Half million flee as floods threaten Pakistan's Sind

Half million flee as floods threaten Pakistan's Sind

Half million flee as floods threaten Pakistan's Sind

Posted: 06 Aug 2010 01:16 AM PDT

SUKKUR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani authorities have evacuated more than half a million people in Sindh province, threatened by the worst floods in 80 years that have stoked popular anger at absent President Asif Ali Zardari.


Anwar loses appeal to get medical notes

Posted: 06 Aug 2010 12:57 AM PDT

Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim lost his appeal at the Court of Appeal here today to obtain medical reports of three Kuala Lumpur Hospital (KLH) doctors who had examined Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan, the person he is alleged to have sodomised.

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India Tata chairman successor to be chosen by March

Posted: 05 Aug 2010 04:51 PM PDT

MUMBAI: India's Tata Group says a successor to replace veteran Ratan Tata as head of the sprawling industrial conglomerate should be announced by March.

The group's holding company, Tata Sons, formed a five-member panel earlier in the week to select a successor to run the group, which has annual sales of US$71 billion (RM224 billion) and 98 companies in its fold.

"We are working on this and will finalise something by February-March next. We will announce the name by then," the Press Trust of Indian quoted Tata Sons director RK Krishna Kumar as saying in Mumbai late yesterday.

Kumar, speaking on the sidelines of a shareholders' meeting, said the successor would be chosen far ahead of Ratan Tata's retirement to ensure a smooth transition.

Slated to step down by the end of 2012 when he turns 75, Tata spearheaded the group's international drive since taking over as chairman in 1991, buying such well-known names as British luxury cars Jaguar and Land Rover.

Tata also garnered headlines as the driving force behind the creation of the podlike Nano, billed as the world's cheapest "people's" car.

Potential successors

There has been widespread speculation over whether the top job will remain within the Tata founding family or go to an external candidate.

Ratan Tata, who was present at the shareholders' meeting, said: "We will be working rigorously for the next six to seven months on this."

Announcement of the panel search came days after the promotion of Noel Tata, Ratan Tata's 53-year-old half-brother, to head Tata Group's international operations.

The move fuelled talk he may be chosen to lead the group which embraces India's biggest outsourcing company, largest vehicle maker and a leading steelmaker.

Besides Noel Tata, other names mentioned as potential successors include Arun Sarin, former chairman of British mobile phone giant Vodafone, and Nuslia Wadia, chairman of textiles giant Bombay Dying.

Ratan Tata, an architect and great-grandson of founder Jamsetji Tata, has said the race is wide open, stipulating only that his successor must uphold the company's tradition of corporate responsibility.

- AFP

Health alarm as wildfire smog smothers Moscow

Posted: 05 Aug 2010 04:49 PM PDT

MOSCOW: Smog from wildfires in the countryside cloaked Moscow today, with the levels of toxic particles raising alarm over public health and numerous commuters wearing anti-pollution masks.

The city's most famous landmarks like the spires of the Kremlin towers or the onion domes of Orthodox churches were largely invisible from a distance as Muscovites wheezed their way through the smog into work.

"Smog has covered the entire city and the situation is getting worse," said Alexei Popikov of Moscow's pollution monitoring service Mosekomonitoring on state television.

Air traffic was disturbed at one of Moscow's main international airports -- Domodedovo in the south of the city -- with planes taking off normally but some aircraft landing at airports elsewhere due to the smoke.

Mosekomonitoring said that this week that the concentration of toxic particles in the air was higher than the norm by a factor of 20 in some areas and even people in good health should consider staying at home.

Early morning commuters were wearing anti-pollution masks as pharmacists reported a huge spike in sales of the masks.

Forecasters warned that the record heatwave was going to continue in the coming days, with little rain forecast and the mercury again expected to hit 38 degrees Celsius (over 100 degrees Fahrenheit) later.

Russia is battling its worst forest fires in modern history with emergency services still struggling to contain the flames.

- AFP

Australia PM Gillard back in election dash

Posted: 05 Aug 2010 04:38 PM PDT

By Amy Coopes

SYDNEY: Australian leader Julia Gillard appeared to be regaining momentum in the election race today, with resurgent former prime minister Kevin Rudd dominating headlines and her economic policy getting high-level praise.

The spectre of Rudd has stymied Gillard's campaign, with her ruthless axing of him -- just three weeks before the election was called -- overshadowing her efforts to tout the ruling Labor party's credentials, and angering voters.

But his announcement that he would join her to tour key parts of his home state of Queensland and was committed to her return to office stole front pages across the nation today, with pundits claiming it could be a turning point.

"There is no doubt his explosion onto the scene will change the dynamics of the campaign," wrote the Sydney Morning Herald's Phillip Coorey.

"(Conservative rival Tony) Abbott now faces two opponents, Gillard and Rudd, who, despite his many flaws, is brilliant at campaigning and staying on message."

Opinion polls put the Aug 21 election on a knife-edge, with the once popular Gillard bleeding vital support in Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia, where a handful of marginal seats will ultimately decide the vote.

Australia's first female leader received a timely boost today with the release of a report into Labor's massive school-building stimulus programme, Gillard's pet project during her time as Education Minister, which has been plagued by allegations of waste and fraud.

Officials found bloating in building costs of up to 12%, but said there were complaints in just 2.7% of schools.

They added that the US$14 billion (RM44.1 bilion) programme, rolled out at the height of the global financial crisis, had created jobs and achieved its aim.

"I made a judgement about saving the country from recession by investing in schools," Gillard said after the report's release.

"I stand by that judgement and I would make it again today."

A leg-up

Gillard's bid to put the economy at the centre of her campaign got a leg-up from Nobel prizewinning economist Joseph Stiglitz, who said her party "did a fantastic job of saving your country from problems".

"You would have had high unemployment, you would have had capital assets not fully utilised, that's waste," Stiglitz told a conference in Sydney.

"So your choice was one form of waste versus another form of waste. It's judgment of what is the way to minimise waste, no perfection here, and what your government did was exactly right."

By contrast, Stiglitz said Abbott had "praised the architects of the global financial crisis" and could lead Australia into difficulty.

Former Reserve Bank governor Bernie Fraser took the attack further, accusing Abbott of "brazen scaremongering" on government debt and rubbishing his vote against Labor's US$50 billion stimulus package as an "indelible blight" on his economic credentials.

Political analyst John Warhurst said it was difficult to tell whether Gillard's campaign had turned a corner, but he thought there was some truth in the speculation.

"I think there are a number of factors behind this," said Warhurst, from the Australian National University.

"One is that Gillard is striking out. The second is that she has improved her style, and the third is her calling on Abbott to have another debate on the economy," he said.

Abbott has resisted a spar on the economy, saying he is now too busy and that Gillard should have agreed to more than one debate at the outset.

His campaign was bolstered by an appearance from former leader John Howard, the country's second-longest serving PM and the man Rudd ousted in his landslide 2007 election win, ending 11 years of conservative rule.

Howard dubbed Gillard a "total failure" and took the credit for Australia's recession-beating performance in the downturn, saying it had entered the slump "stronger than any other country".

- AFP

Australians find spongy links to origins of man

Posted: 05 Aug 2010 04:27 PM PDT

SYDNEY: Mankind may be descended from apes but Australian scientists have found proof of links much closer to the sea floor, with a study revealing that sea sponges share almost 70% of human genes. Genetic sequencing of sea sponges from the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef showed the ancient marine animal shared many of its genes with humans, including a large number typically associated with disease and cancer.

Lead researcher Bernard Degnan, of the University of Queensland, said the findings "would shed light on a whole range of different things", and could lay the foundation for breakthroughs in cancer and stem cell research.

"Sponges have what's (considered) the 'Holy Grail' of stem cells," Degnan said.

Exploring the genetic function of sponge stem cells could provide "deep and important connections" to the genes that influenced human stem cell biology, he said.

"(It) might actually inform the way we think about our own stem cells and how we might be able to use them in future medical applications," he said.

The study -- published in the journal "Nature" this week -- is the result of more than five years of research by an international team of scientists.

It required the extraction of "really pure DNA" from sponge embryos and a complex sequencing exercise, Degnan said.

- AFP


Howls of protest at Philippine dog killings

Posted: 05 Aug 2010 04:24 PM PDT

MANILA: Dog pounds in the Philippines are being allowed to kill stray dogs with vehicle exhaust fumes, local animal welfare groups said today, a practice they claim is cruel and inhumane. The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) and two other groups called for the government to reverse an agricultural department ruling in June that approved the gassing method to kill dogs.

"If we need to put a dog to death because he cannot be cared for, the least we can do is send him off as painlessly and as humanely as possible," PAWS programme director Anna Cabrera said.

Carbon monoxide gassing is used in several US states and Japan to put down animals, but in a less cruel manner, according to Cabrera.

She said in the Philippines it was done by shutting up to eight dogs in a metal box, attaching a hose from a car to the box, and revving the engine to fill the box with exhaust fumes.

Cabrera said it normally took up to 10 minutes for the dogs to die.

PAWS said in a statement the preferred method of putting down dogs around the world was by lethal injection, but this was often too costly in the Philippines.

Over 27,000 dogs are put down in Philippine pounds each month, according to PAWS, but it said it did not know how many of these deaths were via the gassing method.

In response to the issue, the agriculture department released a statement saying it supported the humane treatment of animals.

The department's head of animal industry, Efren Nuestro, said the agricultural secretary was aware of the complaints, but gave no indication as to whether the government intended to ban the practice.

- AFP


The legendary wild boar rings

Posted: 06 Aug 2010 12:42 AM PDT

Among the Orangasli communities in Peninsular Malaysia, there is a time-honoured legend about the "king of wild boars" which live in rainforests and has absorbed the essence of the moon for ages. Due to its supernatural powers, it wouldn't get hurt even though it is shot by the hunters.

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Half million flee as floods threaten Pakistan’s Sind

Posted: 06 Aug 2010 12:17 AM PDT

SUKKUR (Pakistan), Aug 6 — Pakistani authorities have evacuated more than half a million people in Sindh province, threatened by the worst floods in 80 years that have stoked popular anger at absent President Asif Ali Zardari. Zardari may have made the costliest political mistake in his career by leaving for state visits in Europe at the height of ...


London taxis ranked world’s best, New York and Paris the rudest

Posted: 05 Aug 2010 11:48 PM PDT

SYDNEY, Aug 6 — London taxis, with their friendly drivers who actually know where they are going, are ranked best in the world, according to an annual taxi poll. The survey by travel website hotels.com found London taxis, despite being the most expensive, beat rivals across the globe to head the list for the third consecutive years, scoring a ...


'No choice but to return to nuclear'

Posted: 05 Aug 2010 11:49 PM PDT

Two decades after a referendum voted to close it down, Italy is planning to re-open its nuclear power industry.


U.S. attends Hiroshima bombing ceremony for first time

Posted: 06 Aug 2010 12:19 AM PDT

HIROSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) - Japan marked the 65th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima on Friday with the United States represented at the ceremony for the first time.


Political rivalry blamed for airport bombing in Philippines

Posted: 05 Aug 2010 03:34 PM PDT

By Al Jacinto

ZAMBOANGA: A politician who survived a "human bomb" attack that left two people dead in the volatile southern Philippines said today he believed his rivals had tried to assassinate him. The blast occurred at Zamboanga city airport yesterday as Sulu province governor Sakur Tan and other passengers on a flight from Manila were leaving the terminal, killing a man carrying the bomb and a bystander.

"It is not just a coincidence that this bomb exploded right next to me," said Tan, 60, who suffered only minor injuries but whose son was hit by the severed head of the man carrying the bomb.

A total of 24 people were injured, including an elderly British man who lived in the area, police said.

Tan told ABS-CBN television he believed rival politicians with links to "terrorists" orchestrated the attack, and that he suspected the same people were behind an attempt on his life in May last year.

"I received intelligence reports that I would be bombed," said Tan, who rules over the Sulu island chain about 100km south of Zamboanga.

Both areas are part of the impoverished Mindanao region, where deadly Muslim and communist insurgencies have raged for decades.

The US military also has about 500 soldiers stationed in Mindanao to help local forces combat the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf, an Islamic militant group blamed for the Philippines' worst terrorist attacks.

The Philippine military confirmed that one of the men killed was carrying the bomb, but said they doubted it was a suicide attack and that he may have been duped into carrying the deadly device.

Video footage

Two ID cards found on the dead man identified him as a local construction worker who was not affiliated with any extremist groups, regional military commander Lieutenant-General Benjamin Dolorfino said.

"The indications are it is not a suicide bomber. The possibility is someone sent (the man) with the backpack and he did not know what was inside," Dolorfino said.

"You can see him on (security video footage). He was just standing outside the airport arrival area just before the blast. He was just loitering there."

Dolorfino also said there was nothing to immediately suggest the Abu Sayyaf was behind yesterday's attack, and that the militants had no history of suicide bombings.

He said it may have been directed at Tan but it also may have been linked to a planned visit to Zamboanga today by the US ambassador to the Philippines, Harry Thomas.

Asked about the nature of the blast, Tan said: "I really would not know if it was a suicide bombing or was it triggered by someone else. But it was a human bomb."

Presidential spokesman Ricky Carandang said authorities did not yet know the motive behind the attack.

Thomas, who was set to inspect local projects funded by US aid money, immediately cancelled his trip.

The Philippines has long suffered from political violence, and many powerful politicians command "private armies" to violently enforce their will against critics and opponents.

In the worst case of such violence, 57 people were murdered in Maguindanao province, which is also part of Mindanao, in November last year allegedly by the private army of the political clan that ruled the area.

- AFP

'Not a monsoon crisis, a food crisis'

Posted: 05 Aug 2010 11:28 PM PDT

BBC's Lyse Doucet warns that with the flood waters reaching the Punjab, Pakistan's food supplies are now under major threat too.


Cursing South Korean soldiers gagged

Posted: 05 Aug 2010 10:55 PM PDT

SEOUL, Aug 6 — South Korean soldiers have been ordered to clean up their act, and cut out expletives. Even as tensions simmer on the peninsula, top military brass have said there is no excuse for foul language, and rather the country's half a million soldiers should brush up on their knowledge of history. Defence Minister Kim Tae-young ordered his ...


More evacuations in Pakistan's Sindh as floods loom

Posted: 05 Aug 2010 11:41 PM PDT

SUKKUR, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistani authorities carried out more evacuations in Sindh province on Friday, threatened by the country's worst floods in 80 years that have stoked popular anger at President Asif Ali Zardari.


Flash floods kill 60 in Indian Kashmir: officials

Posted: 05 Aug 2010 10:59 PM PDT

SRINAGAR, Wednesday 6 August 2010 (AFP) - At least 60 people have been killed and hundreds injured after heavy rain triggered flash floods in Leh, the main town in India Kashmir's high-altitude Ladakh region, officials said Friday.

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Australia launches foreign student safety campaign

Posted: 05 Aug 2010 10:58 PM PDT

SYDNEY, Wednesday 6 August 2010 (AFP) - Australia launched a multimedia campaign on Friday about the dangers to foreign students of "opportunistic crime", after a spate of attacks on Indians that inflamed diplomatic tensions.

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'Toyota defense' frees US man jailed in fatal car crash

Posted: 05 Aug 2010 10:52 PM PDT

CHICAGO, Wednesday 6 August 2010 (AFP) - A Minnesota man convicted in a fatal car crash was freed from prison Thursday after a judge ordered a new trial to examine evidence about Toyota's "sticky" accelerator pedals, local media reported.

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Another Foxconn worker falls to her death in China

Posted: 05 Aug 2010 10:50 PM PDT

BEIJING, Wednesday 6 August 2010 (AFP) - A female worker at Taiwanese technology giant Foxconn died in eastern China after falling from a dormitory building, the company said Friday.

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