for all three religions.

As a result of this step, several activities took place that badly affected the Buddhism as well as Buddhist history in the country, the chief incumbents pointed out.

According to the four chief incumbents several Buddhist text books have been launched with distorted facts about Buddhism and its history.

They asked President Rajapaksa to appoint a special committee, comprising professionals to review every Buddhist book before they are launched.

--ColomboPage--

Kate Hudson to Convert A-Rod to Buddhism

2009-10-31T15:00:00.003+05:30

Kate Hudson seems to really have a hold on Alex Rodriguez. The two are still going strong, and Kate has been by his side through the entire playoffs.

And now we hear Kate is trying to convert her man to Buddhism. What’s with A-Rod picking women with such strict religious views? First Madonna and Kabbalah, and now Kate.

A source close to Rodriguez tells the NY Daily News Alex is a "religious chameleon" who is now considering a change to Buddhism, thanks to girlfriend Kate Hudson.

"It's an important part of her life," says the insider about Kate, who was raised Buddhist. "And it seems like Alex really just wants to make her happy."

An eyewitness sitting behind Kate at Yankee stadium at last Friday’s game says she even brought Buddha prayer beads with her to the game, carefully laying them across the railing in front of her seats.

"It was a long strand of brown beads, and she and her friends would pick them up from time to time,” the source says.

A friend of Kate’s says, "Goldie more than approves of Alex. If he becomes a Buddhist, it'll only seal the deal."

Sounds like Alex just goes with the flow to please his woman of the moment. Do you see him lasting with Kate Hudson?

--Hollyscoop--

Cheerleader Desiree Jennings Gets Dystonia From Flu Shot Vaccine

2009-10-31T13:44:00.002+05:30

Cheerleader Desiree Jennings Gets Dystonia From Flu Shot Vaccine Vaccine
The H1N1 vaccine has seen a lot of skepticism and worry this week after a cheerleader for the NFL Washington Redskins, Desiree Jennings, is suffering from Dystonia. This is a neurological condition in which muscles are affected, causing twisting, abnormal postures and repetitive movements. The disorder can be inherited or caused by infection, a reaction to drugs, physical trauma, poisoning, or can be birth-related.

Just before getting a seasonal flu shot in August, Desiree’s health was fine, but then 10 days afterward she contracted flu-like symptoms. Things only got worse from there, and she was put in the hospital for seizures on two occasions before being diagnosed with Dystonia. Doctors have only speculated that the flu shot was the cause.

Desiree, who is 25 and married, has been completely disabled from this, as it has prevented her from walking forward, causes trouble with her speech, and even makes it difficult to eat. She has also experienced seizures frequently.

Shortly after being diagnosed and seen by doctors at Johns Hopkins, Desiree started having other symptoms. She and her husband went to Charlotte to get relief from these symptoms and were there for most of Monday. Brendan, her husband, says that they will be there for as long as it takes. He did add that there were some improvements in her condition after just the first visit.

One of the doctors says that Dystonia can be treated with physical therapy and Botox injections. The injections can help relieve some of the muscle contractions. He also noted that there is no reason to believe that getting a flu shot will cause this, as he hasn’t come across anything to link Dystonia and the shot.

Source from barcelonareporter

Burma's Suu Kyi meets ambassador for sanctions talks

2009-10-09T17:08:00.003+05:30

French cultural figures attend a silent gathering to support Aung San Suu Kyi. (Photo: AFP)

Aung San Suu Kyi, the detained Burmese democracy leader, held a rare meeting with Britain’s ambassador to Rangoon today amid growing hints tht she might compromise on her support for sanctions against the country’s military junta.

Diplomats from the United States and Australia, as well as the British ambassador Andrew Heyn, representing the European Union, spent an hour with Ms Suu Kyi at a state guest house in Rangoon in what was described by her political party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), as an information-gathering exercise.

It comes after unprecedented overtures by Ms Suu Kyi to the military government that has ruled Burma for 47 years.

Two weeks ago she sent a letter to General Than Shwe, the leader of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), proposing co-operation with the SPDC on lifting sanctions imposed on Burma. She asked for permission to be temporarily released from her house arrest to meet members of her own party and Western diplomats.

Those present at today’s meeting did not go into detail about the discussions, but Mr Heyn said that, despite past bouts of ill health, Ms Suu Kyi appeared to be well. “She is in remarkable form for someone who has been through what she has,” he said after the meeting. “She was very, very engaged on the subject, very interested in going into details and she seemed, as ever, very eloquent.”

This week Ms Suu Kyi had two meetings with Aung Kyi, the junta representative responsible for liaising with her.

In today’s meeting with the diplomats, she asked them about the details of the sanctions imposed by their governments. There will be lengthy negotiations before Ms Suu Kyi, or Western governments, agree to drop their support for sanctions and they will no doubt require significant concessions from the junta. But the process appears to have begun.

“She wants to lift the sanctions but she also wants to know about them,” the NLD's spokesman, Nyan Win, said. “She wants to know about the consequences of the sanctions and the opinions of the countries that have imposed them. If she gets that information she can help to lift the sanctions.”

“The full position won’t become clear for a while,” Mr Heyn said after the meeting – the first between Ms Suu Kyi and a British ambassador since 2003. “But clearly this is something that will be discussed in Brussels as a matter of urgency.”

Since the junta’s crackdown on the “Saffron revolution” of Buddhist monks in 2007 and the arrest and trial of political prisoners which followed, more and more politicians around the world have come to the conclusion that sanctions against Burma have been ineffective.

In February, the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, said: “Clearly the path we have taken in imposing sanctions hasn't influenced the Burmese junta [but] reaching out and trying to engage them has not influenced them either.” This week, her French counterpart, Bernard Kouchner, put it even more bluntly. “Sanctions are useless and everyone recognises that,” he said. “Should we not then show a greater openness to this Government?”

The EU as a whole, as well as the US, takes a more cautious view. In unveiling a new Burma strategy last month, the Assistant Secretary of State, Kurt Campbell, said that the US was prepared to talk directly to the regime but that sanctions would be lifted only in return for progress on democratisation and improved human rights.

“We intend to begin a direct dialogue with the Burmese authorities,” he said. “We are prepared to sit down, but also recognise that nothing has changed yet on the ground ... Lifting or easing sanctions at the outset of a dialogue without meaningful progress on our concerns would be a mistake and would send the wrong message.”

Mr Heyn said: “The fact is the regime makes a public point of complaining about sanctions which suggest to us that they are having an effect. We have also made clear that we will respond to substantive progress towards democratisation and respect for human rights, but we have to see concrete progress on the ground.”

-Times Online-

US President wins Nobel Peace Prize

2009-10-09T16:46:00.002+05:30

US President Barack Obama sensationally won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday less than a year after he took office with the jury hailing his "extraordinary" diplomatic efforts on the international stage.

"Only very rarely has a person to the same extent as Obama captured the world's attention and given its people hope for a better future," the Nobel jury said in making the stunning announcement.

The committee attached "special importance to Obama's vision and work for a world without nuclear weapons" and said he had created "a new climate in international politics." Previous US winners

Obama, 48, took office on January 1 and has since then sought to restore US standing in the world after widespread criticism over the war in Iraq and the world superpower's attitude to efforts to control global warming.

The first black American president has brought the Israeli and Palestinian leaders together for a meeting, approved new diplomatic engagement with Iran, Myanmar and North Korea and signalled a new willingness to attack growing environmental problems.

Obama went to Cairo to make a major speech on relations with the Muslim world, badly tarnished by President George W. Bush's order to invade Iraq. At the United Nations, he has launched an initiative to reduce the number of nuclear weapons in the world.

The first black American president was honoured "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples," the head of the Norwegian Nobel Committee Thorbjoern Jagland said.

The committee hailed his efforts at dialogue, highlighting their importance in resolving major issues of today, such as disarmament, climate and human rights.

"Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations," it said.

"Thanks to Obama's initiative, the US is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic changes the world is confronting," it said, adding: "Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened."

The 2008 Peace Prize winner Martti Ahtisaari, the former Finnish president and veteran troubleshooter in international conflicts, said the award should "encourage" Obama's Middle East peace efforts.

"We do not yet have a peace in the Middle East... this time it it was very clear that they wanted to encourage Obama to move on these issues," Ahtisaari told CNN television.

"This is a clear encouragement to do something on this issue, I wish him good luck."

The Nobel award will raise expectations for Obama to stand up for human rights around the world, exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer said.

Kadeer, who has often been tipped for the prestigious prize for her fight on behalf of the Chinese minority group, told AFP: "I am very happy that he got it. Now he has to do something with the award. It raises expectations on him to stand up for oppressed nations."

Obama, who five years ago was a virtual political unknown, is the third US president in office to win the coveted award, after Theodore Roosevelt in 1906 and Woodrow Wilson in 1919. Former US president Jimmy Carter won the prize in 2002.

Last year, the Peace Prize, which consists of a gold medal, a diploma and a cheque worth 10 million Swedish kronor (1.42 million dollars, 980,000 euros), went to Finnish mediator and former president Martti Ahtisaari.

The formal prize ceremony will take place in Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of the death of in 1896 of the prize's creator, Swedish industrialist and inventor of dynamite Alfred Nobel.

-AFP-

Marion Cotillard Calls for Aung San Suu Ky’s Release

2009-10-08T10:12:00.002+05:30

Stepping out for what she believes in, Marion Cotillard attended a silent gathering to support Myanmar detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Paris on Tuesday evening (October 6).

Held in front of the Paris city hall, the event saw supporters each lighting a candle and observing a moment of meditation to mark their support for the former Nobel Peace Prize winner.

According to French reports, the demonstration was organized with the assistance of Information Burma, the FIDH, Amnesty International, Collective S.O.S for Aung San Suu Kyi, the League of the Human rights and Human Rights Watch.

Leading the solemn event was Jane Birkin, who declared yesterday evening: “All the actions, even those which can appear most negligible, most ridiculous, are actually important.”

Source: Celebrity Gossip

Myanmar: UFO or flying Buddha?

2009-08-30T11:04:00.002+05:30

By Michael Cohen

We don't get a lot of UFO stories from Myanmar and have no idea how common UFO sightings are there. This particular sighting however is believed by both witnesses and viewers to not involve a UFO but a flying Buddhist Monk. The reader, from Myanmar, who sent us the link to this video (below) told us that:

'This footage is taken by a unknown teenage girl in Myanmar (Burma).Posted on youtube by Nyi Nyi. There are kids voice in the footage saying flying 'Ya Han Dah' It is believed to be a flying Buddhist monk.Said to have been taken on the First day of the Myanmar New Year 2009. This is definitely not CGI cause i have studied it many times and i am a graphic artist myself. This is definitely not visual effects.It is a monk wearing a so called yellow robe but really deep-red in color. In my country many sighting such as this has happened in the past and thousands have witnessed these events but this is a first time on tape that i have seen so far. In Buddhist scriptures, Buddhist monks are able to achieve flight through achieving a certain state of enlightenment.
Those monks who has become enlightened are not known as being enlightened until they die. On burning their corpse, instead of pile of ashes, balls of ashes are left and then it was known that this monk was enlightened and has pass to a higher realm or Nirvana. Some monks don't rot and their fingernails kept growing even after they die. This is not something u would find on casual BBC or CNN news as this world is immersed by Christianity and Islams. Buddhism is not a religion its a practice of good. So whoever reading this should rethink what is what. Sorry.. I got a little carried away.

This is not some propaganda into Buddhism.. just a reporting of a rare sighting.'

What do you think, flying Buddhist monk, UFO or neither?

Yettaw to tell of arrest in Myanmar on CNN

2009-08-25T21:50:00.002+05:30

John Yettaw, the Laclede County man arrested in Myanmar while attempting to liberate a detained democracy leader, will tell his story on CNN on Wednesday, according to a news release issued by Yettaw's attorney Chris Allen.

Yettaw, from the tiny town of Falcon -- about 70 miles northeast of Springfield in Laclede County -- returned to Missouri last Wednesday after generating global headlines for swimming to the home of Suu Kyi, then getting arrested and sentenced to hard labor.

Yettaw, 53, was deported Aug. 16 from Myanmar after the intervention of U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va.

The incident led to a trial that sparked global condemnation in which Suu Kyi was sentenced to an additional 18 months of detention for breaching the terms of her house arrest. She has already spent 14 of the past 20 years in detention.

Despite the additional penalties, Yettaw has told reporters he does not regret his actions and he believes he helped save her life.

Allen, whose law practice is based in Lebanon, echoed those sentiments in the news release.

"The more I am around John, and listen to the details of his story, the more I am convinced that he did in fact save Aung Sann Suu Kyi's life, and that his actions will effect positive and lasting change in Myanmar. I am excited for John to have this opportunity and I am looking forward to being with him in New York City when he tells CNN and the whole world his story," Allen said in the release.

Allen and Yettaw are traveling to New York City for the interview, which is expected to air Wednesday, according to the news release.

--News-Leader--

Burma: Insult to Injury

2009-08-17T00:52:00.002+05:30

By Bufalohair

When Senator Jim Webb flew to Burma and bartered for the release of John William Yettaw he condoned torture, rape and genocide. Also, Webb offered a hint of legitimization to the criminal regime of Than Shwe. Though well intended his efforts added insult to injury to an already suffering nation and I have to ask, how far beyond stupid are you?

Not only did Sen. Webb pour salt in the wound of a suffering people he facilitated the release of a criminal. The criminal succeeded in keeping Daw Aung San Suu Kyi imprisoned for at least 18 more months to the joy of the morally bankrupt junta. With thousands of Americans locked away in foreign countries on a variety of crimes why release John William Yettaw? Unlike the two journalist captured in North Korea, John was guilty as charged for violating the law. John plunged the democratic movement into chaos with his infinitely stupid and callous act.
This only posses more questions rather than solutions for the people of Burma. There is no question the controversy over John Yettaw’s has been raging since it is believed he was part of a conspiracy to eliminate all opposition before the sham 2010 election. It is plain as the nose on ones face the junta was involved in this carefully orchestrated plot to have Aung San Suu Kyi’s sentence extended. Now thanks to John William Yettaw, Aung Suu Kyi will spend 18 more months in bondage conveniently out of sight and out of mind. What does Sen. Webb have to gain from this abhorrent act of betrayal? Is he invested in corporations that wish to rob more natural resources from Burma? Is he part of a much grander scheme to legitimize the criminal regime of Than Shwe’s? Webb’s efforts only rewarded a criminal who dashed the hopes of 50 million people. John William Yettaw committed a most heinous crime against the people of Burma, there is no question. John should have served his sentence like so many other American’s who’ve violated the law in other countries. The fact a US senator went out of his way to “save” John Yettaw suggests a much darker picture that borders on conspiracy.
Senator Jim Webb disgraced the tenets of democracy by his pandering to the whims of Burma’s criminal regime. This deplorable act of betrayal will leave deep scars in the hearts of millions who’ve looked to the United States for guidance and help during their time need. It is sad to note that Burma’s struggle for democracy was kicked in the teeth by the very country they wanted to emulate in democracy. It will be interesting to see who actually profits from this slap in the face because it will not be the people of Burma or the United States. Thanks for nothing Senator Jim Webb.

Your Devil’s Advocate

Bufalohair

Myanmar: Suu Kyi verdict postponed until August 11

2009-07-31T10:26:00.002+05:30

A court in military-ruled Myanmar on Friday postponed the verdict in the case of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi until August 11, her lawyers and diplomats said.

"The verdict date is now August 11. The reason the judges gave is that they have to review the case again," said a foreign diplomat who attended the brief hearing at Yangon's notorious Insein prison.

Suu Kyi's lawyer Nyan Win confirmed the postponement.

"The court said they have to consider legal problems, that's why they said they will give the verdict on August 11," Nyan Win, who is also the spokesman for her National League for Democracy, told AFP.

"We are not surprised. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was also not surprised," he said. Daw is a term of respect in the Burmese language.

The Nobel peace laureate faces up to five years in jail if convicted on charges of breaching the terms of her house arrest following an incident in which an American man swam across a lake to her heavily secured villa in May.

--AFP--

U2 announces Amnesty award to Aung San Suu Kyi

2009-07-30T21:42:00.000+05:30

Gordon Brown criticises Burma's UN stance

2009-07-04T23:05:00.002+05:30

Gordon Brown attacked the "obstinacy" of the Burmese regime after they refused to allow UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to meet with jailed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Prime Minister, who has been a vocal campaigner for her release, spoke out after Mr Ban's two-day visit to the country ended without progress and warned of tougher sanctions.

"The UN Secretary general was right to go to Burma. he gave powerful voice to the UN's core mission - our collective commitment to humanitarian relief, democratic governance and human rights.

"But it is a measure of the obstinacy of the Burmese regime that they have once again failed to respect those principles, and failed to properly respond to the international figurehead who best embodies them.

"We await the Secretary General's report. I hope that there is still the possibility of a change of approach from Burma but if not, my sad conclusion is that the Burmese regime has put increased isolation, including the possibility of further sanctions, on the international agenda."

Mr Ban said he was "deeply disappointed" after Burma's military ruler said he could not see Suu Kyi because she was on trial.

Burma: UN's Ban meets Myanmar junta leader

2009-07-03T20:06:00.001+05:30

UN chief Ban Ki-moon met the reclusive head of Myanmar's military junta on Friday for what he said would be "tough talks" aimed at securing the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Ban flew into Naypyidaw, the remote stronghold of Senior General Than Shwe and his regime, shortly after a prison court adjourned the widely condemned trial of the detained Nobel Peace laureate for another week.

"This is my second time in your country and I am very pleased to continue our discussions. I appreciate your commitment to move your country forward," Ban said in his opening statement to Than Shwe.

"I would like to contribute, to work together, for peace and prosperity," he added.

The UN secretary general earlier said he would urge Than Shwe for permission to visit the 64-year-old Aung San Suu Kyi, who was transferred from house arrest to Yangon's notorious Insein prison in May.

She has spent most of the past two decades in detention and now faces five years imprisonment if convicted on charges of violating her house arrest, after an American man swam uninvited to her lakeside house.

"It is a very tough mission," Ban told reporters shortly after arriving in Yangon earlier Friday.

"One of my objectives is to obtain the release of all political prisoners including Aung San Suu Kyi," he said, adding that he would also "convey the concern of the international community" and press for reconciliation and democracy.

Rights groups warn that the trip will be a "huge failure" if he does not secure the release of Aung San Suu Kyi. Critics have accused the junta of using the trial to keep her locked up for elections promised in 2010.

She appeared in court Friday but the trial was adjourned for a week because the judges had not received an earlier judgement barring two defence witnesses, said Nyan Win, spokesman for her National League for Democracy (NLD).

"Daw Aung San Suu Kyi attended the trial this morning but the court said that as they haven't got the case from the Supreme Court the trial is suspended to July 10," Nyan Win said.

The case has sparked international outrage, with US President Barack Obama calling it a "show trial" and a host of world leaders and celebrities calling for her release.

Ban earlier made an apparent reference to concerns over the timing of his visit while her trial is under way, saying he was aware that he was coming to Myanmar "under certain uncertainties."

"I will try to meet with representatives of all registered political parties including Aung San Suu Kyi, that's my hope. But I have to raise this issue with the senior general directly, in person," he said in Singapore on Thursday.

Ban will also meet with Prime Minister Thein Sein and representatives of all registered political parties and former armed groups while in Naypyidaw.

Ban has faced recent criticism for his softly-softly approach to the job of secretary general, but diplomats say he hopes his quiet brand of diplomacy will pay dividends with Myanmar's generals.

The visit is Ban's first to Myanmar since he persuaded the junta to accept international aid following Cyclone Nargis in May 2008, which killed around 138,000 people.

Aung San Suu Kyi has been in detention or under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years since the junta refused to recognise the NLD's victory in Myanmar's last elections, in 1990.

Human Rights Watch said on Thursday that Ban should not accept the apparent concession from the junta of returning her to house arrest, instead of imprisoning her, as a sign of a successful visit.

"Time and again, the UN has politely requested Aung San Suu Kyi's release, but her 'release' back to house arrest would be a huge failure," said Kenneth Roth, New York-based HRW's executive director.

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has been ruled by the military since 1962.

--AFP

Burma, Myanmar:South Korean President Chun Doo Hwan Assasination Attempt--Video

2009-07-03T12:25:00.008+05:30

The 1983 Rangoon bombing was an assassination attempt suspectedly orchestrated by North Korea against then-South Korean President, Chun Doo Hwan.^[1]

On October 9, 1983, President Chun Doo Hwan was on an official visit to Yangon, the capital of Myanmar. During the visit, he planned to lay a wreath at the Martyr’s Mausoleum, to commemorate Aung San, who founded the independent Myanmar and was assassinated in 1947.^[2] As some of the president’s staff began assembling at the mausoleum, one of three bombs concealed in the roof of the memorial exploded. The huge blast ripped through the crowd below, killing 21 people and wounding 46.^[2] Among the dead were the Korean foreign minister, Lee Bum Suk, the economic planning minister and deputy prime minister, Suh Suk Joo, and the minister for commerce and industry, Kim Dong Whie.^{[citation needed]} The rest of those killed were presidential advisers, journalists, and security officials, most of them South Korean; however, four Burmese nationals were also among the dead. President Chun was saved because his car had been delayed in traffic and was only minutes from arriving at the memorial. The bomb was reportedly detonated early because the presidential bugle which signalled Chun's arrival mistakenly rang out a few minutes early.^[2]

Police identified three suspects as an army major and two captains. One was shot to death two days after the bombing; suspect Kang Min-chul and the other remaining suspect tried to commit suicide by hand-grenade that same day, but survived, although Kang lost an arm. Kang confessed his mission and links to North Korea, an action by which he was able to avoid a death sentence and instead received life imprisonment. His colleague was executed by hanging.^[2] North Korea denied any links to Kang, who was sent to the infamous prison at Insein, north of Yangon.^[1]

In 1994, the representative of South Korea to the United Nations General Assembly linked this incident with the downing of Korean Air Flight 858 which he alleged was sponsored by the same government acting with impunity.^[3]

Kang learned to speak the Burmese language fluently, according to one of his fellow prisoners. Yangon's moves towards resuming relations with North Korea led to speculation about what would happen to Kang. Because North Korea denies that he is a North Korean citizen, he may be considered a stateless person. Kang reportedly did not want to go to North Korea, which he believes considers him a traitor, or to South Korea, which may try him for his role in the assassination attempt. In 2006, Chung Hyung-Keun, a member of South Korea's Grand National Party and a former employee of South Korean intelligence, sponsored a bill to bring Kang to South Korea.^[1]

Kang died of liver cancer on May 17th, 2008.

--Wikipedia

Photo Album: Myanmar and North Korea Held Secret Meeting

2009-07-01T17:51:00.002+05:30

Irrawaddy: The Burmese junta’s No 3, Gen Thura Shwe Mann, made a secret, seven day visit to North Korea last November, apparently with a shopping list for arms and sophisticated weapons systems.

Thura Shwe Mann Visit to N. Korea - Photos

Ban Ki-moon urges Myanmar to release Suu Kyi

2009-07-01T00:52:00.002+05:30

UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged Myanmar on Tuesday to free all political prisoners, including detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, days ahead of a visit to the military-ruled country.

Ban is due to arrive in Myanmar on Friday for rare talks with the military junta, but Aung San Suu Kyi's party says he must also meet her if he hopes to make real progress toward democratic reforms.

"They should release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi," said Ban, who was in Japan en route to Myanmar where the Nobel Peace laureate has been detained for 13 of the past 19 years.

"They (the junta) should immediately resume dialogue between the government and opposition leaders," he added after talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone.

His diplomatically risky two-day trip starts on the day a Myanmar court is due to resume its trial of the 64-year-old on charges of violating her house arrest after an American man swam to her lakeside home.

"We welcome Mr Ban Ki-moon's visit," Nyan Win, the spokesman for Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) and a member of her legal team, told AFP.

He said the visit would focus on three issues: "to release all political prisoners, to start dialogue, and also to ensure free and fair elections in 2010.

"Regarding these three things, he needs to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi."

A UN statement said Ban looked forward to meeting "all key stakeholders," but did not specify whether he would meet the woman he described in May as an "indispensable patron for reconsidering the dialogue in Myanmar."

Aung San Suu Kyi is currently being held at Insein prison in Yangon where her internationally condemned trial is taking place alongside that of American John Yettaw. She faces up to five years in jail if convicted.

Her NLD won a landslide victory in Myanmar's last election in 1990, but it was never recognised by the military and she has spent most of the intervening years in detention.

Ban decided to go ahead with his mission after being briefed Sunday by his special envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, who paid a short preparatory visit to the country last week.

Gambari met twice with Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win in the generals' remote administrative capital Naypyidaw before holding talks with Singapore's ambassador and UN staff in Yangon, but did not meet with Aung San Suu Kyi.

The UN statement said Ban would highlight a resumption of dialogue between the government and opposition as a necessary part of reconciliation.

He would also focus on "the need to create conditions conducive to credible elections," as well as on the release of political prisoners, it added.

The junta has vowed to hold elections in 2010, but critics say they are a sham designed to entrench its hold on power and that Aung San Suu Kyi's trial is intended to keep her behind bars during the polls.

Diplomats at the United Nations said Ban had faced a dilemma in responding to the invitation from Myanmar's rulers.

Refusing to visit would be seen as not fulfilling his role as UN secretary general, but to accept and return empty-handed would be seen as a slap in the face, said a diplomat on condition of anonymity.

Other diplomats said Ban faced conflicting pressures.

Veto-wielding China, a traditional ally of Myanmar, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Myanmar is a member, were pushing Ban to go without setting conditions, they said.

But Western nations were pressing him to secure at least some concessions from the military regime.

Ban's last Myanmar trip was in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis in May last year, when he visited devastated regions and pressured the junta into allowing foreign aid workers into the hardest-hit areas.

He was the first UN chief in 44 years to visit Myanmar but was effectively barred from bringing up issues of political reform.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to travel to Myanmar

2009-06-30T00:42:00.004+05:30

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon will travel to Myanmar this week for an official visit including talks on the fate of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, his spokeswoman announced Monday.

UN spokeswoman Michele Montas said Ban's agenda in Myanmar, following travel Monday to Japan, includes "a broad range of issues including long standing concerns to the United Nations and the international community."

The UN leader's visit to the country formerly known as Burma, set for Friday and Saturday, comes as the Yangon government presses ahead with the internationally-condemned trial of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Nobel laureate faces up to five years in jail on charges of violating the terms of her house arrest, after an American man swam uninvited to her lakeside home.

Montas said that her fate, as well as "the release of all political prisoners" are among the issues for discussion during the secretary general's agenda during the two day visit.

Ban also hopes to address "the resumption of dialogue between the government and opposition as a necessary part of any national reconciliation process, and the need to create conditions conducive to credible elections," Montas said.

--AFP

Inspect the North Korean ship bound for Myanmar, or destroy it

2009-06-29T16:55:00.002+05:30

North Korea has sent a ship to Myanmar (Burma), a nation ruled by one of the few governments more tyrannical than North Korea (though recent statements from Iranian clerics suggest they may be seeking the number one spot on the on the Top Ten list of nations ruled by despotic regimes).

The North Korean ship is probably carrying North Korean weapons. No good can possibly come from a North Korean weapons shipment reaching Myanmar, at least not if you value human life and human rights. And this is where the wonderful United Nations timidly slithers into the story.

On June 12, I wrote that The UN is a Crutch the U.S. Leans on Too Often, because of the feeble sanctions the UN placed on North Korea, due in part to U.S. wishes. The sanctions allow foreign nations to inspect ships heading to and from North Korea pending approval from the nation whose flag the ship is flying. Use of force was not authorized for ships that refuse inspections, according to the Associated Press.

The obvious point here is that no ship with something to hide is going to allow an inspection knowing full well that the party requesting the inspection will do nothing if refused permission to inspect. For a ship, with a cargo operators want hidden, to allow such an inspection defies common sense. Therefore the UN policy will not stop any illegal cargo. I want the U.S. to do more with the Myanmar bound ship and not fail humanity by relying on the UN.

The U.S. has a destroyer following the ship that is heading to Myanmar. The North Koreans have issued threats to the U.S. and any other nation that interferes with North Korea’s business, so the situation of the ship is dangerous. Susan Rice, the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, is not saying whether the U.S. destroyer might do more than just track the North Korean vessel, not even whether that destroyer will request permission to board and inspect the ship. Earlier reports were that the U.S. would follow the UN rules, meaning the U.S. would take no action if refused permission.

I have a lot of problems with this entire scenario. First, the UN is not capable of acting as any sort of international police force. The UN lacks the forces and the moral authority to make any decision approving action against a particular nation or nations. The UN’s value is as a place for diplomacy and it should focus on its strengths, not endanger world peace attempting what it is unable to do properly.

No doubt that threats of war from North Korea need to be taken very seriously, and that undermined any real show of strength most UN member nations would otherwise have shown.

Second, I want no part of looking away and allowing a weapons transfer that will bring about more terror and death in Myanmar, or anywhere else. Not when our nation is in a position to prevent the atrocity.

I want the U.S. to demand permission to board the ship, and if refused, I want the destroyer to disable that ship, request permission again, and if refused, I want the ship sunk in the name of human rights. If the Navy is allowed to board the ship and does not find weapons, the ship should be allowed to go free, but if there are weapons they need to be destroyed.

--Mind Your Own Damn Business Politics

UN Burma envoy set to brief Ban

2009-06-28T19:29:00.002+05:30

UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari has left Burma after a two-day visit aimed at paving the way for a possible visit by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
State media reported that Mr Gambari met Foreign Minister Nyan Win on two occasions to discuss a visit by Mr Ban.

But he is not believed to have met jailed pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, currently on trial accused of breaking the terms of her detention.

Mr Gambari is now expected to brief Mr Ban before a possible visit in July.

Correspondents say Mr Ban is wary of his trip being used by the generals to endorse their treatment of Ms Suu Kyi.

The trial has been widely condemned as a ruse to keep Ms Suu Kyi in jail during a general election which the ruling junta has scheduled for next year.

Progress stalled?

After arriving in Rangoon on Friday Mr Gambari travelled to Burma's capital, Nay Pyi Taw, where he held talks with the foreign minister.

"Mr Gambari met Nyan Win on 26 and 27 June. They discussed Mr Ban Ki-Moon's visit to Myanmar [Burma]," AFP news agency quoted state television as saying.

Mr Gambari has now visited Burma eight times as special envoy.

He has spent many of those visits trying to promote political reconciliation between the military government and the pro-democracy movement led by Ms Suu Kyi.

But critics say he has managed to change little.

And the position of Ms Suu Kyi, under house arrest for most of the past 19 years, seems to have become yet more precarious.

She has been moved to Rangoon's Insein jail during her trial - sparked when a US man swam to her home and stayed the night, which the junta said amounted to her breaking the terms of her detention.

She faces five years in jail if found guilty.

But the trial was again postponed last Friday until 3 July - the latest in a series of delays over allowing more defence witnesses.

Burma's military rulers have refused to recognise the results of a general election in 1990, won by Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party.

--BBC

Myanmar confirms first case of H1N1 flu

2009-06-27T20:52:00.001+05:30

Myanmar on Saturday confirmed its first case of swine flu, with state media reporting that a 13-year-old girl had tested positive for the virus on her return from Singapore.

"It is confirmed that A(H1N1) was found. The patient is being kept at Yangon General Hospital in a special room and given regular treatment," state television reported.

The television report said the girl, a Myanmar national, had flown home on flight SK585 on Friday afternoon showing no symptoms of illness.

But she then went to class with friends and after being spotted coughing by a teacher she was sent to Yangon General Hospital at 9:00 pm.

All her family and schoolfriends were also being kept under surveillance, the report said, while 91 passengers from her flight were being monitored along with staff from Yangon international airport's arrivals hall.

Buddhism: Footwear store in Geneva uses Buddha statue to hang shoes

2009-06-27T20:25:00.004+05:30

Buddha's statue at a footwear store in Geneva

Sight-seeing in Switzerland does not leave a vacationer horrified, but Patna's Prabhat Choudhary, his wife and daughter were shocked to see a Lord Buddha statue garlanded with a pair of shoes at a footwear shop in Geneva.

"We were strolling on shopping street when my 15-year-old daughter insisted that we got into 'Anne Fontaine', a designer footwear shop. There in the shop, we saw a 4-ft statue of Lord Buddha on the shelf displaying shoes and slippers, garlanded with a pair of shoes," Prabhat, a realtor, recalled.

The family was shocked. Prabhat's daughter, was furious. Though her parents were a bit frightened, she persuaded them to let her shoot the sight with her videocam. The girl, a student of Patna's prestigious Notre Dame Academy, accomplished her mission without anyone - the shop staff or the crowd of customers - knowing about it.

Back home, Prabhat has sent a letter to the ministry of external affairs, requesting it to take up the matter with Swiss authorities.

---Times of India

U2 Encourage Mask-Wearing Protest

2009-06-27T10:27:00.005+05:30

U2 are on the cusp of their 360 Tour, and are asking fans to remember Burmese democratically elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi by wearing a mask featuring her face.

"U2 believe the world must not be allowed to forget Aung San Suu Kyi and every night on the 360 Tour fans are being invited to wear the mask when the band play 'Walk On,' which was written for her," the band's website said today. "Put it on with thousands of others when Larry [Mullen, Jr., drums] and Edge [guitar] strike up the opening bars of 'Walk On.'"

A downloadable mask is on the site with directions, but you'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader to print the file.

"Wear it to work or college," the post on the website reads. "Wear it on the bus or the train. Wear it in the pub or at the shops. And don't forget. Bring it to a U2 show."

Suu Kyi is a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and won elections in Burma in 1990, but the military junta refused to accept the results. She has spent most of the last 19 years under house arrest. Suu Kyi was recently tried for violating the terms of her house arrest after an uninvited visitor swam across Inya Lake in Yangon, Burma to visit her house twice. The trial was widely condemned as a sham by the United Nations and western nations. U2 start their world tour in Barcelona on Tuesday. The tour, which is in support of the recently released No Line On The Horizon, hits Toronto in mid-September.

You can see U2 here:

June 30, July 2 Barcelona, Spain @ Nou Camp
July 7-8 Milan, Italy @ San Siro
July 11-12 Paris, France @ Stade De France
July 15 Nice, France @ Parc Charles Ehrmann
July 18 Berlin, Germany @ Olympic Stadium
July 20-21 Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Arena
July 24-25, 27 Dublin, Ireland @ Croke Park
July 31-Aug. 1 Gothenburg, Sweden @ Ullevi
Aug. 3 Gelsenkirchen, Germany @ Veltins-Arena
Aug. 6 Chorzow, Poland @ Slaski Stadium
Aug. 9-10 Zagreb, Croatia @ Maksimir Stadium
Aug. 14-15 London, England @ Wembley Stadium
Aug. 18 Glasgow, Scotland @ Hampden Park
Aug. 20 Sheffield, England @ Don Valley Stadium
Aug. 22 Cardiff, Wales @ Millennium Stadium
Sept. 12-13 Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field
Sept. 16-17 Toronto, ON @ Rogers Centre
Sept. 20-21 Boston, MA @ Gillette Stadium
Sept. 24-25 New York, NY @ Giants Stadium
Sept. 29 Hyattsville, MD @ FedEx Field
Oct. 1 Charlottesville, VA @ Scott Stadium
Oct. 6 Atlanta, GA @ Georgia Dome
Oct. 9 Tampa, FL @ Raymond James Stadium
Oct. 25 Pasadena, CA @ Rose Bowl
Oct. 28 Vancouver, BC @ BC Place Stadium

--Chart Attack

Officials: UN envoy arrives in Myanmar

2009-06-26T18:19:00.001+05:30

A U.N. special envoy was in Myanmar on Friday to pave the way for a possible visit by the U.N. secretary-general that would be politically delicate because of the continuing trial of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Human Rights Watch and some governments have urged U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon not to visit now, arguing the trip could be exploited by the military government. The Nobel Peace laureate is in prison and being tried on charges of violating the terms of her house arrest after an uninvited American man swam to her closely guarded lakeside home last month and stayed two days.

But Suu Kyi's own party supports such a visit, and other countries say the alternative is to do nothing and miss an opportunity to have the U.N. chief press for Suu Kyi's release and push for more open and inclusive elections next year.

Details of the visit of Ibrahim Gambari, who arrived Friday, have not been disclosed by the U.N., but some officials in Myanmar's diplomatic community spoke openly about it.

"My understanding is that Dr. Gambari is here to assess the conditions for a potential visit by the secretary-general," said British Ambassador Mark Canning.

Ban's "commitment to achieving progress is well known," Canning told The Associated Press. "The issue — as always — is the degree of cooperation he can expect to receive."

After arriving in Yangon, the commercial capital, Gambari was driven in a motorcade for a four-hour trip to the capital of Naypyitaw to meet government officials, an official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release information to the press.

It is Gambari's eighth visit since 2006 when he was appointed the U.N. chief's special representative to promote political reconciliation here. The envoy has met with both junta leaders and Suu Kyi but failed to nudge the military regime toward talks with the pro-democracy movement.

U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas said Thursday in New York that Gambari will report to the secretary-general on his Myanmar visit before Ban leaves for a trip to Japan on Monday.

Ban told AP earlier this week that he was looking at the "appropriate timing" for a visit.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party said it hoped the visiting U.N. envoy will meet the opposition party as he has on previous visits, and that Ban would also make a trip to Myanmar.

"We always support and welcome visits by the U.N. secretary-general as well as any U.N. envoy. We also hope that the U.N. might be able to carry out their ... mission more efficiently and effectively," spokesman Nyan Win said without elaborating.

Ban's visit to Myanmar after last year's devastating Cyclone Nargis was hailed as instrumental in getting the isolated government to admit more foreign relief workers.

Another awkward factor in the timing of a visit by the U.N. chief could be the possible delivery to Myanmar of weapons aboard a ship from North Korea, in defiance of U.N. sanctions. Although neither North Korean nor Myanmar authorities have confirmed such activity, U.S. and South Korean officials suspect that the Kang Nam 1 is transporting weapons to Myanmar's military, and its arrival could coincide with Ban's visit.

The U.N. has called repeatedly for political reconciliation in Myanmar, including the release of Suu Kyi. The country has been under military rule since 1962, and the junta refused to recognize the results of 1990 general elections won by Suu Kyi's party.

Suu Kyi's trial has drawn outrage from the international community and from her local supporters, who say the military government is using the incident as an excuse to keep her detained through the 2010 elections.

The trial has been delayed to allow appeals by Suu Kyi's lawyers to reinstate two key witnesses. The country's highest court will deliver its ruling on the appeal Monday, said a court official on condition of anonymity because the date had not yet been made public.

The District Court presiding over the trial at Myanmar's Insein Prison, where Suu Kyi is being held, told lawyers Friday the trial would resume July 3, said defense attorney Nyan Win — a different person to the man of the same name who speaks for Suu Kyi's political party.

--AP

Journalist Saberi urges Iran to free aid worker

2009-06-26T18:14:00.002+05:30

American-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi called Wednesday for the release of a former cellmate — a U.S. aid agency worker held in an Iranian prison — and expressed worry about those detained during opposition protests in Tehran.

Saberi, jailed in Iran on spying charges and released last month, told The Associated Press she hopes to help other prisoners she says have been wrongly accused.

"I was very fortunate to have been freed and fortunate because there was a lot of international attention on my case," Saberi said in Paris on Wednesday.

Saberi appealed for the release of Silva Harotonian, an Iranian citizen who was helping run a maternal and child health project for the U.S.-based International Research and Exchanges Board. The 34-year-old Harotonian was convicted of trying to foster a "soft" revolution in Iran and sentenced in January to three years in prison.

"When I was freed, I left a lot of people behind, a lot of innocent people. So I hope that in some small way I can use my experiences to help others like Silva, whether they're in Iran or in others countries," Saberi added.

Also joining the appeal were Robert Pearson, IREX president; Karim Lahidji, president of the International Federation for the League of Human Rights; and Hadi Ghaemi, coordinator of the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran.

Saberi said that her dual citizenship helped her garner media attention, which she said helped her get out of jail.

The 32-year-old Saberi was arrested in January, convicted of spying for the United States in a closed-door trial, and initially sentenced to eight years in prison. She was then granted a two-year suspended sentence, and was freed May 11. Saberi shared a cell with Harotonian for several weeks.

Saberi said she was disturbed by the unrest in Iran, where several people have been killed in clashes between police and opposition protesters who say the June 12 presidential election was rigged.

"It's been very inhumane," she said of the authorities' crackdown on protesters.

"I'm very sad when I see the scenes of my friends, about the violence towards peaceful protesters, and about the many detainees who have been arrested in the past few days," Saberi said.

"I am very worried about their welfare, and I think they are probably going through much more difficult times than I was," she added.

Raised in Fargo, North Dakota, Saberi worked as a freelance journalist in Iran for the BBC and other news organizations. The United States called the charges against her baseless and repeatedly demanded her release.

--AP

Michael Jackson dies in LA hospital

2009-06-26T18:07:00.002+05:30

Michael Jackson's brother says it's believed that the pop star died of cardiac arrest.

Jermaine Jackson cautioned at a hospital press conference Thursday that the cause of his death would not be known until an autopsy was performed.

He said Michael Jackson's personal doctor and paramedics tried to resuscitate him at his rented home in Holmby Hills. A team of doctors at UCLA Medical Center also tried for more than an hour.

Los Angeles police Lt. Gregg Strenk said at a separate news conference that police robbery-homicide detectives have been ordered to investigate, which is common in a high-profile case. Strenk says the coroner's office, which will handle inquiries into the type of death, is taking possession of the body.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Michael Jackson's brother Germaine says it's believed that the pop star died of cardiac arrest.

Jermaine Jackson cautioned at a hospital press conference Thursday that the cause of his death would not be known until an autopsy was performed.

He said Michael Jackson's personal doctor and paramedics tried to resuscitate him at his rented home in Holmby Hills. A team of doctors at UCLA Medical Center also tried for more than an hour.

Los Angeles police Lt. Gregg Strenk said at a separate news conference that police robbery-homicide detectives have been ordered to investigate, which is common in a high-profile case. Strenk says the coroner's office, which will handle inquiries into the type of death, is taking possession of the body.

--AP

Somali Islamists cut off hands, feet of thieves

2009-06-25T21:30:00.002+05:30

Four men sentenced to have a hand and foot cut off stand in a square in north of Mogadishu, Somalia, Monday June 22, 2009. The Somali Islamic militants faction Alshabab carried out amputations on Thursday on four young men accused of robbery in the capital Mogadishu. Alshabab judge Abdul Haq sentenced the four young men on Tuesday to a cross-amputation, that's the amputation of the right hand and the left foot.

An Islamic court in Somalia on Thursday cut off a hand and foot from each of four men convicted of stealing phones and guns, drawing hundreds of onlookers as the weeping men were punished at a military camp.

The Shariah court that carried out the sentences is run by the powerful insurgent group al-Shabab, which is trying to topple Somalia's U.N.-backed government and install a strict form of Islam.

"The men were bleeding and crying when the man cut their hands and feet off with a long knife," said one witness, Liban Ali. Journalists were not allowed to cover the sentencing. The four were convicted earlier this week in the capital, Mogadishu.

The U.S. considers al-Shabab a terrorist group with links to al-Qaida, which al-Shabab denies. The group, which controls much of Somalia, is joined by hundreds of foreign fighters.

Somalis traditionally observe Sufi Islam, a relatively moderate form of worship. But in recent years, insurgents have begun to follow austere Wahabi Islam — rooted in Saudi Arabia and practiced by Osama bin Laden and the Taliban.

Somalia has not had an effective government since 1991 when the overthrow of a dictatorship plunged the country into chaos. A surge in violence in recent weeks, which diplomats said is a major push by the insurgents to force the government out of its Mogadishu strongholds, has killed about 225 people.

Last week, the national security minister and Mogadishu's police chief were among those killed.

The country's lawlessness has spread security fears round the region and raised concerns that al-Qaida is trying to gain a foothold in the Horn of Africa.

Somali lawmakers pleaded this weekend for immediate international military intervention from countries including Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti to help quash the insurgency. But there was no indication reinforcements would be forthcoming.

Some 159,000 people have fled their homes since May 7, according to the U.N. refugee agency. The United Nations says an estimated 3.2 million Somalis — almost half the country's population — need food and other humanitarian aid.

Two years ago, Ethiopia deployed troops to support Somalia's fragile, Western-backed government, but they were widely unpopular and finally withdrawn in January.

--AP

Myanmar says UN envoy due on June 26

2009-06-25T21:12:00.001+05:30

(AFP)United Nations troubleshooter Ibrahim Gambari is due in Myanmar on Friday, a local official said, to lay the groundwork for a planned visit by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Gambari would confer with members of the ruling junta and politicians including members of the party of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, who is on trial for breaching the terms of her house arrest, UN sources in New York said.

He is to brief the UN chief on the outcome of his mission and Ban will then decide whether to go ahead with plans to visit Myanmar early next month, according to the UN sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

A Myanmar official who would not be named said that Gambari would arrive on Friday and leave on Saturday. He would land in the main city of Yangon and travel to the administrative capital Naypyidaw, the official said.

Diplomats in Yangon also said Gambari was expected Friday.

The UN sources had said Gambari would due in Myanmar on Thursday. There was no explanation for the discrepancy between the UN and Myanmar accounts but due to the time difference late Thursday New York time is early Friday Yangon time.

The UN boss and Gambari have been trying to persuade Myanmar's military regime to free all political detainees, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and to steer their country on the path to democracy and national reconciliation.

Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace prize laureate, has spent 13 of the past 19 years in detention since the ruling generals refused to recognise the landslide victory of her National League for Democracy (NLD) in 1990 elections.

She is being held on charges of violating her house arrest after an American man swam to her lakeside house earlier this year. Myanmar authorities were due to hold a press conference about the man, John Yettaw, later Thursday.

The charges against her come amid a wide-ranging crackdown on the opposition that has been carried out since the ruling generals crushed protests led by Buddhist monks in 2007.

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has been ruled by the military since 1962.

Iranian riot police tear gas 'Neda' mourners, vow to 'decisively' crush demonstrations

2009-06-23T00:55:00.004+05:30

Neda Agha-Soltan was shot in the chest, witnesses say

Warning that any more demonstrations would be "decisively" crushed, Iranian authorities broke up all attempts Monday to publicly mourn protest icon Neda Soltan.

Protesters who tried to gather for a vigil for the woman slain Saturday by a single bullet to the heart were chased away with tear gas, batons and low-flying helicopters, witnesses reported.

The helicopters were effective at spreading fear: during Saturday's demonstrations, witnesses claimed choppers dropped burning liquid on the crowds. It was initially reported to be boiling water. Later reports said it was a chemical agent.

There were unconfirmed reports on the popular Persian website Balatarin that the commander of the Revolutionary Guards in Tehran was arrested for refusing to obey orders from Iran's Supreme Leader to use force against protesters.

General Ali Fazli, a one-eyed veteran of the Iran-Iraq war, was said to have been fired and taken into custody.

Neda's fiance, Kaspin Makan, told BBC Persia that she was hastily buried Sunday and the government had barred her family from holding any public funeral.

"The authorities are aware that everybody in Iran and throughout the whole world knows about her story," he told the BBC. "They were afraid that lots of people could turn up."

He said Neda wasn't a supporter of either side in the disputed June 12 election between President Mamoud Ahmadinejad and Mir Hossein Mousavi but simply "wanted freedom for all."

Nevertheless, Neda has become a symbol and rallying cry for those rebelling against Ahmadinejad's suspiciously large landslide. She is being compared to Tiananamen Square's Tank Man, the unarmed protester who stood in front of a tank, and hailed as "Iran's Joan of Arc."

Mousavi's Facebook page calls the 26-year-old philosophy student, who was initially identified as a teenager, a "martyr and hero."

Her quick and gruesome death was captured on amateur video as a distraught man her fiance says was her music teacher repeats "don't be afraid, don't be afraid, Neda dear, don't be afraid." The graphic and heartrending video has been watched more than 250,000 times on YouTube.

Her picture, open-eyed in death, is on Web sites all over the world.

It is not clear from the video who shot her.

Iran state radio blamed the murder of civilians like Soltan on "saboteurs" - not the pro-regime Basij militiamen who have been beating the protesters.

"A number of Tehrani citizens were shot dead by unknown vandals Saturday night," the Tehran prosecutor general's office said.

Makan said Neda had been sitting in a car with her music teacher, stuck in traffic because of the protests, when they decided to get out because of the heat.

"She was feeling very tired and very hot. She got out of the car for just for a few minutes. That's when she was shot dead," Makan said.

He said eyewitnesses told him Neda had been "clearly targeted" by the plainclothes militiamen.

For nine days, tens of thousands of Iranians have been protesting the results of the June 12 presidential election, which ended in an improbable landslide for
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The protests have rattled the regime and threatened the country's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The Revolutionary Guard, announcing that all patience with the protests is over, told demonstrators to "halt their acts of sabotage and end their riots or be prepared for a decisive and revolutionary confrontation."

Foreign reporters have been banned from working in Iran and many Iranian journalists have been jailed, making it easier for the regime to hide a violent crackdown.

Mousavi was rumored to be planning to call a general strike as an alternative to street protests to avoid a bloodbath.

On Monday, the Guardian Council announced an election review found 50 districts reported more ballots cast than registered voters, but said those 50 districts were too small to affect the outcome of the election.

Meanwhile, Iranian ministers accused Britain of involvement in the post-election protests and warned of a repeat of the 1979 U.S. embassy siege, when 52 Americans were held hostage for 444 days.

Britain's Foreign Office decided to withdraw the families of all its embassy staff and warned Britons against "all but essential travel to Iran."

President Obama, who has been criticized for not backing the protesters more forcefully, is expected to make new comments at a press conference set for Tuesday.

--NY-Daily-News

Iran: Neda Agha Soltan or Angel of Freedom

2009-06-23T00:36:00.002+05:30

Neda Agha Soltan was born in 1982 in Iran; she was 27 years old and being murdered by Basij Militia during election protests in 2009 at Iran. In Persian “Voice” is the meaning of “Neda”, so she also called as “Voice of Iran” and a sign of “Pro-Democracy protesters damage the Islamic Government” on the globe. The beautiful “Neda Agha Soltan” was the student of Philosophy and a brave Iranian woman. She was suspected to be killed by private army called “Basif Militia” on 20th of June 2009.

In the city of Tehran Neda Agha Soltan was protesting on “Karegar Avenue” with her father and other people on 20th of June, 2009 as described by an unknown “Twitter Poster”. At the main time she shooted by Iranian Basij Militia, the realistic videos of her murdered were uploaded on the internet. An unmaed person claimed to present these videos, this came under knowledge because of a massage attached with videos.

One member of Basij was hidden on top of the roof at a civilian house, at 7:05 p.m he shooted the girl straight right in her heart and succeeded as well. The bullet had blasted within the chest of Neda Agha Soltan, so she cannot tolerate it for more than two minutes and died. Several people from the Protesting Crowd (of about 1 kilometer) were running towards “Salehi St.” because of tear gas and fire.

“Mainstream media” have not yet confirmed the accuracy of the videos, the place of this unpleasant incident, and the identity of the suspected killer. But CNN (The International Media) have shown the videos for several times, though Neda Agha Soltan death`s news were not reported by Iranian Media.

At the end we just dedicate these lines to Neda Aagha Soltan. . . . . .

Neda, you’re the “Face of Freedom” in Iran.

You will not be forgotten.

May God Rest you in Peace.

----http://www.makli.com/neda-agha-soltan/

UN chief could make trip to Burma

2009-06-22T23:15:00.002+05:30

United Nations envoy Ibrahim Gambari (2-R) prays at the mosque in Yangon on August 23, 2008.

The United Nations' special envoy to Burma is due to visit the country this week to pave the way for a possible visit by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Ibrahim Gambari is scheduled to visit from Thursday until Saturday to lay the groundwork for a trip in early July by the UN chief.

Burma's UN spokesman Aye Win said he could not confirm either visit.

Mr Ban's trip would come after he visits Japan from June 30 to July 2.

The UN spokeswoman in New York, Michele Montas, said last week that the secretary-general had not yet decided whether he would visit Burma during his Asia trip.

The upcoming visits would be politically delicate because of the continuing trial of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner is in prison and being tried on charges of violating the terms of her house arrest when an uninvited American man swam to her closely guarded lakeside home last month and stayed for two days.

The UN has called repeatedly for political reconciliation in Burma, including the release of Ms Suu Kyi. The country has been under military rule since 1962, and the junta refused to recognise the results of 1990 general elections won by Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party.

Mr Gambari has visited Burma seven times since becoming the UN's special envoy to the country in 2006.

Mr Ban visited Burma after last year's devastating Cyclone Nargis and was instrumental in getting the isolationist government to allow more foreign relief workers into the country.

--PA

Big fine could be big trouble in downloading case

2009-06-22T23:09:00.002+05:30

FILE - This Oct. 4, 2007 file photo shows Jammie Thomas-Rasset of Brainerd, Minn., outside federal court in Duluth, Minn. A federal jury ruled Thursday, June 18, 2009 that Thomas-Rasset willfully violated the copyrights on 24 songs, and awarded recording companies $1.92 million, or $80,000 per song. (AP Photo/Julia Cheng, File)

The $1.92 million verdict against a Minnesota woman accused of sharing 24 songs over the Internet could ratchet up the pressure on other defendants to settle with the recording industry — if the big fine can withstand an appeal.

"Normally in our American legal system, we say the punishment should fit the crime," said Ken Port, director of the Intellectual Property Institute at William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul. "Now she's being ordered to pay, in some ways, an incomprehensible amount of damages."

Port has closely watched the recording industry's case against Jammie Thomas-Rasset, 32, of Brainerd and wrote a brief that helped persuade the judge in her first trial in 2007 to grant her the retrial that ended Thursday.

In the latest trial, a federal jury in Minneapolis ruled that she must pay $1.92 million for willful infringement of the recording industry's copyrights by posting the music on the file-sharing site Kazaa.

Under federal law, the recording companies are entitled to $750 to $30,000 per infringement but the law allows the jury to raise that to as much as $150,000 per track if it finds the infringements were willful. The jury decided on $80,000 per song.

"They now have a verdict they can use in other cases around America," Port said of the recording industry. "The prices that they will charge for settling is going to go up."

Thomas-Rasset was the first — and so far only — music file-sharing defendant to go to trial.

The music industry has threatened about 35,000 people with charges of copyright infringement over the past five years, typically offering to settle the cases for $3,000 to $5,000. The recording industry estimates that a few hundred of those cases remain unresolved, with fewer than 10 defendants actively fighting them.

In December, the industry said it dropped its strategy of going after individuals to instead focus on Internet service providers.

Cara Duckworth, a spokeswoman for the Recording Industry Association of America, said Friday the verdict should remind those who share music illegally about the penalties in copyright law. "For the few existing cases, this verdict is a reminder of the clarity of the law," she said.

She noted that the $1.92 million was not a figure requested by the industry. "That was not our number, that was what 12 regular folks rendered," she said of the jury, adding that the industry remains open to settling the case with Thomas-Rasset.

Kiwi Camara, one of Thomas-Rasset's attorneys, said his client planned to appeal the ruling, but the legal team would take a few days to settle on its legal arguments. The damage award will probably be part of it.

"There really is a problem with the statute, because she's been fined $1.9 million for stealing 24 songs that went for about $1.99 on iTunes," he said, slightly overstating the cost of songs on the site. "There's no way that can be the correct result."

Even the presiding judge in the case might find the $1.9 million excessive. When Judge Michael Davis ordered the retrial, he also implored Congress to change copyright laws after Thomas-Rasset was ordered to pay $222,000 in the first trial, an amount he called "wholly disproportionate." The new fine is more than eight times the first amount.

Camara and co-counsel Joe Sibley represent two other people being sued by the recording industry — Brittany English, a student at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, and Joel Tenenbaum, a student at Boston University.

He said the Thomas-Rasset verdict wouldn't change how he approaches those cases. "Every jury is different," he said. "So the conclusions of this jury really has no precedential effect on the conclusions of the next jury."

Fred von Lohmann, a senior staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said the nearly $2 million verdict may even hurt the recording industry, making it more vulnerable on appeal and bolstering the argument that the copyright system is broken if it can impose such huge penalties for noncommercial activity.

"A $2 million verdict for sharing 24 songs?" he said.

Unlike Port, von Lohmann didn't believe the verdict would raise settlement costs for file-sharing defendants because the industry doesn't want more trials like Thomas-Rasset's.

"It's not about getting a big number," he said. "It's about getting a number that people will pay without a fight."

And the verdict will do nothing at all, he said, for the millions of people who share music but haven't been targeted by the recording industry. "The word on the street is that they are no longer going after people to sue," he said.

However, the Progress & Freedom Foundation, a free-market think tank, defended the verdict and said $1.92 million was reasonable.

"Legally acquiring a license to give copies of a song to potentially millions of Kazaa users might well have cost $80,000 per song," said Tom Sydnor, director of the foundation's Center for the Study of Digital Property. "Moreover, if the jury concluded that the defendant falsified her testimony, it could fairly seek to punish and deter such flagrant wrongdoing."

The companies that sued Thomas-Rasset are subsidiaries of all four major recording companies, Warner Music Group Corp., Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group, EMI Group PLC and Sony Corp.'s Sony Music Entertainment.

The recording industry has blamed online piracy for declines in music sales, although other factors include the rise of legal music sales online, which emphasize buying individual tracks rather than full albums.

--AP

2 Aung San Suu Kyi supporters jailed 1/2 years for prayer

2009-06-22T16:16:00.004+05:30

Myanmar has jailed two supporters of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi for one and a half years for insulting religion after they prayed at a pagoda for her release, her party has said.

Chit Pe and Aung Saw Wai, members of the detained Nobel laureate's National League for Democracy (NLD) party, were each sentenced last week, according to lawyer and NLD spokesman Nyan Win.

"They were sentenced... under the act of insulting religion," Nyan Win said.

The pair were arrested at their homes in April after they led a religious ceremony at a pagoda in Twante, about 40 kilometres (30 miles) west of Yangon, at which they offered prayers for their leader's freedom.

In a separate case, three youth members of the NLD were arrested ten days ago and are being held in custody, Nyan Win said.

"We do not know the details about their arrest but they were detained on remand under the Explosives Act," Nyan Win said.

Myanmar's military regime has kept Aung San Suu Kyi in detention for 13 of the past 19 years, after refusing to recognise the NLD's landslide victory in the country's last elections in 1990.

The pro-democracy icon is currently being held in Yangon's notorious Insein prison on charges of breaching her house arrest rules in May, when an American man swam uninvited to her lakeside residence.

Her supporters in the predominantly Buddhist country have traditionally prayed at pagodas for her freedom and for the release of the country's other political prisoners.

Myanmar authorities have frequently enforced the law against insulting religion -- which carries a penalty of up to two years in prison -- since Buddhist monks led protests against the junta in September 2007.

Aung San Suu Kyi turned 64 on Friday and supporters worldwide marked the day with calls for her release -- from British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to US actors Julia Roberts and George Clooney.

Myanmar's top court will on Wednesday hear an appeal by her legal team to overturn a ban on two defence witnesses in the trial.

"We are preparing our arguments for the Supreme Court," Nyan Win said.

The main trial, at Insein prison, is set to resume on Friday.

---AFP

Iranian protest girl shot dead by Basij

2009-06-22T15:34:00.004+05:30

U.S. Navy Destroyer Tails North Korean Ship May Be Steaming Towards Myanmar

2009-06-22T14:45:00.002+05:30

A North Korean ship, the Kang Nam

A United States navy destroyer reportedly is shadowing a North Korean cargo ship that is steaming toward Myanmar on Sunday.

The news emerged as Pyongyang charged Washington of scheming a war against the communist state.

The navy destroyer has been tracking the 2,000-ton Kang Nam. The North Korean vessel left Nampo, a port near Pyongyang, on Wednesday.

U.S. defense officials have declined to disclose the details of the ship, including its destination and the content of the cargo, but said it was "a subject of interest."

The report about the destroyer tailing the vessel with the help of satellites was first reported by South Korea's YTN TV channel, citing an unnamed intelligence source in Seoul.

Speculation is that the cargo is weaponized missiles and the ship may be headed for Myanmar (also known as Burma).

Myanmar is suspected of purchasing arms from North Korea. In exchange, Myanmar provides a safe passage for North Korean vessels involved in illicit trade.

This is the first reported incident of shadowing North Korean vessel under the new U.N. sanctions.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) threat to further strengthen its nuclear capabilities, defying U.N.'s sanctions including a tighter arms embargo, has raised tensions in the Korean Peninsula.

South Korean intelligence officials have said that Pyongyang has around 40 kilograms of plutonium, which is enough to generate at least six atomic bombs.

On May 25, North Korea carried out the second nuclear test since October 2006, rejecting a six-party agreement early this year to dismantle its plutonium-producing Yongbyon nuclear complex to improve relations with the U.S., South Korea, China, Russia and Japan. Pyongyang also tested six short-range missiles last month.

Under the sanctions last week, the U.N. Security Council imposed a series of measures on the DPRK that include tougher inspections of cargo suspected of containing banned items related to the country's nuclear and ballistic missile activities, a tighter arms embargo with the exception of light weapons and new financial restrictions.

--AHN

Sri Lanka: Dutugemunu to the wide screen

2009-06-21T20:44:00.005+05:30

Film director Jayantha Chandrasiri

Award winning director Jayantha Chandrasiri, the maker of explicit cinematic creations like ‘Agni Dahaya’ and ‘Guerilla Marketing’ had embarked on a new and humongous task. He hopes to bring the historic tale of king Dutugemunu, one of the most respected kings in Sri Lankan history, to the wide screen. Chandrasiri held the launching ceremony of his third creation, `Dutugemunu’ beneath the shadows of the Ruwanweli Seya, Anuradhapura, on May 31.

Dutugemunu is regarded as one of the greatest of Sri Lankan kings because he regained territories which were in the grasps of invaders and restored peace in the island. The gallant tale of the prince who stood up against a powerful enemy is specially significant today as the peace of our country was recently restored.

This awareness enhanced the importance of the movie which will begin shooting in Weeravila soon.The muhurath of ‘Dutugemunu’ took shape of a religious festival.

A parade of schoolchildren with bunches of water lilies, drummers, up country and low country dancers and guests made their way to the foot of the king’s greatest gift to the nation, the Ruwanweli Dagoba. The Maha Sanga lead by Ven. Pallegama Hemaratana Thera and Ven.

Athuraliye Rathana Thera along with Prof. K.N.O. Dharmadasa and many prominent figures in the country took part in this ceremony in which President Mahinda Rajapaksa delivered his good tidings to the director, cast and crew through satellite communication.

Sri Lankan Film stars

According to director Chandrasiri the desire of reviving the story of king Dutugemunu had been with him since his school days. This craving together with extensive research through age old texts like the Mahavamsa, Deepavansa, Thupavansa, Rajavaliya and Rasavahiniya had resulted in the script of ‘Dutugemunu’. It is a tale of a king who was not only known for his exceptional bravery but also for his pious and human qualities.

Speaking to the media during the event Chandrasiri stated that he had wanted to make a teledrama out of the historic account before realizing that it is more suitable for cinema.“It is a timely project and one of the goals of the project is to uplift racial harmony,” he said.‘Dutugemunu’ also spotlights on the personal life of the prince who had a romantic liaison with a village lass called Ranmenika in Kotmale before making her his queen. This role is taken up by young actress Oshadi Dias.

The challenging role of king Dutugemunu is portrayed by the talented Thumindu Dodenthanna. Jackson Anthony will play the role of king Elara while Yashodha Wimaladharma is Elara’s wife. Sriyantha Mendis is casted as king Kavantissa and Kusum Renu is Viharamaha Devi. Prince Saddhatissa’s role is portrayed by the charming Saranga Dissasekara.Other keyroles are played by Buddhadasa Vithanachchi, Damitha Abeyratne, Buddhika Jayaratne, Robin Fernando, Bimal Jayakody, Rex Koddipili, Arjun Kamalanath, Nilanthi Dias, Dharshan Dharmaraj, Dimuthu Chinthaka, Gamini Jayalath, Srinath Maddumage, Jerald Fernando and Ajith Weerasinghe.The film is predicted as one of the biggest budget films in the history of Sri Lankan cinema. It will be produced by Malee Hettiarachchi, Shantha Hettiarachchi and Tusitha Haloluwa on behalf of Cinemaneth Pvt Ltd.

--Sunday Observer

Truck bomb kills at least 30 in northern Iraq

2009-06-20T20:54:00.003+05:30

Medics treat three children who were wounded by a truck bomb attack near a Shiite mosque, at a hospital in Kirkuk, 290 kilometers (180 miles) north of Baghdad, Iraq on Saturday June 20 2009 . Brig. Gen. Sarhat Qader says Saturday's explosion occurred following noon prayers south of the disputed city.(AP Photo/Emad Matti)

A truck bomb exploded near a Shiite mosque in northern Iraq following prayers, killing at least 30 people and wounding dozens, police said.

The blast came hours after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called the withdrawal of U.S. troops from cities by the end of this month a "great victory" and promised it would go ahead as scheduled. Officials have warned that insurgents are likely to stage more attacks in the wake of the withdrawal to try to undermine confidence in the government's ability to protect its people.

Worshippers were leaving the mosque in Taza, 10 miles (20 kilometers) south of Kirkuk, following noon prayers when the truck exploded, according to police Brig. Gen. Sarhat Qader, who gave the casualty toll.

He said the mosque and at least eight nearby houses were demolished and residents were working with rescue teams to search for people buried under the rubble.

Women begged police to let them near the site so they could search for loved ones while ambulances rushed victims to the overwhelmed hospital in Kirkuk. Three babies cried as they were placed on a single hospital bed to be treated.

Yellman Zain-Abideen, who was wounded by shrapnel in his hand and face, cried for his missing son.

"He was only 10 feet away from me where we were leaving the mosque. I don't know what happened to him," the 43-year-old said, blaming local authorities for not providing sufficient security. "There should have been guards around the mosque, we are living in an area surrounded by enemies."

Tensions have risen in the oil-rich area of Kirkuk as Kurds seek to incorporate it into their semiautonomous region despite opposition from Arabs, Turkomen and other rival ethnic groups. That has raised concerns about an outbreak of ethnic violence in northern Iraq even as attacks elsewhere decline.

Taza is mostly Turkomen.

U.S. and Iraqi officials have warned they expect insurgents to stage attacks to try to provoke a new outbreak of sectarian violence.

A U.S.-Iraqi security pact requires the Americans to pull back combat troops from cities by the end of this month as a first step toward a full withdrawal by 2012. The deal includes a provision for the Iraqi government to ask for U.S. help if violence surges.

Al-Maliki insisted earlier Saturday that the withdrawal will take place on schedule. He acknowledged that more attacks were likely but said Iraqi security forces were prepared.

Any extension would show a lack of confidence and would be a "historic setback," he said during a speech to members of the Turkomen ethnic minority.

"We will not retreat no matter what happens and, God willing, nothing will happen because of the capabilities that our security forces have," he said.

The Interior Ministry, meanwhile, warned it has received intelligence that some militants will try to stage attacks after the June 30 deadline.

Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, however, said the U.S. withdrawal will give the Iraqis more power to deal with the violence because they won't be limited by the need to coordinate with the Americans.

"That will provide a more flexible opportunity for Iraqis to reach their targets quickly," he said.

---AP

Aung San Suu Kyi's birthday celebrated in Sri Lanka

2009-06-19T17:53:00.004+05:30

Aung San Suu Kyi's supporters in Sri Lanka mark her 64th birthday by offering lunch to Buddhist monks. This was the first ever celebration of Aung San Suu Kyi's birthday in Sri lanka ,and more than 200 monks attended to recite the text of loving kindness (Metta Sutta). The event was held at the Burmese Temple in Colombo.

AFP: Worldwide protests mark birthday of jailed Suu Kyi

2009-06-19T17:29:00.004+05:30

Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi marked a grim 64th birthday in prison Friday, as activists took to the Internet and staged worldwide protests to call for her release and an end to her trial.

Famous names including British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Beatles legend Paul McCartney and US actors George Clooney and Julia Roberts offered support on a website while world leaders called for the ruling junta to free her.

The military regime has kept the Nobel Laureate in detention for 13 of the past 19 years, and she is now on trial at Yangon's notorious Insein Prison over a bizarre incident in which an American man swam to her home.

Key aide Nyan Win said he had gone to the prison to take her a spicy rice dish, chocolate birthday cake and flowers which she planned to share with guards. He handed over the gifts but was not allowed to see her, he said.

"She ordered the food so that she could donate it to those around her in prison, and there are no other prisoners near her. She will hold a small ceremony there," said Nyan Win, the spokesman for her National League for Democracy (NLD).

Around 300 supporters gathered at the NLD's headquarters in Yangon and offered food to Buddhist monks at dawn, before releasing 64 doves and balloons into the air in a symbol of freedom before sharing a birthday cake.

Around a dozen supporters also went to the famed Shwedagon Pagoda near the NLD headquarters to pray for her release.

Security was tight for the celebrations at the party's base with plainclothes police videotaping people entering the building and five police trucks patrolling nearby, witnesses said.

The ruling generals refused to recognise the NLD's landslide victory in 1990 elections, and critics say the latest charges against her are trumped up to keep her behind bars for polls promised by the generals in 2010.

Aung San Suu Kyi's trial, which could see her jailed for up to five more years, has provoked international outrage.

Myanmar's top court will next Wednesday hear an appeal by her lawyers to reinstate two witnesses who were barred from testifying, a Myanmar official and Nyan Win said.

"Both the defence and prosecution will have to give their arguments. I will tell Daw Aung San Suu Kyi about it when I meet her on Monday," Nyan Win said.

Events to mark her birthday were scheduled in more than 15 cities around the world, ranging from evening vigils in Ireland and Australia and a party by Myanmar refugees living on the border with Thailand.

About 200 people rallied in Malaysia, chanting "Free Aung San Suu Kyi", while a few women broke down in tears as they sang tribute songs.

McCartney, John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono and author Salman Rushdie on Friday became the latest celebrities to add special statements of 64 words or less to the website "64 for Suu."

"Aung San Suu Kyi is an inspiration to her country and the rest of the world," said McCartney's message, while Ono's read simply: ""FREE Daw Aung San Suu Kyi NOW!"

Britain's Brown earlier posted a video on the site, while Clooney, Roberts, footballer David Beckham and rocker Bono signed a letter saying: "Now is the time for the international community to speak with one voice: Free Aung San Suu Kyi."

US actor Kevin Spacey and British celebrities Stephen Fry and Eddie Izzard have left Twitter postings about the campaign.

A global petition was delivered on Monday to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, signed by more than 670,000 people from 220 countries, calling for the release of all of Myanmar's political prisoners, especially Aung San Suu Kyi.

European Union leaders are to make a 64-word call Friday for her release.

The US State Department, in a birthday message, urged the junta to free Aung San Suu Kyi "immediately", while Australia voiced "grave concern" over her treatment.

Ban is set to travel to Myanmar in early July after a visit to Tokyo, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported Friday, citing unnamed UN diplomatic sources. There was no immediate confirmation.

--AFP