Hundreds of Afghan poll workers grilled over fraud |
- Hundreds of Afghan poll workers grilled over fraud
- PKFZ scandal: Accused offered alternative charge
- China trade pact helps APEC focus on Taiwan: Ma
- Tugboats sank off Johor, crewmen rescued
- Sarawak Foundation aid for all Sarawakians, state assembly told
- North Korea admits fatality in 2009 naval clash
- No report of disease outbreak in Kedah and Perlis: Liow
- Malaysia wants regional network to help high-risk families
- Dept wants flood victims to report losses
- US urges rising China to be responsible player
- Rodeo at Louisiana state prison
- North Korea's heir apparently rises again
- U.S. urges Iraq to form inclusive government
- Qantas grounds A380s for 3 more days amid engine probe
- U.S. says sanctions against Iran "having impact"
- Pressure mounts on Kremlin to solve latest media attack
- Taiwan indicts three senior judges for graft
- China unveils photos of moon
- Obama's Jakarta trip a chance to repair frayed ties
- Challenge to U.S. targeted kill program heads to court
| Hundreds of Afghan poll workers grilled over fraud Posted: 08 Nov 2010 12:22 AM PST KABUL, Nov 8 — Hundreds of part-time workers used by Afghanistan's election body in a disputed September parliamentary vote are being questioned by a UN-backed watchdog for possible involvement in fraud, officials said today. The Independent Election Commission (IEC) has already thrown out almost a quarter of the 5.6 million votes cast in the ...
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| PKFZ scandal: Accused offered alternative charge Posted: 08 Nov 2010 12:35 AM PST Three people charged with cheating, involving millions of ringgit, in the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) development project, were today offered alternatives charges by the prosecution.
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| China trade pact helps APEC focus on Taiwan: Ma Posted: 08 Nov 2010 12:32 AM PST TAIPEI, Monday 8 November 2010 (AFP) - Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou on Monday hailed a recently signed trade pact with China, saying it would help boost global interest in the island at an upcoming summit of Asia-Pacific leaders.
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| Tugboats sank off Johor, crewmen rescued Posted: 08 Nov 2010 12:21 AM PST The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) here brought to safety seven crew members of two tugboats which sank in the storm in Pulau Lima waters, Pengerang, off Kota Tinggi, yesterday.
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| Sarawak Foundation aid for all Sarawakians, state assembly told Posted: 08 Nov 2010 12:10 AM PST All the people of Sarawak are entitled to educational opportunities and aid from the Sarawak Foundation, with priority given to the low-income group in accordance with the academic achievement of the student, the state assembly was told today.
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| North Korea admits fatality in 2009 naval clash Posted: 08 Nov 2010 12:01 AM PST SEOUL, Monday 8 November 2010 (AFP) - North Korea has acknowledged one of its sailors died in a clash with the South Korean navy last year near their disputed Yellow Sea border, according to a report by official media seen Monday.
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| No report of disease outbreak in Kedah and Perlis: Liow Posted: 07 Nov 2010 11:57 PM PST The Health Ministry has not received any reports of disease outbreak in the flood-hit Kedah and Perlis so far.
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| Malaysia wants regional network to help high-risk families Posted: 07 Nov 2010 11:55 PM PST | ||
| Dept wants flood victims to report losses Posted: 07 Nov 2010 11:53 PM PST The Welfare Department has urged flood victims in the affected states to make police report on the losses they suffered in the calamity.
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| US urges rising China to be responsible player Posted: 07 Nov 2010 11:51 PM PST MELBOURNE, Monday 8 November 2010 (AFP) - The United States on Monday urged China to be a "responsible player" as it emerges as a global force and stressed Washington's commitment to Asia during a regional diplomatic push.
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| Rodeo at Louisiana state prison Posted: 08 Nov 2010 12:31 AM PST Every year the gates of Louisiana State Penitentiary, also known as Angola Prison, open to the public for an increasingly popular rodeo show.
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| North Korea's heir apparently rises again Posted: 08 Nov 2010 12:49 AM PST SEOUL (Reuters) - The death of a North Korean military official and the naming of leader-in-waiting Kim Jong-un to the funeral preparation committee was jumped on by South Korean media on Monday as showing he had risen to second-in-command. 
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| U.S. urges Iraq to form inclusive government Posted: 08 Nov 2010 12:49 AM PST MELBOURNE (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Iraq on Monday to develop an inclusive power-sharing government as Iraqi political factions prepared to hold a meeting that could break an eight-month deadlock. 
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| Qantas grounds A380s for 3 more days amid engine probe Posted: 08 Nov 2010 12:49 AM PST SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's Qantas Airways has grounded its A380 fleet for at least another three days as it investigates oil leaks as a possible cause of the explosion which tore apart one of the superjumbo's engines last week. 
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| U.S. says sanctions against Iran "having impact" Posted: 08 Nov 2010 12:49 AM PST MELBOURNE (Reuters) - The United States on Monday rejected Israeli concerns that it had become necessary to pursue a credible military threat against Iran, saying sanctions could deter Tehran from building a nuclear weapon. 
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| Pressure mounts on Kremlin to solve latest media attack Posted: 07 Nov 2010 04:25 PM PST  MOSCOW: Russia's top reporters increased pressure on President Dmitry Medvedev today to break the cycle of unresolved crimes against the media by solving the latest attack on a leading journalist. A 90-second clip of what appeared to be the beating of Kommersant business daily reporter Oleg Kashin swept through the Russian Internet and unconventionally dominated the early morning news on state-run television. The Russian reporters told Medvedev in an open letter – which appeared on the front page of Kommersant – that more than a journalist's safety was at issue as these crimes piled up. "By demanding the protection of reports, what we are talking about is not only our own trade," the letter said. "One must also protect the rights of our readers. "The rights of reporters to fulfil their obligation in a normal fashion and not worry about their lives – this is the right of society to speak and be heard." The Internet video showed two assailants surrounding a man as he approached a gate to a residential building in the night hours and felling him to the ground. One then held him by the upper body while the other beat him with what television said was a lead pipe. Kashin, 30, underwent a second operation overnight and his doctors reported his condition as serious but stable. A newspaper representative said yesterday that the reporter's life was no longer under threat. The early Saturday incident has become major news in a country that struggles with a poor media freedom record that has been criticized heavily by both the European Union and Washington. The letter was signed by 26 reporters and editors from media outlets as varied as Moscow Echo radio and the Russian edition of Rolling Stone. Hundreds more have subsequently added their names. They include such familiar names in Western rights circles as corruption investigator Yulia Latynina and long-time Moscow Echo editor Alexei Venediktov. Medvedev has responded to the media uproar by putting the investigation under the supervision of the general prosecutor's office. No leads have been reported in the case and police have so far refused to confirm the authenticity of the footage or whether it has been added to the file. - AFP
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| Taiwan indicts three senior judges for graft Posted: 07 Nov 2010 04:21 PM PST  TAIPEI: Taiwan prosecutors today indicted three senior judges for corruption in the worst graft scandal to implicate the island's top judiciary. Prosecutors said they were seeking a jail term of 24 years and a fine of 1.5 million Taiwan dollars (50,000 US) for senior High Court judge Tsai Kuang-chih who is accused of taking bribes. They also demanded 18 years and a fine of TW$1.5 million for High Court judge Chen Jung-ho and 11 years and a fine of TW$2 million for the third High Court judge, Li Chun-ti, both of whom are also accused of graft. "As what they did has tainted the judicial authority and allowed the people to lose their faith in the judicial system, we therefore demanded a heavy punishment for them," the indictment paper said. The prosecutors' investigation found that the High Court judges had cleared a former parliamentarian after taking bribes from him. The former ex-lawmaker, also indicted today, had previously been sentenced to 19 years by a district court on charges of corruption. The nine other defendants also included a district court prosecutor, a retired judge and two lawyers, who were found involved in another corruption case after an investigation into the high-profile scandal was launched earlier this year. The scandal brought down the judicial chief in July and prompted President Ma Ying-jeou to renew a pledge to build a clean government and set up a new watchdog tasked with fighting corruption. Taiwan has been hit by a string of corruption scandals in recent years, with the most controversial case implicating former president Chen Shui-bian and his family. - AFP
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| Posted: 07 Nov 2010 04:16 PM PST  BEIJING: China today unveiled photos taken by its lunar probe of the moon's Sinus Iridium, the area marked out for the nation's first landing, highlighting the success of the mission so far. The photos of the moon's surface, made public by Premier Wen Jiabao, were taken at the end of last month by the Chang'e-2 unmanned probe, the National Space Administration said in a statement. Chang'e-2 was launched on Oct 1 and went into orbit eight days later. It was due to first circle the moon at a distance of 100km (62 miles), and then drop into orbit 15km from the moon's surface. The images of Sinus Iridium, also known as the Bay of Rainbows, show the surface is "quite flat" with craters and rocks of different sizes. The biggest hole has a diameter of 2km, according to the statement. The bay was formed by a massive impact billions of years ago, and is considered one of the moon's most beautiful landmarks. Chang'e-2 will conduct various tests over a six-month period in preparation for the expected launch in 2013 of the Chang'e-3, which China hopes will be its first unmanned landing on the moon. The Chang'e programme, named after a mythical Chinese goddess who flew to the moon, is seen as an effort to put China's space exploration programme to a par with those of the United States and Russia. The first lunar probe, launched in October 2007, was in orbit for 16 months. Beijing hopes to bring a moon rock sample back to earth in 2017, with a manned mission pencilled in for around 2020, according to state media. - AFP
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| Obama's Jakarta trip a chance to repair frayed ties Posted: 07 Nov 2010 03:54 PM PST
Obama arrives in Indonesia, fresh from a mauling at mid-term polls that has diminished his stature at home and abroad, and just as strategic rival China is trying to play an increasingly assertive role in the region. But China may have been overplaying its hand – and that gives Obama an opportunity. Beijing's hawkish behaviour over maritime disputes involving several Asian nations has concerned Indonesia and other countries in the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) and they are looking to Washington to act as a balancing force that helps them protect their interests and steer an independent course. "Gloating references to the decline of American power and the coming demise of American influence were the daily staple of the Asian intelligentsia and media until recently," wrote Anindya Bakrie, a businessman and son of leading Indonesian political powerbroker Aburizal Bakrie, in the Jakarta Post newspaper. "Then came the South China Sea dispute and the Asian mood soured considerably. Asean turned to Washington for help in facing what they saw as an increasingly assertive and intransigent Beijing." So while Washington may have squandered some of its goodwill, it still may be able to bolster its regional influence. "The United States' lack of interest in Southeast Asia during much of the 2000s, though that is changing, opened the door for China," said Joshua Kurlantzick, senior fellow for Southeast Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations. "But China has done itself some damage in the region, and also in Indonesia, by taking a more aggressive public posture over the past year on a lot of issues, like the South China Sea." Honeymoon over Most Indonesians rejoiced when Obama was elected president two years ago – the world's largest Muslim country saw him as a leader who not only could repair ties with the Islamic world but who also had a special understanding of a country he lived in as a boy. But the honeymoon is definitely over. "Obama is weakened at home, and is weakened in the world now," said Wimar Witoelar, a veteran political commentator and former Indonesian presidential spokesman. "Excitement here has long gone over his visit. But one must not misunderstand – support is still here." Obama has twice cancelled previous planned visits. Even his latest trip – he is scheduled to arrive tomorrow for a 24-hour visit – is in some doubt because of concerns over volcanic ash from repeated eruptions of Indonesia's Mount Merapi. Indonesia's importance as an ally of the United States is rising. A decade ago, Washington's primary interest was securing Jakarta's cooperation in crushing Muslim militant groups in the region loyal to al-Qaeda. That effort has been a success – while the militant threat still exists, it is greatly diminished. But now Indonesia's growing economic and geopolitical clout make it the key player in Southeast Asia. Regarded as the region's basket case until recently, Indonesia is now seen as joining the "BRIC" bloc of emerging economic powerhouses Brazil, Russia, India and China, and hopes to attain an investment grade sovereign rating before long. With authoritarianism on the rise in Thailand, Indonesia also stands out as the torchbearer for democracy in Southeast Asia. "We see in Indonesia the intersection of a lot of key American interests and we see this as a partnership that is very important to the future of American interests in Asia and the world," said US deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes. Major initiatives Obama will announce increased aid for education and seek to deepen relationships on economic and security issues. Obama and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono – who like his US counterpart – faces waning popularity after an initial tide of enthusiasm – are expected to sign the "Comprehensive Partnership" pact they agreed a year ago. "The partnership includes major initiatives in trade and investment, maritime security, counter-terrorism, higher education, and climate change cooperation, and effectively enhances ties with Indonesia to a substantively new level," said Ernest Bower, director of the Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. Obama's visit will resonate far beyond Indonesia. Other Southeast Asian nations worried about China will be watching to see if the United States provides the support they want as a bulwark against Beijing. And a speech he is scheduled to give at Jakarta's Istiqlal Mosque is a chance to repair ties with the Muslim world, damaged by the failure to shut Guantanamo Bay and the war in Afghanistan. In 2009 in a major speech in Cairo, he called for a "new beginning" in relations with Islam. Indonesia and the wider Muslim world are still waiting to see that new beginning, but Obama's visit to Jakarta gives him another chance to restore their faith. - Reuters
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| Challenge to U.S. targeted kill program heads to court Posted: 07 Nov 2010 11:43 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration will on Monday try to persuade a U.S. judge to throw out a lawsuit challenging its program to capture or kill U.S. citizens who have joined militant groups like al Qaeda, including Muslim cleric Anwar al-Awlaki. 
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