Japan PM wants China to ensure citizens’ safety |
- Japan PM wants China to ensure citizens’ safety
- 197 Kenwark workers sacked
- S.Korea's vice FM named national security adviser
- Indonesia to probe fresh torture claims: police
- MACC appeals against acquittal of ex-immigration DG
- BN to announce Batu Sapi candidate on Sunday: Musa
- Myanmar says no foreign monitors, media allowed in for poll
- Vietnam official jailed for life over Japan aid scam: court
- GLC transformation brings significant benefits, Dewan Rakyat told
- Plaza Low Yat to evict tenants convicted of piracy
- Panel set up to evaluate text of Friday prayers sermons
- Racist statements - action being considered against two teachers
- Policeman injured in struggle with suspected drug trafficker
- Taiwan city may bar Chinese officials with rights records
- Public Bank quarterly pre-tax profit above RM1 bln for first time
- Indonesia calls for vigilance in terrorism fight
- Australia hails Mary, nation's first saint
- Thai PM in court as party faces ban threat
- China mine death toll hits 30 as anger rises over rescue
- Yum Seng to Budget 2011!
| Japan PM wants China to ensure citizens’ safety Posted: 18 Oct 2010 12:30 AM PDT TOKYO, Oct 18 — Japan's prime minister on Monday urged China to ensure the safety of Japanese citizens and firms and called for calm after Chinese protesters took to the streets over a territorial feud straining ties between Asia's top economies. Sino-Japanese relations deteriorated sharply last month after Japan detained a Chinese trawler captain ...
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| Posted: 18 Oct 2010 12:47 AM PDT A total of 197 workers from the troubled Kenmark Industries Sdn Bhd have been served with termination letters with immediate effect, the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC) said.
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| S.Korea's vice FM named national security adviser Posted: 18 Oct 2010 12:45 AM PDT SEOUL, Monday 18 October 2010 (AFP) - South Korea's former nuclear envoy has been named the new national security adviser to President Lee Myung-Bak, the presidential office said Monday.
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| Indonesia to probe fresh torture claims: police Posted: 18 Oct 2010 12:44 AM PDT JAKARTA, Monday 18 October 2010 (AFP) - Indonesian police said Monday they would investigate fresh reports of torture by security forces against civilians in restive Papua province, after a graphic video was posted online.
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| MACC appeals against acquittal of ex-immigration DG Posted: 18 Oct 2010 12:43 AM PDT The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has filed an appeal against the acquittal of former immigration director-general Datuk Wahid Md Don by the Sessions Court, here last Friday over an alleged involvement in bribery of RM60,000.
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| BN to announce Batu Sapi candidate on Sunday: Musa Posted: 18 Oct 2010 12:41 AM PDT The Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for the Batu Sapi parliamentary by-election will be announced on Sunday, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said.
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| Myanmar says no foreign monitors, media allowed in for poll Posted: 18 Oct 2010 12:32 AM PDT NAYPYIDAW, Monday 18 October 2010 (AFP) - Myanmar will not allow any foreign election observers or international media into the country for its first poll in two decades, a senior official said Monday.
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| Vietnam official jailed for life over Japan aid scam: court Posted: 18 Oct 2010 12:31 AM PDT HANOI, Monday 18 October 2010 (AFP) - A Vietnamese court handed a life sentence on Monday to a former senior transport official charged with corruption in a scandal that led Japan to suspend aid, a court source said.
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| GLC transformation brings significant benefits, Dewan Rakyat told Posted: 18 Oct 2010 12:30 AM PDT Government-linked companies (GLCs), particularly those placed under G-20, have managed to strengthen their financial positions and enhanced operational efficiencies after the introduction of the GLC Transformation Programme in May 2004.
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| Plaza Low Yat to evict tenants convicted of piracy Posted: 18 Oct 2010 12:28 AM PDT Plaza Low Yat will evict tenants convicted of piracy in support of the government's anti-piracy initiatives.
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| Panel set up to evaluate text of Friday prayers sermons Posted: 18 Oct 2010 12:27 AM PDT The Islamic Development Department (Jakim) has set up a committee to evaluate and ensure quality of text of Friday prayers sermons for four major moques in Federal Territory, Dewan Rakyat heard today.
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| Racist statements - action being considered against two teachers Posted: 18 Oct 2010 12:25 AM PDT The punishment to be imposed on two teachers for making racist statements last August is likely to be decided soon.
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| Policeman injured in struggle with suspected drug trafficker Posted: 18 Oct 2010 12:22 AM PDT A police inspector was injured in a struggle with a suspected drug trafficker in a swamp area in Kampung Lebak, here yesterday.
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| Taiwan city may bar Chinese officials with rights records Posted: 18 Oct 2010 12:21 AM PDT TAIPEI, Monday 18 October 2010 (AFP) - The city council in Taiwan's second-largest city has demanded that the local government bar visits by Chinese officials with poor rights records, an official said Monday.
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| Public Bank quarterly pre-tax profit above RM1 bln for first time Posted: 18 Oct 2010 12:20 AM PDT KUALA LUMPUR, Monday 18 October 2010 (Bernama) -- Public Bank Bhd has surpassed the RM1 billion mark for the first time by recording a pre-tax profit of RM1.05 billion in the third quarter ended Sept 30, 2010, from RM856.51 million a year ago.
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| Indonesia calls for vigilance in terrorism fight Posted: 18 Oct 2010 12:18 AM PDT NUSA DUA, Monday 18 October 2010 (AFP) - Indonesia on Monday called for greater vigilance and cooperation in the fight against terror, as counter-terrorism chiefs from around the world met in Bali.
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| Australia hails Mary, nation's first saint Posted: 17 Oct 2010 03:14 PM PDT  SYDNEY: Australia's press today hailed the canonisation of the country's first saint as a moment of national unity, praising the "battling nun" in a flurry of souvenir editions. Images of Mary MacKillop, anointed St Mary of the Cross in Rome yesterday, adorned the front pages of Australia's major newspapers under headlines such as "Our Saint Mary" and "Hail Saint Mary". The Australian newspaper described it as the day the nation stood "proud and full of pious praise", with cheers ringing out across St Peter's Square for the woman who founded Australia's first religious order. The Sydney Morning Herald said Pope Benedict XVI had confirmed MacKillop's "special place in history", declaring that "you could have heard a pin drop" as she was officially made a saint. "It was among the biggest contingents of Australians gathered together in Europe in peacetime," the Herald said. "8,000 of them, exultant in the shadow of the dome of St Peter's to celebrate the sainthood of one of their own." Sydney's Daily Telegraph tabloid exclaimed that "the prayers of a nation" had been answered. "Any event that can bring so many Australians together in celebration from across religious and social divides can only be considered a positive," it said. The Herald said MacKillop's story resonated beyond secular scepticism about miracles and sainthood, likening her heroism to that of Australian soldiers in World War I. "Those who believe in the miracles ascribed to Mary MacKillop will pray to her for help," it said in an editorial. "Others of a rationalist turn of mind may smile politely here -- yet still find in her both inspiration and example." - AFP
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| Thai PM in court as party faces ban threat Posted: 17 Oct 2010 03:00 PM PDT
Abhisit will be a witness for the defence at the Constitutional Court in what could be the final hearing in the case, which centres on accusations of misuse of a 29-million-baht (RM2.8-million) state grant in 2005. The Democrat Party -- Thailand's oldest party -- could be dissolved if found guilty, while the premier, who was its deputy leader at the time, could be handed a five-year ban from politics, alongside other executives. Abhisit looked relaxed as he arrived but made no comment to the throngs of reporters gathered outside the court, where there was a heavy police presence. Thailand's Election Commission (EC) in April called for the ruling party to be abolished over the accusations, as well as a separate case alleging an undeclared political donation. The call coincided with the country's worst political violence in decades, which ultimately left 91 people dead and almost 1,900 wounded in a series of street clashes between opposition protesters and armed troops. The Democrats are accused of paying 23 million baht to advertising firms, despite only having permission to spend 19 million on billboard marketing. Abhisit has rejected accusations that a member of his party had attempted to influence the judiciary over the case. Pivotal role The opposition's allegations that a Democrat lawmaker met an aide of a Constitutional Court judge ahead of the hearing -- and was captured on video -- were splashed on the front pages of local media today. Judicial rulings have played a pivotal role in shaping Thailand's political landscape in the past. The Democrats came to power two years ago after court decisions ousted allies of fugitive ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was himself unseated in a 2006 military coup. Two premiers were forced from office by the judiciary in 2008 -- one of whom, Samak Sundaravej, was removed for taking payments for hosting TV cooking shows. Uncertainty over the government comes at a difficult stage for the country, which remains bitterly torn in the wake of deadly opposition protests by the opposition "Red Shirt" movement. The Reds accuse Abhisit's government of being undemocratic because it came to power with army backing in a parliamentary vote after the controversial court rulings, and their protests have called for immediate elections. Some observers questioned whether Abhisit's backers in the military and Bangkok-based elite would allow the Democrats to be toppled. Former Thai diplomat Pavin Chachavalpongpun, an author and fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, said he did not believe the party would be disbanded. However, he said one potential motive for dissolution would be as a gesture to the Reds to rebuff allegations of double standards in the legal system. Pavin said "even then, they will have a plan B", with rumours that a new party would swiftly rise from the ashes of the old. - AFP
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| China mine death toll hits 30 as anger rises over rescue Posted: 17 Oct 2010 02:47 PM PDT  BEIJING: The death toll from a coal mine blast in China has risen to 30, officials said today , as hopes faded for seven miners still trapped -- prompting anger from web users wishing for a Chile-style rescue. Saturday's accident in the central province of Henan was the first major incident in China's notoriously dangerous mines since the dramatic rescue last week of 33 miners trapped for more than two months in Chile, watched worldwide. State media joined users of China's vast blogosphere in condemning the country's existing safety procedures, saying more needed to be done to reduce the massive mine death toll, which last year topped 2,600. In the city of Yuzhou in Henan, rescuers pulled more bodies out of the dank coal pit early today, bringing the death toll to 30, with seven others still unaccounted for, the State Administration of Work Safety said in a statement. Rescuers said yesterday there was little hope of finding any more survivors in the colliery, and that it would likely take several days to find those still missing. Du Bo, the deputy director of the rescue operation, said the missing miners were likely buried in the more than 2,500 tonnes of coal dust that smothered the pit after the gas blast. A total of 276 miners were at work below ground when the disaster happened, and 239 managed to make it to the surface, the national work safety agency said. Independent labour groups say the actual number of mine deaths last year is likely much higher than the seven people a day estimated by the government. The government has repeatedly vowed to shut dangerous mines and increase safety, but the accidents continue with regularity as mines hustle to pump out the coal on which China relies for about 70 percent of its energy. Unfavourable comparisons On the Internet, reaction has been swift and bitter -- with many making unfavourable comparisons to the situation in Chile. "The Chilean miracle has signed the death warrant of the mine safety system in China," one user using the screen name Xiaodaoren wrote on sina.com's popular Twitter-like microblogging service. "If we don't fundamentally resolve these mine security issues, the accidents will not stop and we will be unable to avoid the deaths and injuries." Another, named Cheng Jing 33, wrote: "The difference with Chile is enormous. The mines here are not inspected enough and poorly managed." And Yunfeng Tongxue added: "The Yuzhou miners are not as lucky as those in Chile." Chilean President Sebastian Pinera offered to help China, saying during a visit to London that his country had learned from the San Jose mine disaster. Chen Jiaguo, a miner who escaped the blast, told the Beijing News that safety zones in the mine were mostly filled with debris -- not survival equipment and basic necessities. "There was no rescue equipment in the tunnels, no food or water and most of the time, the safety zones were filled with scrap metal and debris," the paper cited Chen as saying. "Other than that, the ventilation fans were not strong enough and did not ventilate the air enough." In an editorial today, the state-run newspaper said China's efforts were not good enough. "If we cannot in the shortest amount of time possible build emergency rescue systems in our mines and give miners a chance to live... then more and more miners are going to be placed in harm's way," it said. In July, Premier Wen Jiabao lamented China's "serious" work safety situation, ordering mining bosses to work side-by-side with workers in the pits to ensure companies observed safety rules. To satisfy that requirement, a deputy chief engineer was in the Yuzhou mine at the time of the explosion and helped evacuate miners, the China News Service reported. China had its own "miracle" mine rescue in April when 115 miners were rescued after more than a week trapped underground in a flooded mine shaft in the northern province of Shanxi. - AFP
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| Posted: 17 Oct 2010 11:35 PM PDT There is much to chear about the Budget 2011. For example, at least there is no price hike for alcoholic drinks. So, let's put aside the worries, raise our glass, and yum seng!
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