Internet Explorer: Microsoft plans 'silent' updates

From January, Internet Explorer (IE) users will be automatically updated to the latest version of the browser.

Once IE is updated, future changes will be
applied without a user's knowledge

Microsoft said it was starting the project to update millions of machines to improve security online.
Future updates to the browser would be applied without a user's knowledge to help beat scammers catching people out with fake updates.
Those who did not want their browser updated could opt out or uninstall the software, said Microsoft.

"The Web overall is better - and safer - when more people run the most up-to-date browser," wrote Ryan Gavin, Microsoft's IE boss, in a blogpost explaining the plan.

He said the data gathered by Microsoft for its security intelligence reports showed that many cyber criminals targeted old or outdated software when they tried to trick people into installing fake updates.

To beat such scams, Mr Gavin, said that once the latest version of the browser was installed all future updates would arrive silently and be applied without a user getting involved.

Chester Wisniewski, senior security advisor at Sophos, said the plan would aid those who did not see the importance of staying up to date.

"Microsoft has been struggling with browser stragglers for years," he said in a statement.

Demise of IE6

The giant upgrade programme will affect IE users running Windows XP, Vista and 7, and will first be rolled out in Australia and Brazil. Only those Windows users with automatic updates turned on will be enrolled in the programme.

Those using Windows XP will be upgraded to IE8, while those on Vista and 7 get bumped up to IE9. This will probably mean the demise of IE6, a 10-year-old version of the browser that Microsoft has been trying to kill off for a while.

Figures gathered by Microsoft suggest IE6 is used by about 8.3% of people around the world, with the biggest number of users in China, where almost 28% of people remain wedded to it.

Globally, Internet Explorer is still the most popular browser, with more than 52% of people using it, according to net market research firm Net Applications. Mozilla's Firefox and Google's Chrome are battling it out for second place.

Microsoft said it had made tools that would let people avoid or uninstall the more up-to-date versions of the browsers if they wanted to stay with an older copy.
Source BBC

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Posted in: Computer

Traffic police and funny bans

A  traffic policeman in Hanoi was hit while
attempting to stop a car in July

Dear readers,
This week, we once again discuss a topic that you may see in everyday stories on TuoiTreNews: traffic police.
Last week, the Ho Chi Minh City Police Department issued a rule prohibiting officers in the traffic police force from carrying more than VND 100,000 (US$4.7) while on duty. These regulations are aimed at strengthening supervision by heads of police units over their staff while forming a framework for handling cases in which traffic police officers allegedly take bribes from traffic violators.
Joey Pham wonders if this initiative will really reduce corruption among traffic police.
“The right to own money and to carry cash is a fundamental right of a citizen. The excuse that the restriction is to reduce corruption for me is not strong enough. I can always argue back that such a rule will encourage corruption because having little money on them, officers will have more motive to accept ‘dirty’ money,” reasoned Joey.
This is not the first time Vietnamese police have received such a bizarre ban. Previously they were not allowed to hide behind trees or electricity poles, wear sunglasses or masks, smoke, read books and put their hands into pockets when dealing with traffic-violation cases.
Besides, they also stand a chance of being punished if they stop drivers without issuing tickets. On the other hand, police need to be wary as they may get attacked by thugs, by a young woman or even by their own colleague! Indeed, it is not easy to be a traffic police officer in Vietnam, is it?
As Tim Russell compared Singapore and Vietnam last week, Briton James Allen continued to make an interesting comparison of customer service in London and Ho Chi Minh City. Being used to frosty service in England, James found it quite a shock to receive a smile from a Vietnamese staff during his first days in Ho Chi Minh City.
“Still in England mode, I picked what I needed, put it on the counter and waited for the gruff response that was sure to come. Instead I received my change with a smile and a thank you. Before coming to Vietnam I had heard from many people that Asian hospitality differed somewhat to the UK, but the warmth of the smile, in spite of the late hour and the banality of my purchase was quite a shock,” recalled James.
But grass on the other hill is not always greener and James gradually realized some negative points in this service with a smile. He felt uneasy to be followed every time he entered a shop in Ho Chi Minh City and frustrated when he was not informed that the dish he ordered was not available any more.
“What is more likely is that it is a simple case of culture clash, it does seem that in Vietnam, a smile can compensate for any kind of incident, even those as serious as a bike crash, the same cannot be said for where I’m from. [..] I’ve learned that when it comes to surviving a baffling customer service experience in Vietnam, it pays to leave your expectations at the door, be as direct as possible and take every smile with a pinch of salt,” concluded James.
Despite many cons in Vietnamese customer service, we hope you will not stop exploring more new places where you live.
In response to our challenge to discover the neighborhood last week, Chad Kub from America got out of his house and tried several wrap dishes like banh khot, nem chao or oc buou nhoi thit on Ho Chi Minh City streets.
“Some of the best things about Vietnamese food are the freshness, and the lightness of the dishes. There is no better example of this than the dishes that you get to wrap up with leaves. These dishes usually consist of fatty or fried main item beautiful balanced by crisp fresh lettuce and a slightly citrusy or sour sauce that cuts through the heaviness,” wrote Chad.
As a chef and a tour guide himself, Chad wrote about these delicious street foods with his very true feelings and informative details which may help you understand better about Vietnamese foods. Don’t forget to take a look if you haven’t.
That’s it! Let’s ‘wrap up’ this week’s editorial by this cuisine story.
Just a little reminder to you, our readers, that the festive season is drawing near and we are looking for stories and pictures related to Christmas celebration in Vietnam. It can be your preparations for this year’s Christmas Eve, memorable experiences of your last Christmas, dishes you will make for family on this special day. Feel free to drop us an email with your writing and photos at expat@tuoitre.com.vn.
Have a nice weekend everyone.

Source: tuoitrenews.vn

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Posted in: Society,Vietnam,violence

China sends rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng back to prison

Chinese human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng has been sent back to jail for three years, state media reports say.

A Beijing court on Friday cancelled the lawyer's probation saying that he had seriously violated probation rules, the Xinhua news agency said.

Gao Zhisheng has been outspoken critic of the Chinese government

Mr Gao went missing at the beginning of 2009 but resurfaced briefly in 2010 saying he had been tortured.
An outspoken critic of the government, he worked for the rights of some of China's most vulnerable people.
The BBC's Michael Bristow in Beijing says this is the first news about Gao Zhisheng for some time but it leaves questions about what happened to him still unanswered.
Mr Gao's brother told AP that he had not heard from the authorities on Gao's case, but said that he believed the imminent end of the probation period may have been behind the move.
"Are they sending him to a proper prison? Which prison was he at before? Where were they hiding him?" he asked.

TIMELINE: GAO ZHISHENG

• 2005: Authorities close down Gao Zhisheng's law practice
• Dec 2006: Convicted of subversion and sentenced to house arrest
• Sept 2007: Says he was tortured during a period of detention
• Jan 2009: Disappears; last seen accompanied by security officials
• Mar 2010: Reappeared for a month before disappearing again

Gao Zhiyi said he did not know what the latest court notice signified.

Analysts say the court's decision showed Beijing was determined to prevent Mr Gao speaking publicly about his time in detention.
"There's nothing there [in the Xinhua report] that tells you he is alive and well," Nicolas Bequelin of Human Rights Watch told AFP.
"At the very last minute... they decided they couldn't let the world see him or hear him and decided to take him away for another three years."
Gao's wife, Geng He, left for the United States in early 2009 with their two children. But his whereabouts have remained a mystery.
Human rights advocates often cite Mr Gao's case along with that of Liu Xiaobo, the jailed academic awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, as examples of what they say is the Chinese Communist Party's increasing persecution of human rights defenders in China.

Source BBC

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Posted in: China,Politics,Society

Russia becomes WTO member after 18 years of talks

Russia has spent 18 years trying to gain
access to the World Trade Organization

Russia has finally joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) at a ceremony in Switzerland on Friday, after 18 years negotiating its membership.

The Swiss brokered a deal between Russia and Georgia earlier this year that removed the last obstacle to Russia's accession.
Georgia had tried to block Russia's WTO entry since the two countries fought a short war in 2008.
Russia was by far the biggest economy yet to join the global trade body.
It is also the last member of the Group of 20 major economies to join, after China gained membership in 2001.
"This result of long and complex talks is good both for Russia and for our future partners," President Dmitry Medvedev said in a message to a WTO ministerial meeting in Geneva that formally approved Russia's membership.
The White House said US President Barack Obama called Mr Medvedev to congratulate him on Russia's admission.
Business environment The 153-member WTO provides a forum for international trade liberalisation agreements, which it polices - deciding when rules have been breached and when retaliatory trade sanctions can be imposed.
The removal of trade barriers is likely to stimulate greater and more diversified trade between Russia and the rest of the world.

Russia and WTO timeline

• 1993 Russia applies to join the General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade (Gatt)
• 1995 The Gatt is institutionalised as the World Trade Organization (WTO)
• 1998 Russia suffers a major financial crisis
• 2000 US President Bill Clinton backs Russia's WTO bid in a speech to the Russian parliament
• Vladimir Putin succeeds Boris Yeltsin as Russian president
• 2001 China joins the WTO after 16 years of talks
• Russian membership talks intensify
• 2002 The US and EU recognise Russia as a market economy, removing a major hurdle to WTO membership
• 2004 EU gives formal backing to Russia's application
• 2006 US formally backs Russian membership
• Georgia threatens to veto after Russia imposes a trade blockade on it
• 2008 Brief Russian military invasion of Georgia
• President Putin questions the benefits of joining the WTO
• 2010 EU reaffirms support for Russian membership
• 2011 Russia reaches an agreement with Georgia in November, opening the way for its accession in December

Some estimates suggest Russian membership will help to boost its economy by tens of billions of dollars each year.

Russia is Europe's third largest export market, while Russia's own exports have been dominated by oil and gas.
"Better and improved allocation of resources within the country... from less competitive to more competitive industries" would be a major benefit to the country, according to Ivan Tchakarov, chief economist at Russian brokerage Renaissance Capital.
But he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that he thought the biggest and least talked about benefit could be an improvement in Russia's business environment.
"By becoming a WTO member, Russia will have to import certain rules and regulations that will address the very issues that foreign investors usually complain about, like corruption, the protection of minority shareholders, the independence of the judiciary."
Remaining hurdle One reason the agreement was finally reached was because of a change of heart in the Russian leadership, according to Mr Tchakarov.
"Since the 2008-09 [global financial] crisis there has been a certain recognition at the very high level in Russia that... Russia will have to open up a little bit to foreign investment, because this is the only way for Russia to become a more competitive economy," he said.
Ahead of the signing ceremony, Russian officials were talking up the benefit of the deal, which will still need to be ratified by the Russian parliament in the next six months.
"This will create the right conditions for the further improvement of our business climate, for an influx of foreign investment and for boosting Russian exports while also retaining the possibility of giving support to our key branches of domestic economy," said Russian foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich.
"We are achieving a completely new level of integration into the global economic system."
The deal with Georgia that opened the way for Russia to join hinged on the international monitoring of trade along the mutual borders of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
The two provinces have broken away from Georgia and are recognised as independent states by Russia.
However, the agreement may still face a hurdle in the US, where existing legislation left over from the Cold War era blocks favourable trading relations with Russia.
But Mr Tchakarov at Renaissance Capital said he believed Congress would agree to eliminate the laws, as past disputes with Russia over agriculture and intellectual property rights have now been fully resolved.

Source : BBC

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Posted in: Business,Russia,Society

UN lifts sanctions on Libya's key banks

The UN Security Council has lifted sanctions on Libya's central bank and the country's foreign investments banks, diplomats say.

They say the move is aimed at easing a current cash crisis in Libya.
The US followed suit shortly afterwards, lifting "most" sanctions against Tripoli.
The Libyan banks' assets abroad were frozen earlier this year as part of sanctions against former Libyan leader Col Muammar Gaddafi.

Libya says the funds are needed to pay employee salaries
and keep basic services running

On Friday, the UN Security Council decided to lift the sanctions on the Central Bank of Libya and its investments subsidiary - the Libyan Foreign Bank.
Last Friday, the council agreed to unfreeze the assets - unless there were objections - by 17:00 local time (22:00 GMT) on 16 December. As that deadline passed, no objections had been received, the diplomats in New York said.
The UK Foreign Secretary, William Hague, said that the move "marks another significant moment in Libya's transition".
"It means that Libya's government will now have full access to the significant funds needed to help rebuild the country, to underpin stability and to ensure that Libyans can make the transactions that are essential to everyday life," Mr Hague said in a statement.
He added that London would now free some £6.5bn held in Britain.
US Defence Secretary Leon Panatta is due to make a visit to Libya on Saturday.
Libyan 'responsibility' Following the UN decision, the White House said in a statement that "the United States rolled back most US sanctions on the government of Libya to keep our commitment to the Libyan people".
The US Treasury said that it would "allow for the release of more than $30bn in blocked central bank and LAFB (Libyan Arab Foreign Bank) assets.
"The Libyan government now has the ability and responsibility to manage these funds," the Treasury said.

Libyan oil refineries are slowing rebuilding
productivity to pre-uprising levels

The interim government in Tripoli has recently stepped up calls for the release of some $150bn (£96bn) held abroad to pay employee salaries and keep the country's basis services running.
Some sanctions were eased after the fall Col Gaddafi's regime, but the process of releasing the bulk of the money has been very slow for legal and technical reasons, the BBC's Barbara Plett in New York reports.
Diplomats say that is because of uncertainty in the countries holding the assets as to who legally owns the funds, and whether the Libyan leadership is united enough to be trusted with the cash, our correspondent adds.
The UN Security Council imposed sanctions on Col Gaddafi's regime in February. They included an arms embargo and asset freeze.
In August - following the fall of the regime - the UN agreed to unfreeze Libyan dinars worth about $1.5bn (£950m) being held in UK banks.
At about the same time the UN agreed to a US request to unblock $1.5bn in frozen Libyan assets.
The uprising virtually shut Libya's oil industry, and exports only resumed in September.
Officials say they expect crude oil output to return to normal levels of around 1.6m barrels per day by the end of 2012.

Source BBC

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Posted in: Asia,Society,violence

Christmas in Bắc Ninh: music and solidarity to bear witness to the birth of Jesus

The diocese is promoting music courses to enliven the season’s Masses. In every parish, dances, sacred songs and plays will tell the story of the Saviour “born in a cave in Bethlehem”. Activities are open to atheists and believers of other religions. Funds are raised for the poor and needy, including non-Christians.

Hanoi (AsiaNews) – In this period of Advent, all the parishes in the Diocese of Bắc Ninh, northern Vietnam, are promoting music courses to teach Christmas carols in order to “stay with God”. Once their course is completed, the singers will return to their respective communities, and will continue rehearsing for Christmas Eve when they will bring joy and cheer to the faithful and Christmas celebrations. Parish churches will bring music, dance, sacred songs and plays inspired by “Jesus born in the Bethlehem Cave”.

Bắc Ninh province is very poor, but is rich in solidarity and friendship between Catholics and people of other religions or no religion, which is how locals are able to face emergencies and hardships.

Mgr Cosma Hoàng Văn Đạt, bishop of Bắc Ninh, told AsiaNews that the artistic initiative is very important, because “Christmas provides a splendid opportunity to have people learn about Jesus, especially those who do not know God”.

On the eve, “hundreds of thousands of Catholics and non-Catholics will go to church to hear sacred music and watch plays,” said the prelate. “We shall pray to the Virgin Mary and the martyrs of the diocese that they may accompany us during Christmas and the year 2012.”

In this period of Advent, young volunteers will also go around picking up garbage and unused materials to contribute to charities helping orphans and children living in difficulty.

Hung, one of the volunteers, said that he is involved in the activities of Huống Trung Parish. “In each family I get smiles and support for the initiative. This has helped me forget about the tiredness, humidity and cold wind that are so common in the northern provinces of Vietnam.”

“We split into small groups,” added Lan, “and with a smile on our lips we engaged in social activities helping people meet and know Jesus Christ.”

In anticipation of Christmas, the diocese has also organised a fundraiser to help people in need. Each parishioner offered 1,000 dong. Altogether some 300,000 dong (US$ 15) was raised to be distributed among the poor, Catholics and non-Catholics, irrespective of religion.

source: Asianews.it

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Posted in: Christmas,Experimental Society,Society,Vietnam

Six SEA Games stars to be recommended for Labor Award

Six athletes will be nominated for the Labor Award, third class, for their outstanding performances at the Southeast Asian Games in Indonesia last month, a sports official has said.
Lam Quang Thanh, deputy director of the General Department of Physical Training and Sports, said they were swimmers Hoang Quy Phuoc and Chau Ba Anh Thu, gymnast Phan Thi Ha Thanh, high jumper Duong Thi Viet Anh, weightlifter Tran Le Quoc Toan, and boxer Luong Van Toan.
Phuoc, 18, won the men’s 100m freestyle and 100m butterfly, in the process qualifying for the next year’s London Olympics.
Thanh, 20, grabbed three golds at the SEA Games following her bronze medal in the vault at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, in October. She has also clinched an Olympic spot.
The 21-year-old Anh won the women’s high jump, and Toan the men’s 56kg category weightlifting event.
Tu won the men’s 5km and 10km swimming events while boxer Toan took gold in the men’s 81kg category, Vietnam’s first ever in boxing.

Gymnast Phan Thi Ha Thanh will be nominated for the Labor Award,
third class, for some glorious performances at last month’s SEA Games in Indonesia

Thanh, who was chief of the Vietnamese sports delegation to the games, said: “Vietnam won 96 golds, 92 silvers, and 100 bronzes. Several athletes in events like track and field, martial arts, shooting, and swimming did very well, but many things were still not very satisfying for us.
“We need to make plans for breakthroughs in the future. For example, swimming needs far more improvement so that we can go beyond the Southeast Asian region.”
There had been setbacks in sports like volleyball, tennis, table-tennis, cycling, petanque, bowling, and sepak takraw, he said.
“There must be an improvement in training strategies and in choosing coaches and trainers. The General Department of Physical Training and Sports wants to analyze all the failures.
Asked about football, Thanh said the Vietnamese team “did not prepare too well for the games, so their results were very bad.
“Relevant agencies will look closely at the failure in football. However, the General Department of Physical Training and Sports will wait for opinions from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.”

By Lan Phuong, Thanh Nien News 

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Posted in: Sport,Vietnam

French banker says UK should be downgraded first

The chairman of the French central bank, Christian Noyer, has said ratings agencies should downgrade the UK before France because its economy is weaker.

Christian Noyer heads France's central bank

US agency Standard and Poor's recently warned France its rating could suffer over the eurozone crisis and downturn.
"The downgrade does not appear to me to be justified when considering economic fundamentals," Mr Noyer said.
The British Government responded by saying the UK had a credible plan for dealing with its deficit.
Speaking to French regional newspaper Le Telegramme, Mr Noyer said any downgrade should start with Britain "which has more deficits, as much debt, more inflation, less growth than us and where credit is slumping".
Britain was not identified as a credit risk by Standard and Poor's in its report earlier this month.
The spokesman for UK Prime Minister David Cameron said: "Credit ratings are a matter for credit rating agencies but we've put in place a credible deficit reduction plan and you can see that credibility in the UK's bond yields."
There is a sense of frustration across the eurozone that last week's summit in Brussels seems to have done little to calm the financial markets, the BBC's Chris Morris reports.

Analysis

Chris Morris BBC News, Brussels

There is a sense that the markets are waiting for a decision from the ratings agencies on whether France will lose its cherished AAA credit rating. French ministers have already said it would be regrettable, but not disastrous.
For a central banker, these are rather extraordinary comments, but Mr Noyer also said the agencies had become incomprehensible and irrational.
It is another sign of the sense of frustration across the eurozone that last week's summit seems to have done little to calm the financial markets. Already there are political disputes brewing about the proposed new treaty which all EU member states except Britain have agreed to consider.
Part of the problem is that there is no draft treaty text yet - it is due to emerge early next week. After that, intensive consultations will begin, with the aim of reaching a political agreement on the details of the treaty at yet another EU summit in late January or early February.

Relations have been strained between France and Britain, which vetoed changes to the Lisbon Treaty that would have allowed for closer economic integration.

Hungary and the Czech Republic raised concerns on Thursday about the plans for a closer fiscal union, saying they should apply only to eurozone states.
Loss of the top credit grade would have serious economic implications for France, increasing the interest rate it paid for new state borrowing.
Mr Noyer accused ratings agencies of putting at risk "the positive feeling that existed on the markets the day after the Brussels summit".
In the French parliament, Finance Minister Francois Baroin poked fun at Britain, saying the fiscal pact had been backed by every country in Europe, "with the singular, now solitary, exception of Great Britain, which history will remember as marginalised".
"Great Britain is in a very difficult economic situation, a deficit close to the level of Greece, debt equivalent to our own, much higher inflation prospects and growth forecasts well under the eurozone average," he said.
"It's an audacious choice the British government has made."

source: BBC

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Posted in: Business,Europea,Experimental Society

Hong Kong tourists say robbed, sell photos for food

Two tourists from Hong Kong are selling their own pictures on the street in downtown Ho Chi Minh City to be able to get their daily meals.

They claim they were robbed of all their possessions and identity papers by bag-snatchers on a scooter.

Their story and photographs, posted on a blog on Wednesday, have spread rapidly and attracted sympathy from many netizens.

Doris and Kay say they lost their bag with their cash, credit cards and identity papers while walking on Xo Viet Nghe Tinh Street in Binh Thanh District.

Doris and Kay sell their own photos on Ho Chi Minh City’s Bui Vien Street
after being robbed off all their possessions, including identity papers

After reporting the robbery to the local police and getting an appointment for a week later to see if they could retrieve their belongings, the duo went to District 1’s Bui Vien Street – known as the city’s backpacker’s area – to sell photos for food.

On a piece of cardboard, they wrote: “All robbed, pls support.” And a piece of paper carries information about their loss in Vietnamese, asking people with any information to call 0908.012123.

On another piece of cardboard, they warn others to be careful. “We are from Hong Kong. Just watch out professional scooter robbery! Kay and Doris.”

Within 24 hours after their story was first posted on a blog, many netizens have shown their sympathy and expressed their readiness to support them.

Blogger Poly said the duo had planned to spend Christmas and the New Year Day in Vietnam. They are waiting to obtain a new passport from the Consulate General and are having to sell their own photos to survive.

“Doris is a woman and she should not sit on a HCMC street all day in changing weather. We should know why Doris is crying. What would they say when they get back to their own country?” the blogger wrote.

Many others have offered to host the duo in their homes and said they are furious with the robbers who give the city a bad name.

Thanh Nien Weekly was not able to reach the Pham Ngu Lao Police Station for comment despite several calls.

A shop owner on Bui Vien Street told Thanh Nien Weekly on Thursday that the duo were selling their photos on Wednesday evening and a resident on the street let them stay in their house later.

Thanh Nien News (The story can be found in the December 16th issue of our print edition, Thanh Nien Weekly) 

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Posted in: Asia,Society,Tour in Vietnam,Vietnam,violence

Bahrain blogger Zainab al-Khawaja 'detained in protest'

Images show a policewoman disciplining Zainab al-Khawaja before she is handcuffed

Police in Bahrain have detained prominent blogger and rights activist Zainab al-Khawaja during a protest near the capital Manama, reports say.

Security forces fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse hundreds of anti-government protesters trying to block a main road, according to witnesses.
The Gulf kingdom's Shia Muslim majority have staged regular protests in the past 10 months demanding more rights from the Sunni-dominated monarchy.
King Hamad has pledged reforms.
The latest unrest comes during a visit to Bahrain by the US state department's top human rights envoy, Michael Posner.
He welcomed moves by King Hamad to address rights abuses, but urged him to do more.
Ms Khawaja, a prominent human rights activist and the daughter of a senior opposition figure, had refused to leave a sit-in at a roundabout on the Budaiya highway west of Manama after other protesters had been dispersed, witnesses said.
She was handcuffed and taken away by police along with at least one other woman protester, reports said.
Earlier she had tweeted: "Sitting in a roundabout on Budaiya street, shouting down down Hamad. Until now riot police don't seem to know what to do. A few girls have joined me now."
So far there has been no official confirmation of her detention.
Late on Thursday a local resident told the BBC that helicopters were overhead and the smell of tear gas was still hanging over the neighbourhood.
Heavily guarded Budaiya road connects a string of largely Shia villages west of Manama and leads to a junction south of Manama's Pearl Roundabout, which was the focal point for earlier protests.
Correspondents say the heavily guarded square holds great symbolic value for the opposition movement and protesters have repeatedly tried to retake it.
Earlier, Mr Posner, who heads the US Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, praised King Hamad for taking steps to implement reforms.
He said Washington remained concerned about the government's "excessive use of force, including tear gas, in response to ongoing street protests".
Bahrain, considered a strategically important Gulf nation, hosts the US Navy's 5th Fleet.
After weeks of protests in February and March inspired by the Arab Spring, Bahrain's government eventually cracked down leaving at least 24 people dead, though some accounts put the death toll as high as 40.
An inquiry by an international panel of human rights experts found police had used excessive force and King Hamad has put together a committee to implement the recommendations of the panel's report.
Source: BBC

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Posted in: Asia,Bahrain,Politics,violence

Lagarde: No country's economy immune from rising risks

IMF head Christine Lagarde has said the world economic outlook is "gloomy" and no country is immune from rising risks.

She said all nations, starting with Europe, needed to head off a crisis with risks of a global depression.
"There is no economy in the world immune from the crisis that we not only see unfolding but escalating," she said.
"It is going to be hopefully resolved by all countries, all regions actually taking action."

IMF chief Christine Lagarde was speaking at the US State Department

Meanwhile, ratings agency Standard and Poor's downgraded 10 Spanish banks by applying new ratings criteria.
And France's official statistics agency, INSEE, said that it expects the Europe's second-largest economy to fall into recession in the final three months of this year and the first quarter of 2012.
France, Spain and Italy have been facing rising borrowing costs. Many investors fear one will be the next eurozone member to need a bailout.
'Require efforts'
Speaking at the US State Department in Washington, she said global economic leaders now needed to take a rounded approach towards addressing monetary weaknesses, such as those underscored by the current eurozone debt crisis.
"It is going to require efforts, it is going to require adjustment, and clearly it is going to have to start from the core of the crisis at the moment, which is obviously the European countries and in particular the countries of the eurozone."
Ms Lagarde mentioned economic bright spots in Asia and Latin America, which she said had taken, with IMF help, steps during crises in the 1980s and 1990s to address weaknesses in their banking systems and their financial frameworks.
"All those challenges that they faced in the days of the Asian crisis, of the Latin American crisis, have now served them well," Ms Lagarde said.
On Thursday, a closely-watched survey suggested the downturn in the 17 economies that share the euro had eased slightly in December.
The composite survey of thousands of firms by Markit showed a continued contraction - but at a slower rate than in November.

Source: BBC

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Posted in: IMF,Society

Bangladesh man 'admits' cutting off wife's fingers

Human rights groups in Bangladesh have demanded a severe punishment for the husband of a young wife who allegedly cut off most of her right hand.

Police say Rafiqul Islam, 30, attacked her because she pursued higher education without his permission.
They say Mr Islam, a migrant worker, admitted to the crime shortly after returning home from the Gulf.
However there has been no independent confirmation from the suspect that he carried out the attack.
The incident is one of a number of acts of domestic violence targeting educated women in recent months.

Ms Akther hopes to continue her studies using her left hand to hold a pen

Police say that Mr Islam, who works in the United Arab Emirates, tied up his 21-year-old wife, Hawa Akther Jui, earlier this month. He then taped her mouth and cut off the five fingers.
'Severe consequences' Doctors say the fingers cannot be re-attached and it appears that Ms Akther will have to live with permanent disfigurement.
"After he came back to Bangladesh, he wanted to have a discussion with me. Suddenly, he blindfolded me and tied my hand," Ms Akther told the BBC's Anbarasan Ethirajan from the town of Narsingdi.
"He also taped my mouth saying that he would give me some surprise gifts. But, instead he cut off my fingers."
She said her husband, who is not well educated, did not approve of her enrolling in a college for higher studies.
During their earlier telephone conversations, she said, he warned her of "severe consequences" if she went against his word.
"Doctors said my fingers could be re-attached within six hours but he refused to give them. After that time, another relative of my husband threw the fingers in a dustbin.
"We finally recovered them but it was too late," said Ms Akther, who is still recovering at her parent's house.
She said that she did not want to live with her husband - who is now in police custody - any more.

Rafiqul Islam is reported to have confessed to the crime

The police officer investigating the case, ARM Al-Mamun, said "preliminary investigations" had led police to believe that it was a "pre-planned attack".
"He [the husband] admitted to cutting off his wife's fingers. We will be pressing charges against him," Mr Al-Mamum said.
A family member of Mr Islam said that the couple had "differences" on some issues, including her decision to pursue higher studies.
Ms Akther - who is eager to continue her studies - said that she wanted her husband to be severely punished for the attack.
"I have now started practising writing with my left hand. I want to see how far I can go. I never imagined that my fingers would be chopped off like this because of my studies."
The attack follows an incident in June in which a university lecturer lost one eye while the other was badly wounded in an attack allegedly carried out by her husband.
The accused man in this case, Syeed Hasan Sumon, died in custody earlier this month while awaiting trial.

Source: BBC

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Posted in: Asia,Bangladesh,Experimental Society,violence

Eviction order for Burma monk Shwe Nya War Sayardaw

A senior Burmese monk has been ordered to leave his monastery in Rangoon because of a speech he gave at a pro-democracy event.

Shwe Nya War Sayardaw is an abbot at Rangoon's Sadhu monastery

Shwe Nya War Sayardaw, a well-known critic of the government, addressed the National League for Democracy at a recent event in Mandalay.
He was among several figures who met US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when she visited Burma in December.
The Burmese government has recently implemented a series of reforms.
But it still continues to hold hundreds of political prisoners and the country is still plagued by ethnic conflicts.
The actual order to leave came from the monks' governing body, but this is backed by the Burmese authorities.
'Refusing to obey' Shwe Nya War Sayardaw, who is an abbot at Rangoon's Sadhu monastery, received a letter from the monks' governing body informing him that he was being disciplined for delivering a speech to pro-democracy leader Aung Sun Suu Kyi's political party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).

The letter states that he must move away from the Sadhu monastery and that he cannot teach in monasteries without permission from the governing body - the Sangha.

Although he has been ordered to leave the Sadhu monastery, he can live in other monasteries.
However, according to one local journalist, he is refusing to obey the order and says that he will stay at the monastery until forced out.
He is well-known for his outspoken views and for using Buddhist stories to draw unflattering parallels between the government and past administrations, correspondents say.
Ms Suu Kyi's NLD recently re-registered as a political party, and she is expected to stand for parliament in forthcoming by-elections.
Recent reforms by the government included freeing Ms Suu Kyi from detention and allowed to her take up a role in public life, prompting speculation that decades of isolation could be about to end.
The army handed power to a civilian government last year, but the military's primacy is entrenched in the country's constitution.
The US maintains tight sanctions on senior leaders in Burma, which was ruled by a brutal military junta from 1962 until 2010.
Chinese meeting Meanwhile on Thursday China said its ambassador to Burma held talks with Aung San Suu Kyi in what is thought to be the first formal meeting between the most important supporter of the military-backed government and its most prominent critic.
A spokesman for China's foreign ministry, Liu Weimin, said the meeting had been arranged at the request of Aung San Suu Kyi but he did not say when it took place.
The spokesman said the ambassador met her because China was willing to speak to all sectors of Burmese society.
Aung Sun Suu Kyi's NLD won a landslide election victory in 1990, but the junta refused to recognise the result and the party was never allowed to take power.
Ms Suu Kyi spent much of the next 20 years in detention.

 Source: BBC

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Posted in: Burma,Politics,Religion,Society,USA

Two Buddhist activists jailed for asking for religious freedom

Nguyen Van Lia, 71, and Tran Hoai An will serve a sentence of five and three years in prison. The two members of the Hoa Hao church charged with "endangering the State" and "abusing" democratic freedoms. Family members unable to attend the trial. Human Rights Watch: an unacceptable judgment.

Hanoi (AsiaNews) - A Vietnamese court has sentenced two activists of a Buddhist sect to prison, guilty of "endangering the state". The relatives of the accused and the official newspapers explain that the sentence was imposed for the possession and distribution of "anti-government" material, in April the police raided their homes, finding books , CDs, DVDs and other documents that accuse the communist government of "violating religious freedom." The agents arrested Nguyen Van Lia, 71 (pictured), and Tran Hoai An, who yesterday appeared before the judges of the People's district Court of Cho Moi, An Giang Province: the magistrates have imposed a penalty of five and three years each, for "abusing democratic freedoms" and "threatening state security."

Both of the accused belong to the Hoa Hao Buddhist Church, recognized by the Vietnamese State which authorized the practice of worship. However, a group of believers decided to break free from the official movement to protest against the authorities' control over religions. Family members denounced the attempt by local officials to prevent courtroom access, the wife of one of the two could not attend the hearing. Nguyen Lu, the youngest son of Nguyen Van Lia, interviewed by Radio Free Asia (RFA) reports that "an array of agents and security personnel surrounded the court" for the duration of the procedure.

Hanoi has long been the center of criticism for human rights abuses, arbitrary arrests of activists and violations of religious freedom of Buddhists, Catholics - AsiaNews has repeatedly denounced the abuses against the faithful of the parish of Thai Ha - and Protestants.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has also spoken out against the sentencing of Nguyen Van Lia and Tran Hoai An, requesting the "immediate release of Hao Hao Buddhist activists" and denouncing the ruling as "outrageous and unacceptable."

In particular, Nguyen Van Lia suffers from serious health problems, HRW activists added that he had been arrested and sentenced in 2003 to 18 months in prison for commemorating the anniversary of the death of the founder of the Buddhist sect.

Source: Asianews.it

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Posted in: Politics,Religion,Society,Vietnam,violence

US, North Korea to Discuss New American Food Aid

US rights envoy Robert King (File Photo)

U.S. and North Korean envoys meet in Beijing Thursday to discuss a possible resumption of U.S. food aid to the reclusive communist state. The talks will focus on guarantees, sought by the United States,  that U.S. assistance will go only to North Koreans truly in need. 

The State Department says a team led by Robert King, U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights issues, will meet North Korean officials in Beijing on terms for the possible re-start of food aid to Pyongyang after a break of more than two and a half years.

Despite its political differences with North Korea, the United States has been the biggest single contributor of food aid to the communist state since its famine in the 1990’s.

But the program has been hampered by recurring reports of diversion of food donations to North Korea’s military or members of its political elite.

The most recent U.S. aid effort was suspended in early 2009 over North Korea’s resistance to allowing Korean-speaking monitors to observe food distribution.

At a news briefing, State Department Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said U.S. envoy King will probe whether North Korea is prepared to submit to more rigorous monitoring.

“Were we to decide to go forward with this, we would need to have much more strict and clear monitoring systems in place in order to move forward," said Nuland. "So that is ‘Topic A’ for the conversations between special envoy King and his DPKR interlocutors in Beijing, who will include Ambassador Ri Gun, the DPRK Director-General for North American Affairs.”
The American team includes U.S. Agency for International Development deputy assistant administrator Jon Brause, who held preliminary talks on the issue in North Korea last May.

U.S. spokeswoman Nuland referred repeatedly to possible U.S. “nutritional assistance” to North Korea as opposed to conventional food aid, such as the bulk commodities like rice and corn provided in the past.

“When you think about food, you think about sacks of rice, cans of food, things that might easily be diverted to the wrong purpose," said Nuland. "When you talk about nutritional assistance, it could be that. But it could also be things like vitamin supplements to populations in need like women and children. It could also be high-protein biscuits or other things that you would only need to use for populations in need and would not find themselves on some leader’s banquet table.”

Aid agencies say North Korea’s food situation is the worst in several years, with torrential rains and harsh winter weather early this year cutting harvests and prompting appeals for help from Pyongyang.

Spokeswoman Nuland said U.S. envoy King will return to Washington right after the Beijing talks to report to administration officials but did not say when a decision on new aid, if any, might be made.

She said the talks are totally separate from ongoing discussions about resuming Chinese-sponsored six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear program.

Newly-named U.S. envoy for North Korea Glyn Davies held talks with senior Chinese officials in Beijing Tuesday as part of a regional tour for consultations on the nuclear issue.

Source: VOA

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Posted in: Korea,nuclear,USA

Syria 'authorised forces to shoot to kill' in crackdown

The Syrian army has been fighting to put down seven months of demonstrations

Syrian soldiers said their commanders told them to stop anti-government protests "by all means necessary", Human Rights Watch has said.

The group spoke to dozens of defectors who said they had understood this as authorisation to use lethal force.
Anti-government protests have continued despite President Bashar al-Assad's attempts to stifle them.
The UN believes more than 5,000 people have died in seven months of unrest, which Syria blames on armed gangs.
In the latest violence, activists say 27 members of the security forces have been killed by army deserters in the southern province of Deraa.
The London based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the deaths occurred during dawn clashes on Thursday.
Twenty-five people were said by activist groups to have been killed on Wednesday during fighting near the city of Hama.
International journalists face severe restrictions on their movements in Syria, and it is hard to verify reports.
'Answer for crimes'
Human Rights Watch (HRW), a New York-based organisation, said about half of the 60 defectors from the Syrian army whom they interviewed had been given direct orders to open fire at protesters or bystanders.
The report, entitled By All Means Necessary!, also documents cases of torture, including soldiers using electric cattle prods, restricting detainees to confined spaces and carrying out summary executions.

"Defectors gave us names, ranks, and positions of those who gave the orders to shoot and kill, and each and every official named in this report, up to the very highest levels of the Syrian government, should answer for their crimes against the Syrian people," said HRW's Anna Neistat, one of the report's authors.

"The Security Council should ensure accountability by referring Syria to the International Criminal Court."
The report includes the case of "Amjad," a soldier deployed to Deraa who said that he received direct orders from his commander to fire on protesters on 25 April.
"He said: 'Use heavy shooting. Nobody will ask you to explain'. Normally we are supposed to save bullets, but this time he said: 'Use as many bullets as you want'."
In a recent interview, Mr Assad said he had given no orders for violence to be used against protesters and that he did not control the security forces.
He has also denied that there was ever a command "to kill or to be brutal" though he has admitted that "mistakes" have been made.
But HRW says that under international law, commanders are responsible for crimes committed by their subordinates if they knew or should have known about violations and failed to investigate or stop them.
"It is reasonable to conclude, at minimum, that Syria's senior military and civilian leadership knew about them.
"The ongoing killings, arrests, repression, and general denials of responsibility by the Syrian government also make clear that officials have failed to take any meaningful action to address these abuses," the report reads.

 Source: bbc

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Posted in: Politics,Syria,violence

Picture of China's first refitted warship 'emerges'

A commercial US satellite company says it has managed to take a picture of China's first aircraft carrier during its sea trials in the Yellow Sea.

If confirmed, it would be the first known photo of the former Soviet vessel recently refitted by Beijing.
The warship began its sea trials in August, raising fresh concerns over Beijing's military build-up.
China is currently involved in several maritime territorial disputes, particularly in the South China Sea.

The 300m (990ft) carrier began its sea trials in August

Stephen Wood, director of DigitalGlobe's analysis centre, said the vessel had been photographed on 8 December off the Chinese coast by one of the company's orbiting satellites, the Associated Press news agency reports.
Mr Wood added that he was confident it was the Chinese carrier because of the location and date of the photo.
China - which says the carrier is intended for research and training - has so far not publicly commented on the claim.
Maritime disputes
The vessel began the trials in August at Dalian, a port in the north-eastern province of Liaoning, Chinese state media reported at the time.
Although China is believed to be years away from being able to deploy the carrier as a powerful warship, the move has raised regional concerns, analysts say.
In the past year alone, China has had maritime disputes with Japan, Vietnam and also the Philippines.
The carrier is a former Soviet warship - called the Varyag - that was never completed. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, its rusting hull sat in dockyards in Ukraine.
As other Soviet warships were cut up for scrap, a Chinese company with links to China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) bought the Varyag, claiming originally that it would be turned into a floating casino.
It took several years to tow it to China, where it was taken to Dalian.
In June, the PLA confirmed that China's first aircraft carrier was under construction.

Source: BBC

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Posted in: China,Politics,violence

Vietnam firm banned from World Bank projects

The World Bank Wednesday announced the debarment of three companies, and one individual from participating in its financially-aided projects in Vietnam and Indonesia for their sanctionable practices.

Accordingly, Kellogg Brown & Root Pty Ltd (KBR Pty) was debarred for two years, following an investigation by WB Integrity Vic Presidency into violations of the Consultant’s Guidelines under a WB-financed water supply project in Vietnam.

“KBR Pty, an Australian subsidiary of KBR, Inc, misrepresented the availability of key consultants during contract negotiation and execution, which resulted in KBR Pty being awarded the contract and led to delays in contract execution,” the announcement said.

The Vietnam-based Social and Environmental Development JSC (SECO), and its managing director Nguyen Xuan Doan, also received debarment with their engaging in a scheme to defraud the WB’s client under a WB-financed water supply project.

SECO has been declared ineligible to participate in WB-financed projects for the next five years, the bank said.

The WB also announced a three-year ban of the Indonesia’s PT Amythas Experts and Associates for fraudulent practices in relation to a WB-financed community development and poverty alleviation project.

KBR Pty and PT Amythas Experts and Associates, as well as SECO, cannot be awarded a contract, or otherwise participate in new activities under WB-financed or executed projects during the debarment period, the announcement stated.
Source: tuoitrenews.vn

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Posted in: Environment,Society,Vietnam

Panetta: Troops' Sacrifices 'Paying Off' in Afghanistan

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, Kabul, Dec. 14, 2011.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told American troops in eastern Afghanistan the United States is winning the 10-year-old war against extremists in the country.

Panetta flew to a remote U.S. Military base to present valor award medals to soldiers and offer reassurances the troops are making what he called significant progress in the war against extremists.

"I really think that for all the sacrifice that you are doing, the reality is that it is paying off and that we are moving in the right direction, and we are winning this very tough conflict here in Afghanistan," he said.

Despite recent high-profile attacks by extremist groups, Panetta said Afghanistan is enjoying the most reduced levels of violence in five years, adding that U.S.-led NATO forces have weakened the Taliban to the point where the group has not conducted a successful attack to regain lost territory.

But Panetta said the mission has yet to be completed and much of eastern Afghanistan remains an area of concern for U.S. forces.

Troubled relations with Pakistan are complicating U.S. efforts to stabilize the region. Washington has accused Pakistan's security agency of supporting extremists who have launched attacks inside Afghanistan. Pakistan has recently closed off supply routes to U.S. forces following a recent NATO attack on the border that Pakistan says killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.

Panetta, standing fewer than 60 kilometers from the Pakistani border as he delivered his message, called for Islamabad to do more to bring stability to the region. He described U.S.-Pakistan relations as difficult but necessary and important.

"We are continuing to work with them in the hope that we can establish that kind of relationship," he said. "We have got to do that because, ultimately, we have got to make sure that if we are going to secure this country, the Pakistanis had better damned well secure their country as well."

Panetta later met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai. The Afghan leader told reporters the 10-year war has brought overall stability to Afghanistan, but said much needs to be done before the Afghan people can enjoy peace and security.

“With regard to bringing personal security to the Afghan people, we have a journey to make and I hope that journey will be done sooner and successfully,” said Karzai.

The U.S. has begun drawing down its forces in Afghanistan, a process it expects to complete in 2014.

Following his Afghanistan visit, Panetta will stop in Baghdad to mark the end of the eight-year-old U.S. mission in Iraq.

Source: VOA

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Posted in: Afghanistan,Politics,USA

English Idoms: UNIT 7 - THE START-UP

Person A: Did you know that Krishna left for a job with that new Internet-based start- up?

Person B: Yes, I heard that. I guess he decided to just go for the gold. They gave him stock options.

Person A: I heard his wife also left her job to go to the same company. I guess they decided it was time to go for it. They’ve both become dot.commers.

Person B: I think they took the risk because last year, he was offered a job and stock in another start-up company, but he said no, and now the company has gone public. He felt he really missed the boat. He would have been a millionaire if he had taken that job.

Person A: Well, it’s a trade-off. I prefer a little more security. I’m not ready to risk it all and go for broke. Some of those Internet-based companies make me  nervous. A lot of them won’t be around long. You know, some of them have a really high burn rate. They often go through millions of dollars a month in the start-up phase. I prefer working for a bricks-and-mortar business. I think it’s important to have a physical presence in the marketplace.

Person B: You may be right, but Krishna is a nice guy. I hope he lands on his feet and does really well.

Person A: Well, nobody twisted his arm. He took the chance, and he know what he’s doing. He could always come back here. He was careful not to burn his bridges. He gave two weeks notice, and everyone appreciated that.

Person B: His wife is a talented researcher. If this venture falls through, she should have a lot of other job opportunities. It’s not like they come up only once in a blue moon. There are lots of them around today for people with the right skills.

1. Go for the gold: try for a difficult goal.

 Let’s go for the gold. I want to set high goals this year.

 She went for the gold when she put down her quarter goals.

2. Go for it: make an extra effort to meet a goal

 If we’re going to make this quarter’s quota, we’ll have to really go for it.

 I told him he would succeed if her really went for it.

3. Dot.com/ dot.commer: an Internet-based business/ an employee of an Internet- based business.

 I don’t think I’m ready to go to a dot.com and work 12 hours a day.

 He left that big corporation and became a dot.commer because he hopes to make a million dollars when the business goes public.

4. Miss the boat: miss the opportunity

 He could have bought that stock last week at half the current price. He really missed the boat.

 She missed the boat when he said no to that deal. It turned out to be worth  millions.

5. A trade-off: an exchange; the act of giving up one thing to get another

 If you cut back your hours to have more free time, you’ll make less money. It’s a trade-off.

 She gave up her dream car to buy a house. It was a trade-off.

6. Burn rate: the rate at which a new company spends money

 The 10 million dollars of venture capital should last about five months at this burn rate.

 The burn rate is really high with new Internet companies because marketing costs are very high.

7. Bricks and mortar: a business with a physical building where goods are bought and sold, as opposed to an Internet-based business, which sells products over the World Wide Web.

 We’re a bricks-and-mortar business. We still have a retail building where we sell our products.

 Bricks-and-mortar businesses in our town are facing competition from Internet- based companies.

8. Land on one’s feet: recover from a problem or difficult challenge

 His company outsourced his job, but he landed on his feet because he found a  new position in another department.

 She managed to land on her feet when she made a career change; in fact, her salary is still rising.

9. Twist someone’s arm: convince or persuade someone to do something

 I didn’t want to go to the party, but she twisted my arm, so I went.

 Lisa didn’t want to go to the dance alone, so she called a friend and twisted his arm. He finally agreed to go along.

10. Burn one’s bridges: do something that will hurt or destroy a relationship

 I wasn’t negative about why I left the job. I didn’t want to burn my bridges. I might want to use my old boss as a reference.

 He burned his bridges when he published that book about the politics at his old company.

11. Fall through: fail or not happen

 Our plans for the evening fell through, and we ended up staying home.

 I’m counting on getting that contract; I hope it doesn’t fall through.

12. Once in a blue moon: (Something that happens) rarely or very infrequently

 We weren’t prepared for such a big snowstorm because it only happens once in a blue moon around here.

 He comes to visit once in a blue moon. I haven’t seen him for years.

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Posted in: Learning English

Iran Says It Will Not Return US Drone

A member of Iran's revolutionary guard points at what Iran says is the U.S. RQ-170 unmanned spy plane, as he speaks with Admiral Hajizadeh (R), a revolutionary guard commander, at an unknown location in Iran, in this undated picture received December 8, 2011.

 

Iran has rejected a U.S. request to return a drone that Tehran says it brought down near the Afghan border earlier this month.

Iranian Defense Minister, Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi, said Tuesday that the aircraft is Iran's property.

Facts About US Drone Captured by Iran

The RQ-170 was built by Lockheed Martin and operated by the U.S. Air Force. The Air Force describes the RQ-170 as a "low, observable unmanned aircraft system" that can provide reconnaissance and surveillance. The drone is designed to evade enemy radar during surveillance flights. News reports say the US has used this type of drone in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Defense analysts say the "RQ" designation indicates the drone is unarmed.

Also, state-run media quote Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast as saying the surveillance aircraft is a security violation and the U.S. should apologize for the incident.

"The United States of America needs to know that what it has done in violation of Iranian air space is a measure that can endanger global security and peace. The responsibilities and implications of this need to be accepted," said Mehmanparast.

President Barack Obama said the U.S. had asked for the drone back and would "see how the Iranians respond."  But Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that given Iran's past behavior, "we do not expect them to comply."

Obama, in a session with reporters Monday, refused to comment on what he termed "intelligence matters that are classified."  But news reports say the aircraft with advanced stealth technology either strayed into Iranian airspace from Afghanistan or was spying on Iran's nuclear program.

Iranian says the drone was brought down by a cyber-attack just inside its eastern border. Officials say military experts are in the final stages of extracting data from the aircraft.

Iran says the aircraft is an RQ-170 Sentinel drone, designed to evade enemy radar during surveillance flights.

In a separate development, the U.S. has announced it is imposing sanctions on two Iranian military leaders for alleged human rights abuses.

The U.S. Treasury Department announced the restrictions, Tuesday, targeting joint chiefs of staff chairman, Major General Hassan Firouzabadi, and Revolutionary Guard Deputy Commander Abollah Araqi. The sanctions ban U.S. business relations with the two officials and will also freeze any assets they have under U.S. jurisdiction.
Source: voanews.com

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Posted in: IRAN,Middle East,Politics,USA