JAKARTA, March 29 (Xinhua) — Indonesia and the United States inked a cooperation agreement on science and technology on Monday, enabling the two countries to exchange information, ideas, knowledge and skills, the Jakarta Post reported.
The agreement covers 23 fields, including science and technology, agriculture and biotechnology, medical and biomedical sciences, food security, marine research, energy, information and communication technology, aerospace, environment, forestry and biodiversity.
All Indonesian scientists will be able to continue existing cooperation and embark on new cooperation with their U.S. counterparts, said Suharna Surapranata, Indonesian Minister of Research and Technology, after signing the agreement with U.S. Ambassador.
He added that the agreement was based on the principles of equality and was aimed at supporting the development of national science and technology.
Before that, the science and technology cooperation between Indonesia and the United States was established in 1978, which was later extended until 2002. In 2008, the two countries got the thought of renewing their cooperation, said the Minister.
http://www.tbogg.com
BANGKOK, March 29 (Xinhua) — Thailand\’s police have fully alerted after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and anti-government core leaders failed again to reach concrete agreement in their second day of political talks on Monday evening.
The second day of their peaceful talks started at about 18:20 p. m. and ended at about 20:20 p.m.
During the talks, the two sides could not agree on the time frame to dissolve the lower House of parliament.
The three red shirts\’ core leaders still insisted that the House be dissolved by the premier within 15 days and it will be the only solution to the country\’s ongoing political conflict.
Prior to the talks, Metropolitan Police Commander Lt-General Santhan Chayanon called on a meeting with chiefs of Metropolitan Police Division 1-9 and other involved police authorities to plan security measures to deal with the mass gathering of the red shirts.
Lt-General Santhan has urged the general public to help inform security authorities if they discover any irregularity, Thai News Agency reported.
Police Major General Piya Utayo, spokesman of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, disclosed that some 45 police companies, or 6,750 police officers, together with other police task forces, have been deployed to maintain law and order amid the ongoing mass rally.
The police forces have also been focusing on ensuring security at state places and important persons\’ residences, General Piya said.
Ten of thousands of the protesters led by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) group have converged in the Thai capital of Bangkok since March 12 to press Prime Minister Abhisit to dissolve the lower House of parliament and call new election.
The red-shirts or UDD group\’s main rally site is now at the Phan Fah Bridge in the center of Bangkok.
http://www.znnw.com
Blast occurs at main gates of Thailand\’s Gov\’t House in Bangkok
BANGKOK, March 29 (Xinhua) — Explosion occurred at the main gates of the Government House in the Thai capital of Bangkok late Monday night, Thai News Agency reported.
The blast occurred at Gate 5 and 7 of the Government House as security officers rushed to the scene to investigate.
According to a preliminary-investigation report, it is expected that the blast was caused by home-made bombs.
The security officers arrested a suspect who was carrying the home-made bombs.
The blast took place amid the ongoing mass anti-government rally in the center of Bangkok.
http://www.zokn.com
WASHINGTON, March 29 (Xinhua) — U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates met Monday with visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada to discuss the relocation of Futenma military base on the Okinawa island. The Pentagon said the United States respects Japan\’s opinion, and is considering its proposition.
Gates and Okada met in the Pentagon. Department spokesman Bryan Whitman said the United States respects \”Japan\’s request to explore alternatives,\” on the Futenma base issue.
The Futenma base issue has caused considerable controversy in recent months between the allies, with the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) looking at other options other than a 2006 Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) signed between Washington and the government of former governing Liberal Democratic Party (LDP). Under that agreement, the U.S. Futenma air facility was to be moved to a coastal area in Okinawa and away from its current urban location. Locals and some inside Japan\’s governing coalition oppose the plan, saying they want the base moved out of the prefecture.
Whitman on Monday said Washington is carefully considering Japan\’s \”current thinking with regards to the Futenma issue,\” and discussions will be conducted \”through diplomatic channels.\”
Okada is scheduled to meet with National Security Adviser James Jones and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
http://www.pq365.com
TOKYO, March 30 (Xinhua) — A March survey released by the Labor Ministry in Japan on Tuesday showed that 269,790 nonpermanent workers are expected to lose their jobs from October of last year to June.
The survey shows the number of noncontracted workers, known as \”hakken\” in Japanese, has increased by 7,192 compared to the previous month.
Aichi Prefecture, where the head office of Toyota Motor Corp. is based, is expected to see 44,525 nonpermanent workers lose their jobs over the period, the highest among all the areas of the country. Tokyo expects to lose 15,932 noncontracted workers, and both Nagano and Shizuoka prefectures are also expect to see job losses of more than 10,000.
An official with the ministry expressed concern that a large number of noncontracted workers were expected to lose their jobs in March, the end of Japan\’s financial year when firms look to balance their books for 2010.
The plight of noncontracted workers has become a symbol of the recent economic downturn in Japan, after thousands were left in shelters for the New Year of 2008, when conditions worsened in the aftermath of the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) campaigned last summer on a pledge to \”stabilize the employment of temporary workers,\” and earlier in the month, the cabinet, led by Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, decided to put forward a bill banning the hiring of such employees at manufacturing companies.
The bill has been criticized by some analysts, but is in line with the party\’s objective of seeing a Japan in which more focus is given to social security than short-term profits.
Other employment data released Tuesday showed that the number of unemployed remained stable in February at 4.9 percent, while the ratio of job offers to job seekers stood at 0.47, its highest level since April last year.
Related:
Japan\’s jobless rate remains at 4.9% in February
TOKYO, March 30 (Xinhua) — The jobless rate in Japan remained at 4.9 percent in February, according to data released by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the number of people employed in Japan fell by 800, 000, or 1.3 percent, compared to the same month of the previous year.?Full story
http://www.marconimedical.com
HONG KONG, March 30 (Xinhua) — An earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale hits eastern Sea of Japan Tuesday, according to a release by the Hong Kong Observatory.
The quake, which occurred at 9:09 p.m. HK time (0109 GMT), was initially determined in eastern Sea of Japan, 43.3 degrees North latitude and 138.4 degrees East longitude, about 240 kilometers west of Sapporo, Japan.
Related:
Strong quake hits northeastern Japan
TOKYO, March 14 (Xinhua) — An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.6 jolted northeastern Japan Sunday, said the Japan Meterological agency.
The focus of the quake, which occurred at 05:08 p.m. local time (0808 GMT), was located some 40 km under the sea east of Fukushima Prefecture, according to the agency.? Full story
Moderate quake hits Japan\’s Fukushima Prefecture
TOKYO, March 13 (Xinhua) — An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.7 jolted Japan\’s Fukushima Prefecture late Saturday, said the Japan Meterological agency, which issued no tsunami warning.
The focus of the quake, which occurred at 9:46 p.m. (1246 GMT), was located around 80 km under the sea east of Fukushima Prefecture, according to the agency.? Full story
Earthquake jolts Honshu, Japan
HONG KONG, March 14 (Xinhua) — An earthquake measuring 6.6 on the Richter scale occurred near east coast of Honshu, Japan at 0814 GMT on Sunday, according to a release by the Hong Kong Observatory.
The epicenter was initially determined to be at 37.8 degrees north south latitude and 141.6 degrees east longitude, about 83 kilometers southeast of Sendai, Japan.? Full story
Several earthquakes hit Asia-Pacific countries
HONG KONG, March 14 (Xinhua) — A series of earthquakes hit some countries in the Asia-Pacific region in the past couple of days.
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.6 jolted northeastern Japan on Sunday. The focus of the quake, which occurred at 05:08 p.m. local time (0808 GMT), was located some 40 km under the sea east of Fukushima Prefecture, according to the Japan Meterological agency.? Full story
Indonesia, Japan team up in earthquake, volcano disaster mitigation researches
JAKARTA, March 22 (Xinhua) — A comprehensive research efforts carried out by Indonesian researchers who team up with their Japanese counterparts to overcome the impacts of earthquake and volcano eruptions across the country is underway at the moment, aimed at saving the lives of people living in the areas prone to those disasters, an Indonesian official said here on Monday.
TOKYO, March 30 (Xinhua) — Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama indicated Tuesday that his government is unlikely to fulfill his pledge to come up with a proposal for the relocation of a U.S. Marine base in Okinawa Prefecture by the end of this month, describing the deferment as not a \”big deal.\”
\”I thought the end of March was a rough target for the government to have a proposal to be accepted by the public, starting with the people of Okinawa and moreover by the United States,\” Hatoyama told the press. \”Putting it off by one, two or several days is no big deal.\”
Hatoyama went on to tell reporters that resolving the issue by offering and having the parties concerned accept a solid proposal on the issue, by his self-imposed deadline of the end-of-May, is his most important concern.
Tuesday\’s flippant \”no big deal\” comment by the prime minister, who also serves as the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) President, was in stark contrast to his pledge on Friday for the government to come up with a proposal for relocating the Futemma Air Station by the end of March.
\”We will decide by the end of this month on a government plan for the relocation, which is intended to gain understanding of Okinawa, the public, and the United States,\” Hatoyama told reporters on Friday.
\”We are now striving to formulate such a proposal by the end of this month,\” the prime minister also said at a news conference the same day.
On Monday, however, Hatoyama told reporters that his government was not legally bound to come up with a plan to relocate a U.S. Marine base in Okinawa Prefecture by the end of this month, reneging on his recent promises.
\”There is no legal basis on which we must come up with a government plan this month,\” Hatoyama told the press.
Japan\’s ruling coalition has been considering alternative sites within the southernmost prefecture, as well as a plan that would see the U.S. military facility relocated to Tokunoshima Island located outside Okinawa in Kagoshima Prefecture, but has yet to present a single, cohesive plan to local government officials in Okinawa, or the United States.
For its part Washington\’s stance on the thorny issue has remained unequivocal and has persistently called for Tokyo to stick to an existing accord agreed in 2006 by both countries that would see the heliport functions of the Futemma facility, located in a crowded residential area in Ginowan city, transferred to a coastal area of the U.S. Marines\’ Camp Schwab in the city of Nago, and 8,000 Marines moved from Okinawa to Guam by 2014.
http://www.lersus.com
MUMBAI, March 30 (Xinhua) — The Indian Air Force (IAF) will deploy the new BrahMos air-to-ground supersonic cruise missile in the coming years, local media reported on Tuesday.
The Indian government has signed an acquisition contract with the cruise missile maker BrahMos Aerospace last week, and the air- to-ground cruise missile will be formally inducted into the IAF in the next few years, the Indian Express quoted a top defense source as saying.
The most advanced fighter Su-30 of the IAF will have the long- distance land precise striking capacity as one squadron of the fighters will be equipped with the BrahMos missiles with a range of nearly 290 kilometers, said the source.
In the BrahMos family, there are three members of land-based, ship-based and air-based missiles. Ship-launched version is in service with the Indian Navy, and land-launched version was inducted into the Army in June 2007, while air-launched BrahMos is being developed by BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture by India\’s Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and a Russian company.
An IAF official said they have several types of advanced air-to- air missiles and the Prithvi air-to-land attack missile, but lacking the sophisticated long-range land cruise missiles.
This is the first time for the IAF to deploy the BrahMos cruise missile. The air-based version of BrahMos has a launching weight of 2.5 tons, including a 300 kg warhead, which could gain a speed of Mach 2.8 and attack the ground target as low as 10 meters in altitude to avoid the detection of the hostile radars, resulting in a surprise attack.
However, hanging a cruise missile beside the fuselage will affect Su-30\’s maneuverability in air-to-air combat, escaping the hostile anti-aircraft missiles attack.
In the next few years, all the three services will have their own versions of the BrahMos cruise missiles, which will become the important long-distance striking means of the Indian Armed Forces, according to the defense source.
http://www.lersus.com
BANGKOK, March 30 (Xinhua) — Thailand\’s weekly cabinet meeting on Tuesday decided to extend the Internal Security Act (ISA) for seven more days to April 6, Thai News Agency reported.
Actually, March 30 is the last day of the ISA enforcement in capital Bangkok and neighboring Nonthaburi and Samut Prakan, after it has been imposed from March 23.
The ISA will still be imposed for the whole area of Bangkok, while only two districts of Nonthaburi and five other districts of Samut Prakan will be under its enforcement.
The Thai cabinet\’s decision to extend the ISA law was made as the red-shirted protesters have announced that their mass anti- government rally will be prolonged.
Tens of thousands of protesters, led by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) group, have converged in Bangkok since March 12 to press the Thai premier to dissolve the Lower House of parliament and call a new election.
Related:
Internal Security Act extended for 7 more days if talks fail
BANGKOK, March 29 (Xinhua) — The government will call on a meeting with the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) to consider extending the Internal Security Act (ISA) if the talks with red-shirts fail, Deputy Prime Minister in charge of security affairs Suthep Thuagsuban said Monday.
Suthep\’s statement came ahead of the talks with anti-government red-shirts core leaders at 18:00 p.m. local time (11:00 GMT) at the King Prajadhipok\’s Institute in Bangkok, Thai News Agency reported.? Full story
Thai PM, red-shirt leaders fail to reach agreement
BANGKOK, March 29 (Xinhua) — Thailand\’s Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and three anti-government core leaders Monday evening failed again to reach concrete agreement, while a new round of their political talks is not yet set up.
The second day of their peaceful talks started at about 18:20 p. m. and ended at about 20:20 p.m.? Full story
Thailand\’s cabinet approves to enforce Internal Security Act until March 30
BANGKOK, March 23 (Xinhua) — Thailand\’s weekly cabinet meeting Tuesday resolved to extend the Internal Security Act (ISA) from March 23 until 30, or seven more days, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said after the cabinet meeting, Thailand\’s Channel 9 Television reported.
However, from March 23 until 30, the ISA law\’s extension will be enforced only in three provinces, including capital Bangkok, Nonthaburi, and Samut Prakan, Abhisit said.? Full story
http://www.marconimedical.com
LIBREVILLE, March 30 (Xinhua) — Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People\’s Assembly of the Democratic People\’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), is in Gabon for a 36-hour visit as part of his diplomacy in Africa.
The DPRK speaker is scheduled to meet with Gabonese President Ali Bongo Ondimba to discuss bilateral relations and the \”nuclear\” issue, according to the Gabonese news agency AGP.
Gabon is currently a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.
This is the first visit made by the DPRK\’s top legislator to Gabon since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Pyongyang and Libreville.
Kim\’s African trip will also take him to Senegal and Gambia.
http://www.ceshq.comINDIAN GOVERNMENT IMPOSES CURFEW IN HYDERABAD – MEDIA http://www.kphy.com
SEOUL, March 30 (Xinhua) — South Korean President Lee Myung- bak paid a visit to the country\’s northernmost island of Baekryeong, near the disputed maritime border between South Korea and the Democratic People\’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), to inspect the navy\’s search for 46 missing sailors following a naval disaster.
He became the first president to visit the island, not too far away from the DPRK\’s west coast where coastal artillery is deployed and where his moves can be observed from South Korea\’s northern neighbor, according to the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae.
The controversial maritime border, called the Northern Limit Line, is a scene of two fatal naval clashes between the two sides during the past decade.
The visit follows one of the biggest disasters in the country\’s naval history on Friday night that left a 1,200-ton warship torn apart and submerged, while 46 out of 104 crew members are still missing despite continued search and rescue operations.
Faced with mounting public criticism over the government, which has failed to give a clear explanation as to the cause of the incident, Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Park Sun-kyu said Lee\’s visit should not be interpreted as a political stunt.
Lee earlier in the day convened a Cabinet meeting, where he urged the authorities to conduct a scientific investigation into the naval incident to deter speculation.
\”Since the incident happened at the frontline, the government should be thoroughly prepared to cope with any movement on the part of North Korea (DPRK). The armed forces are urged to maintain full alert without the slightest breach,\” Cheong Wa Dae said in a statement, suggesting that it does not rule out the possibility of the DPRK\’s involvement in the tragedy.
http://www.qb-china.com
BANGKOK, March 30 (Xinhua) — Thailand\’s weekly cabinet meeting Tuesday has decided to impose the Internal Security Act (ISA) in central resort town Cha Am and Hua Hin during the Mekong River Summit during April 2-6.
The ISA law will be imposed in four sub-districts of Hua Hin district in Prachuab Khiri Khan province and two other sub- districts of Cha Am district in Petchburi province, Thai News Agency reported.
The ISA law is needed in a bid to ensure security for foreign leaders, who will attend the meeting.
http://www.znnw.com
CANBERRA, March 30 (Xinhua) — Australia\’s defense chief Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston revealed on Tuesday the tide is starting to turn against insurgents in Afghanistan.
Houston said he did not want to overstate it too much as big challenges remained, establishing governance and delivering the right services including a robust police in former Taliban areas.
However, he said the right strategy was in place, the right leader in International Security Assistance Force head General Stanley McChrystal was in charge and the right amount of resources were now available.
Previously, the Afghanistan mission amounted to an \”economy of force\” operation, through which the west could never have prevailed, he said.
Houston said it was now \”mission possible\”.
\”Indeed I would submit that the tide is starting to turn,\” he told a parliamentary committee.
\”What we are starting to see is the coalition starting to get on top of the insurgents. Now I wouldn\’t overstate that. I think there is a long, long way to go.\”
Australia currently has some 1,550 troops in Afghanistan with most operating in Oruzgan province in south-central Afghanistan.
http://www.cne.cc
NEW DELHI, March 30 (Xinhua) — Situation remained tense on Tuesday in several areas of the southern Indian city of Hyderabad where a curfew was clamped following incidents of Hindu-Muslim communal violence, which left one dead and 80 injured since Saturday, reported the Press Trust of India.
The curfew, imposed Monday evening, has been extended till 18: 00 p.m. Tuesday, said the report quoting police sources as saying.
Some 1,800 paramilitary personnel were rushed to the scene to restore peace in sensitive areas, according to the report.
The incident also coincided with a Hindu festival called Hanuman Jayanti on Tuesday.
Fresh violence erupted Monday in several parts of the city after a group of miscreants pelted stones at passersby which increased tension, police said.
One person was stabbed to death Monday while 130 persons, suspected to be involved in the communal clashes, have been taken into custody so far, said the report.
http://www.ceshq.com
JAKARTA, March 30 (Xinhua) — The Indonesian government intends to make the quake-prone West Sumatra province as a pilot project for disaster mitigation model to be applied to the country, hopefully it will also become a model in Southeast Asian region, an Indonesian official said here on Tuesday.
\”With the help of foreign assistance we have been conducting orchestrated efforts, drafting the mitigation procedure to save lives in the disaster hit areas. We have decided to make West Sumatra as a model of disaster mitigation procedure,\” Bakrie Beck, an official at the national disaster management agency, told a press conference held here after a workshop session discussing earthquake mitigation in West Sumatra province.
Bakrie said that West Sumatra province is actually the \” supermarket\” of natural disasters that commonly occurred in the country. The province is prone to earthquake, tsunami, volcano eruption and landslide.
\”Saving lives is the top priority in the mitigation efforts. That\’s why we set top priority in designing infrastructure that would act as shelters for refugees after the disaster takes place, \” Bakrie added.
Among the infrastructure construction designed as shelters for the people to seek refuge are the public market, schools, hospitals and mosques. Besides that, wider roads will also be built to allow people to run freely with their feet to save their lives from possible tsunami, he said.
To materialize the central government\’s aim, the provincial administrator is highly expected to set tighter requirements for those who want to build buildings in West Sumatra. Those buildings must comply with quake-proof design, and be able to make people evacuate quickly when the disaster strikes in.
The 7.9 magnitude earthquake that hit West Sumatra on Sept. 30 last year has killed thousands of people, and most of them were buried alive under the debris of buildings.
http://www.kphy.com
BANGKOK, March 30 (Xinhua) — The red shirts\’ core leaders will not hold anymore talks with the government, red-shirted core leader Jatuporn Prompan reiterated Tuesday.
Jatuporn disclosed that the red-shirted core leaders would meet Tuesday afternoon to adjust a rally plan after the talks with the government on Monday evening failed, Thai News Agency reported.
\”The red shirts will not hold anymore talks with the government, neither open talk nor closed-door one,\” Jatuporn was quoted as saying by Thai News Agency.
During the second day of their political talks on Monday, the two sides could not agree on the time frame to dissolve the lower House of parliament.
The red shirts\’ core leaders still insisted that the House be dissolved by the Prime Minister within 15 days and it will be the only solution to the country\’s ongoing political conflict.
But, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has proposed that it could be possible to dissolve the lower House by the year-end.
http://www.gtrip.net
KUALA LUMPUR, April 5 (Xinhua) — Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Monday that ASEAN must continue to have a strong external orientation when other countries and regions increasingly wanted to expand their engagements with the region.
Speaking at the Seventh ASEAN Leadership Forum near here, Najib said that meaningful and constructive engagements with external partners would help the region maximize the benefits.
\”That is another reason for ASEAN connectivity to be inclusive, involving not just member states in the region but also dialogue partners.
\”Accordingly, ASEAN connectivity can boost trade, investment, tourism and development. It will narrow development gaps and facilitate people-to-people contacts, contributing to ASEAN community building,\” said Najib.
Najib noted that the Singapore-Kunming Rail Link passing through Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and on the way to China is expected to be completed by 2015 and ASEAN is also working towards a single aviation market by 2015.
The prime minister believed that the community-building would allow governments, the private sector and ASEAN citizens to work closely together, hoping that everyone could work together and benefit from the smart power for mutual benefit and development.
\”We have already taken a big step forward in ASEAN community building when leaders adopted the ASEAN Charter and decided to focus on our core communities. I hope this forum will be productive and identify new and innovative strategies to move ASEAN forward,\” said Najib.
http://www.kphy.comU.S. COMMANDER MULLEN REACHES AFGHANISTAN – MEDIA http://www.lersus.comDIVER DIES WHEN SEARCHING FOR SURVIVORS IN SKOREAN SUNKEN SHIP – MEDIA http://www.chinacourse.com
LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan, March 30 (Xinhua) — Michael Mullen, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, paid a surprise visit to former Taliban bastion of Marja district in southern Afghanistan\’s Helmand province on Tuesday and expressed satisfaction with the improved security situation.
Addressing a gathering of tribal elders and provincial administration officials, Mullen said that the security situation has improved and reconstruction would soon begin in Marja.
Accompanied by Helmand provincial governor Gulab Mangal, Mullen called on locals to support Afghan government and not to provide sanctuary to Taliban insurgents.
Mullen later left Marja for a NATO-led forces base outside provincial capital Lashkar Gah.
Mullen\’s visit to Marja which was captured in a joint major offensive in February came ahead of a planned operation by Afghan and NATO-led troops to rid Taliban militants of the southern city of Kandahar, the birthplace of Taliban.
Mullen met with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Monday and stressed that the military operation would not yield desired outcome without crackdown on corruption.
http://www.zokn.com
MANILA, March 30 (Xinhua) — An undetermined number of Filipino sailors were among the 24 crewmembers of a Panama-flagged vessel seized by pirates on Monday off Somalia, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday.
The MV Iceberg1 was hijacked by ransom-seeking Somali pirates 10 miles outside the Gulf of Aden Port. Aside from Filipinos, the crew consists of nationals from Yemen, Pakistan, Ghana, India, and Sudan.
\” It cannot be confirmed as of this time how many Filipinos are onboard the ship,\” the DFA said in a statement.
Other than this incident, there are four Filipinos in two vessels, being held by pirates in Somalia.
The Iceberg 1, a roll on roll off vessel with deadweight of 4, 500 tons, was carrying a mixed cargo of general mechanical equipment and was bound for Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates when hijacked, according to the European Union Naval Force ( EUNAVFOR).
The last contact with the vessel was the master stating to his owner that pirates were onboard, it added.
The Philippines is the world\’s leading supplier of ship crew with over 350,000 sailors, or about a fifth of the world\’s seafarers, manning oil tankers, luxury liners, and passenger vessels worldwide, exposing them to piracy attacks.
Since late 2008, more than 200 Filipino seamen have been abducted by pirates off Somali waters.
As a policy, the Philippine government does not negotiate nor pay ransom to kidnappers, but gives ship owners the free hand in negotiating for the release of abducted Filipino sailors.
http://www.zokn.com
By Naim-Ul-Karim
DHAKA, March 30 (Xinhua) — The Bangladeshi government, as part of an \”emergency measure\” to boost power generation in a bid to cope with ongoing looming electricity crisis in the country, will freeze fertilizer production to divert gas to power plants, officials said Tuesday.
They said the decision was made at a high-level meeting of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources on Monday as electricity scarcity has already plagued life all over the South Asian country with mercury rising to a boiling point in the recent days.
Secretary of the government\’s Energy and Mineral Resources Division, Mohammad Mesbah Uddin, told Xinhua Tuesday, \”As part of emergency measure we\’ve decided to supply adequate gas to power plants for boosting electricity generation by stopping gas supply to the fertilizer factories for a certain time.\”
According to the power ministry officials, it would take several days to stop gas supply to the fertilizer factories and divert the same to the power plants, most of which are failing to utilize their full capacity in generating power due to inadequate gas supply.
They said around 880 million cubic feet (mmcf) gas will be saved by stopping supply to the fertilizer factories that will help generate an additional 400-450 Megawatt (MW) of power, very much urgent to ease the ongoing electricity scarcity which created untold suffering.
Bangladesh\’s capital Dhaka dwellers, during the last few weeks, are experiencing at least nine to ten hours of electricity scarcity each day.
Apart from residents in Dhaka and other cities and towns and farmers in many parts of the country, business leaders, who are also bearing the burnt, have already urged the government to improve gas and power situation, shortage of which have already affected production in export oriented apparel sector.
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who pledged before and after her December, 2008 elections to improve power situation, categorically says the ongoing electricity scarcity is the result of years of inaction by her predecessors, including the 2001-2006 government of Begum Khaleda Zia and a more recent two-year rule of interim caretaker government.
Addressing a grand rally on Monday, two-time former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia, now main opposition leader in parliament and chairperson of Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), rejected Hasina\’s allegation saying, \”her previous government had added 1,500 MW of electricity to the national grid during 2001 and 2006 tenure.\”
Officials, however, said shortfall of gas to a large extent has virtually triggered the ongoing utility crises, with hundreds of thousands of cooking burners in Dhaka becoming the first victim followed by power generation and water supply.
State-run Bangladesh Oil, Gas and Mineral Corporation, known as Petrobangla, supplies more than 1,960 mmcf of natural gas a day against the demand of around 2,500 mmcf of gas, they said.
SEOUL, March 30 (Xinhua) — The South Korean government expressed regret Tuesday over Japan\’s renewed territorial claim over disputed islets lying halfway between the two neighbors.
The latest in a series of diplomatic rows over the islets comes after the Japanese government approved Tuesday elementary school textbooks that describe the islets as its territory and claim South Korea \”illegally occupies\” them.
\”The government strongly protests the passage of the elementary school textbooks that contain sovereignty claims over South Korean territory of Dokdo, and demands rectification (of inaccurate data), \” Seoul\’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement.
A set of rocky outcroppings in the East Sea, controlled by South Korea, are known as Dokdo in South Korea and Takeshima in Japan.
In a similar move, South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan summoned the Japanese Ambassador to Seoul, Toshinori Shigeie, to file an official complaint over Tokyo\’s latest sovereignty claim over the islets.
http://www.nmgmzbwg.com.cn
A South Korean Navy rescue vessel Gwangyang (back) and a naval patrol ship search for possible survivors and bodies from the sunken naval ship Cheonan, in the waters off Baengnyeongdo, an island near the border with?DPRK March 29, 2010.? (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
SEOUL, March 30 (Xinhua) — A South Korean military diver, previously hospitalized due to unconsciousness after taking part in search and rescue operations for missing sailors believed to be confined in a sunken warship, died Tuesday, according to Seoul\’s Yonhap News Agency.
Another rescue worker passed out while the search and rescue operations were still underway, Yonhap said.
So far, the search and rescue efforts for 46 crew members, who went missing after a navy warship sank into waters off the west coast of the Korean peninsula on late Friday night, have produced little result due to unfavorable weather conditions.
Related:
No signs of survivors yet from rear portion of sunken ship
SEOUL, March 29 (Xinhua) — South Korea\’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Monday that there was no response from the rear portion of the sunken ship when divers knocked on the ship, suggesting that there is no sign yet of survivors confined there.
Earlier in the day, divers failed to detect any response from the front half of the split ship, which the authorities said is turned upside down. Full story
S Korea steps up efforts to rescue missing sailors
SEOUL, March 28 (Xinhua) — The South Korean military on Sunday stepped up its efforts to rescue 46 missing sailors from the warship that sank later Friday in waters off the west coast of the Korean Peninsula, but the operation has not made any progress.
According to the state-run broadcaster KBS, a 86-member Navy rescue team has launched underwater operations earlier the day, trying to determine the exact location of the sunken ship and confirm whether there are some survivors.Full story
South Korea rules out DPRK\’s involvement in warship sinking
SEOUL, March 27 (Xinhua) — Chances seem low that the Democratic People\’s Republic of Korea is involved in its warship sinking, said South Korean officials at the presidential office on Saturday.
\”It is hard to say for sure now, but chances appear to be slim that North (DPRK) was related,\” a senior official told Yonhap on condition of anonymity.Full story
S Korean warship sinks, rescue efforts continue while 46 missing
South Korean Navy\’s Ship Salvage Unit members return from their search for possible survivors from sunken naval ship \’Cheonan\’ as a Marine (front) stands guard at the seashore on Baengnyeongdo March 27, 2010. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
ISLAMABAD, March 30 (Xinhua) — At least 31 militants were killed Tuesday during Pakistani security forces operation in the Orakzai tribal agency, according to local TV reports.
The private Geo quoted sources as saying that security forces operation is underway in different parts of Orakzai, the only tribal area which is not bordering Afghanistan.
The Orakzai offensive has become an intensive from the last six days that have killed over 150 militants.
Orakzai Agency has a large number of presence of local, al- Qaida and foreign militants. Militants fled to this area months ago before the military operation was started in South Waziristan.
Orakzai Agency is the second smallest in area after Bajaur Agency. It is bounded by Kurram agency in the west, Khyber in the north, Kohat District on the south and Peshawar in the east.
The whole of the territory of Orakzai agency is a mountainous and hilly region with a fertile valley. In this regard it is a paradise for al-Qaida and other militants to find sanctuaries and use it as the launching pad against Pakistani security forces and even for Afghanistan violence.
http://www.gemuhope.com
NEW DELHI, March 30 (Xinhua) — The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) may explore entering into a collaboration with global aircraft maker Boeing after the latter showed interest in the field of communication satellites, a top official of the agency said Tuesday.
\”They (Boeing) said they are interested in having collaboration with us in the field of communication satellites. But we (ISRO) already have an alliance with Europeans (EADS Astrium). May be some new areas of business we (ISRO and Boeing have to explore. We need to do a lot of homework before we could arrive at collaborative level. Still, it\’s very preliminary type of exchange, \” K.R. Sridhara Murthi, the head of Antrix Corporation, ISRO\’s commercial arm, told the media in the southern city of Bangalore.
India, which started its space program in 1963, carrying out its first successful launch of a domestic satellite by an Indian- built rocket in 1980, launched Insat — the largest domestic communication satellite system in the Asia-Pacific region, providing services in telecommunications, television broadcasting and meteorology including disaster warning.
http://www.lersus.com
MANILA, March 30 (Xinhua) — Philippine Air Force (PAF) intelligence operatives have captured another Abu Sayaff terrorist in the country\’s capital Metro Manila, the military said on Tuesday.
Toto Sali, an Abu Sayaff terrorist involved in the June 2001 Golden Harvest Plantation kidnapping in the southern island province of Basilan, was captured shortly before 5 o\’clock in the Tuesday afternoon in his hideout in the densely populated Muslim community of Barangay Culiat in Quezon City.
PAF spokesman Lt. Colonel Gerardo M Zamudio Jr said that the arrested terrorist has a standing warrant of arrest issued by Judge Leo Jay Principe of the Regional Trial Court Branch 1, 9th Judicial Region based in Basilan in connection with criminal cases of kidnapping and illegal detention arising from said kidnapping incident.
Sali, who was positively identified by a victim who also witnessed the kidnapping, will be committed to a court by the military.
The Abu Sayyaf was founded in the 1990s and had since perpetrated a number of high-profile attacks, including kidnapping and bombing. The Philippine military estimates the Abu Sayyaf, which has links with internal terrorist organizations, has about 400 members at present.
http://www.chinacourse.com
ISLAMABAD, March 30 (Xinhua) — The Supreme Court of Pakistan has ordered to put behind bars heads of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) who refused to implement the court\’s verdict annulling the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO), according to local private Geo TV Tuesday.
The Supreme Court said that NAB Chairman Naveed Ahsan and acting Chairman \”will stay in jail until the Supreme Court\’s verdict on National Reconciliation Ordinance is implemented\”, adding \”the NAB wasted over three months.\”
The seven-member Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammed Chaudhry heard the court contempt notices against the NAB, Interior Ministry, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and high-ups of the establishment division for not implementing the verdict.
The NRO issued by former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on Oct. 5, 2007 granted amnesty to politicians, political workers and bureaucrats who were accused of corruption, embezzlement, money-laundering, murder and terrorism between Jan. 1, 1986 and Oct. 12, 1999.
Incumbent President Asif Ali Zardari is among the 252 NRO beneficiaries. But he is immune from prosecution while still in office.
http://www.znnw.com
BANGKOK, March 30 (Xinhua) — If the red shirts stop the mass rally, the Phea Thai Party will on April 19 submit a request for a no-confidence motion against the coalition government, Puea Thai Party\’s MPs chairman Chalerm Yubamrung disclosed Tuesday.
Evidences against the targeted ministers have already been prepared, but Chalerm said, he could not disclose anything by this time, the National News Bureau of Thailand (NNT) under the government\’s Public Relations Department reported.
The Puea Thai Party is currently Thailand\’s leading opposition party.
Actually, the Speaker of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives are handed in the request for the no- confidence debate from the opposition.
Ten of thousands of the protestors led by the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) group have rallied in Bangkok since March 12 to press the Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve the lower House of parliament and call new election.
Related:
Thailand\’s red shirts to hold mass rally April 3
BANGKOK, March 30 (Xinhua) — Thailand\’s anti-government group announced Tuesday they are going to hold a mass rally in capital Bangkok this Saturday, Thai News Agency reported.
The mass rally comes after the second round of talks between red-shirts and government on Monday failed to agree on the time frame to dissolve the Lower House of parliament.Full story
Red shirts not to hold anymore talks with Thai gov\’t: core leader
BANGKOK, March 30 (Xinhua) — The red shirts\’ core leaders will not hold anymore talks with the government, red-shirted core leader Jatuporn Prompan reiterated Tuesday.
Jatuporn disclosed that the red-shirted core leaders would meet Tuesday afternoon to adjust a rally plan after the talks with the government on Monday evening failed, Thai News Agency reported.Full story
Thai police on full alert after PM-red shirts talks fail
BANGKOK, March 29 (Xinhua) — Thailand\’s police have fully alerted after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and anti-government core leaders failed again to reach concrete agreement in their second day of political talks on Monday evening.
The second day of their peaceful talks started at about 18:20 p. m. and ended at about 20:20 p.m.Full story
Thai anti-government protesters surround Government House
? Thai soldiers stand guard at the Government House during a rally by supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, in Bangkok March 27, 2010. Thai \”red shirt\” protesters raised tensions on Saturday with threats to expel thousands of troops guarding Bangkok\’s old city during a rally to oust Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.(Xinhua/Reuters)
