International and Indian News

Myanmar - cyclone death toll tops 15,000

2008-05-06T16:33:00.002+04:00

YANGON (AFP) — More than 15,000 people were killed in Myanmar's devastating cyclone, the government said Tuesday, with thousands more feared dead after the storm left rice fields littered with corpses.

Aid workers were racing to deliver food and water to the southern coast which was submerged by floodwaters, leaving scenes of utter devastation and desperate homeless survivors running low on food and clean water.

But with the clock ticking four days after the storm hit, Myanmar's reclusive military rulers insisted foreign aid experts would still have to negotiate with the government to be allowed into the isolated nation.

The government also said it would proceed this weekend with a constitutional referendum as part of its slow-moving "road map" to democracy, except in the areas hardest hit by the disaster.

In its first news conference since Tropical Cyclone Nargis barrelled into the Irrawaddy river delta early Saturday, the government said many people died from a 12-foot (3.5-metre) tidal wave that slammed into the area.

Social Welfare Minister Maung Maung Swe told reporters that most of the town of Bogalay, one of the delta areas that bore the brunt of the storm's force, had simply been washed away.

"Ninety-five percent of the houses in Bogalay were destroyed," he said. "Many people were killed in a 12-foot tidal wave."

Satellite images from US space agency NASA showed virtually the entire coastal plain of the country, once known as Burma and now one of the poorest nations on the planet, under water.

The New Light of Myanmar newspaper, which like all media in this impovershed nation is strictly controlled by the junta, said more than 15,000 people have been killed.

But it was not known how precise that toll could be given the scope of the destruction. Phone and electricity are not working in many areas, and roads in some places -- where they even existed -- are wiped out.

Christian relief organisation World Vision, one of the few international agencies allowed to work inside Myanmar, said its teams had flown over the most affected regions and witnessed horrific scenes on the ground below.

"They saw the dead bodies from the helicopters, so it's quite overwhelming," Kyi Minn, an adviser to World Vision's office in Myanmar's main city of Yangon, told AFP in Thailand by telephone.

"The impact of the disaster could be worse than the (2004 Asian) tsunami because it is compounded by the limited availability of resources on top of the transport constraints," he said.

Aid groups were rushing to bring food, clean water, clothing and shelter into the country, whose military rulers have long spurned most of the outside world -- and prevented many aid groups from operating in the isolated nation.

In Geneva, the United Nations said it had a disaster-assessment team in neighbouring Thailand still awaiting entry visas -- while the government underlined that foreign relief experts would not be allowed in automatically.

"For expert teams from overseas to come here, they have to negotiate with the foreign ministry and our senior authorities," Maung Maung Swe said.

Relief officials warned that as time went on, fears were mounting about the risk of disease -- on top of the logistical problems of getting aid to many regions that are both remote and densely populated.

"Getting it out to the affected populations will be a major challenge, given that there is widespread flooding," said Richard Horsey, a spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Bangkok.

"The urgent need is for shelter and for water. Without clean drinking water, the risk of disease spreading is the most serious concern."

The UN's food agency meanwhile said that the destruction also threatened rice exports, which it was hoped would ease shortages in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh amid soaring global food prices.

Brigadier General Kyaw Hsan, the secretive regime's information minister, said the country was "greatly thankful" for the offers of help that have been pouring in.

But US First Lady Laura Bush, a longtime critic of the military that has run the country for 46 years, said the government had not done enough to warn citizens that the storm was approaching.

The UN's disaster reduction agency was also critical.

"Looking at the number of deaths, it leads us to think that an early warning system had not been put in place," an agency spokeswoman said. "Obviously many people did not have time to evacuate."

Bush to Push Democracy With Arab Allies

2008-01-13T16:03:00.001+04:00

U.S. President George W. Bush, left, with United Arab Emirates President Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, right, during the arrival ceremony at Al Mushref Palace, Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

U.S. President George W. Bush, left, sits with United Arab Emirates President Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, right, at Al Mushref Palace, Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

U.S. President George W. Bush, left, walks with United Arab Emirates President Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, right, during his arrival at Abu Dhabi International Airport, Sunday, Jan. 13, 2008 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

President Bush to arrive in the UAE on Sunday on first ever visit by an American president

2008-01-13T15:49:00.000+04:00

UAE. US President, George W Bush, will arrive in the UAE on Sunday on an official visit as part of a broader tour of the Middle East that is also aimed at isolating Iran over its contested nuclear program.

The UAE President HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan will hold talks with the US President on issues of cooperation and friendship between the UAE and the United States and the situation in the region said the official news agency WAM.

Despite a long-standing territorial row, the UAE is Iran's largest trade partner, with up to 10,000 Iranian firms operating in Dubai, making the city state Iran's main business hub.

Bush will deliver a speech in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi at the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research (ECSSR). that is expected to focus on economic achievements and the progress of the "freedom agenda" in the Gulf.

A free-trade pact has eluded Washington and Abu Dhabi, and their friendship suffered a setback when US congressional opposition forced Dubai's giant port operator to offload US operations in 2006.

But the US and the UAE - touted as a model of economic progress in an unstable region - have steadily forged closer links.

US firms have scrambled to secure a foothold in the country while Emirati companies and funds snap up prized US assets.

Bush will also meet with members of the US-UAE Business Council, which is a collaboration of leading companies based in the United States and United Arab Emirates. The council is committed to expanding bilateral commercial opportunities between the two countries.

President Bush will tour the Saadiyat Island, a signature development in Abu Dhabi, which will host a number of global architectural landmarks, including arts museums and centres for art and culture.

The US president will also tour the Masdar Initiative, where he would be briefed about the multi-faceted, multi-billion dollar initiative to develop and commercialise renewable and alternative energy, and clean technology. The initiative reflects Abu Dhabi's comprehensive investment in future energy solutions and clean technology - from design to research laboratory to mass deployment.

During a fleeting visit to Dubai Monday, Bush will take a glance at the meteoric rise which has made the city state an instantly recognisable name in his own country, with such grandiose projects as a world-shaped cluster of man- made islands and the world's tallest skyscraper.

Bush had backed DP World's acquisition of operations at six US ports in the face of fierce congressional opposition because of security concerns.

But the Dubai government had to relinquish the US assets after Bush failed to sway U.S. lawmakers to back the deal.

Despite the debacle, Dubai has gone on to acquire major US assets, including an investment by the Borse Dubai in Nasdaq Stock Market.

Late last year, the government-run Abu Dhabi Investment Authority bought a 4.9% stake in Citigroup Inc. for US$7.5 billion, making it one of the largest shareholders in America's second-biggest bank by market worth.

UAE Foreign Minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, welcomed the US President's visit. "We warmly welcome the US President to the United Arab Emirates. This is the first visit of a sitting US president to the country," he said in a statement to WAM.

Sheikh Abdullah praised the existing political, economic, military and cultural ties between the UAE and the US. He said the UAE is the US' biggest economic partner in the Middle East with balance of payment between the two sides exceeding US$13 billion in 2006.

Sheikh Abdullah expressed confidence that the visit would open up new avenues of cooperation between the two countries.

He pointed out that the UAE is a partner in the war against terror. He reiterated the significant role the United States plays in maintaining security and stability in the Arabian Gulf region and Washington's major role in activating the Middle East peace process in the light of President Bush's vision of the establishment of a viable Palestinian State, the roadmap and the Arab peace initiative.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

2007-12-31T16:03:00.001+04:00

Benazir Bhutto 'killed in blast'

2007-12-27T17:41:00.000+04:00

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Benazir Bhutto 'killed in blast': "Benazir Bhutto 'killed in blast'
BBC breaking news graphic
Pakistani former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has been killed in a presumed suicide attack, a spokesman for the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) says.

Other reports said Ms Bhutto had only been injured and taken to hospital.

Ms Bhutto had just addressed a rally of PPP supporters in the town of Rawalpindi when the rally was hit by a blast.

At least 15 other people are reported killed in the attack.

Ms Bhutto has twice been the country's prime minister and was campaigning ahead of elections due in January."

Finding Alzheimer’s Before a Mind Fails

2007-12-26T15:09:00.000+04:00

Finding Alzheimer’s Before a Mind Fails - New York Times: "Ms. Kerley, 52, has spent much of her life in the shadow of an illness that gradually destroys memory, personality and the ability to think, speak and live independently. Her mother, grandmother and a maternal great-aunt all developed Alzheimer’s disease. Her mother, 78, is in a nursing home in the advanced stages of dementia, helpless and barely responsive.

“She’s in her own private purgatory,” Ms. Kerley said.

Ms. Kerley is part of an ambitious new scientific effort to find ways to detect Alzheimer’s disease at the earliest possible moment. Although the disease may seem like a calamity that strikes suddenly in old age, scientists now think it begins long before the mind fails.

“Alzheimer’s disease may be a chronic condition in which changes begin in midlife or even earlier,” said Dr. John C. Morris, director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at Washington University in St. Louis, where Ms. Kerley volunteers for studies.

But currently, the diagnosis is not made until symptoms develop, and by then it may already be too late to rescue the brain. Drugs now in use temporarily ease symptoms for some, but cannot halt the underlying disease.

Many scientists believe the best hope of progress, maybe the on"

Sienna Miller's Nude Pictures A Rage On The Internet | News Post India

2007-11-19T12:10:00.000+04:00

Sienna Miller's Nude Pictures A Rage On The Internet | News Post India: "Sienna Miller's Nude Pictures A Rage On The Internet Sunday 16th of September 2007 British actress Sienna Miller has been captured on camera naked in the woods for her role in a saucy new movie 'Hippie Hippie Shake'. The pictures, shot earlier this week, are currently a rage on the Internet, contactmusic.com reported. The 'Alfie' star wore nothing but a daisy chain on her head for the revealing scene, which was shot in a secluded copse near London."

The Dubai International Motor Show 2007

2007-11-18T17:57:00.000+04:00

International Motor Show Dubai

2007-11-18T17:52:00.000+04:00

The 9th edition of the Middle East International Motor Show, popularly known as the Dubai Motor Show, opened at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre today. The event was inaugurated by Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Technology & Media Free Authority. After the inauguration, Sheikh Maktoum and his VIP entourage toured the exhibition and got a glimpse of the latest designs and models unveiled by the biggest names in the automotive industry.

Thousands of motor enthusiasts queued up to be the first ones to get their eyes on the stunning designs and prototypes on display, and the turbocharged excitement in the air was clearly palpable. 650 companies displayed their best and newest in the expansive 50,000 square meter display area. The show has grown in size and stature compared to the last edition, with more exhibitors, newer brands and more people in attendance.

Middle East Motor Show starts at DIEC:: Gowealthy.com

2007-11-17T10:16:00.000+04:00

Middle East Motor Show starts at DIEC:: Gowealthy.com: "Middle East Motor Show starts at DIEC 15-Nov-2007 Middle East Motor Show The exciting show that would bring a visual treat to the city dwellers with its wide array of most modern model cars, has kick started at Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre on 14 November 2007. The top brands participating in the show are Aston Martin, BMW, Bentley, Ferrari and Lamborghini, showcasing their wares on the opening day of the ninth Middle East International Motor Show in Dubai."

ATM Thefts

2007-11-06T13:27:00.000+04:00

Gowealthy.com honoured regions Best Property Portal at CNBC Arabian Property Awards 2007

2007-10-25T13:08:00.000+04:00

Gowealthy.com has won the coveted 5-Star Property Award for the region’s Best Property Portal at the CNBC Arabian Property Awards 2007 in association with Al Qudra Holding at a glittering gala dinner at the Madinat Jumeirah hotel in Dubai. The award was also followed by another 4-Star Award for the Best Real Estate Agency Marketing for their successful ‘Top Prop’ sales & marketing product.

“Last years award was a testament to the quality of our services within the highly competitive Arabian property arena. This year’s award solidifies the fact that Gowealthy.com has been working diligently on continuously raising the bar in terms of quality and services. Having been given this high recommendation two years running is a true mark of distinction for our public who are becoming increasingly well informed and judicious about the properties they seek to buy,” commented Peter Penhall, Chief Executive at Gowealthy.com.

CNBC Arabian Property Awards are sponsored by CNBC Arabia, the Arab World's first and sole 24-hour Arabic language financial and business information channel. The aim of these awards is to distinguish the highest levels of achievement in a range of property related fields to attract foreign investment in the Arabian property industry.

Gowealthy.com is already working towards further accolades for 2008 as they work meticulously on a complete backend overhaul for the website. The revamped web portal will offer not only more services to their trade partners, but will ensure investors have an even broader range of choice to suit every permutation adding to their existing, highly focused products.

Gowealthy.com currently offers a wide choice of properties from over 100 developers in Dubai to a million visitors who log in every month. In addition, they also feature a range of innovative e-marketing and specialized solutions to property developers, investors and retailers.

The success of the 5-Star Property award means that once again, Gowealthy.com fulfils a prerequisite into the International Property Awards, where Gowealthy.com was bestowed with the 5-Star Award for the Best International Property Portal in 2006.

“We now go in to the 2007 International Property Awards with high expectations. International recognition once again this year would mean that Gowealthy.com goes into 2008 with an even better foundation to serve our public with the best possible online and offline real estate solutions available in the market,” added Penhall.

Gowealthy honoured for real estate marketing excellence at CNBC Arabian Property Awards

2007-10-25T13:04:00.000+04:00

First Gowealthy Real Estate Brokers - has added the CNBC Arabian Property Awards 2007 4 Star ‘Best Real Estate Agency Marketing Award’ for its ‘Top Prop of the Week’ concept to its ever growing list of accolades. The award was presented at the recent CNBC Arabian Property Awards 2007 in association with Al Qudra Holding at a glittering gala dinner at the Madinat Jumeirah hotel in Dubai. Gowealthy.com also picked up a 5-Star Property Award for the region’s CNBC‘Best Property Portal’.

Focusing on marketing attributes and service achievements, Top Prop of the Week was recognized as an innovative marketing concept from Gowealthy that provided its property developer partners with a unique model to ensure sales. Based on performance-led parameters, the multi-media sales & marketing tool offers a solid premise by promoting a specific project each week using different forms of popular local and international media including print, online and radio.

“As an integral part of Gowealthy.com, First Gowealthy Real Estate Brokers continually strives to provide the most innovative and relevant marketing solutions. Receiving this award is a tribute to the teams’ commitment and performance in such a highly competitive market,” commented Peter Penhall, Chief Executive at Gowealthy.com.

Six years rigorous imprisonment for Sanjay Dutt

2007-07-31T16:40:00.000+04:00

Actor Sanjay Dutt on Tuesday was awarded six years rigorous imprisonment for illegal possession of weapons in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blasts.

Dutt, who has already been convicted under the Arms Act, was immediately taken into custody and sent to Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail. He can appeal in the Supreme Court against the TADA court verdict.

Other co-accused Yusuf Nulwalla has been sentenced to five years in prison under the Arms Act for aiding Dutt to dispose of the AK-56 rifle while Karsi Adjania was awarded two years in jail.

As the judgment was being read out a visibly shocked Dutt was seen shivering and holding back tears.

Earlier, Judge PD Kode said, that Dutt attended a dinner party hosted by actor-filmmaker Feroze Khan during the shooting of Yalgaar in December 1992 in Dubai. The party was also attended by gangsters Dawood Ibrahim and Iqbal Mirchi.

Kode added that Dutt not only committed the offense but he also made co-accused Nulwalla commit the offense.

“I can see a chain of crimes committed between Sanjay Dutt and others initiated by the actor,” Kode said while reading out the judgment.

Kode however, permitted the actor to take a call from his daughter Trishala in the US.

Kode also heeded Dutt's request that he and his friend Yusuf Nulwalla be kept in the Arthur Road Jail but in different cells.

The judge, who has been holding court in the Arthur Road jail premises, said Dutt should not be kept with hardened criminals but in a proper place with all facilities. His family would be allowed to come and meet him.

Dutt’s co-accused Rusi Mullah was granted relief under Probation of Offenders Act because of his age and restricted role in the 1993 Mumbai blasts. Mulla will be released after depositing Rs 1 lakh.

Dutt had been arrested on April 19, 1993 in the case and he spent 16 months behind bars as an undertrial. It raked up a huge controversy when he got bail and walked out of prison in spite of being charged under TADA.

Just three months back, the actor was acquitted on terrorism and conspiracy charges in the same case.

Interestingly, while Dutt was absolved on terrorism and conspiracy charges, his accomplices were found guilty under the TADA.

Manzoor, who had carried the gun from Dutt's bungalow, was found guilty under the TADA. Zaibunissa Kazi was convicted under TADA for concealing the consignment.

But Dutt, who asked for the weapons in the first place and kept them at his residence, was found 'not guilty' under this Act. Dutt had also been accused of ordering the destruction of the weapons. Yet, he got away with a milder rap.

With all 100 convicts in the case having been sentenced, Dutt's punishment ends the trial.

Dutt seeks time to surrender

Sanjay Dutt made an emotional plea for more time to surrender to the special court after the sentence was awarded.

Dutt asked for permission to speak in the court and went to the witness box with folded hands.

"Sir, I made a mistake 14 years ago. Please give me sometime to surrender," he said.

Judge P D Kode of the special TADA court replied, "Everybody makes mistakes." He added that he could not grant more time to Dutt to surrender under the law.

When Dutt's counsel Satish Maneshinde tried to point out that his client's conduct had been excellent throughout, Kode asked Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam for his opinion on this matter.

"I appreciate his conduct but there is a legal restraint that a person sentenced to more than three years in prison cannot be granted an extension of bail," Nikam said.

Popular support for Sanju

Commenting upon affidavits filed by public personalities like actor Dilip Kumar in support of Dutt, Judge Kode said these are of no use if there exists material, which says that the actor has indulged in a criminal act.

Dismissing the defence's argument that the weapons were acquired by Dutt for self-defence, Kode said such an acquisition cannot be called "noble", is contrary to the law and indicates scant respect for the law.

"I must say for every citizen, laws of the nation shall be respected. If you don't, I don't expect you to be called a moral person," Kode said.

Kode also observed it was an "eminently dangerous act" as the weapon possessed by Dutt was capable of mass destruction though the accused had not used the weapons.

He pointed out that apart from possessing the weapons, Dutt was a close acquaintance of Anees Ibrahim. Kode, however, said the crimes committed by Dutt and his friends Adajania and Nulwalla were not "anti-social, ghastly, inhuman, immoral or pre-planned" and did not cause any harm to the general public.

Mystery gripping Japan over anonymous cash gifts

2007-07-30T15:48:00.000+04:00

TOKYO (AFP) - A mystery gripping Japan over anonymous cash gifts has taken a new twist. For those who want the next batch of giveaways, the place to look is in their mailboxes -- or even right at their feet.

Residents of a Tokyo apartment building are baffled after a total of 1.81 million yen (15,210 dollars) was found in 18 mailboxes by Saturday, a police spokesman said.

"The money was in identical plain envelopes, which were unsealed and carried no names or messages," the spokesman told AFP.

But residents became "spooked" rather than pleased with the anonymous gifts -- and were too upright to pocket the money secretly.

"Some people initially suspected they were fake bills. When they realised the bills were real, they reported them to us," the spokesman said.

The predominantly middle-class apartment building in Tokyo is not alone. An envelope with one million yen was left in the mailbox of a 31-year-old woman in the western city of Kobe on Wednesday.

Police admit they have no idea who is leaving the cash -- whether a few people are behind the bizarre giveaways or if Japan is witnessing a craze of copycat benevolence.

Since June, dozens of city halls and other public buildings across the country have reported finding neatly packaged envelopes full of cash in men's restrooms.

The bathroom money has come with identical letters asking people to do good deeds -- leading to speculation that the benefactor may be a public servant trying to cheer up his profession or perhaps a member of a new-age religion.

Japanese cash dropoffs are not always so neat.

On Wednesday, bills worth 960,000 yen were inexplicably seen "falling" in front of a convenience store.

"We can just say the money came from the skies," a puzzled police official said. "There were other passers-by outside and customers in the store but the incident caused no confusion," he said.

"People thought it was too eerie to touch."

A man who contacted police saying his daughter had dropped the money had his claim rejected as groundless, the official said.

The largest single dropoff so far was in the ancient city of Kyoto on July 23, astonishing a 67-year-old woman who found an envelope containing 10 million yen of stacked bills in her mailbox.

But mystery money does not always reach police intact.

A woman walking on a bridge over Tokyo's Sumida River told officers that she saw bills falling at her feet from an elevated expressway above on July 6.

She believes 30 to 40 notes fell but police managed to collect only six notes worth 46,000 yen by the time they arrived.

"Some people were picking the money up on the bridge," the Tokyo Shimbun quoted the woman as saying.

No one can say if more people have collected money and not told police.

Media tallies suggest more than four million yen, including some found last year, has been found in the public restrooms.

Dutifully, police are holding most of the money in case the rightful owner eventually decides to reveal their identity.

Rs 3000 cr package for coastal development in Kerala-Politics/Nation-News-The Economic Times

2007-06-28T18:44:00.000+04:00

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A comprehensive development package with a total outlay of Rs 3,000 crore would be implemented in the coastal regions of Kerala, state Fisheries Minister S Sharma told the Assembly on Thursday.

Replying to a calling attention, he said 'The Hyderabad based National Institute of Rural Development had been entrusted with the task of preparing project report for the package. The Coastal Development Authority would be the nodal agency for implementing the schemes.'

Besides improving basic facilities in the coastal areas, the other main components of the package included providing houses to all fishermen, power connections and developing the fish landing centres and fishing harbours.

The package envisaged coordination of schemes taken up by different departments in the regions."

Egyptians: Mystery mummy is lost female pharaoh - CNN.com

2007-06-28T18:37:00.000+04:00

Egyptians: Mystery mummy is lost female pharaoh - CNN.com: "Egyptians: Mystery mummy is lost female pharaoh
POSTED: 1330 GMT (2130 HKT), June 28, 2007
Story Highlights
• Mummy of obese woman is 15th-century B.C. Egyptian Queen Hatshepsut
• Tooth found in jar containing queen's remains fits in mummy's mouth
• Mummy was found a century ago; identification on par with King Tut discovery
• Hatshepsut most powerful female pharaoh in history; dressed as a man
Adjust font size:
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CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- The mummy of an obese woman, who likely suffered from diabetes and liver cancer, has been identified as that of Queen Hatshepsut, Egypt's most powerful female pharaoh, Egyptian archaeologists said Wednesday.

Hatshepsut, who ruled Egypt in the 15th century B.C., was known for dressing like a man and wearing a false beard. But when her rule ended, all traces of her mysteriously disappeared, including her mummy.

Discovered in 1903 in the Valley of the Kings, the mummy was left on site until two months ago, when it was brought to the Cairo Museum for testing, Egypt's antiquities chief Zahi Hawass said. (Watch the mummy on display Video)

DNA bone samples taken from the mummy's pelvic bone and femur are being compared with the mummy of Queen Hatshepsut's grandmother,"

UK asks: What kind of man is new PM? - CNN.com

2007-06-28T18:31:00.000+04:00

UK asks: What kind of man is new PM? - CNN.com: "UK asks: What kind of man is new PM?
POSTED: 1110 GMT (1910 HKT), June 27, 2007
By CNN European Political Editor Robin Oakley

LONDON, England (CNN) -- When Tony Blair strode across a Manchester stage on Sunday June 24 and declared, 'the new leader of the Labour Party, Gordon Brown,' it was the moment his Downing Street neighbor had been waiting for, with growing impatience, for 13 years.

As chancellor of the exchequer, chief finance minister, over the 10 years of Labour government, Gordon Brown has proved his mettle at the top level by delivering the longest continuous period of growth the British economy has ever seen. He was bold enough to hand control of interest rates to the Bank of England. But what kind of man now takes on the role of Britain's prime minister?

Peter Kellner, chairman of YouGov Polls, says: 'Whereas Tony Blair came to politics ideologically light, Gordon Brown came ideologically heavy. He is the son of the manse, son of a Church of Scotland minister where social values and moral values were drummed into him at a very early age and he's held fast to those values.'

Brown himself in his acceptance speech emphasized the 'moral compass' his background has provided: 'Dut"

CNN.com International

2007-06-28T18:29:00.000+04:00

CNN.com International: "Newly installed British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has started appointing members of his cabinet in a re-shuffle expected to be the biggest shake-up in government since the Labour Party came to power in 1997.

Alistair Darling, a longterm political ally of Brown, was widely expected to be named to the key position of Chancellor of the Exchequer -- the finance role previously held by the new prime minister himself for 10 years."

The Canadian mint introduced the mega-coin, which is the size of an extra-large pizza

2007-05-04T16:06:00.000+04:00

A 100kg gold coin is seen next to gold bars and smaller gold coins in an undated publicity photo from the Royal Canadian Mint. The Royal Canadian Mint unveiled a welcome addition to any piggy bank on Thursday -- a monster gold coin with a face value of C$1 million (455,000 pounds) that it says is the world's biggest, purest and highest denomination coin.

The Canadian mint introduced the mega-coin, which is the size of an extra-large pizza, alongside the one-ounce gold bullion coins it is mass producing at its Ottawa plant.

Originally designed to promote the new one-ounce coins, the colossal 100 kg coins will be produced in a very limited quantity. A U.S. precious metals distributor has ordered three and there is interest in Asia and Europe, the mint said.

At 53 centimetres (21 inches) in diameter and over 3 cm (1.2 inches) thick, the massive coins need a high level of hand crafting.

While it has a C$1 million face value, the coin is worth more than twice that amount given the current gold price of $683.30 an ounce.

The new coins are both adorned with a maple leaf and boast 99.999 percent purity, a notch above previous purity peaks of 99.99 percent.

Fix the problem, not the blame

2007-04-18T17:08:00.000+04:00

Management Tip L1: "Fix the problem, not the blame. It is far more productive, and less expensive, to figure out what to do to fix a problem that has come up than it is to waste time trying to decide who's fault it was."

Mayor's assassination stuns Japan

2007-04-18T16:36:00.000+04:00

Mayor's assassination stuns Japan: "Stunned Japanese laid flowers and called for even tighter controls on guns after the mayor of Nagasaki was shot dead by a member of the nation's largest underworld gang.

The rare political killing in one of the world's safest countries led authorities to tighten security around political leaders ahead of local polls this Sunday, in which the mayor was campaigning for re-election.

'This criminal act during the election campaign is a challenge to democracy. It cannot be forgiven no matter what,' Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters in Tokyo.

Sixty-one-year-old Iccho Ito died early Wednesday due to massive blood loss hours after being shot outside his campaign offices in Nagasaki.

'This is not an act by a human being. If he had grievances, he should have said them to the mayor instead of shooting him,' said Yoshinori Hirano, 57, a gas company worker, as mourners left flowers at the shooting site.

'To see an important person get killed violently is very shocking because Nagasaki is the city of peace,' he said as he started to weep.

Police said the assailant belonged to the Japanese mafia, or 'yakuza,' who hold wide interests in seedy nightlife and are linked to most of Japan's gun-related violence.

Ito, a political independent, was an outspoken pacifist born a month after the atomic bomb that devastated Nagasaki "

Police hunt for Virginia Tech killer's motives

2007-04-18T16:29:00.000+04:00

Reuters AlertNet - Police hunt for Virginia Tech killer's motives: "BLACKSBURG, Va., April 18 (Reuters) - Police on Wednesday pored over the writings of a student who massacred 32 people at Virginia Tech university, searching for further clues as to why he went on the worst shooting rampage in modern U.S. history.

A chilling portrait of Cho Seung-Hui, a 23-year-old South Korean, has emerged from accounts of fellow students and teachers and from writings for his English degree that were dominated by disillusioned, violent characters.

Noted U.S. poet Nikki Giovanni, who teaches at Virginia Tech, told CNN that she had insisted that Cho be removed from her class in 2005 because he had intimidated other students by photographing them and by writing obscene, violent poetry.

'I was willing to resign before I would continue with him,' she said. 'There was something mean about this boy. There was a real mean streak.

Lucinda Roy, an English professor who taught Cho, was so concerned that he might be dangerous that she set up a code with her assistant; if she said the name of a certain deceased professor, her assistant would call for help, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.

Cho, who emigrated to the United States 15 years ago and was raised in suburban Washington, D.C., on Monday opened fire in classrooms in a building where he chained doors to preve"

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Pakistan battles HIV/Aids taboo

2007-04-11T22:24:00.000+04:00

BBC NEWS | South Asia | Pakistan battles HIV/Aids taboo: "Nearly 4,000 people with HIV/Aids have reported at treatment centres around Pakistan, government and World Health Organisation (WHO) officials say.

The figure is a fraction of the total number of Pakistanis with the virus.

A UNAids report last year said that between 80,000 and 140,000 people were infected - and the rate could spiral because of under-reporting of cases.

The WHO has been funding a three-year, $4.5m anti-retroviral programme in Pakistan since late 2005.

'Adultery'

The drugs for the programme are imported from India, and a number of doctors and nurses have been trained for the purpose in India and Italy.

Unfortunately, prevention programmes take time to produce results and high risk sexual behaviour is not easily changed
Quaid Saeed,
World Health Organisation

An HIV-Aids newsletter of the Ministry of Health put the total number of reported cases at 3,933, but only about 618 of them were registered with nine treatment centres countrywide.

Pakistani officials say a low detection rate and stigma associated with the disease were hampering the treatment of HIV/Aids patients.

The problem is further compounded by a lack of awareness about the infection.

'People think it is exclusively caused by adultery, and are therefore reluctant to approach health services,' say"

North Korea is ready to accept UN nuclear inspectors - International Herald Tribune

2007-04-11T22:11:00.000+04:00

North Korea is ready to accept UN nuclear inspectors - International Herald Tribune: "North Korea is ready to accept UN nuclear inspectors
By Choe Sang-Hun

SEOUL: North Korea has offered to allow UN nuclear inspectors to enter the country for the first time in more than four years and to begin shutting down its main nuclear reactor within a day of retrieving its funds from a Macao bank, said Bill Richardson, a Democratic U.S. presidential candidate, who returned Wednesday from a trip to North Korea, where he had met with officials.

North Korea's moves, if implemented, will end Pyongyang's financial dispute with the U.S. Treasury Department that for months has stalled American-led multinational efforts to restart talks on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons programs.

North Korea's offer came as Macao's financial authorities announced Wednesday, with the endorsement of the U.S. Treasury Department, that account holders of some $25 million in deposits tied to North Korea at Banco Delta Asia were now free to withdraw or transfer their money, with no strings attached.

North Korea offered no official statement on Wednesday, and account holders at the Macao bank, including internati"