'Open prison' for Indonesia's rich

'Open prison' for Indonesia's rich


'Open prison' for Indonesia's rich

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 10:27 PM PST

'Taking holidays' from prison not uncommon in Southeast Asian nation where corruption runs deep.


India PM vows punishment in $40 bln telecom scam (AFP)

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 10:38 PM PST

India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh (pictured) promised that anyone found guilty in a 40-billion-dollar telecommunications scandal that has shaken the country will be punished. AFP - India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh promised that anyone found guilty in a 40-billion-dollar telecommunications scandal that has shaken the country will be punished.



N.Korea rejects UN human rights resolution as conspiracy (AFP)

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 10:21 PM PST

N.Korean soldiers are seen patrolling the bank of the Yalu River, as seen from China's Jilin province. The UN General Assembly's main human rights committee on Thursday passed a resolution which condemned AFP - North Korea snubbed a UN resolution condemning its human rights conditions, calling it a US-led conspiracy to topple the communist regime through pressure.



Jakarta probes maid death in Saudi

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 09:47 AM PST

Indonesia launches inquiry into reports that Kikim Komalasari was murdered by her employers before her body was dumped.


In-form England rugby team vow no let up against Samoa (AFP)

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 09:41 PM PST

England manager Martin Johnson (pictured) has warned his team against complacency as they bid to build on the record victory over Australia against Samoa Saturday. England's stylish demolition of the Wallabies last weekend sent euphoria soaring to stratospheric levels, with Johnson's emerging side now being talked about as possible contenders for next year's World Cup.(AFP/File/Phil Cole)AFP - England manager Martin Johnson has warned his team against complacency as they bid to build on the record victory over Australia against Samoa Saturday.



Thousands return to homes on Indonesian volcano (AP)

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 09:32 PM PST

Trees that had been destroyed due to an eruption of Mount Merapi in Cangkringan, Indonesia, Thursday, Nov 18, 2010.(AP Photo/Slamet Riyadi)AP - Thousands of villagers have returned to their homes on the slopes of Indonesia's deadly volcano as it has become less active in recent days.



Playboy founder gets literary awards

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 08:59 PM PST

Hugh Hefner, who has published nude photographs of women for more than 50 years, is honoured for the articles that accompany the pictures and his commitment to free speech.


England's 10-wicket win ahead of Ashes opener (AFP)

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 09:20 PM PST

England beat Australia A by 10 wickets on the fourth and final day of the tour match at Bellerive Oval. Skipper Andrew Strauss (pictured) on Saturday hit the winning runs to polish off a comprehensive victory ahead of next Thursday's opening Ashes Test against Australia in Brisbane.(AFP/File/Glyn Kirk)AFP - England head into next week's Ashes opener brimming with confidence after a comprehensive 10-wicket victory over Australia A on the fourth and final day of their tour match at Bellerive Oval.



Two Chinese ships seen near disputed islands: Japan (AFP)

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 09:14 PM PST

This file photo, released by the Japan Coast Guard in September, shows a Chinese fishing boat which was seized by a Japanese Coast Guard patrol boat near a group of disputed islands on September 7. Two Chinese ships have once again been spotted near islands at the centre of a heated dispute between Beijing and Tokyo, the Japan Coast Guard said, amid diplomatic efforts to ease tensions.(AFP/HO/File)AFP - Two Chinese ships have been spotted near islands at the centre of a heated dispute between Beijing and Tokyo, the Japan Coast Guard said, amid diplomatic efforts to ease tensions.



NATO targets terrorism, cybersecurity as central to 21st century mission (The Christian Science Monitor)

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 03:01 PM PST

The Christian Science Monitor - NATO on Friday adopted a “plan of action†for 21st-century security threats that draws on both the recent lessons of Afghanistan and the alliance’s longer experience with defense by deterrence.


New Afghan war plans could cost US taxpayers an extra $125 billion (The Christian Science Monitor)

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 12:48 PM PST

The Christian Science Monitor - As leaders at the NATO summit in Lisbon meet this weekend to discuss strategy in Afghanistan, US war planners have been signaling that troop withdrawals set to begin in 2011 will be mostly symbolic and that the handover to Afghan forces in 2014 is “aspirational.â€


China eye Asiad badminton gold; India- Pakistan face-off in f.hockey (AFP)

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 08:29 PM PST

Wang Xin of China returns a shuttlecock against Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand during their badminton women's team finals at the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, on November 15. China is guaranteed gold in women's badminton with Wang facing teammate Wang Shixian in the women's singles final, on Saturday.(AFP/File/Liu Jin)AFP - Arch-rivals India and Pakistan face off in a combustible field hockey clash as Chinese women's world number one Wang Xin guns for Asian Games badminton gold.



Names You Need To Know: Addiction Cure Baclofen

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 08:17 PM PST

Baclofen may just be the little pill that could prevent the deaths of the approximately two million


Brazilian aircraft builder Embraer diversifies for down market

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 07:14 PM PST

IN SAO JOSE DOS CAMPOS, BRAZIL Grainy old photographs lining the walls of Brazil's biggest aircraft plant here show men in tight suits and high collars posing proudly next to their flimsy flying machines.


Prince Charles says Camilla may be queen (AP)

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 08:12 PM PST

Britain's Prince Charles, The Prince of Wales, President, The Prince's Trust, and The Duchess of Cornwall meet Barry Humphries in character as Dame Edna Everidge (2nd right) and Paloma Faith (right) at The Prince's Trust Rock Gala, at the Royal Albert Hall in London,  Wednesday Nov. 17, 2010.(AP Photo  / Arthur Edwards/The Sun/ Pool)AP - Prince Charles has reopened a sensitive debate in Britain by suggesting his wife Camilla may take the title of queen when he becomes monarch.



US seeks 'expansion' of drone operations in Pakistan (AFP)

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 07:42 PM PST

This file photo shows a US Predator unmanned drone armed with a missile setting off from its hangar at Bagram air base in Afghanistan. The United States is seeking to expand the areas inside Pakistan where Central Intelligence Agency drones can operate, according to The Washington Post.(AFP/File/Bonny Schoonakker)AFP - The United States is seeking to expand the areas inside Pakistan where Central Intelligence Agency drones can operate, according to The Washington Post.



Stieg Larsson, in His Own Words

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 09:04 PM PST

Previously unpublished emails show how the author of "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" set out to defy the conventions of crime novels.


Poisonous gas fears stall New Zealand mine rescue (AFP)

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 07:14 PM PST

This aerial photo taken on November 19, shows smoke coming from the Pike River Coal Mine portal, where some 29 coal miners are trapped underground after an explosion near Greymouth in New Zealand. Fears over poisonous or combustible gases were preventing rescuers entering a mine in New Zealand where 29 men are missing after an explosion, according to police.(AFP/HO/Greymouth Star)AFP - Fears over poisonous or combustible gases were preventing rescuers entering a mine in New Zealand where 29 men are missing after an explosion, according to police.



Nations meet to try to save tigers

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 05:17 PM PST

In 2010, the Year of the Tiger, about 3,600 of the majestic predators remain in the wild, their existence threatened by habitat-loss and poaching.


Plea yields tents for Kenyan refugees

Posted: 19 Nov 2010 05:43 PM PST

An emergency plea from a humanitarian group working in the largest developing refugee camp in the world, in Dadaab, Kenya, has yielded a donation of enough tents to finally provide shelter to at least 700 families living in "unacceptable" conditions outside the camp compound, Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) said this week.