Nigerian President Skips Debate

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has skipped a television debate with election rivals. An empty podium stood in place for the president at the Friday debate, which was attended by former military ruler Muhammadu Buhari, former anti-corruption chief Nuhu Ribadu and Kano state governor Ibrahim Shekarau. The debate was broadcast live on news channel NN24. President Jonathan's ruling People's Democratic Party repeatedly came up during the debate as the three opposition candidates criticized it for ineffective governing. Mr. Jonathan's campaign has said the president will participate in a debate at the end of March. The president is the front-runner in the April 9 election. Mr. Jonathan inherited the presidency in May, after the death of his predecessor, Umaru Yar'Adua....

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Posted in: Politics

What Are 'No-Fly' Zones?

What are "no-fly" zones and what is the new U.N. Security Council resolution about Libya trying to accomplish? "No-fly" zones refer to demilitarized air space - an area which has been declared off-limits to aircraft, especially military aircraft. The tactic is most often used to suppress violence by one side in an internal or regional conflict, in order to protect civilians. Thursday's U.N. Security Council resolution on possible military action against Libya authorized other countries to take "all necessary means" to protect civilians in the north African country. The resolution says concerted international action may be necessary because the situation in Libya is deteriorating, violence is escalating and civilian casualties have...

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Posted in: Politics

UNHCR: Preparing For Worst Case Scenario in Libya

A Libyan family make their way to the terminal at the airport in Tripoli, Libya, March 17, 2011 The UN High Commissioner for Refugees and International Organization for Migration (UNHCR) warn escalating fighting in Libya could prompt a mass exodus from the country.   They say they are preparing for a so-called worst-case scenario to assist hundreds of thousands of people who might flee across borders into neighboring countries. Since the Libyan revolution erupted in February, more than 50,000 migrants stranded at border camps in Tunisia and Egypt have been transported home by the IOM and UNHCR.  Tens of thousands of others have been taken home by airplanes and ships provided by their governments. UNHCR’s Coordinator...

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Posted in: Politics

Obama Warns Gadhafi of Possible Military Action

President Barack Obama makes a statement on Libya in the East Room of the White House in Washington, March 18, 2011 President Barack Obama warned Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi Friday that he must stop attacking civilians or face a no-fly zone enforced with U.S. help. The president said the United States, however, will not send ground troops to Libya. Obama said the United States is ready to help European and Arab nations impose a no-fly zone on Libyan government forces if they continue military attacks on civilians. In the White House East Room, Obama angrily said Gadhafi has used brutal suppression against his own people, and has made it clear that he intends to continue. “Just yesterday, speaking of the city of Benghazi, a...

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Posted in: Politics

Exhibition recounts daily life in Saigon

An exhibition titled “In a City” featuring stories, photographs and videos about everyday life in Saigon is now open at the Ho Chi Minh City Exhibition House. The exhibition, held by the HCMC British Council, was inspired by James Joyce’s 1914 classic, “Dubliners,” a collection of 15 short stories about middle class life in the Irish capital city. In 2009, an exhibition featuring 18 “stories” about Hanoi was also held in the Vietnamese capital. For its part, the Saigon exhibition showcases 17 “stories” about HCMC at the turn of the 21st century as told by three teams of writers and photographers. The “stories” are grouped into 6 topics: Coffee, Bach Dang Port, the Apartment, Acting Career, Upstream, and He and She. The...

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Posted in: Society

Vietnam to continue nuclear project amid crisis

Artist’s impression of Vietnam’s future nuclear power plant in Ninh Thuan province Amid fears over Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant crisis, a top Vietnamese official has confirmed Vietnam will continue with its nuclear project to build a nuclear power plant in a central province in 2014. * Vietnam to build nuclear plant in 2014 in Ninh Thuan * Vietnam nuclear plant will have an automatic mechanism unlike Fukushima * Vietnam plant will be made to cool automatically in case of accidents This is a confirmation from chairman of the National Assembly (NA)’s office, Tran Dinh Dan, at a press conference held in Hanoi yesterday to announce the agenda of the ninth NA meeting. The policy to build the Ninh Thuan nuclear power plant has...

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Posted in: Society

Air strikes within 'hours' after UN Libya vote

The UN authorized military attacks on Muammar Gaddafi's forces, after his forces closed in on the Libyan rebels and he vowed to storm their stronghold with "no mercy, no pity." French sources said action could follow in hours, and could include France, Britain, possibly the US and one or more Arab countries. A US official said no immediate US action was expected. Gulf state Qatar said it would take part but it was unclear if that meant military help. People in Misrata said the rebel-held western city was being pounded by Gaddafi's forces on Friday morning. "There is heavy bombardment there, explosions inside the city," said Tariq, a doctor from Misrata now in Britain, after speaking to colleagues...

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Posted in: Politics

HP CEO: webOS on Every Hewlett-Packard Computer

by Thom Holwerd. Leo Apotheker has big plans. HP (relatively) new CEO wants to transform the company, and is willing to break with almost everything his predecessor Mark Hurd set out. How about webOS on every computer shipped by HP? Apotheker is pretty harsh about HP's current state. "HP has lost its soul," he stated. To get that soul back, he first started listening to the people working at HP. "The first thing I wanted to do when I joined HP was listen to the people. The rank and file usually know about all the shortcomings." Mark Hurd, HP's previous CEO, didn't like software all that much, and according to Apotheker, this has made HP slow to react to changes in the market. As such, he wants to strengthen the company through acquisitions - and of course, Palm is part of that...

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Posted in: Computer

A genius approach to web security

Song in a study area in her Berkeley office FORTUNE -- The prototypical computer security expert is some ponytailed guy with a three-day beard and an uncomfortable habit of telling hacker war stories that make you scared to go online for weeks. Then there's Dawn Song, a 36-year-old associate professor at the University of California at Berkeley and a MacArthur Foundation fellow (also known as a MacArthur genius). With her broad smile and laugh, Song puts a visitor at ease, then begins mapping the Internet out on a whiteboard. The whole genius thing quickly becomes apparent. Song and her research team aren't looking to simply patch holes in the Internet that online baddies are constantly trying to penetrate. She takes a more holistic...

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Posted in: Computer,Entertainment

HCMC to install cameras at 1,400 crossroads - Vietnam

Cameras will be installed to monitor traffic and record violations at about 1,400 crossroads in Ho Chi Minh City, as part of a project to build a €131 million traffic control network in the city. The city traffic department yesterday said it is selecting an investor suitable for the project, the largest-ever in Vietnam. Those cameras will help supervise drivers’ compliance of road traffic regulations, including the respect for traffic signals at crossroads, the department said. The project’s capital investment is estimated to cost about €131 million, which will be sourced from ODA aid of the French Government. A modern traffic control center will facilitate the monitoring of the traffic situation...

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Posted in: Society

Luxuries flood Vietnam despite price woes

Luxuries like fine cosmetics, high-end cell phones, super cars and others now flood Ho Chi Minh City market amidst concerns over rising prices and government measures to reduce Vietnam’s trade deficit. It is very easy at the moment to find in large numbers cosmetic products imported from the United States, South Korea, Japan, Malaysia and others which are all on display at high-end shopping malls like Vincom, Parkson, Diamond Plaza, and Zen Plaza. Imports like foot lotions, eye and lip make-up removers, shampoos, and shower creams are growing more and more familiar with cosmetics distributors. Those items are widely sold in the city and northern provinces as well, a HCMC-based cosmetics dealer told Tuoi Tre. Hien, sales supervisor...

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Posted in: Entertainment,Society

Obama Supports Online Privacy, Except When Big Donors Don’t

By Erik Sherman. The Obama administration is on the Internet privacy bandwagon. At least, that’s how it has tried to position itself. But at the same time, Obama and his crew have shown how quickly they’ll reverse direction on the political-funding winds, when content companies want wiretapping to enforce copyright and trademark infringement . On one hand, the Obama administration put its weight behind a consumer privacy bill of rights and support for an online “do not track” mechanism, so people can potentially opt out of online behavioral marketing. (Although, depending on how it’s implemented, a do-not–track requirement could effectively leave advertisers and marketers free to do whatever they want.) But the interest in strengthening...

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Posted in: Experimental Society,Society

Born to Be a Trail Runner

By CHRISTOPHER MCDOUGALL. Last November, I was on my way to the New York City marathon when I got word that my father had two clots on his brain and needed emergency surgery. My family urged me to go ahead and run anyway. It was to have been my first marathon since I gave up running years ago, and my first high-profile race since writing my book “Born to Run.’’ I had trained to run it barefoot, and even announced my plans to the world in an article in The New York Times. James Rexroad “It’s what your father would want,” my mother said, encouraging me to stay in New York. But it’s not what my father would do. So the day before the race, I turned around and headed home. During my father’s recovery, I teetered on that ledge we all...

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Posted in: Health

Yemeni Protesters Under Heavy Fire

SANA, Yemen — Security forces and government supporters opened fire on demonstrators on Friday, killing at least 30, as the largest protest so far in Yemen came under violent and sustained attack in the center of the capital, Sana. A medic helped an injured anti-government protester in Sana on Friday. The toll mounted rapidly through the afternoon, as some of the more than 100 people wounded by gunfire or rocks hurled by government supporters succumbed to their injuries, according to several doctors at a makeshift hospital near the protest site. A heavy cloud of black smoke rose over a downtown commercial district at the southern end of the protest, which swelled to tens of thousands of people and stretched...

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Posted in: Politics

Japan raises nuclear alert level

Japan has raised the alert level at a stricken nuclear plant from four to five on a seven-point international scale for atomic incidents. The crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi site is now two levels below Ukraine's 1986 Chernobyl disaster. The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog warned in Tokyo the battle to stabilise the plant was a race against time. The crisis was prompted by last week's huge quake and tsunami, which has left at least 16,000 people dead or missing. "People of the entire world should co-operate with Japan”Yukiya Amano UN nuclear watchdog Japan holds minute silence one week on from quake The Japanese nuclear agency's decision to raise the alert level to five grades Fukushima's as an "accident with wider consequences". They...

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Posted in: Society

Indian PM Manmohan Singh denies bribing MPs for votes

Manmohan Singh says he is not involved in any vote buying Indian PM Manmohan Singh has said no member of his Congress party or government bribed MPs to survive a crucial vote of confidence in 2008. A diplomatic cable released by Wikileaks says a party aide showed a US embassy official "chests of cash" to pay off MPs ahead of the vote. Mr Singh said there were doubts about the veracity of such cables. The leak heaps further pressure on the embattled Mr Singh after a string of corruption scandals. The vote took place after the government's left-wing allies withdrew their support over a controversial nuclear deal with the US. But the Congress party narrowly survived the vote despite substantial opposition. ...

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Posted in: Politics

Libya 'to halt military action'

Libyan Foreign Minister Mussa Kussa said the ceasefire was intended "to protect civilians". The UN resolution supported "all necessary measures" to protect civilians, short of an occupation. Western powers had been discussing how to enforce the no-fly zone. Libyan Foreign Minister Mussa Kussa announces an immediate ceasefire Before the announcement of the ceasefire, heavy fighting between troops loyal to Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi and rebel forces was reported to be continuing. The pro-Gaddafi forces have been advancing eastwards towards the rebel stronghold of Benghazi, and there was fighting on Friday in the coastal town of Al-Zuwaytina. Rebels said that government forces had also...

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Posted in: Politics

UN backs action against Gaddafi

The UN Security Council has backed a no-fly zone over Libya and "all necessary measures" to protect civilians short of an occupation. It was not immediately clear what form intervention would take and when it would begin, though France signalled that action could start soon. Thousands in Benghazi celebrate the UN's Libya vote The resolution appears to give legal weight to attacks against Col Muammar Gaddafi's ground forces. Col Gaddafi's forces have recently retaken several towns seized by rebels. Rebel forces reacted with joy to the UN resolution in their Benghazi stronghold, but a government spokesman condemned UN "aggression". Loyalist forces are bearing down on Benghazi, home to a million people. ...

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Posted in: Politics

iPhone vs. iPhone: Which Network Can Satisfy Your Need For Speed?

By Ian Paul, PCWorld Thinking about getting a Verizon iPhone now that AT&T has lost its U.S. exclusivity arrangement with Apple? Well, not so fast. Verizon might have the reputation for being the more reliable network, but judging by PCWorld's most recent 3G speed tests AT&T has the better 3G network speeds. In fact, nationwide AT&T was 67 percent faster on average than Verizon, Sprint or T-Mobile. Check out the differences between the AT&T and Verizon iPhone at a glance by clicking on the chart aboveSo before you make plans to pre-order your CDMA-based iPhone in early February, let's take a look at some numbers comparing Verizon's speeds to AT&T's. But first a disclaimer. Until PCWorld re-tested...

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Posted in: Entertainment

Owning gold bars fine, but trading to be restricted

The people’s right to own and trade in gold is protected by the government but gold bullion can only be traded by government-appointed dealers, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh Hung said at a meeting Thursday with the National Advisory Council for Financial and Monetary Policies. * Existing gold shops will only be allowed to trade in gold jewelry * People can only buy bullion at government-appointed outlets * People have full right to possess, store gold * Gold will be banned as a means of payment Dr Tran Hoang Ngan, a member of the Council, said it supported the government’s decision to ban bullion trading. But since all the pertinent information has not been clearly publicized, it has caused panic, with many people wrongly thinking...

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Posted in: Business

China experts detained near HCMC over inside job

The nails seized by police yesterday Police in southern Vietnam yesterday detained five employees, including two Chinese experts, of a company for suspicion they colluded to steal nails and screws worth over US$47,900 from their own firm. At dawn yesterday, local police in Binh Duong province near Ho Chi Minh City caught a driver and an interpreter of Airoware Co., Ltd., in Dong An Industrial Park, transporting about 30 tons nails and screws without documents about the origin of the goods. The interpreter is Doan Van Bau, 24, and the driver is Pham Van Cuong, 28, from northern Tuyen Quang province. The two men later confessed to the police that they had colluded with the two foreign experts and...

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Posted in: Society

Move Your Old IPad's Data Plan to Your New IPad 2

 By Dan Frakes, Macworld If you're replacing your original AT&T-3G-equipped iPad (and its active data plan) with a newly purchased AT&T 3G iPad 2, you may be wondering if you'll be able to transfer your data plan from the old iPad to the new one. I contacted AT&T's customer support department to do just that, and the representative's first inclination was to go through the (tedious) process of modifying my account information to associate the new iPad with the existing data plan. However, as our friends at Cult of Mac first pointed out, there's an easier way: Just swap the SIM cards. The SIM-short for Subscriber Identity Module-card is a small, plastic card with a bit of circuitry that stores a unique identification code...

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Posted in: Entertainment