xNews® World News: Roberts takes on a new challenge

Roberts takes on a new challenge

Roberts takes on a new challenge
Q+A - What do we know about Myanmar's election?
Illegal migrants head for Australia after Indonesia escape
Chinese businessmen accused of tax evasion in Philippines
Melbourne crime figure gunned down in broad daylight
US shoppers lose taste for retail therapy
Pakistan says won't divert forces from militant fight
Chinese admiral says U.S. drill courts confrontation
Melbourne crime figure gunned down in broad daylight
Chinese businessmen accused of tax evasion in Philippines
Reclusive Myanmar to hold elections on Nov 7
US-SKorea drills provocative, says Chinese admiral
Germany posts record second quarter growth: statistics (UPDATED)
Storm drenches parched Moscow but health alarm remains
Probe urged over personal data sales by Hong Kong banks
Brazil, India, China fare well during crisis
Oil prices to hover around US$77 per barrel in H2
Wikileaks sharing 'inevitable'
Fires rage through rural Brazil
New challenge to Indian rule in Kashmir

Posted: 13 Aug 2010 01:10 AM PDT

Talking Movies reports on Julia Roberts' new film "Eat Pray Love," based on the bestselling book of the same name.

Q+A - What do we know about Myanmar's election?

Posted: 13 Aug 2010 01:06 AM PDT

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Myanmar plans to hold its first multi-party election in two decades on Nov. 7, polls the United States and several European nations have expressed concerns about and that democracy activists have dismissed as a charade to prolong the military's grip on power.

Illegal migrants head for Australia after Indonesia escape

Posted: 13 Aug 2010 12:53 AM PDT

KUPANG, Friday 13 August 2010 (AFP) - A group of illegal migrants escaped from an Indonesian detention centre Friday and was believed to be heading for Australia, where boatpeople are a hot issue ahead of elections next week, an official said.

Chinese businessmen accused of tax evasion in Philippines

Posted: 13 Aug 2010 12:25 AM PDT

MANILA, Friday 13 August 2010 (AFP) - Philippine taxmen said Friday they want four Chinese construction company officials jailed and fined for scheming to avoid paying nearly 16 million dollars in taxes.

Melbourne crime figure gunned down in broad daylight

Posted: 13 Aug 2010 12:23 AM PDT

MELBOURNE, Friday 13 August 2010 (AFP) - A Melbourne crime figure was gunned down in broad daylight at his heavily secured home on Friday, sparking fears of an escalating gang war in the city's notorious underworld.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

US shoppers lose taste for retail therapy

Posted: 12 Aug 2010 11:43 PM PDT

The Commerce Department is preparing to release July retail sales figures for the US and they are expected to show Americans holding on to their purse strings in the wake of news about jobs and economic growth.

Pakistan says won't divert forces from militant fight

Posted: 13 Aug 2010 12:46 AM PDT

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistan's army is playing the leading role in rescue efforts after the worst floods in decades, but it will not divert forces from the battle against Islamist militants, military officials said on Friday.

Chinese admiral says U.S. drill courts confrontation

Posted: 13 Aug 2010 12:46 AM PDT

BEIJING (Reuters) - A senior Chinese military strategist called planned U.S. naval exercises in the region a provocation and accused the Obama administration of seeking to encircle China and pursuing a "chaotic" approach towards Beijing.

Melbourne crime figure gunned down in broad daylight

Posted: 12 Aug 2010 04:40 PM PDT

MELBOURNE: A Melbourne crime figure was gunned down in broad daylight at his heavily secured home today, sparking fears of an escalating gang war in the city's notorious underworld.

Macchour Chaouk, 65, the bearded patriarch of a Lebanese crime family which is feuding with a rival clan, was shot in the chest by an unknown gunman in his back yard at about 11am.

Police said they would investigate whether the Haddara family, which has been engaged in tit-for-tat attacks with the Chaouks, was involved.

"That's a fairly obvious inference to draw at the early stages," detective senior sergeant Murray Fraser told reporters."At this stage there is no evidence that we can really rely on to take that matter any further but we have to look at that as an avenue."

The unknown gunman emerged from a car in a side street and drove away after the shooting, which left Chaouk clinging to life before he died at the scene.

A group of family and friends gathered outside the fortified home in western Melbourne with some emotional mourners abusing the large press pack.

In 2005, one of Chaouk's five sons was shot dead during a police raid at the same building. Officers swooped on the house again last month, seizing guns and ammunition, after Sam Haddara, 18, was shot in the face in a drive-by shooting.

The feud between the families follows the murder of Sam's cousin Mohamad Haddara in another drive-by shooting last year.

Last year, Desmond "Tuppence" Moran was shot down as he ate breakfast at his favourite cafe, while imprisoned mobster Carl Williams was battered to death in April while serving a life sentence for ordering several hits.

The incidents highlight Melbourne's seamy crime world which has inspired a hit TV series, "Underbelly", and the 2000 movie "Chopper" chronicling the exploits of notorious criminal Mark "Chopper" Read.

- AFP

Chinese businessmen accused of tax evasion in Philippines

Posted: 12 Aug 2010 04:32 PM PDT

MANILA: Philippine taxmen said today they want four Chinese construction company officials jailed and fined for scheming to avoid paying nearly US$16 million (RM51 million) in taxes.

The justice department is evaluating a criminal complaint lodged against the chairman, president and two Chinese officers of China State (Philippines) Construction Engineering Corp, along with two Filipino officers, they said.

The government will also seek an order to prevent them from leaving the country, said Estela Sales, deputy commissioner for the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

"They can get about 10 years in jail. This isn't just about paying back taxes," Sales said.

The complaint is part of an intensified Philippine campaign against tax evaders and smugglers in a country where both practices are widespread.

China State (Philippines) is accused of using tax credits earned by an affiliated firm, China State Construction, to evade paying 712.7 million pesos (RM50 million) in taxes, Sales said.

The six company officials could be jailed for 10 years each and company assets could be seized by the state to pay for the back taxes if they are convicted.

The company is partly owned by Chinese firm China State Construction Engineering Corp Ltd but internal revenue officers said the two companies have the same address and employees and also have many common officers.

The internal revenue bureau is also looking into a possible complaint against China State Construction, Sales said.

China State Construction Engineering was among several companies operating in the Philippines that were blacklisted by the World Bank from 2009 due to alleged corruption.

However, the internal revenue bureau said the tax evasion complaint was not related to the blacklist.

- AFP

Reclusive Myanmar to hold elections on Nov 7

Posted: 12 Aug 2010 09:47 PM PDT

YANGON, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Myanmar will hold its first parliamentary elections in two decades on Nov. 7, state media said on Friday, ending speculation over the timing of a poll criticised by rights groups as a sham to entrench military power. As of this week, at least 40 parties had registered to take part in the first civilian government in ...

US-SKorea drills provocative, says Chinese admiral

Posted: 13 Aug 2010 12:19 AM PDT

BEIJING, Friday 13 August 2010 (AFP) - A US decision to use a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in joint naval drills with South Korea constitutes a "fresh provocation" to China and its neighbours, a senior naval officer said Friday.

Germany posts record second quarter growth: statistics (UPDATED)

Posted: 12 Aug 2010 11:45 PM PDT

FRANKFURT, August 13, 2010 (AFP) - A global economic recovery pushed German quarterly growth to a record 2.2% in the second quarter of the year, data released Friday by the national statistics office showed.

Storm drenches parched Moscow but health alarm remains

Posted: 12 Aug 2010 11:44 PM PDT

MOSCOW, Friday 13 August 2010 (AFP) - The first significant rain for weeks poured down on Moscow on Friday but alarm remained even as the authorities were downplaying the health impact of the record heatwave on the Russian capital.

Probe urged over personal data sales by Hong Kong banks

Posted: 12 Aug 2010 11:43 PM PDT

HONG KONG, Friday 13 August 2010 (AFP) - Hong Kong's government was on Friday urged to launch a probe after six banks were found to have sold the personal data of 600,000 customers to insurance companies.

Brazil, India, China fare well during crisis

Posted: 12 Aug 2010 11:37 PM PDT

WASHINGTON, Friday 13 August 2010 (Bernama) -- At least three countries India, China and Brazil fared well during the current economic crisis that has engulfed the world in the past two years, mainly because of inherent strengthen of their economies, Press Trust of India (PTI) reported a Congressional oversight panel as saying.

Oil prices to hover around US$77 per barrel in H2

Posted: 12 Aug 2010 11:35 PM PDT

SEOUL, Friday 13 August 2010 (Bernama) -- International crude oil prices are expected to remain stable in the second half as production gains are able to meet the rise in consumption, Yonhap News Agency reported a state-run energy think tank as saying Friday.

Wikileaks sharing 'inevitable'

Posted: 12 Aug 2010 11:26 PM PDT

A former director of the CIA, General Michael Hayden, has told the BBC that the shift to sharing intelligence has made a leak of tens of thousands of secret US military documents "inevitable".