Brazil fires threaten homes and parks

Brazil fires threaten homes and parks

Brazil fires threaten homes and parks

Posted: 15 Aug 2010 12:31 AM PDT

Emergency services in Brazil are struggling to control wildfires that have destroyed large areas of national parks and hundreds of homes in the north and east of the country.


U.N. chief to meet Pakistan leaders over floods

Posted: 15 Aug 2010 12:49 AM PDT

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will meet Pakistani leaders on Sunday to discuss the country's worst floods in decades as popular anger mounts over the government's failure to tackle the crisis.


Armed men kidnap two Darfur peacekeepers

Posted: 15 Aug 2010 12:49 AM PDT

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Armed men abducted two U.N.-African Union (UNAMID) peacekeepers in Sudan's Darfur region on Saturday in the biggest town Nyala, the mission said.


Tight Australian election race enters final week

Posted: 14 Aug 2010 11:52 PM PDT

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A poll published on Sunday pointed to a close result in next Saturday's election with the chance of a narrow opposition victory as Australia entered the final week of its tightest election race in many years.


Obama swims in Gulf, says beaches open for business

Posted: 14 Aug 2010 10:27 PM PDT

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama went swimming off the coast of Florida on Saturday and declared the Gulf area's beaches "open for business," trying to show by example that a region hit by the BP oil spill was safe for tourists to enjoy.


Obama wades into New York mosque debate - again

Posted: 14 Aug 2010 10:27 PM PDT

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Saturday he supported the right of Muslims to build a cultural center near the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York City but would not comment on the "wisdom" of such a move.


China paper warns military thinking outmoded

Posted: 14 Aug 2010 08:58 PM PDT

BEIJING, Aug 15 — China's military thinking is outmoded and should learn from others, especially the United States, when it come to modernising its vast armed forces, a leading armed forces newspaper said today. A commentary in the Liberation Army Daily said modernising China's military was central to reforms which have seen heavy investment in ...


U.S. hopeful Pakistan can avert big cholera outbreak

Posted: 14 Aug 2010 09:48 PM PDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A senior U.S. aid official said on Saturday he was optimistic a serious cholera outbreak could be averted in flood-hit Pakistan after emergency steps taken by international and Pakistani relief groups.


Experts not consulted over Lockerbie bomber's release

Posted: 14 Aug 2010 01:17 PM PDT

LONDON (AFP): Four British cancer specialists who were closely involved in the Lockerbie bomber's treatment have said they were not consulted before his release, a report said Sunday.

One of the experts said he was "surprised" that his advice was not sought before Abdelbaset Ali Mohmet al-Megrahi was freed in August last year, in comments to The Sunday Times newspaper.

None of the medics, who were working for Britain's state health service when they dealt with Megrahi, said they signed off on a prognosis stating that the bomber had only three months to live, said the report.

The Scottish government freed him on compassionate grounds because he was suffering from terminal cancer and had only a short time to live, but he is still alive almost a year later.

"I was surprised when I heard he was being released, because I wasn't really asked for my opinion... it's a bit odd," said Zak Latif, the bomber's urologist in Scotland.

A Libyan doctor, Ibrahim Sherif, and a British cancer expert, Professor Karol Sikora -- who was paid by the Libyan government -- examined Megrahi and concluded he had three months to live, according to The Sunday Times.

Sikora admitted in an interview last month the bomber could in fact live for 10 years or longer.

Megrahi is the only man convicted of the 1988 terrorist attack over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, in which 270 people died, including 189 Americans.

The fact he is still alive almost a year after his release from prison has enraged critics in the United States who accuse oil giant BP of having pressed Scottish authorities for Megrahi's release to safeguard a lucrative business deal.

The Scottish government vehemently denies it came under pressure from BP.

Scottish ministers last year published a report by Andrew Fraser, director of health and care at the Scottish Prison Service.

It highlighted the names of four specialists in the case but their names were blacked out, said The Sunday Times.

As well as consultant urologist Latif, they were: urologist Geoffrey Orr, who first diagnosed Megrahi's cancer; Richard Jones, Megrahi's personal oncologist; and Grahame Howard, a consultant, according to the paper.

Latif said he had never had any dealings with Fraser: "I've never met or spoken to him. I deal with prostate cancer all the time and I'm very reluctant to make any kind of prognosis."

"I don't know how he made the decision of three months," he added.

Latif said Jones was not consulted before the release. Jones refused to comment, said The Sunday Times.

Orr said he had not been in touch with Scottish prison authorities since late October 2008, when he retired. "I would not even attempt to make a prognosis," he said.

Howard has previously said he is not surprised that Megrahi is still alive.

The Scottish government told the paper: "Due and proper process was followed at every stage."

'Our job is not finished' in Gulf oil spill: Obama

Posted: 14 Aug 2010 01:05 PM PDT

PANAMA CITY, Florida (AFP): President Barack Obama took a dip in the Gulf of Mexico, and reassured Americans that the government will stand by coastal residents as the massive oil-spill cleanup forges ahead.

The president, First Lady Michelle Obama, and their younger daughter, Sasha -- daughter Malia is away at summer camp -- traveled to this Florida panhandle city to talk to local officials and business leaders, and highlight the region's tourist attractions.

"Oil is no longer flowing into the Gulf," said Obama, speaking at a regional US Coast Guard headquarters.

"But I'm here to tell you that our job is not finished, and we are not going anywhere until it is."

Obama said that he wanted to deliver the message directly to residents of the Gulf Coast, which he has visited four times since an April explosion on a BP-leased oil rig triggered the disaster.

"I made a commitment in my visits here that I was going to stand with you... until you have fully recovered from the damage that has been done. And that is a commitment my administration is going to keep," he said.

The president was emphatic: "I won't be satisfied until the environment has been restored, no matter how long it takes."

US officials are "going to continue to monitor and remove any oil that reaches the surface, and clean up any oil that hits the shore," he said. "As a result of the cleanup effort, beaches all along the Gulf Coast are clean, safe, and open for business."

And Obama also demanded that BP speed up processing of compensation claims.

"I want to be clear about this: any delays -- by BP or by those managing the new fund -- are unacceptable, and I will keep pushing to get these claims expedited," he said.

Earlier this week BP made its first deposit into the 20-billion-dollar Gulf of Mexico oil disaster fund intended to compensate thousands of residents and businesses hit by the largest maritime oil spill of all time.

During the height of the spill Obama urged his fellow Americans to continue taking vacations in the region, famous for its sugar-white beaches, and heavily dependent on tourism.

Obama later went for a swim with daughter Sasha at Panama City Beach, away from the public and press cameras, with only an official photo of the pair -- heads bobbing just above the water line -- issued by the White House.

While the image might go far to reassure Americans that Gulf waters are safe, Obama had stressed he would take a presidential plunge in private.

The last time Obama, who is physically fit, was photographed swimming without a shirt was in December 2008, shortly before he took office. The pictures were broadly circulated and used on the cover of news magazines.

Obama is scheduled to return to Washington on Sunday, the White House said.

The trip comes after US officials announced that energy giant BP's runaway well has been sealed, and that they are moving ahead with plans to make sure it's truly "killed" by pumping cement in through a relief well under the Gulf of Mexico.

Pressure tests showed that the well no longer has "direct communication with the reservoir" thanks to a "top kill" operation which pumped drilling mud and cement down through the wellhead, US spill chief Thad Allen said.

Allen on Saturday issued a directive for BP to run a series of tests and provide plans to ensure the safety of the "bottom kill" operation, before he gives the green light for a relief well to resume drilling.

The relief well, which is approximately 100 feet (30 meters) short of intersecting the well bore, was delayed several days because of a storm. Once it resumes, the bottom kill operation is expected to take four days.

The huge spill threatened the fish and wildlife-rich Gulf Coast with environmental ruin and plunged residents of coastal communities into months of anguish over their livelihoods and the region's future.

The week after his Florida sojourn, Obama is scheduled for a multi-stop trip around the United States, starting in Wisconsin, where he is to visit factories specializing in renewable energy production and fund-raise for Democrats.

Monday evening will see him in Los Angeles for another fundraising event, before he heads to the northwestern state of Washington on Tuesday for a meeting on health care reform in Seattle, the White House said.

Later this month the First Family is scheduled to vacation in Martha's Vineyard, an elite Massachusetts resort island, in the US northeast.

U.S. - S.Korea drills anger North, worry China

Posted: 14 Aug 2010 09:02 PM PDT

SEOUL (Reuters) - The U.S. and South Korean militaries will stage their second joint exercise in less than a month from Monday, fuelling tensions with the prickly North and angering regional power China.


China marks day of mourning for landslide victims

Posted: 14 Aug 2010 09:02 PM PDT

BEIJING (Reuters) - China observed a national day of mourning on Sunday for the victims of last weekend's massive landslide in a remote part of its northwest, which killed more than 1,200 people when a torrent of mud swept through a town.


5th earthquake rocks South Mariana Islands

Posted: 14 Aug 2010 08:12 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 15 — A 6.5-magnitude earthquake hit the south of Mariana Islands in the Philippines at 7.01am today, the fifth since yesterday morning. The earthquake's epicenter was 1,807km north-east of Davao and 2,663km north-east of Lahad Datu, Sabah, the Malaysian Meteorological Department said. The first earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.2 ...


Ethiopia's amazing rock churches

Posted: 14 Aug 2010 08:07 PM PDT

Churches built underground in the Ethiopian town of Lalibela draw tourists from all over the world, including local Christians for whom the site is their religious home.


Russia bans wheat and grain exports

Posted: 14 Aug 2010 06:06 PM PDT

A ban on exports of wheat and other grains has come into force in Russia in response to a heatwave that has destroyed one-third of the harvest.


UN says no aid yet for 6 million flood victims in Pakistan

Posted: 14 Aug 2010 05:26 PM PDT

ISLAMABAD, Aug 15 — United Nations aid agencies have provided assistance to hundreds of thousands of victims of Pakistan's worst floods in decades but relief operations have yet to reach an estimated six million people. The lives of 20 million people — nearly 12 per cent of the population — have been disrupted by one of the worst catastrophes in ...


Obama wades into New York mosque debate, again

Posted: 14 Aug 2010 04:51 PM PDT

NEW YORK, Aug 15 — President Barack Obama said yesterday he supported the right of Muslims to build a cultural centre near the site of the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York City but would not comment on the "wisdom" of such a move. Obama's comments came after his remarks at a White House event two days ago in which he appeared to offer his ...


Tamils testify to Sri Lanka panel

Posted: 14 Aug 2010 12:55 PM PDT

A Sri Lankan government war commission has heard testimonies from Tamils alleging their loved ones were abducted or detained by the army.


Obama vows to 'restore' Gulf Coast

Posted: 14 Aug 2010 11:14 AM PDT

US President Barack Obama has promised that the Gulf environment will been "restored" following the BP oil spill, "no matter how long it takes".


On Florida trip, Obama vows to restore oil-hit Gulf

Posted: 14 Aug 2010 11:46 AM PDT

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (Reuters) - Declaring Gulf Coast beaches "open for business," U.S. President Barack Obama visited Florida on Saturday and pledged to restore the economy and the environment of the region damaged by the BP Plc oil spill. Clinton prods Netanyahu on Mideast peace talks http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/8/15/worldupdates/2010-08-13T215201Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-508388-1sec=Worldupdates WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about issues blocking direct peace talks with the Palestinians as the Obama administration boosted pressure for talks to begin, the State Department said on Friday. U.S. - S.Korea drills anger North, worry China http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/8/15/worldupdates/2010-08-15T080353Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-508513-1sec=Worldupdates SEOUL (Reuters) - The U.S. and South Korean militaries will stage their second joint exercise in less than a month from Monday, fuelling tensions with the prickly North and angering regional power China. Obama wades into New York mosque debate - again http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/8/15/worldupdates/2010-08-15T100116Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-508450-3sec=Worldupdates PANAMA CITY, Fla. (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Saturday he supported the right of Muslims to build a cultural center near the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York City but would not comment on the "wisdom" of such a move. U.N. says no aid yet for 6 mln flood victims in Pakistan http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/8/15/worldupdates/2010-08-14T182230Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-508463-4sec=Worldupdates SUKKUR, Pakistan (Reuters) - United Nations aid agencies have provided assistance to hundreds of thousands of victims of Pakistan's worst floods in decades but relief operations have yet to reach an estimated six million people. Reclusive Myanmar sets date for elections http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/8/15/worldupdates/2010-08-14T023642Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-508230-5sec=Worldupdates YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar will hold its first parliamentary poll in two decades on Nov. 7, state media said on Friday, ending speculation over the timing of a vote rights groups see as a sham aimed at entrenching military power. Sri Lanka Tamils tell commission about rights abuse http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/8/15/worldupdates/2010-08-14T174443Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-508480-1sec=Worldupdates VAVUNIYA, Sri Lanka (Reuters) - Sri Lank's minority Tamils testified before a government-appointed war commission on Saturday alleging rights violations during the final stages of the army's offensive against separatist Tamil Tiger rebels. UAE queries Germany over suspected spy's release http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/8/15/worldupdates/2010-08-14T184437Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-508481-1sec=Worldupdates DUBAI (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates voiced concern on Saturday over Germany's release of a suspected Israeli spy on bail in a case over a falsified passport linked to the killing of a Hamas leader in Dubai.


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