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Bangladesh flood "worst" in Years

noreply@blogger.com (ehm-ehm) — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 10:36:00 +0000

Via www.reuters.com

DHAKA (Reuters) - At least 100 people have died and 250,000 left stranded by flash floods and landslides in Bangladesh set off by the heaviest rain in years, police and officials said on Wednesday.The low-lying and densely populated country, which is in its wet season, has been battered by five days of torrential downpours.

The deaths took place late on Tuesday and on Wednesday. Most were caused by landslides, others by wall collapses, lightning strikes and surges of floodwater. Army, police and fire brigade personnel were helping in rescue efforts.Weather officials said more rain was expected over the next few days.

Hundreds of homes have been washed away, while authorities have moved many families from shanty housing and told others to leave quickly.At least 23 people were killed in and around the southeastern port city of Chittagong, while 36 died in Bandarban in an area known as the Chittagong Hill Tracts."Several more people are feared trapped in hillside homes buried under heaps of mud. Rescue operations are continuing," Chittagong Deputy Commissioner Faiz Ahmed said.

A further 38 died in the coastal district of Cox's Bazar near the Myanmar border, officials and police said.Officials in the affected areas said about 100 people were missing, many swept away by floodwater, and about 200 injured.

MAROONED

In Sylhet, a rice and tea-growing area in the northeast, houses were filled by up to three feet (one metre) of floodwater, and residents were forced to perch on boats or scramble to high ground. Three children were reported killed.

Flooding also hit districts northwest of the capital Dhaka.

The downpours lashed the borders with Myanmar and India, with the weather office recording 463 mm (18.2 inches) in Chittagong over the past 24 hours.

"We are having the worst rainfall in many years," said Jainul Bari, district commissioner for Cox's Bazar.

Disaster control officials said about 150,000 people had been marooned by the floods in the southeast while 50,000 were stranded in Sylhet.

About 50,000 were reported stranded in their flooded homes in the northern districts of Gaibandha and Kurigram.

Local television showed villagers trudging through waist-high water to relief camps while some moved their cattle on to the roofs of buildings for safety.

Farming officials said it was too early to gauge crop damage. "In flash floods, water recedes soon after the rain stops, so we don't anticipate any major damage to rice and other crops," one official said.

Most road and rail links between Chittagong and the rest of the country were suspended late on Tuesday, while Chittagong airport was closed after part of the runway was flooded.

Authorities have started distributing food, drinking water and medicine among survivors. "The government has allocated about 750 tonnes of rice and 6.6 million taka for the affected people," Atiqur Rahman, a senior disaster ministry official, said.

(Additional reporting by Ruma Paul, Nurul Islam in COX'S BAZAR and Raju Ahmed in SYLHET; Editing by Pravin Char)

South Korea takes "major step" to accepting Canada beef

noreply@blogger.com (ehm-ehm) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 14:31:00 +0000

Via www.reuters.com

By Rod Nickel

(Reuters) - South Korea has taken a "major step" to ending an eight-year-old ban on imports of Canadian beef, Canada's agriculture and trade ministers said on Friday.

The South Korean Parliament ratified import health requirements for Canadian beef under 30 months of age on Friday, one of the final steps to ending the ban, the ministers said in a release.

South Korea is the last major beef-importing country to agree to lower its restrictions on Canadian beef, since a 2003 case of mad-cow disease (BSE) in Canada.

"This has been a long journey and today's announcement is a big step forward for our hard-working beef producers to once again bring their world class product to the South Korean marketplace," said Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz.

Canada is the world's third-biggest beef shipper and in 2002, prior to the ban, South Korea was Canada's fourth biggest beef market.

South Korea also initially banned U.S. beef but later allowed in U.S. beef within the 30-month age limit.

Canada complained about South Korea's ban to the World Trade Organization, but suspended its case earlier this year after South Korea said it would resume trade by the end of 2011.

The WTO case remains suspended pending South Korea's final steps to reopening trade, which include issuing a list of approved Canadian beef exporters, Ritz and Canada Trade Minister Ed Fas t said. It expects South Korea to complete the final steps in early 2012.

Mad cow disease, formally known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, is a human health concern as it is believed humans can get a similar fatal brain disease by eating infected parts from cattle with the disease.

(Reporting by Rod Nickel; Editing by David Gregorio)

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Syria buries victims of contested bombing

noreply@blogger.com (ehm-ehm) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 14:14:00 +0000

SANA/Reuters

Via www.reuters.com

By Alistair Lyon

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Crowds waving Syrian flags and pictures ofPresident Bashar al-Assad gathered on Saturday to bury 26 people who the authorities said were killed by a suicide bomber at a busy Damascus crossroads.

The opposition Syrian National Council has accused the government of staging Friday's explosion to try to bolster its contention that it is fighting foreign-backed "terrorists", not a popular pro-democracy movement.

A cortege of ambulances, lights flashing, bore the flag-draped coffins of victims to a Damascus mosque after driving through streets lined with mourners, state television showed.

Crowds chanted "The people want Bashar al-Assad!" and "One, one, one, the Syrian people are one!".

The blast, which also wounded 63 people, occurred before an Arab League committee meets in Cairo on Sunday to discuss the future of an Arab monitoring mission that has spent two weeks checking whether Syria is keeping its pledge to halt a 10-month crackdown on opponents of four decades of Assad family rule.

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani, who heads the committee, told Al Jazeera TV the monitors should not stay to "waste time" since Syria was not implementing the deal.

He said the Syrian army had not left cities as required and the killing had not stopped since the observers began work on December 26. "With great regret, the news is not good," he added.

Security forces trying to crush anti-Assad protests around Syria killed four civilians in Homs on Saturday, and three people died in Harasta from wounds inflicted on Friday, the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

It also said security forces had killed 20 civilians and three army defectors on Friday.

Scores of people have been reported killed since the observers arrived, adding to a death toll that the United Nations says has already topped 5,000 since the uprising erupted in March, inspired by Arab revolts elsewhere.

ARAB MONITORS TO STAY?

Despite the Qatari leader's criticism, Arab League sources said Arab foreign ministers were likely to reaffirm support for the monitors, resisting calls to end what Assad's foes say is a toothless mission that only buys time for him to repress them.

The head of the monitoring operations room at the League's headquarters in Cairo, Adnan al-Khudeir, said no one should "rush to verdicts" on the mission's achievements.

Qatar is proposing to invite U.N. technicians and human rights experts to help Arab monitors assess whether Syria is implementing the League's plan, sources at the Arab League said. A source said the ministers meeting on Sunday might request that U.N. staff helping the mission be Arabs.

League sources said the foreign ministers, who will consider an initial report by the monitors, would also discuss measures to allow the mission to operate more independently of the Syrian authorities.

Arab League chief Nabil Elaraby, in a statement posted online, condemned the "terrorist explosion" inDamascus and voiced "great concern at the escalation of violence in Syria".

Syrian Interior Minister Ibrahim al-Shaar had promised earlier to hit back with an "iron fist" for the blast, which he said killed 26 people, including 15 who could not be identified.

Arab states are wary of instability in Syria, which the Arab League has suspended for failing to implement its peace plan earlier. Syria is a major power-broker in the region, allied with Iran and the Lebanese Shi'ite Hezbollah armed group.

Hezbollah, which fought Israel in a 2006 war, blamed the blast on "evil American forces and those under its control in our region to punish Syria for its firm support of resistance forces against the Zionist enemy (Israel) and the West".

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said that, as with previous attacks, Syria had blamed "just about everybody": the opposition, al Qaeda and the United States.

"At the present time we can't say one way or the other how this happened but what we can say is that, obviously, we condemn the attack," she said.

(Editing by Kevin Liffey)

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Philippine rescuers dig deep for landslide missing

noreply@blogger.com (ehm-ehm) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 14:03:00 +0000

Via www.afp.com

By Afp news

Philippine rescuers dug through rock and mud Friday looking for people feared buried by a deadly landslide at a remote gold miningcommunity, as officials vowed to shut down unsafe mine sites.

At least 25 people were killed on Mindanao island before dawn on Thursday when a rock and mud avalanche buried a mountain settlement of gold prospectors who had refused to leave an area declared too dangerous for habitation.

However, the national government began to back away from the previous official figure of 150 people missing, saying only eight of them are known by name and there were no reliable census figures at the gold rush site.

"I think that is exaggerated," civil defence chief Benito Ramos told AFP, adding the original estimate was given by local officials in the area who extrapolated the figure from the number of buried shanties.

"It would be hard to even give an estimate," he said.

Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo flew to the disaster site nearPantukan town on Friday and also downplayed the initial estimate of the missing.

"That might not be a very accurate number," said Robredo, interviewed over ABS-CBN television in Pantukan.

He said 80 percent of the population were recent migrants chasing instant riches from high gold prices.

"Hopefully the search team there will be able to get it done in 48 hours," Robredo added.

Pantukan's civil defence office said the toll now stood at 25 dead and eight missing, while 16 were rescued and treated at Mindanao hospitals.

Meanwhile, Robredo announced the government would shut down up to 500 small-scale mines that dot the mountainsides around Pantukan and relocate the affected miners and their families, who will be given state financial aid.

About a thousand mine tunnels operate in the area, he said.

"Probably half of these are without permits, so we (he and the local officials) agreed that all the illegal tunnels will be closed down."

Their shanties would be demolished, while the government will force the remaining miners to mill their ore at three centralised areas that will be put up closer to downtown within three months, Robredo added.

More rescuers were sent to the site Friday to help more than a hundred police and military personnel there, said local military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Lyndon Paniza.

"We're not losing hope in our search for survivors. We will not shift to (corpse) retrieval mode until 72 hours had passed," he told AFP.

Rescuers are pushing tubes into the mouths of mine shafts that tunnel into the mountainside in the hope that some trapped miners could still be alive inside but so far there had been no signs of life, he conceded.

The mountainous region has drawn gold prospectors for years despite frequent, deadly landslides.

Their largely unregulated tunnelling have made the mountainside unstable, government experts say, and heavy rains since last month had saturated the earth on top, helping to trigger the earthfall.

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Calif. marine biologist accused of feeding whale

noreply@blogger.com (ehm-ehm) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:46:00 +0000

Via www.ap.org

By Jason Dearen

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A marine biologist who runs popular whale-watching tours on California'sMonterey Bay has been indicted for violating federal laws that protect marine mammals, though her attorneys said her interactions with the creatures were scientific research.

Nancy Black, a marine scientist whose work has been featured on PBS, National Geographic and Animal Planet, was charged Wednesday with four violations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

She was accused of feeding killer whales in 2005 during a research trip, and misleading investigators by editing video footage of her encounters with other whales during a whale watching trip, and then lying about it. All of the alleged incidents occurred within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, one of 13 ocean sanctuaries established in 1992.

Prosecutors say the charges were filed after an investigation by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and U.S. Department of Justice. Wyn Hornbuckle, a spokesman for the DOJ, declined to comment, as well as a spokesman for NOAA.

In addition to her scientific work, Black owns Monterey Bay Whale Watch and operates two commercial whale-watching vessels. Black has also worked with federal agencies on the study of whales, including the National Marine Mammal Laboratory, which is part of NOAA.

If she is found guilty of editing the video and then lying about it, Black could receive a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a half million dollars in fines. Each of the feeding charges carries a maximum penalty of a year in prison and a $100,000 fine. While these are the maximum sentences allowable by law, courts generally do not impose the maximum, instead relying on guidance from the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

According to the indictment, Black was asked to provide video taken from her whale-watching boat during an October 2005 trip that investigators believe included an illegal encounter with a humpback whale. Whale-watching boats are supposed to stay at least 100 yards from the animals.

Black is accused of providing an edited version of the video that took out the humpback encounter.

Lawrence Biegel, one of Black's lawyers, said the videos in question are often edited and offered to whale watching customers as keepsakes of their day. He said Black provided an edited copy to federal investigators, not knowing they wanted the original.

"She was out whale-watching with a full complement of passengers and spotted a humpback whale. It was a friendly whale, which loves to come up close to a boat and breach and frolic," he said. "There's video of this, which she turned over, of this whale doing exactly that, literally going from one side of the boat to another."

Biegel said Black never fed the creatures during her research trips.

Black was working with federal marine scientists at the time, Biegel said, to study the feeding habits of the powerful sea creatures. Orcas sometimes come to Monterey Bay to feed on gray whale calves as they migrate north along the Pacific coast, Biegel said.

Biegel said Black had collected a piece of gray whale blubber that was floating in the sea, cut a hole so a rope could be fed through, and dropped it back into the ocean. The idea was to keep the blubber close to the boat so Black could use a pole camera to film the killer whales eating underwater, he said.

"In the specific incident in question, Ms. Black used an underwater camera and filmed the eating habits of killer whales who were feeding off free floating pieces of blubber from a gray whale that had been killed by a pack of killer whales," Biegel said.

"She was never hiding what she did or how she did it. In fact, she was acting with the knowledge of other marine mammal scientists, some of whom work for agencies of the federal government," he said. Biegel said Black had a permit granted by the federal government to conduct the research.

Prosecution of MMPA violations is not uncommon. In 2010 a recreational fisherman pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor violations after his boat struck two humpbacks in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of Massachusetts. In 2008, four members of the Makah Tribe were sentenced to prison and probation for illegally killing a gray whale off the northwest coast of Washington.

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Qatar's next big purchase: a farming sector

noreply@blogger.com (ehm-ehm) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:39:00 +0000

Via www.reuters.com

By Martina Fuchs

DUBAI (Reuters) - Qatar's energy resources have given it one of the world's highest per capita incomes, a futuristic urban skyline and enough clout to host the 2022 soccer World Cup. But its wealth may not be enough for the arid state to achieve an even more ambitious goal: becoming largely self-sufficient in food.

Like other oil-rich, water-poor Gulf states, Qatar has been investing in large areas of farmland overseas to ensure access to food supplies. The agricultural arm of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, Hassad Food, has bought land in Sudan and Australia, and has announced plans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on agricultural projects in countries including Kenya, Brazil, Argentina, Turkey and Ukraine.

But in contrast to the other Gulf states, Qatar also aims to produce most of its food domestically, by spending massively to boost crop yields and convert semi-desert into agricultural land.

Qatar's Crown Prince Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani issued a decree this year to organize the Qatar National Food Security Programme (QNFSP), tackling "one of the most pressing challenges that Qatar is facing."

"Today, there are 1,400 farms in Qatar and they will increase to 3,000 farms with the new plan," said Fahad Bin Mohammed al-Attiya, the QNFSP's chairman.

"We anticipate that domestic food production, if new technologies are applied and the efficiency system enforced, can easily reach 60 percent of our market needs. We anticipate that domestic demand can be met by 60 to 70 percent."

Qatar, like the five other wealthy Gulf states, imports up to 90 percent of its food requirements. It has a population of about 1.7 million people, an estimated 20 percent of them Qatari citizens and most of the remainder foreign workers.

Attiya said implementation of the food security program would start in January 2014, after a period of preparation. "The implementation period is 10 years. By 2024 we should have a fully operating system."

It is a seductive vision, and Qatar's vast wealth as the world's top liquefied natural gas exporter will allow it to mobilize the best technology and equipment. But many economists and agricultural experts say Qatar's plans do not make economic sense -- and that there is little need for them, given the small size of the population.

"They don't have that much land they can put into production; much of it is desert. And Qatar has a very small population," said Abdolreza Abbassian, senior economist at the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome.

"They import almost the entire cereals that they need for domestic consumption, something like 200,000 tonnes a year, which they cannot really produce. What they produce domestically is minimal. I don't really see much prospect."

Abbassian suggested the country might be better off focusing its investment on agricultural land in more temperate climates.

"Given the size of the country and the amount of imports which is rather modest, I would be surprised if it's really such a need to resort to such an investment, which is far more capital- and labor-intensive," he said. "Why would they do that rather than purchasing land globally?"

HOSTILE

Qatar's environment is hostile to agriculture, characterized by extreme heat, water scarcity and high soil salinity. Average precipitation in depth is just 74 millimeters (2.9 inches) per year, compared to the United Kingdom's 1,220 mm, FAO data shows. Only about 1 percent of Qatar's total land area of 11,590 square kilometers (4,475 square miles) is arable, according to the FAO.

Also, many experts do not see a strong need for Qatar to increase its food security. Although it is located in a volatile region of the world, its huge foreign currency reserves and comparatively small population mean it could probably arrange adequate new sources of food imports fairly easily in an emergency.

"When designing their food security strategies, countries with relatively low agricultural potential such as Qatar may be better advised to look beyond fostering domestic agricultural production," said Clemens Breisinger, research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington.

"Given Qatar's low levels of food insecurity risk and low agricultural potential, it is important to carefully assess the opportunity costs of the investments planned under the QNFSP and to potentially consider alternative options for a food-secure Qatar, and a more food-secure world," he said.

In 2008, Saudi Arabia abandoned a push to achieve self-sufficiency in wheat, concluding that it was simply too expensive and wasteful in using domestic water resources. The country now plans to be 100 percent reliant on imports of wheat by 2016.

Mahendra Shah, food security advisor to the U.N. and director of international planning at Aquiess Rainaid, a company which develops rainfall technology to fight drought, said the drive to produce wheat domestically using underground water had caused environmental damage in Saudi Arabia.

"The underground water reservoirs are saline and severely depleted. This is an example of an ecological disaster that will take decades to recharge and clean up the aquifers."

But Qatar has shrugged off the example of its larger neighbor, showing the same ambition and faith in its financial power that led it to make other controversial but ultimately successful investments, including its World Cup bid, its creation of international television broadcaster Al Jazeera, and its backing of the rebel side during last year's Libyan revolution.

CROPS

Qatar's farming methods include open-field agriculture, greenhouse production, and hydroponics, a soil-less culture technology which uses less water and land and can yield up to 10 times the crop grown in an open field.

"The basket of products has to be diverse," the QNFSP's Attiya said. "The products will be mainly fruits and vegetables, and we're looking at cereals as well, fodder, livestock and fisheries."

One of the prototype farms, the Al Sulaiteen Agricultural and Industrial Complex (SAIC), is located in the desert a short drive from Qatar's capital Doha.

"We are producers of vegetables, seasonal flowering plants and outdoor plants. We have one of the largest landscape projects in Qatar, with 40 hectares (99 acres) of land," said Mahmoud Refaat Shamardal, SAIC's agriculture sector manager.

SAIC, which started vegetable production in 2001, is growing tomatoes, cucumbers, eggplants and other vegetables through a combination of greenhouses, hydroponic systems and regular farming. It supplies supermarkets and hotels.

"We use artificial soil to produce the vegetables. With this system we can save around 50 percent of water, and water is a very important factor here in Qatar," said Shamardal.

Qatar now produces around 23 percent of its requirement of vegetables. They are grown by 56 percent of the country's farmers and take up 11 percent of its cultivated farm area, according to the QNFSP.

The country's aquifers are already severely depleted, Attiya said. But the QNFSP plans to obtain agricultural water from seawater desalination using solar parks, and only keep aquifers as strategic water reserves.

"Once we have achieved solar desalination, we will ask the farmers to stop using the aquifers," he said.

While Qatar's technology is impressive, however, experts say it will be difficult to apply the techniques to a full range of crops, especially cereals.

"Certain commodities like fish, eggs and poultry can be produced locally with an increased level of self-sufficiency," said food security advisor Shah.

"Aquaculture can be used for fish, controlled environment production for poultry and eggs, but when it comes to cereals, the scale of the water required -- this has to be carefully thought through."

Attiya said total costs for the QNFSP had not yet been calculated. While Qatar does not lack money, it is hoped that private sector involvement will make the program efficient and responsive to consumer demand.

"The funds will come both from the private sector and the public sector. All the regulatory functions, the research and education, policy, legislation and regulation, that will be entirely funded by the state," said Attiya.

"The rest, in terms of the development of the power plant, desalination plant, and all the financing of all the different upgrades of the farms, that will happen by the private sector."

Attracting enough private businessmen may be difficult, however, especially if they are restricted in where they can sell their produce under the terms of the QNFSP.

"It is very important to note that the food security plan in Qatar is subject to zero export policy," Attiya said.

"If anything is produced in Qatar, that production cannot be exported for reason of protecting our natural resources. Because of the water involved in producing food, a country like Qatar that is very dry cannot export water through food."

(Additional reporting by Asma Alsharif in Jeddah; Editing by Andrew Torchia)

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Philippines to shut some mines after landslide

noreply@blogger.com (ehm-ehm) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:28:00 +0000

yahoo.com

Via www.ap.org

By AP news

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine government on Friday ordered the shutdown of gold-mining tunnels threatened by landslides in a southern town where a chunk of a mountain tumbled down on sleeping residents, killing at least 27 people.

The landslide struck hours before dawn Thursday on a mountain dotted with mine shafts and crude shanties with corrugated metal roofs in Napnapan village in Compostela Valley province.

It was the area's second deadly landslide in a year — 20 people were killed in a neighboring village last April — and prompted the environment secretary to call for curbing permits in the region's small-scale gold-mining industry.

Authorities in Pantukan township, where Napnapan village is located, expect to complete a survey next week that will indicate where landslides are likely to happen. Mines that sit in the danger zone will be ordered shut, and the workers and their families living on the mountain will be relocated, said Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo.

Robredo, who flew over the village in a military helicopter Friday, also ordered that gold ore processing be moved from Napnapan village to the town center so that the miners' families don't have to live with them near the mines.

"It will be more expensive, but it will be more safe," he said. "I am sure there will be resistance — that's why this will be enforced by the armed forces and the police."

There are an estimated 1,000 mining tunnels in Pantukan, Robredo said.

Mine shafts honeycomb the hills and mountains in Pantukan, making them unstable and causing frequent accidents. The area is a magnet for the poor and the unemployed who do not have any training in mining but hope to strike it rich in a country where the poorest live on about one dollar a day. The miners dig for gold with basic implements — pickaxes and iron bars — and carry the ore in sacks on their backs.

Pantukan town spokesman Arnulfo Lantayan told The Associated Press that five more bodies were recovered Friday, bringing to 27 the number of confirmed fatalities. Three of the dead were sisters, aged 6-14.

Lantayan said chances of finding survivors under 15-25 feet (5 to 8 meters) of muddy debris were "very slim."

Officials have no good estimate of how many people are missing, but said early reports of up to 100 were overblown. Many may have stayed elsewhere for the Christmas holiday, they said, or may have fled their mountainside shanties earlier in the night when the hill started to crumble.

It was difficult to determine the number of missing because local authorities have no reliable records of the mostly migrant miners who work in the area with their families, Civil Defense chief Benito Ramos said.

Boulders, trees and muddy soil tumbled down the slopes with a loud crash "like a dump truck unloading gravel and sand," said survivor Darwin Aguinawon, 27. "In only three seconds, our house came rolling down the slope."

Army photographs show a steep mountainside that looks like it was gouged by a giant shovel. Houses are buried in rubble or lying on their sides, while crumpled metal roofs and trees lay nearby.

One tunnel entrance appeared half-covered by rocks and soil. It was not known how many mine shafts have been blocked by debris or whether there were people inside.

A fissure in the mountain discovered last year likely was aggravated by heavy rains and continuous mining in the saturated ground.

Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Ramon Paje said authorities had warned residents and local officials last year that the fissure made the mountain susceptible to a landslide.

He urged local officials to stop handing out small-scale mining permits, now estimated to number about 3,000 all around the watershed.

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Immigration process to be eased for some families

noreply@blogger.com (ehm-ehm) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:02:00 +0000

Via www.reuters.com

By Roberta Rampton

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The government said on Friday it plans to reduce the time that U.S. citizens are separated from spouses and children who have been in the country illegally and who are forced to leave for as long as 10 years while their visa requests are processed.

The move drew immediate praise from Hispanic groups, a key constituency for President Barack Obama in the 2012 election year.

"The purpose of the new process is to reduce the time that U.S. families remain separated while their relative proceeds through the immigrant visa process," U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Servicessaid in its announcement.

Democrats and Republicans have said Hispanic voters could decide the 2012 election. Latino groups have been disappointed in Obama's lack of progress on immigration reform and have disapproved of a stepped-up deportation program.

The largest Hispanic civil rights group in the United States called the current system "unconscionable" and praised the plan.

"This sensible and compassionate proposal helps bring much-needed sanity to an often senseless process," said Janet Murguía, president of National Council of La Raza.

A group that works with Arab immigrants said the changes would help thousands of families who are kept apart because of the current process.

"The modifications ... are an important and humane first step toward alleviating that pain and suffering," said Nadia Tonova, director for the National Network for Arab American Communities.

The changes will not take effect for months. First, the government needs to propose a detailed rule and then it will take public comments, the USCIS said.

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Xavier Briand)

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'It's more fun' here, Philippines tells travelers

noreply@blogger.com (ehm-ehm) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 12:39:00 +0000

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Via www.ap.org

By AP

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippines is highlighting the ebullient nature of Filipinos in acampaign to draw more visitors to Asia's tourism laggard.

The country says: "It's more fun in the Philippines."

Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez says, "What differentiates the Philippines from other offerings is the Filipino."

The campaign introduced through social media and other outlets Friday aims to draw 4.2 million tourists this year and 10 million by 2016 from only 3.7 million last year.

The Philippines boasts of beautiful beaches and diving, English-speaking people and cheap shopping. But it lacks infrastructure. Visitors are also deterred by communist and Muslim insurgencies and bombings and kidnappings by al-Qaida-linked extremists in the south.

A U.S. travel warning Thursday cites the risk of terrorist activity.

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West readies oil stocks release as Iran plans war games

noreply@blogger.com (ehm-ehm) — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 11:23:00 +0000

Via www.reuters.com

By Robin Pomeroy and Peg Mackey

TEHRAN/LONDON (Reuters) - Iran announced on Friday new military exercises in the Strait of Hormuz, but the West has readied plans to use strategic oil stocks to replace almost all Gulf oil lost if Iran blocks the waterway, industry sources and diplomats told Reuters.

They said senior executives of the International Energy Agency (IEA) discussed on Thursday an existing plan to release up to 14 million barrels per day (bpd) of government-owned oil stored in the United States, Europe, Japan and other importers.

This rate of release could be kept up for a month, offsetting most of the 16 million barrels a day of crude passing through the world's most important shipping lane that could be halted by an Iranian blockade.

Iranian officials have threatened in recent weeks to block the strait if new sanctions imposed by the United States and planned by theEuropean Union, with the aim of discouraging Iran's nuclear program, harm Tehran's oil exports.

Earlier this week Iran said it would take action if the United States sailed an aircraft carrier through the strait, and followed this by announcing new military exercises, shortly after completing 10 days of naval drills in neighboring seas.

Real Admiral Ali Fadavi, naval commander of the Revolutionary Guards Corps, said the exercises next month would focus directly on the Strait of Hormuz, which leads out of the Gulf and provides the outlet for most oil from the Middle East.

"Today the Islamic Republic of Iran has full domination over the region and controls all movements within it," Fadavi said in remarks reported by the Fars news agency.

The United States, whose Fifth Fleet based in the area is far more powerful than Iran's naval forces, says it will ensure the international waters of the strait stay open. Britain said on Thursday that any attempt to close it would be illegal and unsuccessful.

In a brief respite from the rising tension between the two foes, the U.S. navy rescued 13 Iranians held hostage for weeks by pirates who had apparently used their fishing vessel as a "mother ship" for their operations, the Pentagon said on Friday.

The Iranians were freed by the very carrier group that Iran has said should not return to the Gulf.

The captain of the Al Molai expressed his "sincere gratitude" for their rescue by ships of the USS John C. Stennis carrier strike group, and the Iranians were returning home, a U.S. Navy officer with the strike group said.

New financial sanctions signed into law by U.S. President Barack Obama on New Year's Eve are aimed at making it difficult for most countries to buy Iranian oil. The European Union is expected to announce its own tough measures at end-January.

Most traders believe Iran will still be able to find buyers, at least for now, for its exports of 2.6 million barrels of oil per day (bpd). But it may have to offer steep discounts that reduce the revenue it needs to feed its 74 million people.

The sanctions are already hurting ordinary Iranians, faced with rising prices and a falling rial currency. They have been queuing at banks to convert their savings into dollars.

Iran holds parliamentary elections in two months, the first since a 2009 presidential election that led to nationwide mass street protests, put down by force. However, the Arab Spring has shown the vulnerability of authoritarian governments in the region to protests fuelled by anger over economic hardship.

NUCLEAR PROGRAMME

Diplomatic sources in Vienna said Iran had come closer in recent weeks to starting uranium enrichment deep inside a mountain at a protected site near the holy city of Qom.

Starting production at the Fordow site could make it harder to revive nuclear talks that collapsed a year ago, worsening Iran's confrontation with the West.

Iran is already refining uranium to a fissile purity of 20 percent - far more than the 3.5 percent level usually required to power nuclear energy plants - above ground at another site.

It is moving this higher-grade enrichment to Fordow in an apparent bid to protect the work more effectively against any enemy attacks. It also plans to sharply boost output capacity.

Washington and its allies say Iran's nuclear program is aimed at producing an atomic bomb, and they are imposing the new sanctions to force it to abandon such plans. Iran says the program is peaceful.

European Union officials say the EU, which collectively buys about 500,000 bpd of Iranian oil, rivaling China as the largest market, has agreed to impose an embargo halting all imports.

EU diplomats said they are discussing how long they will give member countries to halt purchases, with France, Germany and others wanting the ban imposed within three months but Greece favoring a grace period of up to a year.

China has also cut its imports by more than half in January and February while haggling with Tehran over the size of the discount it wants in return for doing business with it.

Turkey, Japan and other big buyers say they are seeking a waiver from the U.S. sanctions.

The new American law allows Obama to give temporary waivers to allies to continue to buy Iranian oil to prevent a price shock, but to receive the permits, countries are meant to show they are reducing trade with Iran.

Iran has put on a brave face over the sanctions. Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said on Thursday it would "weather the storm," telling a news conference "Iran, with divine assistance, has always been ready to counter such hostile actions and we are not concerned at all about the sanctions."

He also said Tehran was interested in resuming negotiations over its nuclear program with Western powers, a sign it is trying to alleviate the pressure.

Turkey's visiting foreign minister brought an offer from Catherine Ashton, the EU foreign policy chief who negotiates on behalf of major powers.

Iran has repeatedly offered to restart the nuclear talks that collapsed a year ago but has insisted it will not negotiate over its right to go on enriching uranium. Western countries say talks are pointless unless a halt to enrichment is on the table.

OIL PRICES IN SPOTLIGHT

After years of sanctions that had little impact, Western countries have adopted a far more direct approach in recent months, imposing sanctions that explicitly impact the oil industry that provides 60 percent of Iran's state revenue.

The new U.S. measures would cut off any institution that deals with the Iranian central bank from the U.S. financial system. If implemented fully, it would make it impossible for most countries' refineries to buy Iranian crude.

But Washington has to balance its determination to isolate Tehran with concern that driving its oil off markets will raise prices and hurt the fragile global economy. Brent crude futures hovered above $113 a barrel on Friday, up nearly $7 since Obama signed the new sanctions law.

To ease the impact on markets, the new U.S. measures take effect over several months, and the offer of waivers gives countries time to find other suppliers. Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter and a foe of Iran, says it will make up for any supply shortfall.

Traders and analysts believe Iran is unlikely to block the strait. "Neither side wants a war. A lot of this rhetoric is overstated," said Cliff Kupchan, Iran analyst at Eurasia Group.

If Iran did try to blockade the strait, it would be no match for a U.S. fleet led by the giant supercarrier John C. Stennis, accompanied by a guided-missile cruiser and flotillas of destroyers and submarines.

The Combined Maritime Force protecting Gulf shipping also includes countries such as Britain, France, Canada, Australia and the Gulf Arab states, under the command of a U.S. admiral.

There are other ways in which Iran could provoke a Western response, from missiles within range of U.S. targets in the region, to small boats that could attack a ship near shore, to allied militia in Palestine and Lebanon that can strike Israel.

(Additional reporting Dmitry Zhdannikov and Simon Falush in London, Justyna Pawlak in Brussels and Hashem Kalantari in Tehran; Writing by Peter Graff and Tim Pearce; Editing by Jon Boyle)

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Turkey export growth 'hits record in 2011'

noreply@blogger.com (ehm-ehm) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 12:20:00 +0000

News article from afp.com

By afp news

Turkey's exports increased by a record 18.2 percent in 2011, reaching $134.6 billion, Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan said on Monday.

"This is a record in the history of the republic," the minister was quoted as saying by the Anatolia news agency.

Turkish exports in December 2011 increased by 4.5 percent compared to the same month in 2010 and hit $12.1 billion, he added.

Turkey, a country of about 73 million people and the world's 17th-biggest economy, shows one of the highest growth rates in the world, but the government expects output to roughly halve next year because of the eurozone crisis.

The economy grew by 8.9 percent in 2010 and the government forecasts growth of 8.0 percent for 2011.

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NASA marks 2012 with twin probes in moon orbit

noreply@blogger.com (ehm-ehm) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 12:11:00 +0000

AP Photo/NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory

News article from ap.org

By: Alicia Chang

OS ANGELES (AP) — NASA kicked off the new year with a pair of probes circling the moon in the latest mission to understand howEarth's closest neighbor formed.

There was no champagne popping in the mission control room at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory when the Grail spacecraft arrived back-to-back over the New Year's weekend, but several scientists and engineers celebrated by blowing noisemakers.

"It's a really good feeling to have not one but two of our twins in orbit," project manager David Lehman said Sunday after the mission was deemed successful.

The action began on New Year's Eve when Grail-A swung over the south pole, fired its engine and braked into orbit around the moon. Not to be outdone, its twin Grail-B executed the same maneuvers on New Year's Day.

The arrivals capped a roundabout journey spanning 3 1/2 months and covering 2 1/2 million miles.

The moon has long been an object of fascination. Galileo spotted mountains and craters when he peered at it through a telescope. Poets and songwriters looked to the moon as a muse.

Even governments wanted a piece of the moon. Since the dawn of the Space Age, more than 100 missions launched by the United States, Soviet Union, Japan, China and India have targeted Earth's companion. NASA flew six Apollo missions that landed twelve men on the lunar surface and brought back more than 800 pounds of rock and soil samples.

Despite all the attention, the moon remains mysterious. Mission chief scientist Maria Zuber of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology said researchers know more about Mars, which is farther away from the Earth, than the moon.

One of the enduring puzzles is its lopsided shape with the far side more hilly than the side that Earth sees. Research published earlier this year suggested that our planet once had two moons that crashed early in the solar system's history and created the moon that graces the sky today.

Scientists expect to learn more about how the celestial body formed using Grail's gravity measurements that will indicate what's below the surface.

Since the washing machine-size Grail probes — short for Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory — were squeezed on a small rocket to save on costs, it lengthened the trip and took them 30 times longer to reach the moon than the Apollo astronauts, who took a direct three-day flight.

Previous spacecraft have attempted to study the moon's gravity — about one-sixth Earth's pull — with mixed success. Grail was expected to give scientists the most detailed maps of the moon's uneven gravitational field and insight into its interior down to the core.

Data collection won't begin until March after the near-identical spacecraft refine their positions and are circling just 34 miles above the surface. While scientists focus on gravity, middle school students will get the chance to take their own pictures of the moon using cameras aboard the probes as part of a project headed by Sally Ride, the first American woman in space.

There's already chatter about trying to extend the $496 million mission, which was slated to end before the partial lunar eclipse in June. Scientists initially did not think the solar-powered probes would survive that long, but changed their minds during the long cruise to the moon after getting new data.

Researchers expect Grail to return a plethora of data, but that information won't be a guide to manned lunar missions anytime soon. The Obama administration last year scrapped a plan to return astronauts to the lunar surface in favor of landing on an asteroid as a stepping stone to Mars.

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Philippine rebels join hunt for kidnapped Australian

noreply@blogger.com (ehm-ehm) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 12:03:00 +0000

by afp.com

News article from afp.com

By: afp news

Muslim rebels engaged in peace talks with the Philippine government said Monday they had joined the search for an Australian man kidnapped by an armed group in the troubled south of the country.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has formed a tracking unit to help authorities recover Warren Rodwell, 53, who was seized from his home by gunmen believed to be Islamic militants last month, rebel spokesman Vol Al-Haq said.

"We are working on it and all (the information) we gather, we will feed to the ad hoc joint action group," al-Haq told AFP.

He said the MILF was working to check unverified reports thatRodwell was in the hands of the smaller Al Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyafgroup in their southern island territory of Basilan.

Rodwell, who is married to a Filipina, had been living in the southern coastal town of Ipil for eight months prior to his abduction on December 5.

Authorities had imposed a news blackout on the search, although various sources had said his abductors likely took him across to Basilan, a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf.

Local press, citing police sources, have reported that Rodwell's abductors sent his wife photographs to prove he was alive and demanded an initial ransom of one million pesos (about $23,000).

Philippine police declined to comment on the reports when contacted by AFP in Manila, as did the Australian foreign ministry.

"It would be unhelpful to comment in detail on developments in the investigation," a spokeswoman at Australia's foreign office in Canberra said.

"(Foreign officials and police) are in close contact with Mr Rodwell?s family and are keeping them informed of developments throughout this difficult ordeal," she added.

The Abu Sayyaf is a small band of Islamic militants which was formed with seed money from Al-Qaeda in the 1990s.

It has carried out numerous kidnappings for ransom, often targeting foreigners and Christians and a spate of high profile bombings over the past two decades.

It is not included in the peace talks between Manila and the 12,000-strong MILF, which had agreed to help government forces go after criminal gangs and terrorists in areas where it operates.

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South Korea says 'new era' possible for Koreas

noreply@blogger.com (ehm-ehm) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 11:56:00 +0000

News article from ap.org

By: OSTER KLUG and HYUNG-JIN KIM

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea's president urged North Korea on Monday to embrace a "new era" by using its recent leadership hand-over as an opportunity to transform Korean ties, but warned that Seoul would respond sternly to any provocations.

Lee Myung-bak's comments in a nationally televised speech come as the young son of Kim Jong Il takes power in North Korea as supreme commander of the military and ruling party leader after Kim's death last month. The North said Sunday that its citizens should turn themselves into "human shields" to defend the son, Kim Jong Un, "unto death."

Lee said Kim Jong Il's death is "portending a sea change" for theKorean peninsula. "If North Korea comes forward with a sincere attitude, it will be possible for us to work together to open a new era," he added.

North Korea said last week that it would never deal with Lee, but Kim Jong Un's rise could offer a chance to improve ties that have suffered since Lee took office in 2008 and ended a no-strings-attached aid policy toward the North.

The young Kim had a brief meeting in Pyongyang late last month with a former South Korean first lady and a business leader who were leading private mourning delegations to pay respects to Kim Jong Il.

Lee said the Korean peninsula is at a turning point and "new opportunities always emerge amid such changes."

However, he also warned that South Korea would sternly respond to any North Korean provocation. In 2010, 50 South Koreans died in attacks blamed on the North, though the Koreas have met in recent months for preliminary nuclear discussions.

North Korea, which has tested two atomic devices since 2006, has said it wants to return to long-stalled six-nation talks on halting its nuclear weapons program in return for aid. Washington and Seoul, however, have insisted that the North first show progress on past disarmament commitments.

If North Korea halts its nuclear activities, Lee said in his speech, negotiations could resume.

"We are ready to resolve security concerns on the Korean peninsula and provide assistance to revive North Korea's economy through agreements in the six-nation talks," Lee said.

Meanwhile, North Korea's propaganda efforts to build up Kim Jong Un continued Monday, with state TV showing him dressed in a dark overcoat and laughing with officers as soldiers applauded during a field inspection. State TV also played a song widely associated with Kim Jong Un — "Footsteps," a reference to his role in carrying out his family's legacy.

North Korea's New Year's message Sunday didn't include the country's routine harsh criticism of the United States and avoided the country's nuclear ambitions, a sign the North may be willing to continue talks with Washington to win food aid.

North Korea repeated a call in the message for implementing past agreements for the Koreas to cooperate on potentially lucrative projects.

Although North Korea has left open the possibility of better ties with the South, it hasn't tempered its antagonism toward Lee. On Monday, it accused Lee of plotting to shake up the North by temporarily placing his troops on high alert after Kim Jong Il's death. The North's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary that Lee must "kneel down and apologize" for his acts.

Analysts said Lee is willing to move past North Korea's recent insults. Lee's speech shows South Korea "has no intention to provoke North Korea," said Cheon Seong-whun, an analyst with the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul.

North Korea has regularly criticized Lee since he took office seeking to link aid to progress in North Korea's nuclear disarmament.

The six-nation nuclear talks involve the two Koreas, the United States, China, Russia and Japan.

The Korean peninsula remains technically in a state of conflict because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.

This year is a crucial one for North Korea as it tries to build a "great, prosperous and powerful nation" befitting the April 2012 centenary of the birth of national founder Kim Il Sung, the new leader's grandfather.

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French defense minister backs Taliban talks

noreply@blogger.com (ehm-ehm) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 15:29:00 +0000

News article from ap.org

By: SLOBODAN LEKIC

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — France's defense minister on Sunday backed U.S. efforts to open peace talks with the Taliban, saying a proposed Taliban liaison office outside Afghanistan would provide a venue for those within the radical Islamic movement who are willing to explain their positions.

The idea of opening a Taliban political office in Doha, the capital of the Gulf nation of Qatar, has become the central element of efforts to draw the insurgent movement into peace talks and end more than a decade of war.

Speaking at the end of a brief visit to French troops, Gerard Longuet said he had asked Afghan President Hamid Karzai about the idea.

Karzai "explained the reasons ... for Doha as a venue for meetings where the Taliban who wish to do so can express themselves and meet with Afghans or members of the coalition who wish to talk to them," Longuet said.

"It seems that there is a part among the forces fighting against the (government), there is a will to explain themselves, to be understood. We should never close that door."

Earlier this week, a senior U.S. official told The Associated Press that Washington plans to continue a series of secret meetings with Taliban representatives in Europe and the Persian Gulf region next year.

The U.S. outreach this year had progressed to the point that there was active discussion of two steps the Taliban seeks as precursors to negotiations, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.

Trust-building measures under discussion involve setting up a Taliban headquarters office and the release from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, of about five Afghan prisoners believed to be affiliated with the Taliban.

Longuet said he was satisfied with the improving performance of the Afghan security forces and the pace of the transfer of responsibility for security to them. NATO and the Afghan government expect the transition to be complete by 2014, when coalition troops are due to end their combat role.

Currently, about 3,600 French soldiers are serving in the NATO force, mostly in northeastern Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, the death on Saturday of a NATO service member in a noncombat incident brought to 544 the number of NATO troops who died in Afghanistan in 2011. A NATO statement provided no further details.

The yearly total for 2011 is considerably lower than for 2010, when more than 700 troops died. But the numbers of wounded have remained consistently high, dipping only slightly from last year's total of more than 5,000 service members. And despite the drop in the numbers of deaths, 2011 has been the second-deadliest for NATO troops in the 10-year war.

About 840 Afghan soldiers and policemen have died in 2011, according to a count by The Associated Press.

The U.S.-led coalition has repeatedly touted its success against the guerrillas in 2011, which marked the high point of the international military presence in Afghanistan with more than 130,000 troops on the ground. NATO says it has taken hundreds of Taliban commanders off the battlefields and seized control areas which once represented the insurgency's heartland in the south and east of the country.

NATO's numerical strength started shrinking in recent weeks and is due to fall to less than 100,000 by the end of 2012, as the force prepares to end its combat role in 2014.

Faced with an overwhelming superiority in numbers and firepower by the allied and Afghan government forces, the Taliban have largely avoided direct combat. Instead, they have relied mainly on roadside bombs, small ambushes, and hit-and-run tactics to harass and inflict losses on the security forces.

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Iran 'tests 1st nuclear fuel rod from own uranium'

noreply@blogger.com (ehm-ehm) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 15:22:00 +0000

News article from afp.com

By: afp news

Iran said on Sunday that its scientists have "tested the first nuclear fuel rod produced from uranium ore deposits inside the country," the website of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organisation said.

"After going through physical checks, it was inserted into the core of the Tehran research reactor in order to study how well it works," the website added.

Iran said last month that it planned to insert domestically produced uranium fuel into the Tehran research reactor, which produces isotopes for medical purposes and currently runs on a nearly depleted stock of nuclear plates bought from Argentina in 1993.

The Tehran reactor requires uranium enriched to 20 percent, a far higher level than that needed for Iran's Russian-built nuclear power plant in Bushehr, on the Gulf coast, which uses Russian fuel that is returned when spent.

The atomic energy organisation did not specify the level of enrichment of the trial fuel rod but Iran's programme to enrich uranium to the higher level has been at the centre of growing Western concerns about the goals of its nuclear programme.

Western governments have expressed fears that Iran's real aim is to develop a capability to enrich uranium to the 90 percent level necessary for a nuclear bomb, an ambition Tehran strongly denies.

Uranium enriched to 20 percent level is normally manufactured into plate, not rod, form for use as fuel.

Western governments nations have expressed scepticism that Iran has the technology to produce plates.

Iran already faces four sets of UN sanctions and additional unilateral Western sanctions imposed over its refusal to heed repeated ultimatums to suspend its uranium enrichment programme.

Ther announcement of the fuel rod test came a day after US President Barack Obama signed into law tough new sanctions targeting Iran's central bank and financial sector.

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Government dared: Disclose loggers in ARMM, northern Mindanao

noreply@blogger.com (ehm-ehm) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 15:17:00 +0000

News article from philstar.com

By: Ding Cervantes

SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Philippines – The government should name all loggers, both legal and illegal, in northern Mindanao and the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and charge them with “environmental plunder and other heinous crimes” as a result of the tragedy that befell the cities of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan during tropical storm “Sendong.”

The militant Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) also urged President Aquino to immediately scrap all six Integrated Forest Management Agreements (IFMAs) granted in northern Mindanao covering a total of 55,578 hectares, saying that these logging sites were merely about 100 kilometers from the two devastated cities.

Pamalakaya said the Aquino administration should identify the corporate loggers and their protectors from the national government and the military and the local government units that granted them permits to operate in northern Mindanao and the ARMM.

Pamalakaya national chairman Fernando Hicap said Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Ramon Paje should disclose the list of companies allowed by the government to cut trees in the two regions over the last 20 years and “determine their accountability.”

He said the list should include companies allowed to operate under the present administration, as well as those operating illegally.

Hicap said government officials should stop blaming the residents for the tragedy. “It was not their fault,” he said, adding that both the Arroyo and Aquino administrations should be blamed for tolerating “logging clients in Mindanao and the military generals who are enrolled in the payroll of these logging firms.”

Despite the logging ban ordered by Aquino, Hicap said the forests in northern Mindanao and the ARMM “remain open to big-time loggers whether they are legal or illegal.”

Hicap recalled that last May, illegal timber was seized in Cagayan de Oro City, suspected to be large-scale logging operations in northern Mindanao and in the critical Lake Lanao watershed in Lanao del Sur.

“It appears to us that the log ban is toothless and it is still business as usual for large-scale legal and illegal loggers in northern Mindanao and ARMM,” he said. -

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DoH: 13 percent reduction in the number of fireworks related injuries

noreply@blogger.com (ehm-ehm) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 15:11:00 +0000

News article from mb.com

By: Jenny F. Manongdo

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Health (DoH) reported a 13 percent reduction in the number of injuries owing to fireworks at a total of 476. But health authorities admitted dissatisfaction over the low decline in the number of injuries as they expressed hope that it could still decline up to 30 percent within the week.

Out of the total figure, 454 were fireworks-related, 18 were stray bullet cases, and four cases of firework ingestion.

The total number of fireworks injuries as of January 1 in 2011 is 546.

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Geologist warns other cities can suffer the same fate as Iligan, Cagayan de Oro

noreply@blogger.com (ehm-ehm) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 15:02:00 +0000

News article from gmanetwork.com

By: gma network news

A geologist on Friday warned that other Philippine cities can suffer the same fate as devastated Iligan and Cagayan de Oro because of similarities in their topography.

These include Vigan, Laoag, Alaminos (Pangasinan) and General Santos, which may be vulnerable to disastrous floods similar to those brought by Tropical Storms Sendong and Ondoy, according to the University of the Philippines’ National Institute of Geological Sciences (UP-NIGS). These cities sit on river deltas that flow out to sea.

The web site Nababaha.com, maintained by UP-NIGS, contains flood hazard maps for these coastal zones that have rivers flowing right through them and are down slope from mountains and hills. For example, the inundation map for Vigan and the neighboring locales of Bantay, San Ildefonso and Santo Domingo shows many areas that could experience floods over 1.5 meters deep, according to UP Professor and NIGS director Mahar Lagmay told GMA News Online.

Laoag City and neighboring Bacarra and Vintar have two waterways — Bislak and Padsan rivers — slicing through their terrain. Simulated inundation hazard map of Laoag City and environs from www.nababaha.comHistorically, those cities Lagmay mentioned are not prone to tropical storms and flooding as they are not in the usual typhoon path from the eastern side of the Philippines.

Thus, like Iligan and Cagayan de Oro, these cities with little experience with storms don't have the preparedness mentality of residents in Albay, for example, who live in the shadow of the active Mayon Volcano in addition to the path of regular typhoons. Sendong is the wake-up call for vulnerable but complacent cities. Lagmay said these population centers at risk must adopt smart urban development plans to keep their residents out of harm’s way while allowing room for economic development.

“Ngayon lang nare-realize ng local governments that we have to be smarter in dealing with the environment. Places like Iligan and other cities we have identified in nababaha.com must stop development in flood areas and implement proper zoning,” said Lagmay. The destructive force of Sendong is reflected by these before and after images of a housing subdivision in Iligan City."

Source: UP-NIGS

Other cities on the website are either along known paths of storms like those of Bicol and Eastern Visayas, or major rivers in Central Luzon and the Calabarzon provinces.

Simulated inundation maps. Its flood hazard maps, according to nababaha.com, “are the products of flood simulations using Flo2d, a Federal Emergency Management Agency -approved flood routing application software. The inundation maps were simulated using rainfall delivered by tropical storm Ondoy on 26 September 2009…”

“These hazard maps are indicative inundation maps for large flood events and useful only for knowing where not to be during extremely heavy rainfall,” the website noted. It urged local governments to use its hazard maps to determine evacuation and access routes, road closures, location of key rescue facilities, and for urban planning.

“Tsunamis with more debris” Tropical Storm Sendong that devastated part of Northern Mindano on Dec. 16 could have dumped the same amount of rainfall as “Ondoy” two years earlier, but the floods it triggered were definitely more massive and destructive. At a press conference Friday in Quezon City, Lagmay likened the Sendong-induced flashfloods to "tsunamis but with more debris."

The UP-NIGS presented the progress report on the UP Pandayon’s Disaster Rescue Program — a survey of the disaster situation with a view to forging long-term solutions for storm-ravaged areas. "Mas widespread at mas high-velocity talaga ang tumama sa Iligan. Iba ang dating," Lagmay said. That trees were uprooted and entire communities were swept away reflect the devastating floods of “Sendong,” he said. "Kapag tumayo ka doon, akala mo flatland lang, pero may barangay pala dati doon.” His observations were based on aerial and on-site inspections of Iligan City early this week. “The impact of this one was very heavy," Lagmay noted.

“Hyper-concentrated floods” The death toll from Ondoy wasmore than 400. Floods spawned by Sendong have killed more than 1,400 so far, with almost 400 of those killed coming from Iligan City. Ondoy's deluge in September 2009 brought record-level floods in Marikina City, Pasig City, and Rizal province. "Ang sa Ondoy, umapaw lang ang tubig. Pero hindi mo makikita ang bahay na nagtutumbahan. Doon sa Iligan, kapag nilagay mo ang isangsubdivision... wiped out lahat iyon," he said. The geologist said that debris that came along with the rainfall contributed to speeding up the rush of the "hyper-concentrated floods" that hit Iligan City. "Hindi lang siya tubig na rumaragasa. It contains a lot of sediments. Kung may laman iyang sediments, then it's flowing when it comes in contact with anything it erodes it, and picks up more —kasama na ang land, sediments, gravel and it becomes more masive," Lagmay said. "Nagdo-doubleang volume niya, sometimes one-is-to-two ang ratio... Habang bumababa, it incorporates more materials and sediments," he added. —

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New Year firecrackers injure nearly 500 Filipinos

noreply@blogger.com (ehm-ehm) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 14:46:00 +0000

News article from ap.org

By: Jim Gomez

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Despite a government scare campaign, firecrackers and gunfire injured nearly 500 people in the Philippines as revelers welcomed the new year in one of the world's most raucous and dangerous celebrations.

About a dozen plane flights, including two from the United States, were diverted or canceled early Sunday after dark smog caused by a night of firecracker explosions obscured visibility at Manila's airport, officials said.

Health Secretary Enrique Ona said the number of injuries — 454 from firecracker blasts and 18 from stray bullets — was slightly lower than last year but remained alarming.

Injured revelers, including many children, filled hospital emergency rooms in the capital shortly after midnight. Adding to the chaos, two gangs clashed in front of Manila's main government hospital attending to the injured, leaving one man dead from a gunshot wound.

Firecrackers ignited at least three fires that destroyed several houses in the capital area.

"Again, it seems our appeal to mothers to keep their children away from firecrackers wasn't effective," Ona told a news conference.

All of the fingers on farmer Alvin Barroga's right hand were injured by a firecracker that exploded prematurely in northern Isabela province. He writhed in pain as a doctor treated his wounds in a hospital.

"I'll think thrice before lighting one again," he said.

Many Filipinos, largely influenced by Chinese tradition, believe that noisy New Year's celebrations drive away evil and misfortune. But they have carried that superstition to extremes, exploding huge firecrackers and firing guns to welcome the new year despite threats of arrest.

Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo said at least 65 people were arrested for using illegally large firecrackers.

Ona said he was willing to consider a proposal for a total ban on firecrackers but that it needed to be studied. Robredo said minors should be prohibited from exploding firecrackers and penalties for using illegal ones, usually a fine or up to a year in prison, should be increased.

Dozens of hospitals nationwide went on full alert before midnight, their emergency rooms staffed with trauma doctors as if preparing for civil strife. Many people spent the night in hotels for added safety.

Health officials attempted to discourage dangerous celebrations by showing gory pictures of injuries, including hands mangled by firecracker blasts, and the national police chief threatened his men with dismissal if they fired their guns in revelry, but the violent tradition has continued.

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Strong earthquake jolts Japan, no tsunami warning

noreply@blogger.com (ehm-ehm) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 14:38:00 +0000

News article from reuters.com

By: Reuters

(Reuters) - A strong earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 jolted eastern and northeastern Japan on Sunday, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damages and no tsunami warning was issued.

The earthquake measured 4 in central Tokyo, Fukushima and their surrounding areas on the Japanese intensity scale, which measures ground motion, according to Japan Meteorological Agency, which uses a different measuring system than the U.S. Geological Survey.

A spokesman for Tokyo Electric Power said there were no reports of any abnormalities at the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plan following the quake.

Some high-speed train services in northern Japan were suspended after the earthquake, but soon resumed operations, Kyodo news reported.

The 7.0 magnitude earthquake, at a depth of nearly 217 miles, was recorded off Japan's southeastern Izu islands on Sunday at 0527 GMT, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The Hawaii-based U.S. Pacific Tsunami Warning Center has not issued a tsunami warning following the earthquake located south-southwest of Hachijo-jima in the Izu islands.

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

On March 11, 2011, the northeast coast was struck by a magnitude 9 earthquake, the strongest quake in Japan on record, and a massive tsunami, which triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years since Chernobyl.

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N Korea urges troops to be 'human bombs

noreply@blogger.com (ehm-ehm) — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 14:23:00 +0000

News article from indianexpress.com

By: Indian Express

North Korea told its military today to become "human rifles and bombs" to defend new leader Kim Jong-Un and vowed an all-out push for prosperity, in a New Year message setting out policy goals.

“The entire army should place absolute trust in and follow Kim Jong-Un and become human rifles and bombs to defend him unto death...” an editorial in official newspapers said, a day after the late leader's young son was proclaimed supreme military commander.

Jong-Un visited a tank division on New Year's Day, the state KCNA news agency said, accompanied by his influential uncle Jang Song-Thaek, military chief Ri Yong-Ho and other military leaders.

“The whole party, the entire army and all the people should possess a firm conviction that they will become human bulwarks and human shields in defending Kim Jong-Un unto death, and follow the great party for ever,” the editorial said.

Jong-Un, aged in his late 20s, was swiftly proclaimed the "great successor" after his father and longtime leader Kim Jong-Il died on December 17.

On Saturday the North announced he had formally been appointed supreme commander of the 1.2-million-strong military, the world's fourth-largest.

Chinese President Hu Jintao, whose country is the North's main ally and economic prop, sent Jong-Un "warm congratulations" on assuming the military leadership, KCNA said today.

The North, closing ranks publicly behind its new leader, has warned the world not to expect policy changes and has threatened South Korea for perceived disrespect during the 13-day mourning period for Kim Jong-Il.

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'Synthetic' marijuana is problem for US military

noreply@blogger.com (ehm-ehm) — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 03:16:00 +0000

News article from ap.org

By: Julie Watson

SAN DIEGO (AP) — U.S. troops are increasingly using an easy-to-get herbal mix called "Spice," which mimics a marijuana high, is hard to detect and can bring on hallucinations that last for days.

The abuse of the substance has so alarmed military officials that they've launched an aggressive testing program that this year has led to the investigation of more than 1,100 suspected users.

So-called "synthetic" pot is readily available on the Internet and has become popular nationwide in recent years, but its use among troops and sailors has raised concerns among the Pentagon brass.

"You can just imagine the work that we do in a military environment," said Mark Ridley, deputy director of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, adding, "you need to be in your right mind when you do a job. That's why the Navy has always taken a zero tolerance policy toward drugs."

Two years ago, only 29 Marines and sailors were investigated for Spice. This year, the number topped 700, the investigative service said. Those found guilty of using Spice are kicked out, although the Navy does not track the overall number of dismissals.

The Air Force has punished 497 airmen so far this year, compared to last year's 380, according to figures provided by the Pentagon. The Army does not track Spice investigations but says it has medically treated 119 soldiers for the synthetic drug in total.

Military officials emphasize those caught represent a tiny fraction of all service members and note none was in a leadership position or believed high while on duty.

Spice is made up of exotic plants from Asia like Blue Lotus and Bay Bean. Their leaves are coated withchemicals that mimic the effects of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, but are five to 200 times more potent.

More than 40 states have banned some of its chemicals, prompting sellers to turn to the Internet, where it is marketed as incense or potpourri. In some states, Spice is sold at bars, smoke shops and convenience stores.

Sellers based in the United States and Europe advertising the incense on the Internet did not respond to emails or calls seeking comment.

The packets often say the ingredients are not for human consumption and are for aromatherapy. They are described as "mood enhancing" and "long lasting." Some of the sellers' Web sites say they do not sell herbal mixes containing any illegal chemicals and say they are offering a "legal high."

Service members preferred it because up until this year there was no way to detect it with urine tests. A test was developed after the Drug Enforcement Administration put a one-year emergency ban on five chemicals found in the drug.

Manufacturers are adapting to avoid detection, even on the new tests, and skirt new laws banning the main chemicals, officials say.

"It's a moving target," said Capt. J.A. "Cappy" Surette, spokesman for the Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery.

The military can calibrate its equipment to test for those five banned chemicals "but underground chemists can keep altering the properties and make up to more than 100 permutations," Surette said.

Complicating their efforts further, there are more than 200 other chemicals used in the concoctions. They remain legal and their effects on the mind and body remain largely unknown, Navy doctors say.

A Clemson University scientist created many of the chemicals for research purposes in 1990s. They were never tested on humans.

Civilian deaths have been reported and emergency crews have responded to calls of "hyper-excited" people doing things like tearing off their clothes and running down the street naked.

Navy investigators compare the substance to angel dust because no two batches are the same. Some who smoke it like a marijuana cigarette may just feel a euphoric buzz, but others have suffered delusions lasting up to a week.

While the problem has surfaced in all branches of the military, the Navy has been the most aggressive in drawing attention to the problem.

It produced a video based on cases to warn sailors of Spice's dangers and publicized busts of crew members on some of its most-storied ships, including the USS Carl Vinson, from which Osama bin Laden's was dropped into the sea.

Two of the largest busts this year involved sailors in the San Diego-based U.S. Third Fleet, which announced last month that it planned to dismiss 28 sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan.

A month earlier, 64 sailors, including 49 from the Vinson, were accused of being involved in a Spice ring.

Many of the cases were discovered after one person was caught with synthetic pot, prompting broader investigations.

Lt. Commander Donald Hurst, a fourth-year psychiatry resident at San Diego's Naval Medical Center, said the hospital is believed to have seen more cases than any other health facility in the country.

Doctors saw users experiencing bad reactions once a month, but now see them weekly. Users suffer everything from vomiting, elevated blood pressure and seizures to extreme agitation, anxiety and delusions.

Hurst said the behavior in many cases he witnessed at first seemed akin to schizophrenia. Usually within minutes, however, the person became completely lucid. Sometimes, the person goes in and out of such episodes for days.

He recalled one especially bizarre case of a sailor who came in with his sobbing wife.

"He stood their holding a sandwich in front of him with no clue as to what to do," he said. "He opened it up, looked at it, touched it. I took it and folded it over and then he took a bite out it. But then we had to tell him, 'you have to chew.'"

An hour later when Hurst went back to evaluate him, he was completely normal and worried about being in trouble.

"That's something you don't see with acute schizophrenic patients," he said. "Then we found out based on the numbers of people coming in like this, that OK there's a new drug out there."

Hurst decided to study 10 cases. Some also had smoked marijuana or drank alcohol, while others only smoked Spice.

Of the 10, nine had lost a sense of reality. Seven babbled incoherently. The symptoms for seven of them lasted four to eight days. Three others are believed to now be schizophrenic. Hurst believed the drug may have triggered the symptoms in people with that genetic disposition. His findings were published in the American Journal of Psychiatry in October.

He said there are countless questions that still need answering, including the designer drug's effects on people with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or traumatic brain injuries.

What the research has confirmed, he said, is: "These are not drugs to mess with."

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List of fireworks and firecrackers prohibited in the PHL

noreply@blogger.com (ehm-ehm) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 06:11:00 +0000

News article from Gma news

By: Andrea Calonzo

Under Republic Act (RA) 7183 or the law on pyrotechnic devices, persons caught manufacturing, selling, distributing and purchasing these items may be imprisoned from six months to a year, and may be slapped with a fine from P20,000 to P30,000.

Below is a list of the firecrackers prohibited for sale and manufacture in the country by the Department of Health and the Department of Trade and Industry.

· Watusi or the “dancing firecracker.” It was initially allowed for sale and manufacture under RA 7183, but was eventually banned because it causes poisoning when ingested, especially among children.
· Piccolo – This firecracker has been the leading cause of firecracker-related injuries since 2007. The Department of Health banned it in 2007 because it can explode on the hands, and may cause death when ingested.
· Super Lolo and Atomic Big Triangulo – two firecrackers specifically mentioned in RA 7183.
· Mother Rockets – firecracker with a stick designed as a propellant upon lighting the wick.
· Lolo Thunder – a powerful firecracker twice the size of a Five Star.
· Pillbox – a firecracker that causes a series of sparks when lit.
· Boga – traditional canon made from PVC pipe using denatured alcohol as explosive ingredient.
· Big Judah’s belt – a string of firecrackers consisting of smaller firecrackers that number up to a hundred, and culminating in a larger and more powerful firecracker.
· Big Bawang – a firecracker packed in cardboard tied around with abaca strings, giving it the shape of a large garlic.
· Kwiton – aerial firecracker which explodes several times when lit.
· Goodbye Philippines – giant triangle-shaped firecracker which packs a powerful explosion.
· Kabasi – a triangle-sized explosive twice the size of a Pla-pla.

· Other banned firecrackers include the “Atomic Bomb,” Five Star, Pla-pla, Og, Giant Whistle Bomb, and unlabelled firecrackers.

Meanwhile, RA 7183 allows the following firecrackers and fireworks to be sold in the country:

· Baby Rocket — Assembled with a stick that helps propels the contraption to fly a few meters before exploding. The firecracker is about 1-½ inches long by 3/8 inch in diameter with the stick about a foot in length.
· Bawang — Larger than a Triangulo and with 1/3 teaspoon of powder packed in cardboard, it is tied with abaca string and wrapped in the shape of garlic.
· Small Triangulo — Triangle shaped with powder less than the Bawang and usually wrapped in brown paper measuring ¾ inch at its longest side.
· Pulling of strings — An inch-long less than ¼ of an inch in diameter with strings on each end that when pulled cause the firecracker to explode.
· Paper caps — Minute amounts of black powder spread in thin strips of paper on a small sheet and used in children's toy guns.
· El Diablo or Labintador — Tubular shaped, about 1-¼ inches long and less than ¼ inch in diameter with a wick.
· Judah's Belt — A string of either Diablos or small Triangulos numbering up to a hundred or so and culminating in a large firecracker — usually a Bawang.
· Sky Rocket or Kwitis — A large Baby Rocket designed to fly up to 40 to 50 feet in the air before it explodes.
· Sparklers — Black powder coated on a piece of wire or wrapped in a paper tube designed to light up and glow after igniting.
· Luces — Any of several kinds of Sparklers.
· Fountain — Cone-shaped sparkler, which is lighted on the ground and designed to create, sparks of various colors and intermittent lights when ignited.
· Jumbo regular and special — Similar to a "Fountain" but bigger in size.
· Mabuhay — A bundle usually of a dozen Sparklers.
· Roman Candle — A kind of Sparkler also similar to a "Fountain" but shaped like a big candle.
· Trompillo — A pyrotechnic device usually fastened at the center and designed to spin first clockwise and then counter-clockwise and gives off various light colors when ignited.
· Airwolf — A kind of Sky Rocket shaped like an airplane with a propeller to rise about 40 or 50 feet and emits various lights while in the air.
· Whistle Bomb — Any firecracker or pyrotechnic designed to emit a whistle-like sound before exploding. Others are designed simply to whistle without exploding.
· Butterfly — A light emitting butterfly-shaped pyrotechnic that floats above the ground.

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Arum eyes November date to hold megafight

noreply@blogger.com (ehm-ehm) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 05:20:00 +0000

from time.com

News article from Philstar news

By: Abac Cordero

MANILA, Philippines - Top Rank chief Bob Arum said the highly anticipated Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. superfight could take place in November 2012 after the flamboyant unbeaten American fighter was sentenced 90 days in prison for a 2010 domestic violence case.

The earliest Mayweather could get out of prison is on the first week of March through good behavior. He had previously said he wants to return to the ring on May 5 although there may not be enough time for him to fight in May.

Meanwhile, the Examiner.com said Pacquiao, who had earlier expressed his willingness to settle for the smaller share of the purse to get the fight, is willing to fight Mayweather even in prison.

Of course, Pacquiao said it in jest, and if indeed he did that only shows how serious he is in making the fight happen in 2012.

With the jail term, talks of a Pacquiao-Mayweather superfight have once again come to a screeching halt although Arum said it could still be held late next year.

Again, Pacquiao said during his television game show he’s willing to fight Mayweather in prison.

It’s been done before.

American light-heavyweight James Scott fought 11 professional fights at the Rahway State Prison in New Jersey from 1978 to 1981.

He became a contender for the world title while in prison, and according to www.boxrec.com, he won nine of his 11 fights in prison.

Scott, however, was removed by the WBA from its rankings in 1979, saying he did not set “a good example” and that his opponents were at a disadvantage because they had to fight him in prison.

At least four of Scott’s prison bouts were covered and broadcast by NBC Sports, CBS Sports and HBO, according to Wikipedia.

Scott ended his boxing career with a loss to Dwight Braxton in September 1981, and finished with a record of 19 wins, two losses and a draw. –

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