Prince William and Kate Middleton say they have been "incredibly moved" by the affection shown to them since they announced their engagement.

In a message in their official wedding programme they thanked "everyone most sincerely for their kindness".
During Friday's Westminster Abbey ceremony Miss Middleton will vow to "love, comfort, honour and keep" Prince William but will not vow to obey him.
The service will be the epitome of "Britishness", St James's Palace said.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Office says the invitation for the Syrian ambassador in London has been withdrawn following reports that up to 400 pro-democracy protesters have been killed in Syria by security forces in recent weeks.
A Foreign Office statement said: "Buckingham Palace shares the view of the Foreign Office that it is not considered appropriate for the Syrian ambassador to attend the wedding."
Earlier on Thursday Miss Middleton took part in her last rehearsal at Westminster Abbey, with best man Prince Harry, the bridesmaids and pageboys.

In their official wedding programme released on Thursday, the royal couple's message reads: "We are both so delighted that you are able to join us in celebrating what we hope will be one of the happiest days of our lives.

"The affection shown to us by so many people during our engagement has been incredibly moving, and has touched us both deeply.
"We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone most sincerely for their kindness."
Music choices Details of the order of service were also released.
The bride will walk up the aisle to coronation anthem I Was Glad, by Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, from Psalm 122.
It was composed for the crowning of Prince William's great-great-great grandfather, Edward VII, at Westminster Abbey in 1902.
The couple have chosen to use the Series One (1966) Book of Common Prayer ceremony.
Classical compositions by Elgar, Britten and Vaughan Williams will feature during the ceremony, alongside the hymn Jerusalem and the English melody Greensleeves.

St James's Palace said many of the "stunning" pieces were chosen by the royal couple for their "theatre".

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, Prince Harry, Miss Middleton's parents - Carole and Michael Middleton -, her sister Pippa and her brother James will all act as witnesses and sign the marriage registers.
James Middleton will also give The Lesson, reading Romans 12: 1-2, 9-18.
The souvenir wedding programme is available to download free as a PDF from the official Royal Wedding website. The booklet will be sold for £2 a copy along the processional route, with proceeds going to the Foundation of Prince William and Prince Harry.
On the day, a carriage procession will pass along The Mall, Horse Guards Road, Horse Guards Parade, through Horse Guards Arch, along Whitehall, along the south side of Parliament Square and into Broad Sanctuary.
Prince William is due to spend Thursday evening with the Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall and Harry, while Miss Middleton and her family will gather at the Goring Hotel, in Belgravia.
Royal reception Some 50 foreign heads of state are among the 1,900 invited guests attending the wedding.
The Queen is due to host an event for British and foreign royals at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, near Hyde Park, in central London on Thursday night.
But it has emerged that she will leave for a weekend away after hosting the wedding day lunchtime reception, giving over Buckingham Palace for William and Kate's black tie party in the evening.
It means the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh will miss Prince Harry's best man's speech and Michael Middleton's father of the bride address.

Crowds are starting to gather outside Westminster Abbey

VisitBritain has predicted an extra 600,000 people will be in the capital on Friday, with several hundred people camping out in tents outside the abbey and near Buckingham Palace.
Train companies have warned 400,000 people are expected to travel by train into central London on Friday - a 15% rise in passengers compared with a normal public holiday - but say they will be able to cope.
It is anticipated the events will be watched by millions of people worldwide on television. Thousands of journalists have descended on London and makeshift studios are outside Buckingham Palace and along the wedding route.
Scotland Yard has indicated it would take pre-emptive action to stop people causing trouble and said it "brought forward" three raids on premises in the capital, believed to be occupied by squatters, because of the wedding.
But Labour backbencher John McDonnell raised a point of order in the Commons describing the action - which the Metropolitan Police said was not "specifically related" to the wedding - as "disproportionate".
The Met Office says Friday will start off dry but cloudy in London. It will become brighter through the morning, with some sunny spells, but there is a 30% risk of showers about noon when Prince William and his bride are expected to emerge from Westminster Abbey after the wedding.
Forecasters also say there is a risk of heavy showers developing later on. Temperatures in the capital are expected to reach a high of 19C (66F) in the afternoon.

BBC

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Posted in: Entertainment,Society

Storms kill scores in Alabama and other south US states

Tornadoes and storms in the south-eastern United States have killed at least 201 people, officials say.

In Alabama, the worst-hit state, 131 have died in recent days - including 15 killed by a tornado that devastated the city of Tuscaloosa.
Deaths and widespread devastation are also reported in Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia and Virginia.

Tornado footage - courtesy Crimson Tide Production/University of Alabama

A state of emergency has been declared in seven states, and federal aid money is being sent to Alabama.
In Alabama, as many as one million people were without power on Thursday morning, as emergency workers and 2,000 soldiers scoured the wreckage for survivors.
Governor Robert Bentley said he expected the death toll to rise as more bodies were discovered in the rubble.
"We still have a number of people that are missing this morning, and we have all ground and air assets that are up in those areas trying to search for those missing individuals," he told reporters.
Mr Bentley said Alabama residents are accustomed to tornados and had taken precautions, but "in highly populated areas, it just makes it very difficult to move everyone out when a tornado comes through that's a mile wide."
The US National Weather Service has preliminary reports of nearly 300 tornadoes since the storm began on Friday, more than 150 on Wednesday alone.
One meteorologist described the tornado that devastated Tuscaloosa as possibly the "worst in Alabama's history".

Source: Associated Press, BBC reporting

The city - home to more than 83,000 residents, and to the University of Alabama - was hit by the huge tornado in the early evening on Wednesday.

"Everybody says it [a tornado] sounds like a train and I started to hear the train," Tuscaloosa resident Anthony Foote told Reuters news agency.
"I ran and jumped into the tub and the house started shaking. Then glass started shattering."
By nightfall, the city was dark, with roads impassable, businesses unrecognisable, sirens wailing off and on, and debris littering the streets and pavements, the Associated Press reports.
The city's hospital said its emergency room had admitted about 100 people, but treated four times that number.

"We will continue to monitor these severe storms... and stand ready to help the people of Alabama and all citizens affected by these storms" US President Barack Obama

Mayor Walter Maddox told reporters the city faced "massive damage on a scale we have not seen in Tuscaloosa in quite some time", and said he expected the death toll to rise.

Falling trees On Wednesday night, President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in Alabama, allowing federal authorities to help co-ordinate disaster relief and to provide aid.
Northern and central parts of the state bore the brunt of the latest storms. Eleven people died in Jefferson County, home to Birmingham, Alabama's largest city.
A shop-owner in Birmingham told AFP news agency that 30 homes near his store had been destroyed by a tornado on Wednesday.
Personal objects swept up by some twisters in the state have been found 50 miles (80km) away, AFP adds.
Mr Obama said he had spoken to Gov Bentley and approved his request for emergency assistance, including search and rescue teams.
Mr Obama said on Wednesday night: "We will continue to monitor these severe storms across the country and stand ready to continue to help the people of Alabama and all citizens affected by these storms."

The storms forced the Tennessee Valley Authority - which provides electricity to nine million people in seven states - to close three nuclear reactors at a power plant in Alabama. Hundreds of thousands of homes have lost power as a result.

"We have never experienced such a major weather event in our history," the Tennessee Valley Authority said in a statement.
States of emergency were also declared in Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Oklahoma, following the latest storms and tornadoes.
Mississippi reported 32 deaths on Tuesday and Wednesday - including that of a police officer who shielded his nine-year-old daughter from a falling tree while on a camping holiday. The girl escaped unhurt.
At least 11 people have been killed in Georgia, 14 in Tennessee and eight in Virginia.
The current storm system is forecast to hit North and South Carolina before making its way further north-east.
Storms have hit states across the southern US for weeks, and another major storm system is forecast to bring heavy rain in the coming days.

 BBC

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Posted in: Entertainment,Society,USA

Survey: US Companies 'Harmed' by Chinese Bureaucracy

America Chamber of Commerce in China says its members have been suffering from Chinese protectionism in key sectors

Chinese workers set up a signboard for a shop selling American motorcycles in Beijing, April 16, 2011

 In Beijing, the American Chamber of Commerce says U.S. companies operating in China are suffering from protectionism, bureaucracy and corruption. The business group released its annual white paper Tuesday, calling on Beijing to reconsider industrial policies that discrimiate in favor of domestic companies. But, American enterprises are still turning a profit in the world’s second biggest, and still booming economy.

The 2011 annual white paper, published Tuesday says the majority of its members have been suffering from an increase in Chinese protectionism since the 2008 global economic crisis.

The reports says 26 percent of respondents claim Chinese policies favor domestic technology suppliers and bar entrance into other key sectors, such as banking, telecommunications, legal affairs and insurance.

Christian Murk, the American Chamber's president, says American companies are still making money in China, but that the opening up and reform of Chinese markets has slowed in recent years.  And, he warns, the levels of bureaucracy, corruption and protectionism are hurting many U.S. ventures in the world’s second biggest economy.

"We asked people what are the challenges of doing business in China and what is difficult about operating in this market. The top five in our current survey were:  bureaucracy, management level human resources constraints - that is you can’t find managers with specific skills sets - unclear laws and regulations, inconsistent regulatory interpretations and intellectual property rights infringement," he said. "And, then if you look at the lower ranking concerns, they are corruption, obtaining required licenses, non-management human resources - that is unskilled labor -  national protectionism, local protectionism, and difficulty enforcing contract terms."

Murk says the restrictions and poor regulatory environment call into question China’s commitment to its obligations as a World Trade Organization member.

Under WTO rules, China is supposed to develop free and open markets.

Murk says the survey’s results were not all negative.

"We should emphasize that operating conditions are very good for American companies and that is clearly seen in our survey data," he added. "Eighty-five percent reported revenue growth in 2010. Seventy-eight percent said they were profitable or very profitable.  Sixty-three percent said margins improved in China over the prior year. Forty one percent said margins in China were better than  global margins."

Murk says China's latest five-year plan, announced in February, commits it to further increase market reform.

China’s Ministry of Finance was unavailable to comment Tuesday on the survey, copies of which have been handed to the Chinese government and will be given to U.S. politicians later this week.

Murk says it is time for China to once more accelerate its reform and opening policies - just as it did when it joined the WTO a decade ago, in 2001.

VOA

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Posted in: Business,China,USA

13th NA to convene first session in July

The first session of the 13th National Assembly is expected to open on July 21 and close on August 16, 2011.
This information was released at the 39 th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 12 th National Assembly, which opened in Hanoi on April 25 to review the results of the 12 th NA’s ninth session and discuss preparations for the first session of the 13 th NA.
During the first session, the NA will spend 14 days working on State agencies’ organisation and personnel, including electing the Chairperson and Vice Chairpersons of the NA, members of the Standing Committee, the Council of Ethnic Minorities and committees of the NA; the State President and Vice President, the Prime Minister, the Chief Judge of the Supreme People’s Court, and the Head of the Supreme People’s Procuracy.
The NA will decide on the Government’s organisational structure and approve the nominations of deputy prime ministers, ministers and other members of the Government.
The NA will spend five days discussing reports and deciding on several other important issues, including the adoption of the 2009 State budget balance.
Regarding law building work, the NA will consider approving a resolution on the 2012 law and decree-building programme and give comments to two draft laws, including the amended Water Resource Law and the Law on Tertiary Education.
Presenting a report on the results of the 12 th NA’s ninth session, Tran Dinh Dan, Head of the NA Office, said the results of the ninth session continued to affirm renovations and progress made by the 12 th NA during its four-year term.
All institutions in the State apparatus have fulfilled their tasks excellently, he said, adding that NA deputies and the public appreciated the agencies’ efforts and sense of responsibility in preparing their term summarisation reports.
On legislative work, the NA has allocated adequate time to considering and adopting three laws and contributing ideas to one bill, Dan said.
The NA deputies basically agreed with the major contents of the report. However, many of them said the report should more clearly analyse the characteristics of the current national situation, with income difficulties and increasing prices making people’s life more unstable.
Voters and people nationwide also paid attention to corruption prevention and public spending supervision, which are factors that the NA should take into account when building action programmes, they said.
The report should assess and highlight the operations of the NA and agencies in the State apparatus, as well as draw out lessons and experiences and make specific proposals in order to help the agencies to better perform their roles and responsibilities in the new tenure, the legislators said.

tuoitrenews

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Posted in: Politics,Society,Vietnam

Foreign investment falls by half

Foreign direct investment in Vietnam in the first four months topped US$4.02 billion, down by almost half compared to the same period last year, the Foreign Investment Agency said.

Investment in new projects was worth $3.205, 55 percent down from last year. Actual disbursement was, however, 0.6 percent higher at $3.62 billion.

Manufacturing attracted the highest investment of $2.45 billion.

Singapore was the biggest investor followed by Korea. Hong Kong, Malaysia, and Japan followed.

Japan, despite the disaster in March, invested $174 million in April to take the four-month total to $305 million.

  tuoitrenews

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Posted in: Business,Vietnam

Law catches up as woman preys on kindness

A woman was arrested and fined a few days ago in Ho Chi Minh City after she pretended to collapse with some foodstuff she was carrying to prey on the kindness of passers-by and extract money from them.
Tuoi Tre was reported of the case and secretly witnessed the scene with police from start to finish last Sunday morning on Saigon bridge.
Dang Thi Ky, 57, from the central province of Quang Ngai – as Tuoi Tre discovered later at the police station -- intentionally overturned her large vessel full of tofu soup and began to sob while pretending to scoop up the food from the street.
Within an hour dozens of people had stopped by and given her VND700,000 (US$33), clearly much more than the value of the food.
Each passer-by gave her at least VND20,000, some even VND50,000 and VND100,000.
After an hour of “crying,” she packed up her things and went to sit under a tree in the park at an end of the bridge. There she smoked and counted the money she got.
Then she took on a xe om (motorbike taxi) to head off to Bui Dinh Tuy street in Binh Thanh District.
Officers said she usually does her act from 10:30 am to noon in places like Thi Nghe bridge where traffic is heavy.

Vo Van Trai, chief of police of Binh Thanh District’s Ward 22, said she would be fined at least VND2 million ($95) for cheating.
It is becoming increasingly common to see people cheating others by pretending to be seriously sick while lying on sidewalks along busy streets or near hospitals, he added.

Dang Thi Ky, 57, from the central province Quang Ngai, sits at the Binh Thanh district's Ward 22 police station (Photo: Tuoi Tre)

 tuoitrenews

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Posted in: Society,Vietnam

Libya: UN team to start probe of human rights abuses

There are many reports Libyan forces have shelled the rebel-held city of Misrata indiscriminately

A UN team has arrived in Tripoli to investigate allegations of human rights violations in Libya since the start of the conflict in February.

The team was appointed by the UN Human Rights Council following the Libyan government's crackdown on protesters.
The government has said it will co-operate with the inquiry.
The three investigators say they will look at all alleged abuses, including those the government says have been committed by rebels or Nato forces.
The original mandate - to examine human rights violations allegedly committed by the forces of Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi - remains the priority, says the BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Geneva, where the UN Human Rights Council is based.
There have been reliable reports of enforced disappearances, torture and even killing of protesters, says our correspondent.
The UN human rights commissioner, Navi Pillay, said in late February that what was happening in Libya "may amount to crimes against humanity".

UK Defence Secretary Liam Fox welcomes Washington's deployment of armed Predator drones

More recently, there have been reports that Col Gaddafi's forces trying to retake Misrata from rebels are indiscriminately shelling the city.
On Tuesday, three people were reportedly killed as missiles slammed into the city's port, a lifeline for those seeking to escape to the rebel stronghold of Benghazi.
Misrata has been besieged by government forces for two months, leaving parts of the city with neither electricity nor water.
Continued sniper fire, street clashes and shelling have prevented people from venturing outside their homes to get food and medicine.
Human rights groups say more than 1,000 people have been killed in the fighting and many more have been wounded. Ships have been ferrying the injured to hospitals in Benghazi and bringing in humanitarian aid.
Libya's government denies it has been indiscriminately shelling civilian areas.
Misrata is the last major rebel-held city in western Libya and the fighting for it has been fierce.
The UN investigators are to present their findings to the Human Rights Council in June. But their work could be overtaken by other moves, says our Geneva correspondent.
The UN Security Council has asked the International Criminal Court to investigate Libya on possible charges of war crimes.
'Back foot' Nato is enforcing a UN resolution to protect civilians in Libya amid a two-month revolt inspired by other uprisings in the Arab world.
A recent Nato strike on Col Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli sparked angry criticism from Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who said the Western coalition had no mandate to kill the Libyan leader.

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates defended the strike, calling it a legitimate attack on a military command and control centre.

He spoke after a meeting in Washington with British Defence Secretary Liam Fox, who said Libya's rebels had gained "momentum" on the battlefield and that Col Gaddafi's forces were on the "back foot".
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Nato's 1,500 strike sorties over Libya had "seriously degraded Gaddafi's military assets and prevented widespread massacres planned by Gaddafi's forces".
"They remain unable to enter Benghazi and it is highly likely that without these efforts Misrata would have fallen, with terrible consequences for that city's brave inhabitants."
On Tuesday, the US eased oil sanctions against Libya.
The move allows rebels to sell oil within their control and US firms to engage in transactions involving oil and oil products, and natural gas, as long as the exports benefit the opposition Transitional National Council.

BBC

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Posted in: Afica,Politics

The Aflac Duck's New Voice Comes From a Minnesota Sales Manager

NEW YORK — Aflac is betting a sales manager from Minnesota has the voice to drive the name "Aflac" into the recesses of your brain and keep it there.
Daniel McKeague, 36, a father of three from Hugo, Minn., beat out 12,500 other contestants to replace actor Gilbert Gottfried and become the new voice of the reinsurance company's duck mascot.
Gottfried voiced Aflac's duck for U.S. audiences for 11 years but was ousted in March after making insensitive remarks on Twitter about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, which produces about 75 percent of Aflac's revenue. Aflac soon announced a contest for Gottfried's replacement, though the actor who has long offered a gentler interpretation of the duck for Japanese audiences will continue.

The Aflac duck has a new voice

Charles Sykes/Associated Press

McKeague recorded a 30-second clip at radio station KQRS in Minneapolis, where he works, uploaded it to Aflac's website, and later did a more formal video audition.
After learning early Tuesday that he was selected for the gig, McKeague said he's known for doing silly voices. "Whenever that ad would come on, I would imitate the duck and the kids loved it," said McKeague, whose children are 5, 8, and 11.
Aflac Chief Marketing Officer Michael Zuna says the company and its longtime advertising agency, The Kaplan Thaler Group, first winnowed the contestants to a short list of about 50, which they cut to 8 and finally to 3 — none of them celebrities. Contestants had to be able to convey a range of emotion within the single word "Aflac" and submit to an extensive background check.
Executives listened to the three finalists and chose McKeague for his range and his ability to embody the duck. "We thought he was the best by far. I can't explain to you why. It just was. Maybe it is part of the mystique of the Aflac duck," said Dan Amos, Chairman and CEO of Aflac.
He gets a one-year contract in the low six figures that the company said will likely be renewed for several years. The first ad with McKeague's voice airs Tuesday evening during the new show "The Voice" on NBC.
McKeague says he is thrilled — and don't expect him to pull a "Gottfried" during his tenure. "I understand what's at stake, it is not just getting behind a microphone and screaming 'Aflac.' If you're a spokesperson you have responsibilities."

us.yahoo.com

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Posted in: Entertainment,USA

PlayStation data theft hits 70m gamers

Users trying to connect to the PlayStation Network are met with an error message

Sony has warned users of its PlayStation Network that their personal information, including credit card details, may have been stolen.

The company said that the data might have fallen into the hands of an "unauthorised person" following a hacking attack on its online service.
Access to the network was suspended last Wednesday, but Sony has only now revealed details of what happened.
Users are being warned to look out for attempted telephone and e-mail scams.
In a statement posted on the official PlayStation blog, Nick Caplin, the company's head of communications for Europe, said: "We have discovered that between April 17 and April 19 2011, certain PlayStation Network and Qriocity service user account information was compromised in connection with an illegal and unauthorized intrusion into our network".
The blog posting lists the personal information that Sony believes has been taken.

• Name
• Address (city, state/province, zip or postal code)
• Country
• E-mail address
• Date of birth
• PlayStation Network/Qriocity passwords and login
• Handle/PSN online ID

Mr Caplin added: "It is also possible that your profile data, including purchase history and billing address (city, state, zip), and your PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers may have been obtained.
"For your security, we encourage you to be especially aware of email, telephone, and postal mail scams that ask for personal or sensitive information."

Credit cards Sony admitted that credit card information, used to purchase games, films and music, may also have been stolen.
"While there is no evidence that credit card data was taken at this time, we cannot rule out the possibility," Mr Caplin said.
"If you have provided your credit card data through PlayStation Network or Qriocity, to be on the safe side we are advising you that your credit card number (excluding security code) and expiration date may also have been obtained."
Sony has not given any indication of how many PlayStation Network users may have had their information taken, but the service has around 70 million members worldwide.
'PR Disaster' The theft of so much detailed customer data would be seen as a "public relations disaster", according to Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at security firm Sophos.
"This is a big one," he told BBC News.
"The PlayStation Network is a real consumer product. It is in lots of homes all over the world.
"The impact of this could be much greater than your typical internet hack."
Mr Cluley warned that, even without credit card details, the information taken was enough to help criminals carry out further attacks on other services.
"Some people will use the same passwords on other sites. If I was a hacker right now, I would be taking those e-mail addresses and trying those passwords," he said.
User anger

Some streaming media services available on PlayStation have been affected by the outage

PlayStation users got their first indication that something was wrong with the service when it became unavailable on Wednesday 20 April.
In the following days, Sony issued three brief statements asking users to be patient while it investigated an "external intrusion", or hack.
However, the fact that it took almost seven days for the company to reveal that data had been taken has angered some gamers.
Commenting on the Sony blog, Tacotaskforce wrote: "You waited a week to tell us our personal information was compromised? That should have been said last Thursday."
Another user Sid4peeps wrote: "This update is about 6 days late. I think it is time to move to the other network, no regard for customers here."
But some PlayStation users appeared to be happy with Sony's handling of the matter. Ejsponge61 commented: "Wow, this is alot of info. Thanks, this is very much appreciated by all of us PlayStation fans."
The Sony PlayStation Network remains unavailable to users. The company has not said when service will be restored.

Source BBC

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Posted in: Computer,Technology

Thousands flock to funeral of India guru Satya Sai Baba

The late guru attracted followers across India's religious divide

Nearly half a million people gathered in the southern Indian town of Puttaparthi for the funeral of the revered Indian spiritual leader Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

Sai Baba has been buried, unlike most Hindus, who are cremated.
However, burial is the custom for people Hindus esteem as holy men.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi were among thousands of mourners paying their respects to the guru.
Sai Baba was buried with full state honours inside the public hall in the ashram - or spiritual centre - in Puttaparthi, the southern town where he was born and from where he blessed the millions of devotees who visited him from around the world.
'Living god' TV pictures showed priests chanting and carrying out the last rites next to the guru's corpse, which has been on display in a transparent casket. Many devotees saw Sai Baba as a living god.

At the scene

Sanjoy Majumder BBC News, Puttaparthi

---

"Long live Baba!" The chant echoed down the street outside the ashram.
Thousands of people were packed tightly in the narrow lane, many of them seated in the ground, their hands joined in prayer as they murmured his name.
The overwhelming emotion is one of grief and intense devotion. "I cannot believe he's left us," sobbed one man. "What will we do now? Who will we turn to?"
A multi-faith service preceded the actual funeral ceremony. Muslim, Christian and Sikh clerics read from their scriptures before orange-robed Hindu priests took over.
It was yet another illustration of Sai Baba's brand of ecumenical spiritualism which attracted so many, cutting through social and religious boundaries.
 

The hall was decorated with huge portraits of the guru, with his characteristic dark, curly hair and trademark robes.

Sai Baba was given a gun salute and state honours before his body was prepared for burial by priests chanting verses from sacred texts and anointing the guru's body with oil, herbs and flowers.
The body was then covered with an orange cloth - the colour of holiness in Hinduism.
The actual funeral was closed to the public with only family and members of his charitable trust attending, says the BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Puttaparthi.
The streets around the ashram were choked with people, and several of the devotees wept, our correspondent says.
Hundreds of thousands of devotees will be watching the proceedings on a giant screen that has been set up outside.
Huge numbers of Indians and foreigners, among them cricket star Sachin Tendulkar, have bade a final farewell to the guru since he died of multiple organ failure on Sunday aged 84.
The burial site of Sai baba is now expected to become a memorial, according to the Hindu newspaper.
Sai Baba's followers believe he had magical abilities to produce objects out of thin air, visit people in their dreams, perform miracles and cure terminal illnesses.
But his critics say that many of these activities were publicity stunts. They say that he was a persuasive fraudster who used his huge popularity to avoid being investigated over allegations of murky financial practices and sexual abuse.
These charges were always strenuously denied by the guru and his followers, and were never proved.
His popularity remained undimmed throughout his life - Sai Baba had ashrams in 126 countries and also ran a network of hospitals, clinics and schools that were often free.

BBC

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Posted in: Asia,Religion,Society

April Vietnam CPI reaches 20-year high

Vietnam’s consumer price index (CPI) in April soared 3.32 percent against last month, making it the highest month-on-month increase since 1991. The General Statistics Office report, released yesterday, said the rise exceeded that of the April 2008 high of 2.2 percent, which was blamed on the global economic crisis.
The inflation rate in the first four months of 2011 soared 9.64 percent higher than the yearly target of 7 percent.
The office director Nguyen Duc Thang attributed the April increase to the price hike of essential goods such as food, foodstuffs and petrol.
"Political uncertainties in North Africa and the Middle East, as well earthquakes and the nuclear crisis in Japan, have caused commodity prices to soar worldwide. Vietnam is not immune," he said.
He added that the biggest force behind the rise had been the petrol price hikes on February 24 and March 29, and the higher cost of power price since March.
Economists attributed that the uncertainties of foreign exchanges, although were slowing down, still bothered when it resulted to a high cost for domestic enterprises to import goods and materials.
All 11 commodities groups used to calculate the CPI saw an increase this month. Transport prices continued to rise in the second month, surging 6.04 per cent due to a hike in petrol price. Meanwhile the cost of food soared 5.61 per cent.
The cost of eating out and restaurant services rose 4.5 per cent, while foodstuffs rose 2.47 per cent.
Housing and construction materials (electricity, water, fuel and rent) saw the fourth biggest rise, climbing 4.38 per cent. Textile-garments and home utensils and equipment saw the slighter increase, rising 1.63 and 1.38 per cent, respectively.
Despite soaring inflation, the price of gold and the US dollar fell by 1.2 per cent and 1.61 per cent against the previous month. Neither were taken into account when calculating the CPI.
The CPI should not rise further after April if the State Bank was consistent to the tightened monetary policies, said Le Xuan Nghia, deputy chairman of the National Financial Supervision Council.
Nghia said new policies on monetary supply would come into effect in May. 

Aseanaffair

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Posted in: Business,Society,Vietnam

US supports Vietnam’s higher technical education

American aid and educational organizations will work with three more Vietnamese universities to improve higher education and technological development in Vietnam, according to the American embassy in Vietnam.
The US Agency for International Development (USAID), Arizona State University (ASU), Fulton Schools of Engineering, Siemens, Intel and other industry partners will cooperate with a total of eight top technical universities and colleges in Vietnam to improve the quality of higher education curriculum and support a growing hi-tech industry, the release said.
The existing Higher Engineering Education Alliance Program (HEEAP) has been expanded through 2014 to facilitate this support.
“Competitive economies require a skilled workforce ready to perform efficiently in a global context,” said USAID country director Francis Donovan. “HEEAP is not only advancing engineering education in Vietnam today, it is fostering a long-term education-industry relationship.”
“HEEAP is an effective collaboration strategy that is yielding significant progress toward our goals for the educational system,” said Dr. Vu Dinh Thanh, rector of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology.
The US$2 million expansion of the program will enable alliance partners to add a vocational component using innovative instructional approaches and pedagogy implemented in the inaugural program. The modernization of vocational education programs, resources and instructional technology will prepare students for success in the global economy.

Source: Thanh Nien 

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Posted in: Society,Technology,USA,Vietnam

Head of India's Commonwealth Games Organizing Committee Arrested

New Delhi Commonwealth Games organizing committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi, who was fired from his job in January, arrives at the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) office in New Delhi, Apr 25 2011

The former head of the Organizing Committee of the Commonwealth Games, Suresh Kalmadi, was taken into custody Monday after being summoned for questioning by federal police.  

A spokeswoman for the Central Bureau of Investigation, Dharini Mishra, said Kalmadi has been arrested for allegedly favoring a Swiss firm which was awarded a contract for timers and scoring equipment. 

"It is alleged that the officials of the organizing committee had conspired with representatives of the private firm in Switzerland and the contract for timing, scoring result was awarded by wrongfully restricting and eliminating competition from other suppliers in a premeditated and planned manner," said Mishra.

Kalmadi was removed from his post as head of the organizing committee of the Commonwealth Games in January. He is the third senior official to be arrested in connection with graft related to the sporting event, which was held in New Delhi last October.  

Kalmadi, who is a lawmaker of the ruling Congress Party, has consistently said he is innocent.

The Commonwealth Games were the biggest sporting spectacle India had staged in 30 years, and were expected to mark a high point in the country’s emergence on the global stage. But the event turned into a huge national embarrassment as charges of large-scale corruption, delays, poor organization and shoddy work at sporting venues dominated headlines. The event cost six billion dollars - far higher than original estimates. There are complaints that nearly a third of the money may have been misappropriated. 

Amid an angry outcry by the public and opposition parties, the government promised to investigate graft charges and punish the guilty.

After Kalmadi’s arrest, a spokesperson for the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, Nirmala Sitharaman, said investigations should be fast-tracked to nab all those guilty. 

"Others who are involved and others who are probably till now not even named, bigger more influential people who had a role to play in this, should all be brought to book," said Sitharaman.

The charges of widespread graft related to the organization of the Games turned the spotlight on corruption in India involving billions of dollars. In the months since, an even bigger scandal involving the possible loss of 36 billion dollars to government revenues due to the sale of telecom spectrum at lower-than-market prices has dominated headlines.

The charges of widespread corruption have placed the Congress-led government on the defensive, and put pressure on the government to enact a tough anti-corruption law.
The former head of the Organizing Committee of the Commonwealth Games, Suresh Kalmadi, was taken into custody Monday after being summoned for questioning by federal police.  

A spokeswoman for the Central Bureau of Investigation, Dharini Mishra, said Kalmadi has been arrested for allegedly favoring a Swiss firm which was awarded a contract for timers and scoring equipment. 

"It is alleged that the officials of the organizing committee had conspired with representatives of the private firm in Switzerland and the contract for timing, scoring result was awarded by wrongfully restricting and eliminating competition from other suppliers in a premeditated and planned manner," said Mishra.

Kalmadi was removed from his post as head of the organizing committee of the Commonwealth Games in January. He is the third senior official to be arrested in connection with graft related to the sporting event, which was held in New Delhi last October.  

Kalmadi, who is a lawmaker of the ruling Congress Party, has consistently said he is innocent.

The Commonwealth Games were the biggest sporting spectacle India had staged in 30 years, and were expected to mark a high point in the country’s emergence on the global stage. But the event turned into a huge national embarrassment as charges of large-scale corruption, delays, poor organization and shoddy work at sporting venues dominated headlines. The event cost six billion dollars - far higher than original estimates. There are complaints that nearly a third of the money may have been misappropriated. 

Amid an angry outcry by the public and opposition parties, the government promised to investigate graft charges and punish the guilty.

After Kalmadi’s arrest, a spokesperson for the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, Nirmala Sitharaman, said investigations should be fast-tracked to nab all those guilty. 

"Others who are involved and others who are probably till now not even named, bigger more influential people who had a role to play in this, should all be brought to book," said Sitharaman.

The charges of widespread graft related to the organization of the Games turned the spotlight on corruption in India involving billions of dollars. In the months since, an even bigger scandal involving the possible loss of 36 billion dollars to government revenues due to the sale of telecom spectrum at lower-than-market prices has dominated headlines.

The charges of widespread corruption have placed the Congress-led government on the defensive, and put pressure on the government to enact a tough anti-corruption law.

VOA

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Posted in: Asia,Entertainment

White House Condemns Latest WikiLeaks Disclosure

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney briefs reporters at the White House in Washington (File Photo - April 14, 2011)

The White House on Monday condemned the disclosure of hundreds of U.S. military documents originally obtained by the website WikiLeaks that detail secret reports about more than 700 people held since 2002 at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. 

Information about people held at Guantanamo Bay was contained in Detainee Assessment Briefs written by the Department of Defense between 2002 and 2009.

The documents originally were obtained by WikiLeaks. Reports on their contents were published by several news organizations, including The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Daily Telegraph newspapers, and National Public Radio.

According to The New York Times, the briefs show that a third of those who left Guantanamo Bay were classified as "high risk" before they were released or handed over to other governments.

The White House says the briefs were among sources of information used by a special task force created by President Barack Obama in 2009. The panel reviewed which detainees at Guantanamo could be prosecuted or held indefinitely, and recommended which could be released to their home countries or third countries.

On Monday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney repeated what the Obama administration has said about previous WikiLeaks disclosures, saying that is "unfortunate" that news organizations decided to publish documents that were obtained illegally.

Carney said the publication of the briefs, in his words, "does not make them new to us."  He stressed that the conclusions in the documents were not necessarily the same as those made by the government's Guantanamo review task force.
"You should not assume that the conclusions of that task force were the same as the conclusions in those briefs about individual detainees," said Carney. "I think that is an important point to make because a Detainee Assessment Brief in 2006 may or may not be reflective of the administration, the government's view of that detainee in 2011."

A joint statement by the Department of Defense and the State Department says newer detainee assessments made by the Guantanamo Bay Review Task Force in 2009 remain secret.

There are 172 detainees in U.S. military custody at Guantanamo Bay. About 600 people were transferred out since the facility opened in 2002, during  former President George W. Bush's administration.

White House Press Secretary Carney said President Obama remains committed to closing the facility. Last month, the administration announced the resumption of military trials for detainees after a two-year freeze, during which it ran into political obstacles to holding civilian trials for detainees in the United States.

VOA

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Posted in: Society,USA

Chernobyl nuclear disaster: Ukraine marks anniversary

Ukraine is marking the 25th anniversary of the world's worst nuclear accident - at the Chernobyl power plant.

An explosion at one of the plant's reactors sent a plume of radiation across Europe and killed at least 30 people in its immediate aftermath.
A disputed number of others died later from radiation-related illnesses.
The anniversary comes amid renewed global protest over nuclear power and as Japan struggles to contain radiation leaks at its crippled Fukushima plant.
It was on 26 April 1986 that Number Four reactor at Chernobyl, which was then in the Soviet Union, exploded.
The accident forced the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people from their homes in Ukraine, western Russia and Belarus.
There is still a 30km (19 miles) exclusion zone around the plant.
Soviet engineers encased the damaged reactor in a temporary concrete casing to limit the radiation but a new shield is needed.
A donors conference in Kiev, Ukraine, last week raised 550m euros (£486m; $798m) of the 740m euros needed to build a new shelter and a storage facility for spent fuel.

Soviet officials held off reporting the accident for several days.
The Chernobyl anniversary comes less than two months after the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan was badly damaged by an earthquake and tsunami, renewing concerns about the safety of nuclear power generation.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is visiting Chernobyl on Tuesday

The operators of the Fukushima plant, Tokyo Electric Power Co, have also come under fire for not quickly disclosing information on radiation leaks from the plant.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said there must be greater transparency in nuclear emergencies.
"I think that our modern states must see the main lesson of what happened at Chernobyl and the most recent Japanese tragedy as the necessity to tell people the truth," he told survivors of the clean-up effort at a meeting in the Kremlin.
He is to visit Chernobyl on Tuesday, as is Ukraine's Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.
Mr Yanukovich and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill were attending a candle-lighting ceremony in Kiev on Monday night before travelling to Chernobyl.
'Die-in' On Monday, thousands of people in France and Germany staged protests calling for an end to nuclear power.
Marches were held on several river bridges between France and Germany over the Rhine while there were further protests at German nuclear plants.

Protesters on Monday demanded France and Germany shut nuclear power stations

One of the main protests in Europe took place over the Pont de l'Europe, linking France and Germany over the Rhine between Strasbourg and Kehl.
People waved banners with anti-nuclear slogans and chanted: "Chernobyl, Fukushima, never again!"
As a siren wailed, the protesters threw flowers on to the Rhine and lay down on the pavement of the bridge in what they termed a symbolic "die-in".
Meanwhile in India, security has been tightened around Jaitapur, where protesters are planning to march on the site of a planned six-reactor nuclear power plant.
The campaign against the power station, on the west coast of India, has gained momentum since the disaster at Fukushima.

BBC

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Posted in: Politics,Society

Vietnam PM chairs investment conference in Cambodia

PM Nguyen Tan Dung chairs the second Vietnam-Cambodia
Investment Promotion Conference in Phnom Penh on April 24.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his Cambodian counterpart Samdech Hun Sen co-chaired the second Vietnam-Cambodia Investment Promotion Conference in Phnom Penh on Sunday.
“The second Vietnam-Cambodia Investment Promotion Conference is significant and necessary for the current period as the event will serve as a channel for regular information exchange between the two countries and business circles,” Dung said.
Dung, who was on a two-day visit to Cambodia that wrapped up Sunday, praised the outcomes of economic and trade cooperation attained by the two countries after the first conference, describing them as the foundation for the two sides to further cooperation and tap their potential effectively.

“The Vietnamese government resolves on encouraging and creating favorable conditions for its businesses to invest in other countries in general, and in Cambodia in particular,” Dung told the participants, who also included 200 businesses from both countries.

Taking the floor, Cambodian PM Hun Sen underlined the importance and significance of the conference.

He pledged the creation of a profit-making environment, noting the Cambodian government is pressing ahead with reforms in several areas to facilitate trade and investment in the fields it boasts high potential, such as telecom, rubber tree planting, mining, and hydropower.

Representatives from the Development Council and the Chamber of Commerce of Cambodia introduced to the conference their country’s economic development strategy together with its key areas and investment promotion policies and repeated the Development Council’s commitments to Vietnamese investors in Cambodia.

Over the past years, the friendship and all-sided cooperation between Vietnam and Cambodia has been deepened.

The two countries have signed over 60 legal documents on bilateral cooperation in almost all fields and created necessary cooperative mechanisms to fit their current development requirements.

As a result, economic and trade ties between the two countries have grown steadfastly. The two-way trade value has increased year on year, from US$950 million in 2006 to hit over $1.8 billion in 2010.

Realizing their advantages and disadvantages, the two sides have also proactively discussed measures to boost economic and trade cooperation, including the opening and upgrade of several border economic zones and border markets.

Vietnam has to date had 87 invested projects with a total capital of over $2 billion in Cambodia, ranking third among foreign investors there.

These projects are mostly engaged in telecom, aviation, agriculture, rubber tree planting, energy, hydropower, mining and banking.

At the end of the conference, the two PMs witnessed the signing of memorandums of understanding on investment promotion and management between the Ministry of Planning and Investment of Vietnam and the Development Council of Cambodia.

They also witnessed the hand-over of investment licenses to the Lower Se San 2 hydropower project and the iron ore mining project between the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Cambodian Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining.

Earlier, the two PMs cut the ribbons to launch the Vietnam-Cambodia Securities Company.

Vietnam News Agency

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Posted in: Asia,Business,Vietnam

Vietnam plans fund to promote tra fish exports

Vietnam is the world's largest tra fish (pangasius) supplier

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has proposed creating a new fund to promote and support Vietnamese tra fish exports.
Under the plan, tra fish (pangasius) exporters will contribute 1-2 US cents on every kilogram of fish they sell to the fund, which will also receive local and international donations.
The fund will be used to promote the fish in the US and EU markets and develop strategies to protect Vietnamese exporters against false safety allegations and unfair trade barriers.
Vietnam is the supplier of more than 95 percent of tra fish on the global market with an annual output of 1.5 million tons, the Vietnam Economic Times reported last week, citing the national seafood association.
The World Wildlife Fund last year blacklisted Vietnam’s tra fish in a consumer guide published in several EU countries. Although the organization later removed the fish from its “red list”, consumption of Vietnamese tra fish in Europe has been negatively affected.
Meanwhile, the US Department of Commerce has recently cut anti-dumping taxes on tra fish imported from some Vietnamese companies to zero percent, compared to a previously proposed tax rate of 130 percent.

Reported by Quang Duan 

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Posted in: Business,Society,Vietnam

North Korea: Jimmy Carter arrives for nuclear talks

Former US President Jimmy Carter has arrived in the North Korean capital Pyongyang as part of a push to resolve the stand-off over the country's nuclear programme.

The Elders group - seen here in Beijing - was formed four years ago by Nelson Mandela

Mr Carter is taking part in a three-day visit by the group of former world leaders known as the Elders.
They hope to meet North Korea's reclusive leader, Kim Jong-il.
The group includes former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari and former Irish President Mary Robinson.
As he left for Pyongyang, Mr Carter said that the group also hoped to meet Kim Jong-il's son and heir-apparent Kim Jong-un, according to AP.
But he said he was unsure whether that would happen.
During the visit they are expected to present a report to all those involved in the North Korea nuclear negotiations, based on meetings held in Beijing, Pyongyang and Seoul.
Food shortages in the country are also expected to be high on the agenda for talks.
According to the UN, more than six million people - a quarter of the North Korean population - are under-nourished.
Ahead of his visit, Mr Carter said that authorities in the North had this year reduced the daily calorie intake from 1,400 to just 700.
A former head of the World Health Organisation, Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, is also taking part in the visit.
The Elders group was formed four years ago by former South African President Nelson Mandela. Members believe that their unique experience as former leaders - and their independence from any country or organisation - allows them to help resolve some of the world's most intractable problems.

BBC

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Posted in: Asia,Politics,Society

Libya: Berlusconi backs Nato strikes by Italy jets

 Italian PM Silvio Berlusconi has approved the use of his country's air force in Nato's Libya mission.

Italy was ready to allow its jets to take "targeted military action", he said in a statement.

Mr Berlusconi informed US President Barack Obama
of his government's decision in a phone call

Earlier, a Nato air strike badly damaged buildings in Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi's compound in Tripoli.
Nato is enforcing a UN resolution to protect civilians in Libya amid a revolt that began in February, inspired by other uprisings in the Arab world.
Mr Berlusconi announced the decision after a telephone call with US President Barack Obama, and would also call other European leaders to brief them personally, said his statement.
Italy had previously said it would not take part in Nato-led air strikes, citing its 40-year colonial rule of Libya.
Nato split The UK has for weeks called for more commitment from Nato members to the operation in Libya, but on Monday Russia said the Western military intervention risked fanning a series of civil wars across the Middle East.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Western nations had sided with the Libyan rebels, leading to an expectation among rebel groups in the Middle East that foreign countries would help them to overthrow their governments.

"This creates a very dangerous mood," said Mr Lavrov.

Human rights groups say more than 1,000 people have been killed in Misrata

"Unfortunately, it is probably contagious and it's popping up amongst protesters in other countries of this region with the hopes that they just need to aggravate the situation and then the international community will come to help, will take their side."
Russia abstained from March's UN resolution authorising a no-fly zone to protect civilians, and correspondents say the Kremlin feels Nato's bombing campaign has gone beyond what the resolution is designed to do.
Italy, France and Britain last week agreed to send military advisers to assist the Benghazi-based rebel Transitional National Council (TNC) in its battle against pro-Gaddafi forces.
The US launched its first Predator drone strikes pro-Gaddafi military positions over the weekend, which the Libyan government denounced as crimes against humanity.
'Agents, traitors and spies' In some of the latest air raids by Nato jets, at least two missiles reportedly struck the Libyan leader's sprawling Bab al-Azizia compound early on Monday.

Correspondents said the blasts they caused were among the biggest explosions in the capital so far.
Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said Col Gaddafi was in a safe place and that his morale remained after what he called "an attempt to assassinate the leader and other political leaders of this country".
Mr Ibrahim said the air strike - which he described as "an act of terrorism" - killed three people and wounded 45.
Col Gaddafi's son, Saif al-Islam, condemned the "cowardly" attack.
"You, Nato, are surrounded by agents, traitors and spies, while Muammar Gaddafi is surrounded by millions," he said.
"So I tell you now that you are losing the battle. History has proved that no state can rely on them to win."
The BBC's Ian Pannell in Tripoli said the damaged buildings appeared to be the same ones that Col Gaddafi used to host a recent visit by an African Union peace mission.
The attack prompted three Libyan TV stations to go off-air for a brief period.

Nato says it has been actively targeting command and control positions in Libya

Three more loud blasts were reported in the capital on Monday night, although further details were not available.
Monday saw further fighting in the rebel-held city of Misrata, which has been besieged by government forces for two months.
At the weekend, the regime claimed to have suspended operations in the western coastal city, and its forces withdrew in places, says the BBC's Orla Guerin.
Since then, however, the deadly shelling has continued, with Misrata seeing some of the worst violence since the siege began.
Human rights groups say more than 1,000 people have been killed in Misrata and many more wounded. Ships have been ferrying the wounded to hospitals in the rebel stronghold, Benghazi.

BBC

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Posted in: Afica,Politics

China and US plan economic talks amid rising tensions

The value of yuan has become a hot political issue between China and US

China and the United States have agreed to hold economic talks as tensions between the world's two biggest economies continue to rise.

Top officials will meet in the US next month to discuss differences over trade and currency policies, says the US Treasury Department.
The United States has accused China of keeping the value of its yuan currency artificially low to help exporters sell products or services abroad.
China is the world's largest exporter.
Currency wars The growth of the Chinese economy over the past few years has been powered by the success of its export sector.
However, China's major trading partners, notably the European Union and US, have raised concerns that the government in Beijing has been engineering an economic strategy that gives an unfair advantage to the country's manufacturers, by keeping its currency artificially low.
A lower valued currency makes Chinese goods cheaper in foreign markets compared with other competitors.
China has maintained that a sudden change in its currency policy will be detrimental not only to its export sector but to its overall economy.
Beijing has been allowing the yuan to slowly appreciate against the US dollar, but not as much as the decision-makers in Washington and Brussels would like. The Chinese currency has gained almost 5% against the US dollar over the last year.
However, analysts say that despite that gain, the yuan remains undervalued, compared to currencies like the euro and US dollar.

BBC

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Posted in: Asia,China,Society

Disguised karaoke and sex shops flourish

Tuoi Tre reporters recently visited illegal karaoke and sex shops that are operating under music recording licenses in Ho Chi Minh’s notorious districts.

One of them was a business at No. 16 Nguyen Thai Binh Street in District 1.

Outside this building were two sign boards that read “Restaurant Model” and “Thien Thien Thanh Restaurant Ltd” and inside were lots of sexy girls.

On the evening of April 20, all of the 6 rooms inside the building were packed with foreigners who were served enthusiastically by young girls wearing short skirts.

At a room on the second floor, 2 foreigners were drinking wine while ogling at scantily clad girls who were singing and twisting their bodies.

At MN, another unlicensed karaoke shop on Phan Dang Luu Street in Phu Nhuan District, Tuoi Tre reporters followed some male customers who were greeted with “Do you want any girl to sing with you?” by a male receptionist.

As the guys said yes, they were shown to a room where several girls immediately entered and sat down beside each one of them.

During an inspection, the inspectors found a karaoke system hidden under a chair

Prepared in all cases

At these illegally shops, karaoke systems are hidden under tables and sofas, behind walls or even above restrooms’ ceilings.

Nguyen Hung, deputy director of the HCMC Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said these businesses must be operating under music recording licenses which are often issued easily without inspection by district authorities.

Owners of these businesses said they had already included fines in service prices so even if they were caught and fined by authorities, they wouldn’t suffer a loss.

They said according to the laws, their licenses would only be withdrawn after they were caught the third time. So after they were caught twice, they would simply register their businesses under a different owner’s name or move to some other place.

After 5 years of halting the issuance of licenses to karaoke shops as part of an effort to “re-plan” this sensitive sector, the government resumed granting these licenses last January. However, HCMC is yet to issue new licenses as the city hasn’t completed its re-planing.

tuoitrenews

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Posted in: Society,Vietnam

Storekeeper found hanging in police custody

The warehouse head of Korean tire maker Kumho in Binh Duong was yesterday found hanging at a local police station where he had been held for questioning over missing goods.

The Ben Cat District police found Nguyen Cong Nhat, 30, dead, apparently after he had hanged himself with a telephone wire in the meeting room of the police station.

Nhat, 30, of Tien Giang Province, had been head of a finished goods warehouse at the local My Phuoc III Industrial Park from where Kumho had lost some 6,000 tires worth over VND6 billion (US$289,000) last year.

Last Thursday the Ben Cat police had called in Nhat for questioning, Nguyen Thi Thanh Tuyen, his wife, said.

Nhat’s family has yet to agree to an autopsy on his body.

The police are investigating.

Tuoitrenews

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Posted in: Business,Society,Vietnam

Syrian Tanks Roll Into Cities as Security Crackdown Kills At Least 18

Soldiers take up position near a tank on a street in a location given as Daraa on April 25, 2011, in this still image taken from an amateur video.

Witnesses say several thousand Syrian army troops, flanked by special forces, shot their way into the southern city of Daraa before dawn Monday, causing numerous casualties. Tanks reportedly began the assault, shelling the city as they moved in from four sides.

Videos distributed by human rights activists show black smoke over the city center and fires burning as shell-fire crackled in the background.

Reports say Syrian special forces stormed private homes to make arrests, Witnesses say snipers began shooting from rooftops and many victims remain lying in the streets.

Jordanian authorities said the main highway crossing between Jordan and Syria was closed to traffic and that two border posts were not allowing anyone to enter Syria.

Syrian rights activists say that security forces also encircled the Damascus suburbs of Douma and Madaamiya, arresting hundreds of people.

The crackdown came as Syrian government media condemned what was called the "crimes of armed gangs" and "outside plots to divide the country."  Syrian television reported that 15 members of the army and security forces were killed in recent violence.

The sister of one such victim said on state television she was proud that her brother had died to defend his country.

She says she is the sister of martyr Nihad Ayoub, and while she is sad her brother died, she thanks God for his sacrifice.

The Syrian government daily Tishreen condemned what it called "outside media mobilization campaigns" against Syria, complaining that "freedom cannot be exercised amid chaos....without security for the country and its citizens."

But Nadim Houry of Human Rights Watch in Beirut called on the United Nations to begin an independent international investigation into what he said are "abuses that have occurred in Syria in the past five weeks."

He also urged the European Union and the United States to impose sanctions on the Syrian leadership, a move the Obama administration said it is considering.

The U.N.’s top human rights official, Navi Pillay, demanded that Syria curtail its crackdown and urged a "full and independent investigation" into the killings of protesters.
Witnesses say several thousand Syrian army troops, flanked by special forces, shot their way into the southern city of Daraa before dawn Monday, causing numerous casualties. Tanks reportedly began the assault, shelling the city as they moved in from four sides.

Videos distributed by human rights activists show black smoke over the city center and fires burning as shell-fire crackled in the background.

Reports say Syrian special forces stormed private homes to make arrests, Witnesses say snipers began shooting from rooftops and many victims remain lying in the streets.

Jordanian authorities said the main highway crossing between Jordan and Syria was closed to traffic and that two border posts were not allowing anyone to enter Syria.

Syrian rights activists say that security forces also encircled the Damascus suburbs of Douma and Madaamiya, arresting hundreds of people.

The crackdown came as Syrian government media condemned what was called the "crimes of armed gangs" and "outside plots to divide the country."  Syrian television reported that 15 members of the army and security forces were killed in recent violence.

The sister of one such victim said on state television she was proud that her brother had died to defend his country.

She says she is the sister of martyr Nihad Ayoub, and while she is sad her brother died, she thanks God for his sacrifice.

The Syrian government daily Tishreen condemned what it called "outside media mobilization campaigns" against Syria, complaining that "freedom cannot be exercised amid chaos....without security for the country and its citizens."

But Nadim Houry of Human Rights Watch in Beirut called on the United Nations to begin an independent international investigation into what he said are "abuses that have occurred in Syria in the past five weeks."

He also urged the European Union and the United States to impose sanctions on the Syrian leadership, a move the Obama administration said it is considering.

The U.N.’s top human rights official, Navi Pillay, demanded that Syria curtail its crackdown and urged a "full and independent investigation" into the killings of protesters.

VOA

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Posted in: Mid-East,Politics