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Showing posts from March, 2012

Ancient Burma’s playful side

BBC BBC 19 March 2012 | By Robert Reid In Mrauk U, goat herders and radish farmers still live and work amid the 700 historic temples. (Robert Reid) “Yo yo yo!” is the three-beat attention-getter touts across Southeast Asia use to get you to ride their taxi or buy their postcards. It comes in quick succession, lingers like a mosquito and usually gets what it seeks: a bit of your business. Related: Planning tips from Lonely Planet But in one of the most remote corners of Burma, it was the last thing I imagined I would hear. Burma (officially Myanmar) is the newest hotspot of Southeast Asia. Now that its military leaders have turned over the government to civilian hands (at least on paper) and the US has normalized its diplomatic relations, arrivals are expected to increase by 300% in 2012, reaching a total of one million tourists. This kite-shaped nation of rickshaws and ox carts remains, as Rudyar

Netanyahu warns time running out on Iran

Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday they stand together in their efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, but Netanyahu warned that time for diplomacy was running short. The two leaders met at the White House to discuss Iran's nuclear program and other Middle East issues amid talk speculation that Israel may attack nuclear sites in Iran. Speaking to the influential American Israel Public Affairs Committee afterward, Netanyahu said Iranian research "continues to march forward" despite painful economic sanctions imposed on the Islamic republic. "My friends, Israel has waited patiently waited for the international community to resolve this issue. We've waited for diplomacy to work," Netanyahu said. "We've waited for sanctions to work," he said. "None of us can afford to wait much longer. As prime minister of Israel, I will never let my people live in the

Why the interest in illegal cell-phone jammers?

CNN By Doug Gross , CNN March 5, 2012 -- Updated 2208 GMT (0608 HKT) | Filed under: Mobile Jamming an annoying cell phone can also cause others in the area to lose their signals. STORY HIGHLIGHTS Philadelphia bus rider spurs interest in cell phone jammers Local TV station interviews man "taking the law into his own hands" to quiet cell talkers Experts say people using the devices could jam police, other communications, too Still, jammers from $40 to more than $1,000 can be found online (CNN) -- Fancy gadgets that can be used to jam cell phone signals are illegal and potentially dangerous, experts say. So, why was Google lighting up Monday with people searching for them? You can thank a guy in Philadelphia who got fed up with folks yakking during his daily bus ride and a local news reporter who happens to ride the same bus. Days after the story broke on Friday, the apparently fresh interest in the devices, which can be had online for anywhere from le

Hackers had 'full functional control' of Nasa computers

BBC NASA said the loss of data did not affect the operations of the International Space Station Continue reading the main story Related Stories Facing up to threat of cyberwar Hackers strike Amazon-owned site Crimefighter's 20 years in cyberspace Hackers gained "full functional control" of key Nasa computers in 2011, the agency's inspector general has told US lawmakers. Paul K Martin said hackers took over Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) computers and "compromised the accounts of the most privileged JPL users". He said the attack, involving Chinese IP addresses, was under investigation. In a statement, Nasa said it had "made significant progress to protect the agency's IT systems". Mr Martin's testimony on Nasa's cybersecurity was submitted to the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology's Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight. State of security In the document, he outlined how investig

Syrians flee to Lebanon amid Homs atrocity claims

BBC One woman told Paul Wood how two of her brothers were detained, and one was killed Continue reading the main story Syria Crisis Escape from Homs Guide to opposition Civil war? Syrians flee Thousands of Syrians have recently crossed into Lebanon, the UN says, amid reports that security forces are committing atrocities in Syria. The UN refugee agency said as many as 2,000 people fled in the past two days. A resident of the opposition stronghold of Homs told the BBC that soldiers had slit the throat of her 12-year-old son. Meanwhile, the UN humanitarian chief said she had now been allowed to travel to Syria and would call for "unhindered access for humanitarian aid". Valerie Amos said she planned to go to Syria on Wednesday. Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan is also due to visit Syria at the weekend as joint special envoy for the UN and the Arab League. On Wednes

Wa, Shan to join ethnic army grouping

DVB Troops from the United Wa State Army ride through Namtuk in Shan state (Reuters) Two Shan state-based ethnic armies will be included in a “nationalities forces” setup being formulated by Burma’s armed opposition as negotiations with the government to broker a ceasefire continue. Following a four-day meeting on the Thai-Burma, the 11-member United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) said groups like the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and Shan State Army–South (SSA-S), which have so far snubbed invitations to join the umbrella group, would take part in joint “political dialogue” with the government once ceasefires have been agreed. Also included will be the Mong La army and the armed Arakan Liberation Party, according to the UNFC’s secretary–2, Colonel Khun Okkar. The exact nature of the dialogue is unclear, although it will likely be aimed at legitimising the presence of these groups and demarcating official territory. The UWSA, once the world’s biggest opium pr

'Mistakes led to' Afghan Quran burning

Aljazeera The incident inflamed anti-US public opinion, and led to riots that killed at least 30 Afghan protesters [Reuters] A series of avoidable mistakes led to the burning of Quran copies at a US base in Afghanistan, and at least five US military personnel involved may face a disciplinary hearing over the issue, a leaked report on the incident shows. One Western official, speaking to the Associated Press news agency on condition of anonymity, said that the joint investigation by senior Afghan and US military officials has determined that there was no intent to desecrate the Muslim holy book. The February 20 incident led to a series of deadly riots across the country, killing at least 30 Afghans. Six US soldiers were also shot and killed by Afghan security forces or Taliban fighters disguised in their uniforms following the incident. The event brought relations between the US-led NATO force and the Afghan government to an all-time low, and an Afghan committee

Syria's media tug of war

Aljazeera On Listening Post this week: Tug of War - competing media narratives in the Syrian uprising. Plus, the struggle over internet freedom in India, the world's largest democracy. As fighting in Syria continues, so does the media's battle to tell the story. This month, four journalists were killed while reporting from the besieged city of Homs. In their absence, making sense of the story means making sense of shaky sources of information: the al-Assad government spinning the story its way, through outlets the state controls; the often nameless, faceless activists getting information out via the web and, increasingly, the Free Syrian Army, a loosely affiliated group of disparate voices which some say is a media construct itself. Our News Divide this week looks at Syria and the polarised media narratives making it hard to find the middle ground. In our News Bytes this week: President Rafael Correa has pardoned three newspaper executives and a columnist who

BP reaches agreement over Gulf oil spill

Aljazeera The Deepwater Horizon oil well released between four and five million barrels of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico [EPA] Oil giant BP and a committee representing plaintiffs suing the company over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill have reached an agreement, a federal judge has said. As a result of the agreement, which will be filed with the court for approval, the trial that was scheduled to begin on Monday has been postponed for a second time, Judge Carl Barbier said. No new date was immediately set. There also was no mention in his order of anything about the status of BP's talks and the federal government, involved states or individual plaintiffs not represented by the committee. The proposed settlement "represents significant progress towards resolving issues from the Deepwater Horizon accident and contributing further to economic and environmental restoration efforts along the Gulf Coast," Bob Dudley, BP's chief executive officer

2 French journalists safely out of Syria

(CNN) -- Two French journalists who had been trapped for days in the besieged Homs neighborhood of Baba Amr have been moved to safety in Lebanon, officials said Thursday. "I can confirm that it's official," French President Nicolas Sarkozy told BFM-TV about the whereabouts of Edith Bouvier and William Daniels. "They are in security." In a statement, French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said they were being looked after by the French Embassy, "and everything is being done to provide them with medical attention and to return them home as quickly as possible." Bouvier was wounded in an attack last week on a makeshift media center in Baba Amr that killed French journalist Remi Ochlik and U.S. journalist Marie Colvin. (CNN) -- Two French journalists who had been trapped for days in the besieged Homs neighborhood of Baba Amr have been moved to safety in Lebanon, officials said Thursday. "I can confirm that it's official," French Presi

Red Cross due to enter Baba Amr area of Homs

BBC An activist in the Syrian city of Homs has said the Free Syrian Army has left the embattled district of Baba Amr Continue reading the main story Syria Crisis Referendum in media spotlight Syrians flee Tribute to Colvin Guide to opposition The Red Cross is due to enter the Baba Amr district of the Syrian city of Homs on Friday to deliver food and medical supplies after a month-long siege. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is to enter the area with the Syrian Red Crescent, and is also planning to evacuate the wounded. The area has suffered heavy bombardment by government forces in recent weeks. The rebel Free Syrian Army (FSA) said on Thursday it was leaving the district in a "tactical withdrawal". The FSA said 4,000 civilians had refused to leave their homes and it was withdrawing to save them from an all-out assault. Of the 100,000 people who norma

Burma conflict due to ‘misunderstanding’: Thein Sein

DVB President Thein Sein waves after addressing parliament on 1 March (Reuters) Burma’s president said yesterday that his government wanted equal rights for ethnic minorities, the latest conciliatory gesture from the regime to armed rebel groups. Former general Thein Sein said in a speech to parliament that the authorities needed to end the “misunderstanding” with ethnic minorities, which he said was due to a lack of dialogue. “The expectation of ethnic groups is to get equal rights for all. Equal standards are also the wish of our government,” he said. “Confidence is very important for national reconciliation in our country.” Civil war has gripped parts of Burma since independence in 1948 and an end to the conflicts as well as alleged human rights abuses involving the military is a key demand of the international community. Thein Sein — a former junta premier who came to power almost a year ago after decades of outright military rule — has launched efforts to end

Wa, Shan to join ethnic army grouping

DVB Troops from the United Wa State Army ride through Namtuk in Shan state (Reuters) Two Shan state-based ethnic armies will be included in a “nationalities forces” setup being formulated by Burma’s armed opposition as negotiations with the government to broker a ceasefire continue. Following a four-day meeting on the Thai-Burma, the 11-member United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) said groups like the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and Shan State Army–South (SSA-S), which have so far snubbed invitations to join the umbrella group, would take part in joint “political dialogue” with the government once ceasefires have been agreed. Also included will be the Mong La army and the armed Arakan Liberation Party, according to the UNFC’s secretary–2, Colonel Khun Okkar. The exact nature of the dialogue is unclear, although it will likely be aimed at legitimising the presence of these groups and demarcating official territory. The UWSA, once the world’s biggest opium p

Global protests target Burma pipeline

DVB The Shwe pipeline seen cutting through countryside close to the town of Hsipaw in northern Shan state (Steph Ferry) Activists across the globe today held coordinated protests against the Chinese-led Shwe Gas project in Burma, which they claim has led to widespread displacement, human rights abuses and environmental degradation. Protesters in 20 countries rallied outside the embassies of China, Burma, India and South Korea, whose companies are major investors in the project, and handed over letters calling for the suspension of activities pending the resolution of social and environmental concerns. The highly lucrative venture that begins off the Arakan coast in western Burma has led to the confiscation of thousands of acres of land across the breadth of Burma in order to create a “security corridor” adjacent to the pipeline. The livelihoods of local fishermen in Arakan state’s Kyaukphyu, where a port is being built, have also been destroyed as a direct conseque