World And Web

Desmond Tutu calls for war crimes charges for Blair, Bush

2012-09-04T03:05:00.001+05:00

The former Anglican Church's archbishop of South Africa wants ex-leaders to face the Hague.

South African Archbishop and Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu speaks during an interview with Reuters in New Delhi February 8.

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Desmond Tutu , on Sunday, called for Tony Blair and George Bush to face prosecution at the International Criminal Court for their role in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Tutu, the retired Anglican Church's archbishop of South Africa, wrote in an op-ed piece for The Observer newspaper that the ex-leaders of Britain and the United States should be made to "answer for their actions."
The Iraq war "has destabilized and polarized the world to a greater extent than any other conflict in history," wrote Tutu, who was awarded the Nobel prize in 1984.

"Those responsible for this suffering and loss of life should be treading the same path as some of their African and Asian peers who have been made to answer for their actions in the Hague," he added.

Philippines hopes to flood world with coconut products

2012-09-04T03:01:00.003+05:00

If the investment plan of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) pushes through, the world may soon be awash in coconut water, virgin coconut oil and other coconut byproducts, including chips, jam, vinegar, frozen coco meat, liquid coco milk, coconut milk powder, macapuno, coco liquor, coco coir and coconut handicraft. The PCA under the Department of Agriculture is looking at investing over P1.7 billion to boost the export of coconut products to at least 100 countries.

PCA Administrator Euclides Forbes cited records that indicated that 39 coconut products and byproducts were among the country’s leading agricultural exports, with export earnings totaling $1.96 billion last year.
The P1.75-billion investment, Forbes said, would be used “to devise and implement strategies to take advantage of the growing export demand on coco water, VCO and coconut sap sugar.”

The PCA, he said, was working with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) to develop processing and postharvest technologies to further lengthen the shelf life of coconut water for domestic and export markets.

For his part, Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said that President Benigno Aquino “(has) instructed that assistance be given to coconut farmers.” He added that the coconut industry should take advantage of available technologies to enable coconut farmers and entrepreneurs to create new and innovative byproducts.

Alcala said the PCA was implementing a nationwide coconut planting and replanting program under which some 14.6-million seed nuts had been planted as of July 31 to sustain the productivity of small coconut farmers and increase their income.

The PCA also hoped to fertilize up to 25-million coconut trees next year and to implement a coconut livelihood and intercropping program, the Kasaganaan sa Niyugan ay Kaunlaran ng Bayan (Kaanib) at 300 sites nationwide, the agriculture official said.

Last year’s top exports included coconut oil at $1.4 billion, dessicated coconut at $287 million and coco chemicals at $35 million, Forbes said.

He added that exports of coconut water during the first six months of the year increased to 10.2-million liters worth $11.2 million, while VCO exports doubled to 4,422 metric tons worth $18.2 million in the same period.

World's most precious diamonds go on sale

2012-09-04T02:49:00.002+05:00

MINER Rio Tinto is taking a collection of the world's most valuable and rare diamonds on a global sale.

Potential buyers will need deep pockets though, as the Western Australian pink diamonds in this collection are the most concentrated form of wealth in the world.

The tour is Rio Tinto's Argyle Pink Diamonds Tender 2012, with much of the collection coming from the miner's 27-year-old Argyle mine in Western Australia's Kimberly.

The collection includes 56 single pink diamonds, along with red and blue diamonds.

Argyle produces most of the world's rare pink diamonds, which typically command far higher prices than white diamonds.

Manager of the collection, Josephine Johnson, said the diamonds were destined for investment portfolios or heirloom pieces of jewellery.

The highlights include Argyle Siren, a 1.32-carat square radiant cut Fancy Vivid Purplish Pink diamond and Argyle Satine, a 1.02-carat cushion cut Fancy Intense Purplish Pink diamond.

The biggest pink diamond ever found at Argyle was a 12.76-carat gem unveiled at the start of this year.
While diamonds might be forever for devoted connoisseurs, collectors and investors, the business's days as a Rio Tinto asset are numbered.

Diamonds might have posted $US203 million ($A197.98 million) in underlying earnings for the first half of this year, but Rio Tinto is investigating selling it.

The company's other mining operations are so large it leaves the diamonds business too small, with the Argyle mine regarded as having passed its peak in production.

Tender viewings will be held in Perth, Hong Kong and London with bids closing on October 15.

World's biggest gate to open for President

2012-09-04T02:44:00.003+05:00

ABU DHABI // The emirate is hoping to mark the UAE's 41st National Day with yet another entry into the record books: the world's biggest gate.

The Khalifa in World Languages project, carried out by the Sultan Bin Zayed's Culture and Media Centre, will be launched on December 2 and dedicated to the President, Sheikh Khalifa.

Featuring the 25-metre-tall gate, it will also include a printed encyclopaedia, a specially commissioned operetta and a website.

The project aims to highlight the "UAE culture and national identity and showing appreciation to other world cultures".

Habib Al Sayegh, director general of the centre, said the project aimed to "return the national favour" to Sheikh Khalifa.

Work started months ago but was only confirmed yesterday by the state news agency Wam, which reported the project had been approved by Guinness World Records.

Mr Al Sayegh said it would be a sign of the love the President has for his nation and the people of the world, who in return would express their love and loyalty by printing Sheikh Khalifa's name on the gate in all the languages of the world.

Khadija Al Shehhi, the project supervisor, said the location of the gate was still being discussed.
The encyclopaedia will include every world flag and more than 250 translations of the President's name. The website will include a biography of Sheikh Khalifa in various languages and a history of the UAE.

The operetta, organised by the Zayed Higher Organisation for Humanitarian Care and Special Needs, will be performed by members of the community.
1

World's Toughest Mudder 'opportunity of a lifetime'

2012-09-04T02:41:00.000+05:00

Malcolm Allisson (l) finished in the top 5% of the British entries

Organisers say it is "probably the toughest event on the planet" and for one Hampshire man it is the opportunity of a lifetime.

In November Malcom Allisson will travel to New Jersey to take part in a 24 hour endurance assault course.
His mission is to become the world's "Toughest Mudder".

He is taking part in the final of a worldwide series of endurance challenges that were started in America by Will Dean and Guy Livingstone.

They based their Mudder events on activities designed by British Special Forces to test fitness, stamina, mental strength and camaraderie.

'Total shock' The standard course is a half marathon over 25 different obstacles and Mr Allisson took part in the first one held in the UK.

The 38-year-old ambulance medic took part in the first UK Tough Mudder

When he uploaded his time after the event in May near Kettering, he discovered he had finished in the top 5% which qualified him for the American final.

"It was a total shock," said Mr Allisson.

The 38-year-old ambulance medic from Bordon claims not to do much training for these kind of events.

"I know it sounds a bit bizarre," he said.
"It's in no way meant to sound big headed, but I sign up to these things, then I get really lazy with training. I end up just giving it a crack and I tend to do quite well."

But he realises November's challenge will be on a different scale.
The exact hurdles are not revealed until a week before the race but if they are anything like previous events they will include 12ft walls, 4ft flames, electric shocks and lots of mud.

"The body's not getting any younger so it's a once in a life time opportunity," Mr Allisson said.

"I am training for this. I think I'd be doing myself a bit of a disservice if I didn't."

'Bitterly cold' One of his least favourite trials at the Kettering event was the Ice Enema which involved diving into a vat of freezing water filled with ice cubes and swimming under a barbed wire.

But this will be as nothing compared to the bitterly cold temperatures he is likely to face in New Jersey - last year the 800 qualifiers started in temperatures of about -6.7C (20F).

The final is also held over a 24 hour period which means contestants need to consider how to pace their race, whether they go flat out during the day and rest at night or keep up a steady pace.

It is not just the elements that Mr Allisson needs to consider, it costs about $500 to enter on top of flights and accommodation, but like the 35 other Britons flying to the USA in November, he is driven to prove he is one of the World's Toughest Mudders.

World's first pregnant man Thomas Beatie finds love again and is prepared to conceive a FOURTH time if new lover can't

2012-09-04T02:35:00.002+05:00

Since hitting the headlines in 2008 for being the world's first pregnant man Thomas Beatie has gone on to give birth to three children with his wife Nancy.
This year the couple's ten year relationship broke down after Nancy, who had a hysterectomy before the couple married in 2003, started to drink heavily and Thomas was granted sole custody of their three children Austin, Jensen and Susan.
Today Thomas, who still has a womb but now also has a penis, has found love with day care worker Amber Nicholas. The couple want children and Thomas says if Amber struggles to conceive then he is happy to step in.

Thomas Beatie appeared on This Morning to talk about his extraordinary family

Talking to the Sunday Mirror 38-year-old Thomas, who had his first sex change operation 15 years ago said: ' Amber and I are totally smitten. We would love kids together and we are already discussing it.
'Being pregnant was the most incredible experience, but we want Amber to do it this time around. I think it would be amazing to experience pregnancy as the father.'
Surgeons have advised Thomas, who is originally from Hawaii but now lives in Arizona, against getting pregnant because he is biologically a man following a full sex change five years ago.
But it is still physically possible because he still has his womb

Thomas says: 'It is just about which one of us would be more successful at having a baby,
'It is even possible we could both be pregnant at the same time. Amber suggested we both try to get pregnant and whoever gets there first goes through with it.'
Thomas with his wife Nancy Beatie, Thomas gave birth to three children during the couple's ten year marriage At the same time as trying for a baby Thomas is battling with the courts to get divorced from his wife Nancy.
An Arizona judge is blocking the action by refusing to recognise that the couple were ever actually legitimately wed.
The judge believes that because both Beatie and his wife have female sex organs their union could equate to a same sex marriage which is not legal in Arizona, arguing that he cannot find any legal authority that defines a man as someone who is able to give birth.
Talking on This Morning today Thomas talked about his struggle to get their marriage legally recognised.
He said: ''Divorce is never fun. This is extremely complicated and uncharted territory.
'We were married ten years ago, we own property together, all our finances are bundled up together.
'Legally I am a man but there is a hiccup in recognising the marriage.
'I wanted to live and die with Nancy.
'She is working out some issues but she is still a friend and hopefully one day she will be better and be able to co-parent our children.'

Developing world gains open access to science research, but hurdles remain

2012-09-04T02:26:00.002+05:00

While the free flow of scientific information is now acknowledged as important, the battle for unrestricted access is far from over

Open access to science research is a welcome development in poor countries, but a variety of obstacles still remain.

These are heady days for supporters of open access (OA), who argue that the results of publicly-funded research should be made freely available to all, not just those who can afford subscriptions to the scientific journals in which they are published.

Earlier this year, the World Bank announced that it would adopt an open access policy for all its research outputs and "knowledge products", which will be entered into a central repository to be made freely accessible on the internet.

Last month, the British government said that, in future, it will require all the research it funds in British universities to be made openly accessible, with authors paying publishers a fee (funded out of research grants) to make this possible – a position already adopted by the influential Wellcome Trust. The move was rapidly followed by an announcement from the European commission that the same rule will apply to all commission-funded research.

The UK's Department of International Development recently announced all its research will be made freely available. And publishers such as BioMed Central are pioneering open access journals in developing regions such as Africa.

Tempering the pace of change

The momentum is unstoppable. And, at least as readers, scientists in developing countries, where journal subscriptions are often unaffordable, are some of the biggest beneficiaries. Free access to the latest research results from across the world is helping them become more effective members of the global research community – and helping global research find local applications.

But however attractive the concept of open access, we should be careful about expecting too much, too soon in terms of outcome and impact. Enthusiasm must be tempered by an awareness of what can realistically be achieved, and of the pace of change required to ensure a rush to open access does not have unwanted side-effects. It is important, for example, that a single-minded focus on securing commitment to the "author pays" model of open access – often referred to as "gold OA" – should not undermine efforts to create what many in the open access community consider an essential intermediary step, namely the setting up of open repositories (the "green OA" route). These are freely accessible collections of research articles set up to house all publications from researchers in a particular institution (including final versions of manuscripts subsequently published in paid-for scientific journals).

Almost 1,000 thriving open repositories have been set up across the developing world (for details, see Registry of Open Access Repositories e-prints). Many provide an important link between research being carried out within an institution and local communities, which may be able to use this research for practical purposes.

Safeguarding local needs

For scientists in developing countries to benefit, it is also important to ensure the author fees required by open access journals do not become an impediment. Finding an additional £1,500 ($2,373) on top of a research grant – the figure widely quoted as the standard author fee – may not be much for a well-funded researcher in the developed world. But it is significant in developing countries, where research funding is already scarce. Short-term steps, such as publishers waiving this fee, can mitigate the difference. In the long run, the solution must lie in making the costs of publication an essential component of any research grant (comparable to buying supplies and scientific equipment). But we are still a long way from that.

Furthermore, while richer journals may be in a position to waive such fees, this may not be possible for research journals in the developing world that often lead a hand-to-mouth existence, relying on subscriptions (and thus restricted access) to cover basic editorial and production costs.

In such situations, as Susan Murray from African Journals Online told a meeting held in June by the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications, there is a danger that developing country researchers might desert local journals unable to afford to go open access while waiving author fees.

This, Murray argued, would undermine the key role that such journals can play in promoting locally-funded research based around needs and priorities determined in developing countries, rather than by the scientific community in the developed world.

Challenges ahead

Helping to reinforce local research capacity has been a priority of SciDev.Net ever since we set up in 2001, when we made a commitment that all the material on our website would be freely accessible. This inevitably created problems in devising a long-term business plan. Where, our critics asked, would a sustainable income come from to cover the significant costs of running the organisation?

We have been fortunate to have sponsors, particularly aid agencies, with the foresight to realise that in the developing world, not only scientific research but also access to that research can only be sustained through public subsidy, at least for now. Even Nature and Science, both paid-for journals, agreed to make research papers relevant to the developing world freely available to SciDev.Net readers.

For us, the type of free access to scientific information represented by the open access movement is a key component of building development from the bottom up (an approach recently characterised by Rajiv Shah, administrator of the US Agency for International Development, as "open source development").

As I prepare to vacate the editor's chair after 11 years, it is a pleasure to see our work has been part of a movement in the right direction. The tide has turned, with the need for open access to science increasingly accepted by research institutions and their funding agencies.

Yet there are still too many obstacles to the free flow of scientific information, from rapacious publishers to restrictive intellectual property laws and unsympathetic research institutions. These restrictions affect not only scientists but also science journalists. For journalists, open access to science needs to be complemented by open access to scientists. The battle for the acceptance of science journalists and communicators as key players in the development field, and for free access to scientific information, is far from over.

Whole world can get food if fertilizers and water used more wisely

2012-09-04T02:17:00.000+05:00

NEW DELHI: India's wheat and rice production can be increased by over 60 percent, sugarcane production by 41 per cent and cotton production by 73 per cent by 2050 - without cutting down forests or increasing farmed area in any other way. Sounds like a dream?

A study, published in the scientific journal Nature last week, shows that this is indeed possible.

In fact it is possible to feed the whole world by 2050, the study says, even as population will jump by 2 billion to reach 9 billion and food demand will double from the present because of better living standards.

Researchers from McGill University in Montreal, Canada, and the University of Minnesota, US, gathered data from 157 countries and found that most of them - including India - suffered from a serious 'yield gap'. That is the gap between what a best-practice farm in that area can produce and what is the prevailing average production per unit land area.

Thus, in India, the study found that in wheat, the current yield was 2.49 tonnes per hectare (tph) while it could go up to 3.98 tph if proper fertilizer and water is provided. Similarly, rice yield could increase from 2.88 tph to 4.61 tph, and sugarcane yields could be increased from 63.62 tph to 88.97 tph.

How is this increase taking place? Doesn't it mean a higher pressure on the environment, by cutting down of forests? Usually increase in agricultural production is associated with negative environmental impact, including heavy use of fertilizer most of which washes away into the water system causing huge damage.

"We have often seen these two goals as a trade-off: We could either have more food, or a cleaner environment, not both," said lead author Nathaniel Mueller, a researcher with the University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment. "This study shows that doesn't have to be the case."

What this study did was look at the global picture. They found out how much fertilizers and water are needed in different countries or areas, and compared it to how much is actually being used. Many countries and regions - including China, the US, Western Europe and even some parts of India - were using excessive fertilizer and water while the rest of the world was using much less than needed. If the fertilizer and water use were rationalized and spread equitably, yields would go up in the deficient regions substantially, but without causing declines in the extra-using regions.

Worldwide, nitrogen use could be cut by 28 percent and phosphorus use by 38 percent without adversely affecting yields for corn, wheat and rice, the study found. With strategic redistribution of nutrient inputs, underperforming lands worldwide could be brought up to 75 percent of their production potential while only increasing global nitrogen use 9 percent and potassium use 34 percent-and reducing phosphorus use 2 percent, the study said.

The researchers caution that their analysis is at a coarse scale and that many other factors, including land characteristics, use of organic fertilizers, economics, geopolitics, water availability and climate change will influence actual gains in crop production and reductions in adverse environmental impacts, according to a University of Minnesota statement.

However, the study strongly indicates that closing the "yield gap" on underperforming lands-previously identified as one of five promising points for meeting future food needs, along with halting farmland expansion in the tropics, using agricultural inputs more strategically, shifting diets and reducing food waste-holds great promise for sustainably boosting food security, the statement said.

The Samsung controversy and the murky world of tech blogging

2012-09-04T02:13:00.001+05:00

Indian pair were stranded in Berlin after they refused to work on Samsung booths

The Indian bloggers said they had told Samsung they would only travel if they could work as independent journalists. Photograph: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty Images

For the two technology bloggers from India, it looked like a dream invitation from the electronics giant Samsung: it would pay for their flights and accommodation to cover the IFA trade fair in Berlin, where the season's biggest tech announcements are made, under an outreach programme called "Samsung Mobilers".

But the dream turned sour when Clinton Jeff and a colleague were told on arriving that they would be issued with uniforms and expected to work as staff on the booths – showing off new Samsung products to the press, rather than writing about them.

And when the duo protested, Samsung withdrew their funding – leaving them stranded thousands of miles from home without a plane ticket back, nor means to pay their hotel bill. They were saved when a representative from Nokia, the Finnish phone company, stepped in to help the pair, sorting out flights and hotel costs.

Though Samsung said there had been a "misunderstanding", the Guardian has established that France Quiqueré, a French technology blogger, has levelled a similar complaint, which the Guardian has established is also against Samsung.

The incidents have exposed a dark underbelly to technology reporting and blogging – in which companies offer rewards to bloggers, who often do not acknowledge that they are writing posts not for their news value to readers, but because they want to get free products and even trips. Not disclosing such motives is against Advertising Standards Authority rules laid down in 2009, as well as the consumer protection law, as shown by a 2010 investigation by the Office of Fair Trading against a company called Handpicked Media.
Quiqueré, who has been a "brand ambassador" for Samsung since 2010, was told she had won a competition to come at the company's expense to the Olympics in London in August, along with a group of bloggers. She went expecting to be a guest at events, because Samsung was a major sponsor of the Olympics, for which it paid more than $100m.

Instead the group found that the six-day trip involved barely any visits to events. Instead they were meant to create promotional videos and photos, and fill out daily reports on what they had done. They were also instructed to upload videos of promotional events to their personal YouTube accounts – an instruction that Quiqueré resisted strongly. She says that by the end of the five-day trip she saw two events – a table-tennis semifinal and a volleyball eliminator. "We didn't have the chance to see the Olympic stadium or participate [in] other festive events related to the Olympics," Quiqueré complained. "The most embarrassing thing is the surreal feeling of being trapped."

All the bloggers were part of Samsung's "Mobilers" programme, a multi-country PR scheme described in the UK as "an exclusive network of bloggers who are first in line to trial and review the latest Samsung products, for free!". The scheme is aimed at bloggers seen as influential by Samsung. They are encouraged to write posts about Samsung products – with subjects suggested multiple times a week – for which they earn points towards "rewards".
But the Guardian has established that many of those who blog in this way do not acknowledge that they are receiving rewards for doing so – contravening the law.

The plight of the Indian bloggers was first exposed by technology news site The Next Web, which calls the Mobilers programme "Samsung's fanboy factory" (a "fanboy" being an uncritical supporter of a brand, group or team). However, the pair have been criticised by peers, who said Jeff and his colleague were naive and misunderstood the communications from Samsung India.

Jeff and his companion blogger from India, who does not want to be named, were members of the Samsung India Mobilers programme. But they were shocked by their experience at IFA, one of the world's biggest technology shows. They insist they had told Samsung that they would only travel if they could work as independent journalists and look at other companies' stands at the show. Such opportunities are rare for Indian bloggers; they had thought that the quid pro quo would be to get early views of new Samsung products which they could blog about – thus satisfying themselves and Samsung.

However, Samsung representatives at the show insisted that they had agreed to be "promoters" of the product, which entailed wearing a uniform and showing off the products at its booth. When Jeff and his colleague declined to take part, they say, a Samsung India representative told them that they would be brought back immediately, unless they agreed to appear at a Samsung event wearing company T-shirts.
After doing that, Jeff talked to a friend who contacted Nokia, which agreed to pay the duo's plane flights and hotel costs without, Jeff says, requiring any coverage or mention in return.

Samsung said in a statement: "Samsung Mobilers is a voluntary community of active Samsung mobile device users, who are offered the opportunity to participate in our marketing events across the world. At these events, all activities they undertake are on a voluntary basis. No activities are forced upon them.
"We regret there was a misunderstanding between the Samsung Mobilers coordinators and the relevant blogger, as we understand he was not sufficiently briefed on the nature of Samsung Mobilers' activities at IFA 2012. We have been attempting to get in touch with him. We respect the independence of bloggers to publish their own stories."

The Mobilers marketing programme is open to bloggers, though Samsung determines who takes part. In the UK, it has more than 50 members in the scheme, and dozens more in every other country where it runs.
Members are given "missions" in which they are asked to promote products or features. On the UK site, for example, the current one is to showcase the functionality of the S-Voice speech control system on the Galaxy S3 smartphone, while others have made simpler requests: "please could you write and share a short post about the Samsung Olympic Pins competition?" or more recently "create something to show the best of the exclusive Samsung Official Top 40 app".

Members then take up the "mission" by writing posts to fulfil them, for which they earn points. One example is at droid-den, which earned a "Mobiler point" for a post about the Samsung Galaxy S3's "pop-up play". The post and page contains no mention that it was written at the urging or for a reward from Samsung, although Rachid Otsmane-Elhaou, based in Manchester, who runs the blog and wrote the post, acknowledges his membership of the scheme in the blog's "about" page.

Otsmane-Elhaou did not respond to a Guardian request for comment. But other posts by Samsung Mobilers bloggers also failed to disclose their participation in the programme.

Rich Leigh, co-founder of bloggabase.com, a blog database that aims to connect bloggers with marketers, said: "Bloggers should make it clear that they are being paid or being given freebies to review. Whether this is done in an obvious way within the body of the text or a simple declaration at the end of the post, it's always within the blogger's best interests to keep their nose clean here. It'll help build reader trust and ensure transparency."

Sally Whittle, founder of Tots100, reckoned to be the UK's largest network of parent blogs, and who runs her own site Who's the Mummy, said: "Disclosure is a real hot topic – most bloggers know they should disclose, but there's no single way to do it. I see things being marked as 'sponsored', 'featured' and all sorts of things in between. We try and educate people that disclosure is a legal requirement but I think sometimes people are wary of putting off their readers, or being seen as having 'sold out' – readership can go down on posts where freebies are being received by the blogger."

She added: "There have been a few cases of people being called out for not disclosing – there was a recent kerfuffle with a beauty box provider, for example, where bloggers were writing about the boxes but not disclosing they'd got them free – and the boxes they received seemed to be better than the ones readers were purchasing."

Rachel Clarke, head of social media at the marketing agency Momentum UK, said: "Legally, bloggers should disclose this because it's paid advertising." She said she was surprised by the reports of the bloggers' experience at IFA with Samsung, which she said has "done a lot of good promotions in the past".
But she said as companies and bloggers interact more frequently – with companies trying to build up a groundswell of coverage for products that news sites might not – misunderstandings and differences in expectation could arise more often. "There's a growing expectation from bloggers that they will get VIP treatment, but that might not be what companies are offering," she said.

Whittle said sometimes it is the brands which pressure bloggers not to disclose their involvement: "we did a survey a month or so back and found that one in three of our members has been asked by a PR or SEO agency not to disclose a freebie or paid content – because the brands want links but don't want to risk being clobbered by Google for buying follow links. Some bloggers have had a lot of pressure on this score, with some brands asking for refunds or withholding payment if a blogger discloses a freebie or payment on a post."

Boxing : Geale tames Sturm to become unified world champ

2012-09-04T02:06:00.004+05:00

BERLIN: Australia’s Daniel Geale was crowned the new unified IBF and WBA middleweight world champion on Saturday night following his split decision win over Germany’s Felix Sturm. The 31-year-old Tasmanian took the unification bout when the three judges scored the fight 116-112 to Sturm, then 116-112, 116-112 to Geale, who claimed the German’s WBA middleweight title in Oberhausen, west Germany.

“Of course, I expected him to be strong, Felix is a good champion, it was a tough, very hard fight,” said Geale who beat Germany’s Sebastian Sylvester in May 2011 to win the IBF title. “I have been improving with every fight and I am just so happy to have come here and done this. “Everyone has given me lots of great support, without these guys I wouldn’t be here. I hope we can have a rematch, that was a great fight.” This was the 28th win of Geale’s 29 fight career with a 2009 split-decision defeat to compatriot Anthony Mundine his only loss. It was Sturm’s first defeat since he suffered a 10th-round technical knock-out in July 2006 against Spain’s Javier Castillejo and was his first defeat after 13 defences of his belt.

“I have to accept the decision, that is boxing,” said the 33-year-old German who suffered the third defeat of his 42 fight career. “He did well on his side, he boxed awesomely and gave his best and I simply have to accept it. “It’s a bitter defeat, but I had my chances. “I had a few people backing me, (Manchester City striker) Edin Dzeko flew here to support me. I hope to have a rematch, we’ll see.”

Sturm started strongly, landing some telling punches in the opening two rounds, one telling head shot in the second round opened up a cut on the side of Geale’s head, but the Australian finished the third round strongly. The Australian used Sturm’s high guard to land several body shots and a heavy right at the end of the round. Sturm used his jab well, but the fourth round ended with a flurry of punches from both fighters. After Sturm was strong in the fifth, with a series of jabs and upper-cuts, Geale upped his work rate in the sixth to land several shots.

However, there was little to separate the pair by the halfway stage. Geale boxed more aggressively in the seventh, landing a good head shot late in the round, while Sturm landed a heavy head shot at the end of the eighth. Sturm impressed in the ninth with a series of head, body shots, but the German was rocked by a good combination by Geale midway through the tenth, which fired up Sturm to come out firing for the 11th. Geale had more in reserve for the final two rounds and he landed some solid shots, leaving Sturm’s face marked by the last bell as the final count went his way.

‘Jane Austen of the Hasidic world’ premieres at Venice Film Festival

2012-09-04T02:05:00.002+05:00

Israeli director Rama Burshtein’s coming of age tale ‘Lemale Et Ha’Chalal’ (‘Fill the Void’), shown at the Venice Film Festival on Sunday, is “a Jane Austen of the Hasidic world”, its producer said.

The moving story, based on a young woman’s dilemma about whether to marry her dead sister’s widower, is also an intimate portrayal of an Orthodox Hasidic community in the secular city of Tel Aviv, where the drama is set.

“This community in Israel is very secluded and we see them in a kind of black and white way. This is a unique way to have a voice heard from the inside,” the producer, Assaf Amir, said at a press conference in Venice.

“Rama is a pioneer in that sense. She is the first woman from that world to make a film and I don’t think there are any men making any,” Amir said, comparing the movie to the novels of British literary great Austen.

‘Lemale Et Ha’Chalal’ is Burshtein’s first feature film and is one of 18 flicks vying for the Golden Lion prize at the world’s oldest film festival.

Burshtein said she had based the film on a real-life story she heard at a wedding. “I was fascinated. I was asking myself how is that? Is it about feelings? Is it about family? Is it about duty?” she said.

“She is a child but she is becoming a woman as the movie goes along. The story is about a girl becoming a woman in the oddest circumstances,” she said.

The tension between tradition-bound lives and raw emotions welling up is one of the highlights of the beautifully shot film.

Hadas Yaron, who is herself secular and plays the character of the young girl Shira, said, “It was a lot of work getting to know that world.

“It’s all about emotions and choices and what leads you (to) do what you do. Shira is different from me because she’s not familiar with all these feelings that she’s experiencing for the first time,” she said.

Irit Sheleg, who plays Shira’s mother in the film, said the story highlights the crucial roles of women, “In the film the people who do business are the women. They are very strong, very dominant.”

Pakistan series good prep for World T20: Watson

2012-09-04T02:03:00.002+05:00

SHARJAH: Fit-again all rounder Shane Watson hoped a three-match Twenty20 series against Pakistan will give a good preparation to his side for next month's World Twenty20.

The 31-year-old joined the Twenty20 squad here after missing the three-match one-day series due to a calf injury sustained on the team's tour of England in July this year.

Pakistan and Australia play the Twenty20 matches in Dubai on September 5, 7 and 11.

Watson believed playing a dangerous Twenty20 side like Pakistan will give good preparations to Australia, who are ranked ninth in the shortest form of the game.

"These matches are very important and will give us a good lead to the World Twenty20," said Watson of the event starting in Sri Lanka next month. "We haven't really had a long time together as a Twenty20 team so it will be good playing Pakistan."

Australia were the losing semi-finalist of the first World Twenty20 in 2007 before they were thrown out of the second edition in the first round in England two years later.

They lost to England in the 2010 event final held in the West Indies.

"We have played well in Twenty20 and were unlucky on missing out on the final the last time. This team has got good balance of young and experience and on our day we can beat the best teams in the world," said Watson.

Australia earlier this year appointed George Bailey as their Twenty20 captain. They are placed in Group B of the 12-team World Twenty20, alongside the West Indies and Ireland.

Watson hoped all players will get to know their roles in the team.

"These three matches (against Pakistan) will be challenging and it's going to be a great period for us to continue to know what exactly are our roles in Twenty20," said Watson who has so far scored 643 runs in 27 Twenty20 matches.

He also has 21 wickets as a medium pacer.

Watson admitted Pakistani spinners and oppressive heat in United Arab Emirates will be a big challenge.
"The heat is always there, you play throughout the year so heat is part and parcel for both the sides," said Watson. "Pakistan have got high class spinners with (Saeed) Ajmal and (Shahid) Afridi and they can certainly change the game.

"In Twenty20 cricket you don't have much chance to be able to work the ball, when the ball is turning a score of 130 140 is good. There is no doubt they are good spinners but we will work hard," said Watson.
"It (UAE) is a great place to play cricket and I am excited and at times these are similar conditions we get in Sri Lanka ao it gives us a good chance to combine as a team and understand our roles," said Watson.

China Coal Industry Remains World's Deadliest

2012-09-04T01:54:00.003+05:00

SHANGHAI—A spate of accidents has put the spotlight back on a fast-expanding Chinese coal-mining sector that remains the world's deadliest despite a measurably improved safety record in recent years.
Some 76 people were killed in three Chinese coal-mining accidents since Aug. 13, according to reports by the State Administration of Work Safety. In one of the worst accidents in recent years, 45 people were killed in a mine explosion outside the city of Panzhihua in Sichuan province, while another 14 people died in a blast Sunday in Jiangxi Province.

Rescuers gather to search for survivors at the Xiaojiawan coal mine after a gas explosion in Panzhihua, in southwest China's Sichuan province, on Aug. 31.

China is the world's largest miner and consumer of coal, and has long had the deadliest mines. This partly reflects the difficulty of regulating 12,000 mines, and the fact that its coal veins are so deep underground.

Growing social awareness in China of workplace safety, and of the environment, represents added political challenge to the ruling Communist Party, which is increasingly faced with public demands to deliver more than economic growth. Late last week, the official Xinhua news agency—the voice of the party—said in a commentary under the headline "Multiple accidents test CPC's governability" that 75,512 people had lost their lives as a result of "man-made" incidents so far in 2012.

Analysts say the coal industry is improving. They credit continued attention to safety in key resource-rich areas like Shanxi Province for reducing mining's death toll toward 2,000 in 2011 from 3,786 in 2007 and the nearly 7,000 who perished in 2002, according to figures from Hong Kong's China Labor Bulletin.

The latest accidents all occurred at relatively small pits, operated by owners who prosper by satisfying China's giant appetite to fuel power plants and steel mills, but which individually are Beijing's biggest challenges in enforcing safety regulation. Analysts said these facilities often hire untrained labor and pay based on tonnage, leading to frequent deadly accidents.

According to the World Coal Association, China's 3.47 billion metric tons of output last year was about 45% of the global total 7.678 billion tons, and nearly 3.5 times more than the next biggest coal producer, the U.S.
The economic slowdown in China this year isn't seen significantly slowing its coal production, according to Barclays, BARC.LN +0.57% which forecasts a 5.9% rise in output in 2012 to 3.6 billion metric tons.
Sustaining the big output numbers are numerous small producers that dominate the industry, despite efforts by Beijing to consolidate coal-mine ownership into fewer hands, particularly under large state-owned enterprises.

China's top eight mining groups accounted for only around 20% of national coal output in 2010, according to Xu Yi-chong, a professor of Australia's Griffith University in Brisbane, whereas in the U.S. just three companies produced 70%.

"To me, this is the main problem," says Ms. Xu. "The small coal mines tend to have very, very, very low safety standards and very, very, very low labor standards, and are very difficult to regulate."
She says large mine owners tend to be more responsible: large, government-run coal producers recorded a fatality rate of 0.28 per million metric tons mined in 2010 but small operations killed five times more people, or 1.4 per ton. She says China's national average in 2010 was 0.75 deaths per million tons, down sharply from 7.6 deaths per million during the mid-1980s.
According to the U.S. Labor Department, 17 people died in U.S. coal mining accidents last year, and that the thirteenth so far in 2012 occurred on July 31 when a 43-year-old was crushed repairing a machine underground in West Virginia.

National and provincial policy makers have spurred China's safety efforts with carrots and sticks: firing officials after big accidents and using government subsidies to create incentives for good behavior.

One of the nation's largest miners, Shandong Province-based Yanzhou Coal Mining Co., 600188.SH +0.64% for instance, says in its latest annual report that it has recorded a rate of zero fatalities per million tons of raw coal mined in each of the past five years. The biographies of its top executives highlight their training in worker safety and its financial accounts tally rising compliance costs, like a 50 yuan-per-metric-ton work-safety charge that applies to one of its big Shanxi mines.

"Credit has to go to the authorities in Shanxi and to some extent Inner Mongolia," says Geoffrey Crothall, director of communications at the Hong Kong-based China Labor Bulletin. "But the rest of the country hasn't gotten the same message."

That's a worry as coal mining presses into new areas that haven't been embarrassed into action as, analysts say, officials have been in coal-rich Shanxi. According to the Work Safety Administration, at least two people remain trapped underground after both the Sichuan incident Aug. 29 and Sunday's accident in Jiangxi.

In its biting commentary, Xinhua said, "Every man-made accident, be it the collapse of a bridge (last) month or the bullet train collision last year—stems from something, and many suspect that dereliction of duty, a lack of proper supervision, abuse of power or corruption could be behind these accidents."

World stocks rise after poor China production data convinces traders that easing is on the way

2012-09-04T01:50:00.001+05:00

In this photo taken Tuesday, July 6, 2010, workers use machinery to dig at a rare earth mine in Baiyunebo mining district of Baotou in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. China's government has tightened controls on rare earths production in a move that might inflame trade tensions with Washington and Europe. Regulations issued this week say mines and smelting companies must meet minimum output levels to continue operating. The state newspaper China Daily on Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012 cited an official who said about one-third of China's mines and half of its smelting companies might not qualify to remain open. (AP Photo) CHINA OUT

LONDON - Markets started yet another potentially crucial week on a solid note as investors betted on more central bank action and that China would enact more stimulus measures following a dispiriting manufacturing survey.
However, with Wall Street out of action because of the Labor Day holiday, the August trading lull continued into the first day of the new month.
Monday's trading was dominated by a survey suggesting that China's manufacturing sector was contracting. Though that is a bad sign for the global economy, investors think it makes it more likely that the country's monetary authorities will ease monetary policy soon.
"August saw Chinese manufacturing activity hit a three-year low, prompting a return of the 'bad news is good news' trade as markets rose on expectation of some action from the Politburo in Beijing," said Chris Beauchamp, market analyst at IG Index.
Options available to Beijing include reducing interest rates, lowering the amount banks have to hold in reserve or increasing spending. China's economic growth has already fallen to a three-year low of 7.6 per cent in the second quarter.
Hopes that more stimulus in China was on the cards helped European markets post solid gains. Britain's FTSE 100 advanced 0.6 per cent to 5,745 while Germany's DAX added 0.3 per cent to 6,993. The CAC-40 in France was 0.6 per cent higher at 3,428.
Investors around the world will have a number of issues to contend with over the rest of the week, which culminates with Friday's U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for August.
But before then, all eyes will be on Thursday's European Central Bank monthly policy meeting. Its president, Mario Draghi, is expected to announce details of a new bond-buying program that's intended to keep a lid on the borrowing costs of countries like Spain and Italy.
Michael Hewson, markets analyst at CMC Markets, warned that markets "may once again be getting ahead of themselves" again as Draghi may wish to wait to hear the verdict of German constitutional court on the legality of the European Stability Mechanism, Europe's planned bailout fund. The ruling is expected on September 12.
Hopes that the ECB will play a more crucial role in the debt crisis have helped support the euro in recent weeks. After nearly dropping to near two-year lows below $1.20, the euro has pushed back above $1.25. It's trading 0.1 per cent lower Monday at $1.2570.
The U.S. payroll figures, which often set the market tone for a week or two after their release, could be particularly important this month too. Last Friday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke suggested that more central bank action was possible to support the U.S. economy so a bad set of data could mean persuade investors to think the Fed will act sooner rather than later. Previous Fed stimulus packages have shored up markets as the fresh liquidity on offer made its way round financial markets.
Earlier in Asia Monday, stocks closed mostly higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 shed earlier gains to close 0.6 per cent lower at 8,783.89. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 0.4 per cent to 19,559.21 and South Korea's Kospi climbed 0.4 per cent to 1,912.71.
In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.6 per cent to 2,059.15 and the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index jumped 1.9 per cent to 854.76.
Trading was also lacklustre in the oil markets, where benchmark crude for October delivery was down 8 cents at $96.39 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Simmonds smashes world record to win second gold

2012-09-04T01:46:00.001+05:00

Ellie Simmonds set the Aquatics Centre alight as she lived up to her status as the poster girl of the London 2012 Paralympics, blazing to gold in the women's SM6 200m individual medley.

Simmonds, who smashed her own world record in the morning's heats, once again bettered her mark as she won in a time of 3:05.39 ahead of Germany's Verena Schott, who beat Britain's Natalie Jones to silver by one hundredth of a second.

Simmonds trailed Ukraine's Oksana Khrul by nearly five seconds at the final turn, but produced a blistering final freestyle length to secure her second gold medal of the Games.

"To do another personal best, I am chuffed," she said. "I have two more races to come, and it is amazing to do this in front of this home crowd.
"I did worry about her lead, but my front crawl is my strongest stroke. Before every race I get nervous, and it is good to get that emotion. I have two golds, and I have two more to concentrate on. Let's hope I wake up tomorrow in form."

Sascha Kindred failed to defend his 200m individual medley title as he took silver behind China's Xu Qing. Kindred set a new European record as he finished inside his own world record pace as Xu won in a world record time of 2:38.62, while Britain's Matthew Whorwood finished fifth.

"I wanted to get a medal in this event," Kindred said. "It's not the colour I wanted, but it's a new personal best and it took a world record to beat me. It's a European record, but hats off to the Chinese guy, he came out here and performed."

Susannah Rodgers added to the British medal tally in the pool as she won bronze in the women's 100m freestyle S7 behind Austrlia's Jacqueline Freney, with Cortney Jordan of the USA second.
Backstroke gold medallist Jonathan Fox missed out on a second medal in the men's 100m freestyle S7, finishing fifth behind team-mate Josef Craig in fourth.

Mickey Bushell wins gold in the T53 100m

In the Olympic Stadium, wheelchair sprinter Mickey Bushell upgraded the silver medal he won in Beijing to gold in the T53 100m. The world record holder made a blistering start and powered away from his rivals to win in a new Paralympic record of 14.75 seconds ahead of Chinese pair Yufei Zhao and Yu Shiran.
David Weir showed no signs of fatigue as he safely qualified for Tuesday's 1500m final. Weir, who claimed a brilliant T54 5000m victory on Sunday, came home in third place in three minutes 11.35 seconds.
Meanwhile at Greenwich Park, Natasha Baker won her second gold of the Games with victory in the Grade II freestyle dressage. The 22-year-old scored a Paralympic record of 82.800% to finish more than five per cent clear of Germany's Britta Nappel.

"Two Paralympic records and two gold medals in my first Games in London - wow! It has been an amazing experience to be here and Rio won't be the same without this crowd. They have been the best," she said.
However, there was disappointment for Lee Pearson was forced to settle for bronze in the Grade Ib individual freestyle test. Pearson, who was bidding to match Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson's tally of 11 Paralympic golds, finished with a complete set - gold, silver and bronze from London after scoring 74.200% behind Austria's Pepo Puch and Katja Karjalainen of Finland.

Peter Norfolk and Andy Lapthorne are guaranteed at least a silver medal in the quad doubles final after they reached the final with a 6-2 6-2 victory over Japan's Shota Kawano and Mitsuteru Moroishi.
Meanwhile, Britain's men survived a late rally from Japan to book their place in the quarter-finals of the men's wheelchair basketball with a 71-55 victory.

Australians implant 'world first' bionic eye

2012-09-04T01:37:00.003+05:00

SYDNEY: Australian scientists said Thursday they had successfully implanted a "world first" bionic eye prototype, describing it as a major breakthrough for the visually impaired.

Bionic Vision Australia (BVA), a government-funded science consortium, said it had surgically installed an "early prototype" robotic eye in a woman with hereditary sight loss caused by degenerative retinitis pigmentosa.
Described as a "pre-bionic eye", the tiny device is attached to Dianne Ashworth's retina and contains 24 electrodes which send electrical impulses to stimulate her eye's nerve cells.

Researchers switched on the device in their laboratory last month after Ashworth had fully recovered from surgery and she said it was an incredible experience.

"I didn't know what to expect, but all of a sudden, I could see a little flash -- it was amazing," she said in a statement. "Every time there was stimulation there was a different shape that appeared in front of my eye. Penny Allen, the surgeon who implanted the device, described it as a "world first".

Ashworth's device only works when it is connected inside the lab and BVA chairman David Penington said it would be used to explore how images were "built" by the brain and eye.

Feedback from the device will be fed into a "vision processor" allowing doctors to determine exactly what Ashworth sees when her retina is subjected to various levels of stimulation.

"The team is looking for consistency of shapes, brightness, size and location of flashes to determine how the brain interprets this information," explained Rob Shepherd, director of the Bionics Institute which was also involved in the breakthrough.

The team is working towards a "wide-view" 98-electrode device that will provide users with the ability to perceive large objects such as buildings and cars, and a "high-acuity" 1,024-electrode device.

Patients with the high-acuity device are expected to be able to recognise faces and read large print, and BVA said it would be suitable for people with retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration. Penington said the early results from Ashworth had "fulfilled our best expectations, giving us confidence that with further development we can achieve useful vision".

"The next big step will be when we commence implants of the full devices," he said.

Abidi excels world presidents, PMs in contempt of court

2012-09-04T01:32:00.003+05:00

LAHORE: Many rulers and public figures in the world, when convicted for committing different crimes or when they anticipated they would be punished by law, have been blaming judiciary and casting aspersions on it, but none has ever been as obnoxious and disrespectful as Senator Faisal Raza Abidi has been of late.

Dubbed by most as a PPP ‘loose cannon,’ Abidi has been openly abusing and cursing the Pakistan Supreme Court Chief Justice and other arbiters on numerous television channels and newspapers since August 5, 2012, the day he formally started hurling serious allegations against the country’s top judge, his colleagues and family.

During his August 5, 2012 Press conference at the National Press Club in Islamabad, Senator Faisal Raza Abidi had maligned the apex court in the harshest possible words.

In what could easily be termed tirade against the Supreme Court, he had even accused the CJ of acquitting a terrorist who allegedly killed 100 people, besides publicly announcing that he would soon table a bill against the judges who had taken oath under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO).

Although Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry did take notice of Abidi’s Press conference and had sought footage of the press briefing soon after to see whether it came under contempt of court, no concrete action against the PPP Senator has yet been taken - something that has stunned most Pakistanis who heard what the Senator had said without blinking an eye! There is no doubt that questions will arise and give birth to many suspicions if Faisal Raza Abidi is not called to the court in foreseeable future and asked by the arbiters to show cause of his venom against the Supreme Court Chief Justice and other sitting judges.

The delay in this context has already irked many and raised quite a few eyebrows.

There is a long list of Abidi’s accusations against the Chief Justice, his colleagues and family, but what is most startling is the fact that the Senator has remained the most sought after guest for all television channels during the month of August.

Senator Abidi may be the most vocal and disrespectful of all court critics, but former Premier Yusuf Raza Gilani and PPP stalwart Sharjeel Memon, besides others, have also been using fairly contemptuous phrases against the judiciary in recent months.

Research conducted by The News reveals that this practice of ridiculing, condemning and disrespecting courts continues since 1803, when legendary US Chief Justice John Marshall (1755-1835) had exercised his judicial review powers in the Marbury v. Madison case, only to earn the wrath of the then president and his distant cousin, Thomas Jefferson.

Marshall, the longest-serving Chief Justice of the United States who dominated the Court for over three decades (1801-35), had invalidated a provision of the Judiciary Act of 1789 in this landmark Marbury v. Madison case, on the grounds that it violated the Constitution by attempting to expand the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. President Thomas Jefferson took the position that the Court could not give him an order, even if it had jurisdiction. More generally, Jefferson lamented that allowing the Constitution “to mean whatever the Court says it means would make the Constitution a mere thing of wax in the hands of the judiciary, which they may twist and shape into any form they please.”

(Reference: Volume 3, Article 1, Section 8, Clause 18, Document 16 of the Founders’ Constitution, authored by Philip Kurland and Ralph Lerner)

While his court opinions laid the basis for American constitutional law, CJ Marshall had differences of opinion with various US Presidents.

In Worcester v. Georgia Case (1832), to the sheer annoyance of US President Andrew Jackson, the Marshall-led Supreme Court had held a Georgia state statute unconstitutional. This law actually prohibited non-Indians from being present on Indian lands without a licence from the state.

Breaking into a furious rage over the decision, President Jackson (as reported in various law journals), had said: “John Marshall has made his decision; now let him enforce it!”

However, a book “They never said it” (authored by Paul Boller and John George), recognised this as a false quotation being wrongly attributed to President Jackson, though it admits the then US head of state was so angry with CJ Marshall that he could have said anything of the sort.

Sitting Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had also lashed out against the Indian Supreme Court in 2009, but within limits. According to the August 17, 2009 edition of the “Times of India,” PM Manmohan Singh had talked tough by terming - for the first time in judicial history - the backlog of 30 million cases in courts as a scourge.

Asking the Indian Supreme Court to be a role model as well as mentor, catalyst and organiser in this war against the scourge, Manmohan had wondered why an accomplished judiciary had to be snail-paced in disposing of cases.

He was quoted as saying: “Amidst such strengths, brilliance and dynamism (of the judiciary), India has to suffer the scourge of the world’s largest backlog of cases and timelines which generate surprise globally and concern at home.”

A couple of months ago, when the US Apex court had questioned President Barack Obama’s famous “Health Care Law” that required nearly all Americans to buy some form of health insurance or pay fine, the head of state had condemned the decision by saying: “ The law has support from legal experts across the ideological spectrum, including two very conservative appellate court justices that said this wasn’t even a close case.”

The comments from President Obama had come during a joint news conference at the White House with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Mexican President Felipe Calderon.

Recently, a Thai politician Yossawaris Chuklom was jailed for threatening and intimidating the Constitutional Court judges of Thailand. His bail was revoked. Yossawaris had criticised the Constitution Court for ordering Parliament on June 1 to postpone the third reading of a constitution amendment bill allegedly designed to favour fugitive ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

He had publicly announced the personal information of Constitution Court judges, including their phone numbers, and had urged demonstrators to visit and call them. The Criminal Court had ruled that his action as well as his voice, facial expressions and gestures proved that he intended to incite hatred against the court.

(Reference: The Bangkok Post edition of August 23, 2012)

In Sri Lanka, as Lanka News reported on August 20, 2012 the country’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa had hinted of initiating legal action against the sitting Chief Justice Dr Shirani Bandaranayake’s husband if she tried to overstep her limits. The Sri Lankan president had said he would move court against CJ’s husband and former National Savings Bank chairman, Pradeep Kariyawasam, over various irregular transactions he had been engaged in. The presidential statement had come soon after the Chief Justice had resolved to safeguard the independence of the judiciary when making decisions related to cases. The president also said the Chief Justice would be allowed to hold the office only for a limited time period.

This correspondent had reported in July 5, 2012 edition of The News that many rulers in the world, when convicted for committing culpable crimes, have blamed judiciary routinely.

These rulers include the likes of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussain, former three-time Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, former Thai Premier Thaksin Shinawatra, former Filipino President Joseph Estrada, former Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, former Liberian President Charles Taylor and former Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali etc.

When Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death on November 5, 2006, he had shouted, “Long live the people. Long live the Arab nation. Down with the spies. God is great.”

(Reference: Al-Jazeera TV)

Ex-Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi had called the Italian judiciary a “cancerous growth.” (Reference: A Reuters’ report of June 25, 2008)

According to Reuters, Berlusconi had claimed that 789 prosecutors and magistrates had taken interest in his affairs from 1994 to 2006 “with the aim of subverting the votes of the Italian nation,” asserting that while the police had visited him 577 times, he had attended 2,500 court hearings and had paid 174 million Euros in lawyers’ bills.

Thaksin Shinawatra, a former Thai Premier, had also slated his country’s judiciary publicly after the court had found him guilty of a conflict of interest in the purchase of land in Bangkok and had sentenced him in absentia to two years imprisonment in October 2008.

The New York Times (October 21, 2008) had quoted him as saying: “The case is politically motivated and you know what politics in Thailand is like.” “Reuters had also quoted his post-verdict views: “I have been informed of the result. I had long anticipated that it would turn out this way. This case is politically motivated.”

Joseph Estrada, a former president of the Philippines, had claimed that the anti-graft court had admitted inadmissible hearsay evidence, surmises, inferences and speculative proofs, which violated his right to confront the witnesses against him. Estrada was sentenced in September 2007 by a court on charges of plundering $86 million.

Former Liberian president, Charles Taylor, was yet another ruler who had refused to accept the court decision against him.

He was found guilty by the International Court of Justice (Hague) in April 2012 in all the 11 charges of terror, murder and rape. In May, he was sentenced to 50 years in prison.

A CNN report of May 16, 2012 had quoted Taylor as saying: “President George W Bush ordered torture and admitted to doing so. Torture is a crime against humanity. The United States has refused to prosecute him. Is he above the law? Where is the fairness?”

Former Tunisian president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his wife Laila Ali were sentenced in absentia to 35 years in prison on June 20, 2011, after being found guilty of theft and unlawful possession of cash and jewellery. They were also fined 45.5 million Euros. According to an AFP report of June 21, 2011, he had termed his 35-year jail sentence insane. Speaking through his Paris-based lawyer, the exiled Ben Ali said the Tunis court had “delivered a sentence that is judicially insane but politically opportune, a “parody of justice” and “political liquidation.” Last but not the least, the recently ousted Pakistani Premier Yusuf Raza Gilani had said during his public address at Mailsi (Southern Punjab) on March 15, 2012 -before his conviction and ouster by court on contempt charges - that the judges considered him a peon rather than a prime minister.

He had bluntly said he would prefer jail to writing a letter to the Swiss authorities against President Asif Zardari on the Supreme Court orders.

No matter how harsh all these afore-mentioned rulers and public figures have been against the courts, none has ever been as disrespectful and impolite as Senator Faisal Raza Abidi.

PM continues pushing world on 'red lines' for Iran

2012-09-04T01:30:00.004+05:00

White House denies Israeli report it sent secret non-aggression messages to Iran; 'NY Times' reports the Obama administration is moving ahead with range of steps to forestall an Israeli attack.

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday continued his campaign to get the US and the world to lay down a "red line" for Iran, amid initial signs that US President Barack Obama might now be willing to do just that.
Netanyahu, during a meeting with a group of wounded US and Israeli veterans, said that the clearer the red line, the less likelihood there would be of bloodshed.

Netanyahu said Iran, which he characterized as a "brutal regime," was galloping forward with its nuclear program because it did not see a "clear red line from the international community. And it doesn't see the necessary resolve and determination from the international community."
The greater the resolve, and the clearer the red line, he said, the less would be the chance of conflict because the Iranians would be more likely to back off.
In other words, one government official said, an attack could be averted if plain benchmarks were established, and the Iranians were faced with a clear either/or proposition: either stop uranium enriching and allow inspection of nuclear sites, or face military action.
Netanyahu's comments came the same day that The New York Times ran a story saying the Obama administration was moving ahead "with a range of steps short of war that it hopes will forestall an Israeli attack, while forcing the Iranians to take more seriously negotiations that are all but stalemated."

According to the report, a major naval exercise in the Persian Gulf, a new anti missile systems in Qatar, and more forcefully clamping down on Iranian oil revenue were steps already in the works. The paper said the administration was also considering new declarations by Obama spelling out what might bring about military action – Netanyahu's "red lines" – as well as more covert activity.
The Times report of a more aggressive US position contrasted sharply with a Yediot Ahronoth report that said the US recently used two European countries to send messages to Iran saying the US would not be dragged into an Israeli attack, and in return expected Iran to refrain from striking US strategic targets in the region.
The White House sharply denied that report.
"It's incorrect, completely incorrect," White House spokesman Jay Carney said while accompanying Obama on a campaign trip in Ohio. "The report is false and we don't talk about hypotheticals."
Intelligence Agencies Minister Dan Meridor said he did not "know what kind of messages Yediot Ahronoth heard, but I think the Iranians understand ... that if they cross a line towards a bomb, they could encounter very strong resistance, including all the options that are on the table - as the American president has said."
Meridor, in an Israel Radio interview, said he did not sense a rupture in Israel's ties with the United States and stressed that it was very important to maintain Washington's support
Meridor added that the international effort against Iran was taking its toll on the Iranians, who may now fear enriching uranium to a higher, bomb-grade level because of the knowledge they could encounter very strong resistance if they crossed the line towards acquiring a nuclear bomb.
He said that the international community needed to increase its pressure by strengthening the sanctions against it. One step that some Israeli officials are calling for are sanctions on Iran's Central Bank.
Vice Premier Silvan Shalom also dismissed the Yediot report and the notion that the US would not stand by Israel if it were to strike the Islamic Republic.
"The sole disagreement between Israel and the US is in regard to timing," Shalom told Army Radio. "The US is obligated to the existential and security interests of Israel. We are much closer than people think."
In a related development, a senior Iranian military official said Monday Iran built about 30 percent of a missile defense system it is developing in place of the Russian S-300 system Moscow refused to sell it.
Farzad Esmaili, commander of the army's air defense force, also reiterated that Iran will hold a large-scale air defense exercise in the next two months covering the whole country, the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) reported.
Iran has unveiled upgrades to weapons systems and held several military exercises this year to demonstrate its ability to defend itself.
ISNA quoted Esmaili on Monday as saying Iran would test its air defense systems in mid-to-late October or early November.
"We will use whatever we have in order to defend Iran," Esmaili said. "Today the main threat is an air threat, because it achieves quick results, therefore it was felt it was necessary that air defenses work independently."
"One of our missions is being vigilant over sensitive centers like refineries and nuclear sites," Esmaili said.
"A new, more advanced system with higher capabilities than the S-300 in detecting, identifying and destroying targets is pending," ISNA quoted Esmaili as saying. "About 30 percent of the work related to building the Bavar-373 has been completed and we will make efforts so that we can announce the completion of this project by next year."
Moscow refused to sell the sophisticated S-300 system to Iran on the ground that it would violate expanded UN sanctions imposed over Iran's nuclear program.
Iran announced in November 2010 that it had adapted another Russian-made missile system to perform more like the S-300, a precision, mobile, long-range air defense system that can detect, track and destroy ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and low-flying aircraft.
Military experts have cast doubt on Iran's claims of weapons advances, especially regarding its missile program, saying they are often exaggerated.
On Sunday, Iranian Deputy Defense Minister Mohammad Eslami said plans were afoot to install missiles on long-distance unmanned drones that featured in missile tests earlier this year.
Authorities say the Karrar drone, unveiled in 2010, has a range of 1,000 kms and can carry a single cruise missile or several smaller missiles.
Meanwhile, in a move that Israeli officials said had little significance, Iran allowed Mongolian President Tsakhia Elbegdorj to visit the uranium enrichment plant at Natanz. Iran has allowed IAEA inspectors into the site in the past.
Elbegdorj took part in last weeks Non-Aligned Movement meeting in Tehran, and his uranium-rich country is believed to be constructing its own nuclear power plant.

Social Networking: A bubble or an inexorable part of our lives?

2012-09-04T01:14:00.003+05:00

Last week, while signing off my introductory column on life in the digital world, I had said the time will come soon when you just won’t be able to ignore the Web World and its happenings.

In fact, I believe, quite strongly, that that time is upon us to live in the real as well as the virtual world, simultaneously.

Take for example, Hotmail users. Did you know that the world’s largest software maker, Microsoft, which holds the ownership of maybe one of the world’s oldest email services, Hotmail, decided last week to re-design it? Or, to rename it as Outlook?