MILWAUKEE - Love it, hate it or laugh at it — at least it's inexpensive.
Sales of Spam — that much maligned meat — are rising as consumers are turning more to lunch meats and other lower-cost foods to extend their already stretched food budgets. What was once cheeky, silly and the subject of a Monty Python musical, Spam is now back on the table as people turn to the once-snubbed canned meat as costs rise, analysts say.
U.S. food prices rose 4 percent last year, the fastest pace in nearly two decades, according to the Agriculture Department. Many staples are rising even faster, with white bread up 13 percent last year, bacon up 7 percent and peanut butter up 9 percent. There's no sign of a slowdown. Food inflation is running at an annualized rate of 6.1 percent as of April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The price of Spam is up too, with the average 12-ounce can costing about $2.62. That's an increase of 17 cents, or nearly 7 percent, from the same time last year. But it's not stopping sales, as the pork meat in a can seems like a good alternative to consumers. Kimberly Quan, a stay-at-home mom of three who lives just outside San Francisco, has been feeding her family more Spam in the last six months as she tries to make her food budget go further.
She cooks meals like Spam fried rice and Spam sandwiches two or three times a month, up from once a month previously. Pulling Spam from the shelf prevents last-minute grocery store trips and overspending, said Quan, 38, of Pleasanton, Calif.
"It's canned meat and it's in the cupboard and if everything else is gone from the fridge, it's there," she said.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Indonesia to withdraw from OPEC
Indonesia to withdraw from OPEC
Indonesia to withdraw from OPEC at end of the year, energy minister says
Purnomo Yusgiantoro says Indonesia more of an oil consumer than producer
Low production means Southeast Asia's only OPEC member is net oil importer
Indonesia to withdraw from OPEC at end of the year, energy minister says
Purnomo Yusgiantoro says Indonesia more of an oil consumer than producer
Low production means Southeast Asia's only OPEC member is net oil importer
Grisly baby murder cases shock Germany
BERLIN (AP) -- Babies stashed away in freezers. A tiny skeleton found in a fish tank. Infants suffocated in plastic bags. Germany has been gripped by soul-searching over a series of grisly cases of mothers murdering their babies at a time when the state is pushing legislation to encourage people to have more children.
Many of the suspects have been struggling single women who hid their pregnancy from friends and family, gave birth alone and killed the newborn out of fear or desperation -- increasing calls for support programs for single mothers. In the latest case, police in the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg said Wednesday that a 20-year-old woman confessed to putting her newborn infant in the freezer about three or four weeks ago, thinking it was dead.
An autopsy has shown that the child was alive when put into the freezer and the woman, who was not identified, has been taken into custody.
Many of the suspects have been struggling single women who hid their pregnancy from friends and family, gave birth alone and killed the newborn out of fear or desperation -- increasing calls for support programs for single mothers. In the latest case, police in the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg said Wednesday that a 20-year-old woman confessed to putting her newborn infant in the freezer about three or four weeks ago, thinking it was dead.
An autopsy has shown that the child was alive when put into the freezer and the woman, who was not identified, has been taken into custody.
Woman dies after life spent in iron lung
MEMPHIS, Tennessee (AP) -- For almost 60 years, Dianne Odell lived inside a 7-foot-long metal tube, unable to breathe outside it but determined not to let it destroy her spirit. From her 750-pound iron lung, she got a high school diploma, took college courses and wrote a children's book about a "wishing star" named Blinky.
"I've had a very good life, filled with love and family and faith," she said in 1994. "You can make life good, or you can make it bad."
Odell, 61, died Wednesday when a power failure shut off electricity to the tube and stopped the pump drawing air into her lungs. Family members were unable to get an emergency generator working after a power failure knocked out electricity to the Odell family's residence near Jackson, about 80 miles northeast of Memphis, brother-in-law Will Beyer said.
"We did everything we could do, but we couldn't keep her breathing," Beyer said. "Dianne had gotten a lot weaker over the past several months, and she just didn't have the strength to keep going."
Odell, who contracted polio when she was 3 years old, lived with her parents, Freeman and Geneva Odell, and their house was equipped with an emergency generator designed to fire up immediately in a power failure.
"But for some reason, it didn't come on," Beyer said.
Family members even tried an emergency hand pump attached to the iron lung. "Everyone knew what we were supposed to be doing," Beyer said. "It just wasn't working." Capt. Jerry Elston of the Madison County Sheriff's Department said emergency crews could do little to help. The local power company reported spotty power outages in the area because of storms.
Odell was afflicted with "bulbo-spinal" polio three years before a polio vaccine was discovered and largely stopped the spread of the crippling childhood disease. Her care was provided by her parents, other family members and aides provided by a nonprofit foundation.
"Dianne was one of the kindest and most considerate people you could meet. She was always concerned about others and their well-being," said Frank McMeen, president of the West Tennessee Health Care Foundation, which helped raise money for equipment and nursing assistance for Odell.
Odell accepted her life with grace, McMeen said.
"Everyone she encountered came to her because they cared about her," he said, "so she grew up in her 61 years thinking every person is good."
Odell's iron lung, similar to those used during the U.S. polio epidemics that peaked in the 1950s, was a cylindrical chamber with a seal at the neck. She lay on her back with only her head exposed and made eye contact with visitors through an angled mirror. She operated a television set with a small blow tube and wrote on a voice-activated computer.
The positive and negative pressures produced by the machine forced air into her lungs and then expelled it. Iron lungs were largely replaced by positive-pressure airway ventilators in the late 1950s that give users much more freedom of movement. But a spinal deformity from the polio kept Odell from wearing a more modern portable breathing device.
Joan Headley of Post-Polio Health International in St. Louis said that about 30 people in the United States still rely on iron lungs but that few users are confined to them all the time. No one keeps records, she said, on the longest confinement.
Caregivers could slide Odell's bedding out of her iron lung for basic nursing care but only briefly, McMeen said. Though Odell could not leave the iron lung, she was able to be moved in the machine. For her 60th birthday, in February 2007, friends and family held a party for her, with about 200 guests, at a downtown hotel in Jackson, a town of about 50,000 residents.
"She had a 9-foot birthday cake, and she had letters ... from people all over the country," McMeen said.
May you rest in peace, and people should learn to appreciate and your determinaton.....
"I've had a very good life, filled with love and family and faith," she said in 1994. "You can make life good, or you can make it bad."
Odell, 61, died Wednesday when a power failure shut off electricity to the tube and stopped the pump drawing air into her lungs. Family members were unable to get an emergency generator working after a power failure knocked out electricity to the Odell family's residence near Jackson, about 80 miles northeast of Memphis, brother-in-law Will Beyer said.
"We did everything we could do, but we couldn't keep her breathing," Beyer said. "Dianne had gotten a lot weaker over the past several months, and she just didn't have the strength to keep going."
Odell, who contracted polio when she was 3 years old, lived with her parents, Freeman and Geneva Odell, and their house was equipped with an emergency generator designed to fire up immediately in a power failure.
"But for some reason, it didn't come on," Beyer said.
Family members even tried an emergency hand pump attached to the iron lung. "Everyone knew what we were supposed to be doing," Beyer said. "It just wasn't working." Capt. Jerry Elston of the Madison County Sheriff's Department said emergency crews could do little to help. The local power company reported spotty power outages in the area because of storms.
Odell was afflicted with "bulbo-spinal" polio three years before a polio vaccine was discovered and largely stopped the spread of the crippling childhood disease. Her care was provided by her parents, other family members and aides provided by a nonprofit foundation.
"Dianne was one of the kindest and most considerate people you could meet. She was always concerned about others and their well-being," said Frank McMeen, president of the West Tennessee Health Care Foundation, which helped raise money for equipment and nursing assistance for Odell.
Odell accepted her life with grace, McMeen said.
"Everyone she encountered came to her because they cared about her," he said, "so she grew up in her 61 years thinking every person is good."
Odell's iron lung, similar to those used during the U.S. polio epidemics that peaked in the 1950s, was a cylindrical chamber with a seal at the neck. She lay on her back with only her head exposed and made eye contact with visitors through an angled mirror. She operated a television set with a small blow tube and wrote on a voice-activated computer.
The positive and negative pressures produced by the machine forced air into her lungs and then expelled it. Iron lungs were largely replaced by positive-pressure airway ventilators in the late 1950s that give users much more freedom of movement. But a spinal deformity from the polio kept Odell from wearing a more modern portable breathing device.
Joan Headley of Post-Polio Health International in St. Louis said that about 30 people in the United States still rely on iron lungs but that few users are confined to them all the time. No one keeps records, she said, on the longest confinement.
Caregivers could slide Odell's bedding out of her iron lung for basic nursing care but only briefly, McMeen said. Though Odell could not leave the iron lung, she was able to be moved in the machine. For her 60th birthday, in February 2007, friends and family held a party for her, with about 200 guests, at a downtown hotel in Jackson, a town of about 50,000 residents.
"She had a 9-foot birthday cake, and she had letters ... from people all over the country," McMeen said.
May you rest in peace, and people should learn to appreciate and your determinaton.....
Weeks of rain bring disease to Colombia
Story Highlights
Colombia flooding has left 14 dead, 100 injured and 100,000 homeless
Downpours caused Colombia's main waterway, Magdalena River, to overflow
Flood-related illnesses tied to lack of hygiene have begun to break out
Red Cross warehouses will run out of supplies within a week, officials say
Colombia flooding has left 14 dead, 100 injured and 100,000 homeless
Downpours caused Colombia's main waterway, Magdalena River, to overflow
Flood-related illnesses tied to lack of hygiene have begun to break out
Red Cross warehouses will run out of supplies within a week, officials say
Woman admits helping pass secrets to China
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A Chinese woman pleaded guilty Wednesday to helping a spy provide the Chinese government with U.S. military secrets about arms sales to Taiwan. Yu Sin Kang, a Chinese citizen living legally in the United States, admitted serving as an intermediary for the delivery of classified information from agent Tai Shen Kuo to the Chinese government. Kang, 33, faces up to 10 years in prison when she is sentenced August 1 in federal court in Virginia.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Mars lander sends photos from Red Planet's arctic
Story Highlights
NEW: Photos show lander touched down safely, offer new views of Mars
Mars Phoenix Lander began taking photos shortly after traveling 422 million miles
Phoenix mission is to analyze planet's soils to find signs of life
Experts weren't optimistic about a smooth landing
New London Mayor scraps Venezuela oil deal
LONDON, England (AP) -- The British capital's new mayor, Boris Johnson is ending a controversial deal that has provided cheap Venezuelan fuel for London's transport network. The agreement, signed last year by the Conservative Johnson's predecessor and Labour Party rival, Ken Livingstone, provided discounted gas for London's iconic red buses in exchange for advice on urban planning in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital.
Money saved on gas was put into a program providing half-rate bus fares for low-income Londoners. Livingstone said the anti-poverty initiative was the idea of Venezuela's left-wing leader, Hugo Chavez, whom Livingstone said he has long admired. Conservative critics said the deal allowed one of the world's richest cities to exploit a lesser developed country and handed a propaganda coup to a man they called "a third-rate South American dictator."
Johnson echoed those criticisms in a statement announcing he would not renew the agreement when it expires in August.
Crazy or Loving ?
Money saved on gas was put into a program providing half-rate bus fares for low-income Londoners. Livingstone said the anti-poverty initiative was the idea of Venezuela's left-wing leader, Hugo Chavez, whom Livingstone said he has long admired. Conservative critics said the deal allowed one of the world's richest cities to exploit a lesser developed country and handed a propaganda coup to a man they called "a third-rate South American dictator."
Johnson echoed those criticisms in a statement announcing he would not renew the agreement when it expires in August.
Crazy or Loving ?
Rafidah: Dr Mahathir is disloyal
KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s resignation was an act of disloyalty to the party, said Wanita Umno chief Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz. She said she was shocked to hear about Dr Mahathir’s departure, considering that he was someone who always talked about being loyal to Umno.“We understand that the issues raised by Tun was about leadership but this is a process that must take place graciously and it should not come to (the level of) bringing people down.”
Rafidah said that Umno’s position as the backbone of the Government also had to be taken into consideration. “What he did was to be disloyal but I think most members are still loyal and that everyone will remain calm,” she added.
Rafidah said that Umno’s position as the backbone of the Government also had to be taken into consideration. “What he did was to be disloyal but I think most members are still loyal and that everyone will remain calm,” she added.
Dr M Quit
20MAY2008
ALOR STAR: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has announced he is quitting Umno, in what is seen as his final push to force Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to step down as Prime Minister and party president.His wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali has also quit, according to his website www.chedet.com
Dr Mahathir also called on Umno members to join him in this radical move, which he likened to “removing gangrene” in order for the party to survive.
Except for two party veterans and one branch in the Merbok division, there were no other takers.
No takers ? hahahaa....
Monday, May 19, 2008
Crude, pump prices continue to rise
NEW YORK - Oil prices rose Monday as a new report showed regular gas topped $4 a gallon for the first time in two U.S. metropolitan areas.Investors brushed off news of increased production from Saudi Arabia Friday, the same day oil prices punched through another per-barrel trading record.
The world’s leading oil producer promised an additional 300,000 barrels of crude a day as President Bush wrapped up a trip to Saudi Arabia and talks with King Abdullah. That and a U.S. announcement that it would temporarily stop filling government stockpiles have done little to change overall sentiment in the market.
The world’s leading oil producer promised an additional 300,000 barrels of crude a day as President Bush wrapped up a trip to Saudi Arabia and talks with King Abdullah. That and a U.S. announcement that it would temporarily stop filling government stockpiles have done little to change overall sentiment in the market.
China firms suffer $9.5 billion in quake damage
BEIJING - Companies suffered $9.5 billion in damage in last week's quake in central China, the government said Monday.Some 14,207 companies in Sichuan province and surrounding areas were damaged by the May 12 quake and 1,387 of their employees killed, a deputy industry minister, Xi Guohua, said at a news conference.Independent estimates have put total losses at up to US$20 billion after lost future output is taken into account.
男子強姦夜總會少女囚七年 (港聞)
報稱任清潔公司董事的五十歲男子，強姦一名誤墮求職陷阱十七歲少女，被陪審團一致裁定罪名成立，被判囚七年。高等法院暫委法官杜麗冰指，五十歲被告雖一直奉公守法，審訊時亦傳召數名品格證人，被告自辯於案中沒有使用武力和威嚇，惟一加重刑責的只是沒有使用避孕套進行性交。現年十八歲受害女事主，於去年七月從雜誌看到佐敦一夜總會聘請文員，負責人只吩咐她坐在一旁聽歌唱歌，叮囑若人手不足，可能要入房陪客唱歌，怎料上班首天即要陪客更被強姦
今起三天全國哀悼
今起三天全國哀悼
今午二時二十八分起，全國人民默哀三分鐘，屆時汽車、火車、艦船鳴笛，防空警報鳴響。
(星島日報報道)面對國殤，國務院昨天破天荒宣布，由今天起舉國哀悼三天，全國將下半旗致哀，北京奧運火炬傳遞也將暫停三天。今午二時廿八分地震的一刻，全國人民將默哀三分鐘，中國證交所也將臨時停市三分鐘悼念地震遇難者。目前，四川大地震死亡人數增至三萬二千多人，國家地震局並已將今次四川大地震強度由七點八級修訂為八級。
中央宣布全國為地震哀悼三天，這是一九四九年以來中國政府首次在應對特大自然災害方面作出如此決定。今天也是地震發生後的第七天，這一安排可滿足中國傳統中的「頭七」習俗。著名社會學家陸學藝指出，這一決定順符民心，合乎民意，也符合國際慣例。這顯示出中國政府在應對特大自然災害等突發事件上日
益成熟，其相關做法正在與國際接軌。
國務院昨日發布公告，為表達全國各族人民對四川汶川大地震遇難同胞的深切哀悼，決定今日起至本月二十一日為全國哀悼日。在此期間，全國和各駐外機構下半旗致哀，停止公共娛樂活動，外交部和中國駐外使領館設立弔唁簿。今午二時二十八分起，全國人民默哀三分鐘，屆時汽車、火車、艦船鳴笛，防空警報鳴響。
特首曾蔭權表示，香港將配合一連三天的全國哀悼日，下半旗致哀，全體公務員將於今天下午默哀三分鐘。教育局昨亦呼籲全港學校，在許可情況下配合。旅遊事務署發言人昨晚表示，「幻彩詠香江」將於今晚暫停。
無和亞視皆表示，未來三日將配合國家的哀悼活動。
北京奧組委同時宣布，奧運聖火在境內傳遞活動將在全國哀悼日期間暫停三天。奧運火炬昨日傳至浙江省杭州，下一站寧波的傳遞活動將順延三天照常進行。
上周一發生的汶川大地震報稱為七點八級，國家地震局昨日表示，地震專家對四川地震的參數進行詳細測定，把震級由七點八級修訂為八級，破壞特別嚴重的地區超過十萬平方公里。
目前，地震災區仍面臨「懸湖」決堤、餘震不斷、物資不足、爆發疫症等多個困境。因地震形成的二十一個「懸湖」部分開始滲水，威脅百萬災民。
江油市昨日凌晨再發生六級餘震，全部房屋塌倒。救災物資雖陸續送往四川，但由於道路險阻，災民難以第一時間得到食物及藥品。
官方昨日公布，已有三萬二千四百七十七人死亡，二十二萬一百○九人受傷。當局日前估計地震死亡人數將超過五萬人。儘管找到生還者的機會愈來愈渺茫，救援人員昨日再在瓦礫中發現生還者，昨晚又救出映秀鎮電廠女工虞錦華，她被埋一百七十五小時。
為做好災民生活安排，國務院會議決定，在三個月內向災區困難民眾每人每天發放一斤口糧和十元補助金，並對因災死亡人員的家屬每人發放五千元撫慰金。另外，六個地震重災區的四十個縣將延期舉行高考。孤殘考生免收學費。
國家主席胡錦濤繼續在四川指揮救災，到重災區什邡慰問災民及傷者。他前晚在成都連夜召開會議，形容此次抗震救災困難之大，歷史罕見。
國務院常務副總理李克強也南下江油市、綿陽市察看地震災情。
2008-05-19
今午二時二十八分起，全國人民默哀三分鐘，屆時汽車、火車、艦船鳴笛，防空警報鳴響。
(星島日報報道)面對國殤，國務院昨天破天荒宣布，由今天起舉國哀悼三天，全國將下半旗致哀，北京奧運火炬傳遞也將暫停三天。今午二時廿八分地震的一刻，全國人民將默哀三分鐘，中國證交所也將臨時停市三分鐘悼念地震遇難者。目前，四川大地震死亡人數增至三萬二千多人，國家地震局並已將今次四川大地震強度由七點八級修訂為八級。
中央宣布全國為地震哀悼三天，這是一九四九年以來中國政府首次在應對特大自然災害方面作出如此決定。今天也是地震發生後的第七天，這一安排可滿足中國傳統中的「頭七」習俗。著名社會學家陸學藝指出，這一決定順符民心，合乎民意，也符合國際慣例。這顯示出中國政府在應對特大自然災害等突發事件上日
益成熟，其相關做法正在與國際接軌。
國務院昨日發布公告，為表達全國各族人民對四川汶川大地震遇難同胞的深切哀悼，決定今日起至本月二十一日為全國哀悼日。在此期間，全國和各駐外機構下半旗致哀，停止公共娛樂活動，外交部和中國駐外使領館設立弔唁簿。今午二時二十八分起，全國人民默哀三分鐘，屆時汽車、火車、艦船鳴笛，防空警報鳴響。
特首曾蔭權表示，香港將配合一連三天的全國哀悼日，下半旗致哀，全體公務員將於今天下午默哀三分鐘。教育局昨亦呼籲全港學校，在許可情況下配合。旅遊事務署發言人昨晚表示，「幻彩詠香江」將於今晚暫停。
無和亞視皆表示，未來三日將配合國家的哀悼活動。
北京奧組委同時宣布，奧運聖火在境內傳遞活動將在全國哀悼日期間暫停三天。奧運火炬昨日傳至浙江省杭州，下一站寧波的傳遞活動將順延三天照常進行。
上周一發生的汶川大地震報稱為七點八級，國家地震局昨日表示，地震專家對四川地震的參數進行詳細測定，把震級由七點八級修訂為八級，破壞特別嚴重的地區超過十萬平方公里。
目前，地震災區仍面臨「懸湖」決堤、餘震不斷、物資不足、爆發疫症等多個困境。因地震形成的二十一個「懸湖」部分開始滲水，威脅百萬災民。
江油市昨日凌晨再發生六級餘震，全部房屋塌倒。救災物資雖陸續送往四川，但由於道路險阻，災民難以第一時間得到食物及藥品。
官方昨日公布，已有三萬二千四百七十七人死亡，二十二萬一百○九人受傷。當局日前估計地震死亡人數將超過五萬人。儘管找到生還者的機會愈來愈渺茫，救援人員昨日再在瓦礫中發現生還者，昨晚又救出映秀鎮電廠女工虞錦華，她被埋一百七十五小時。
為做好災民生活安排，國務院會議決定，在三個月內向災區困難民眾每人每天發放一斤口糧和十元補助金，並對因災死亡人員的家屬每人發放五千元撫慰金。另外，六個地震重災區的四十個縣將延期舉行高考。孤殘考生免收學費。
國家主席胡錦濤繼續在四川指揮救災，到重災區什邡慰問災民及傷者。他前晚在成都連夜召開會議，形容此次抗震救災困難之大，歷史罕見。
國務院常務副總理李克強也南下江油市、綿陽市察看地震災情。
2008-05-19
Monday, May 12, 2008
Panel finds Lingam video clip authentic
2008 MAY 10
Reports by SHAILA KOSHY, SHAHANAAZ HABIB, M. MAGESWARI, AUDREY EDWARDS, LOH FOON FONG and MANJIT KAUR
KUALA LUMPUR: The Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam video clip has found that it was former Chief Justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim who was talking to prominent lawyer Datuk V.K. Lingam on the telephone. Sources said the five-man panel also found that the video clip was authentic and that the conversation was true in substance.
They said the commission also found that it was lawyer Loh Mui Fah who Lingam was speaking to after his telephone conversation with Fairuz. Commission chairman Tan Sri Haidar Mohamed Noor presented a two-volume report on the findings to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin at the Istana Negara here yesterday.
The commission commenced its enquiry on Jan 14.
The sources said the commission also found that there was sufficient evidence of misbehaviour by certain persons mentioned or identified in the clip. They said the commission found sufficient reason for the relevant authorities to take appropriate action against those implicated for breaches of the Sedition Act, the Penal Code, the Official Secrets Act, the Legal Profession Act and other laws.
They added that the commission was recommending the Government set up a Judicial Appointments Commission and to undertake other necessary reforms. Sources also said the commission stated that its report was not meant as an indictment against all judges.
Former Chief Judge of Malaya Tan Sri Haidar Mohamed Noor, who chaired the commission, said yesterday that the King was happy that the enquiry had been completed. The other four members of the commission were former Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak Tan Sri Steve Shim Lip Kiong, former Court of Appeal Judge and former Suhakam commissioner Datuk Mahadev Shankar, former Solicitor-General Puan Sri Zaitun Zawiyah Puteh and Professor Emeritus Datuk Dr Khoo Kay Kim.
The video clip showing the apparent brokering of judicial appointments and promotions first came to light on Sept 19 last year when PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim released it at a press conference. Anwar later released two more segments that showed Lingam telling Loh that he had been talking to Fairuz.
On Sept 25, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced that an independent inquiry committee would investigate the authenticity of the video clip purportedly made in 2001. The committee completed its report on Nov 6. It was studied by the Cabinet but never made public. Based on the recommendations of the committee, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced the setting up of the commission on Dec 12.
At the conclusion of the enquiry on Feb 15, the commission had heard testimony from 21 witnesses and received more than 100 exhibits and over 15 statutory declarations. Among the prominent witnesses were former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, former minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, tycoon Tan Sri Vincent Tan and retired chief justices Tun Mohamed Eusoff Chin and Tun Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah.
The commission had first fixed March 11 to submit the report to the King but sought two one-month extensions later.
So....what next ? Can we see some decent finding ? or not ?
iPhone sold out online
SAN FRANCISCO, California (AP) -- Apple Inc. said Monday its online stores in the U.S. and UK are sold out of the iPhone, a sign supplies are being winnowed ahead of the launch of the device's next generation featuring faster Internet surfing speeds.
The Cupertino-based company confirmed that the iPhone is out of stock online, but added that brick-and-mortar stores run by Apple and iPhone carriers including AT&T Inc. might still have units available.
Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris declined to comment on reasons for the shortage and on Apple's plans for an update to the device, which is widely expected to be unveiled in June at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco.
The paucity of iPhones for sale in some markets comes as Apple is hustling to meet its goal of selling 10 million of the hybrid iPod-cell phone-Internet surfing gadgets by the end of 2008. So far, Apple has sold 5.4 million iPhones, according to the latest data as of the end of March.
The Cupertino-based company confirmed that the iPhone is out of stock online, but added that brick-and-mortar stores run by Apple and iPhone carriers including AT&T Inc. might still have units available.
Apple spokeswoman Natalie Kerris declined to comment on reasons for the shortage and on Apple's plans for an update to the device, which is widely expected to be unveiled in June at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco.
The paucity of iPhones for sale in some markets comes as Apple is hustling to meet its goal of selling 10 million of the hybrid iPod-cell phone-Internet surfing gadgets by the end of 2008. So far, Apple has sold 5.4 million iPhones, according to the latest data as of the end of March.
Clashes continue in Lebanon for 5th day
BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- More clashes erupted in Lebanon's northern port city of Tripoli on Monday, as fighting between the Hezbollah militia and its rivals who support Lebanon's Western-backed government entered a fifth day.
Lebanese forces are stationed in the Tripoli area, but the government has not ordered them to intervene out of concern that they would appear to be taking sides.
At least 58 people have been killed and 189 have been wounded since the clashes broke out on Thursday, Lebanon's Internal Security Forces said Monday. The violence is the worst to hit Lebanon since the end of its civil war in 1991. It started in Beirut, but quickly spread to nearby mountain villages in the Mount Lebanon area and the northern city of Tripoli.
Hezbollah militias have pulled back from positions in western Beirut and government troops have taken over checkpoints there as peace returned to the Lebanese capital's tense neighborhoods Monday. The violence was triggered by the government's attempts to ban a telecommunications system used by Hezbollah.
The Shiite militant group said the system was instrumental in its resistance to Israel; Lebanon's government believed the system was being used to funnel information about anti-Syrian lawmakers to Damascus, a main backer of Hezbollah. Talal Erslan, a Hezbollah-allied politician who announced a cease-fire agreement Sunday, expressed frustration at a news conference on Monday.
Lebanese forces are stationed in the Tripoli area, but the government has not ordered them to intervene out of concern that they would appear to be taking sides.
At least 58 people have been killed and 189 have been wounded since the clashes broke out on Thursday, Lebanon's Internal Security Forces said Monday. The violence is the worst to hit Lebanon since the end of its civil war in 1991. It started in Beirut, but quickly spread to nearby mountain villages in the Mount Lebanon area and the northern city of Tripoli.
Hezbollah militias have pulled back from positions in western Beirut and government troops have taken over checkpoints there as peace returned to the Lebanese capital's tense neighborhoods Monday. The violence was triggered by the government's attempts to ban a telecommunications system used by Hezbollah.
The Shiite militant group said the system was instrumental in its resistance to Israel; Lebanon's government believed the system was being used to funnel information about anti-Syrian lawmakers to Damascus, a main backer of Hezbollah. Talal Erslan, a Hezbollah-allied politician who announced a cease-fire agreement Sunday, expressed frustration at a news conference on Monday.
四川7.8級大地震逾萬人死
(星島日報報道) 四川汶川昨午發生七點八級大地震，威力相當於二百五十六顆原子彈，震動大半個中國，遠至港澳台、泰國、越南都有震感。官方稱單是四川最少八千五百三十三人死亡，震央汶川縣由於通訊中斷，十多萬居民仍生死未卜，相信全國死亡人數可能數以萬計，傷者更難以估計，據悉包括一名在四川的頭部重創港人。
繼一九七六年唐山大地震後，四川發生三十二年來中國傷亡最嚴重的地震。事發於昨午二時二十八分，震央位於四川省中部汶川縣地底二十多公里，距離省會成都約一百公里，強度為黎克特制七點八級，威力如二百五十六顆原子彈。由於地震強度大，重慶、寧夏、青海、甘肅、河南、山西、陜西、山東、雲南、湖南、湖北、北京、上 海、海南等省市均有震感，及受到不同程度傷亡及損毀。專家稱是次震央位於蜀西龍門山地區的斷裂帶，地殼移動活躍，屬於淺源地震，故其破壞力度較大，預計還有多次餘震。
總理溫家寶昨晚抵當地指揮救災，解放軍、武警、生部門等數萬名救援人員已趕赴當地，但由於成都至汶川的公路全被毀，直至昨晚救援隊伍仍滯留在中途的都江堰市附近。地震發生後，汶川市對外通訊即時中斷，電話全不通，至今晨截稿，官方亦未掌握當地災情，全縣十多萬居民生死未卜。距離震央約一百公里、人口接近百萬的都江堰市，災情嚴重，八成建築物倒塌。當地聚源鎮一所中學樓房垮塌，最少已造成五十多人死亡，超過九百人被埋。當局設法用大型機械搜救被埋學生。一名當時正在汶川回成都的司機稱，他的車輛在路面上來回晃動，途中看到都江堰市的一所醫院基本上被震塌，路旁山上有很多石頭滾落，非常恐怖。
「快走，快走，地震……」地震發生後，成都居民爭相逃往街上躲避。懷有八個月身孕的成都居民周女士，當時正在一家商場二樓挑選嬰兒用品，樓頂一個燈泡突然在劇烈震動中爆炸。她掏出手機給丈夫打電話，打不通，只好跟人群往外面跑。
本報記者昨晚抵達重慶，目睹數千人在重慶的大型廣場通宵露宿。有居民表示，即使市政府呼籲他們回家，但心有餘悸，寧願全家帶齊棉被及食具，準備在戶外留宿數天。四川是傷亡重災區，官方昨晚稱，目前全省已有八千五百三十三人在地震災害中遇難。綿陽市北川縣初步估計，全縣死亡人數多達三千至五千人，傷者一萬人。眉山市二百多萬人受災，已知八人死亡，三千多人傷。資陽市已有十人死亡，八十六人受傷。
其他省市傷亡人數昨晚亦陸續增加。僅甘肅省截至昨晚十一時已造成一百零四人死亡。陜西西安、咸陽、寶雞、漢中有最少六十一人死亡，一百七十六人受傷，寶成（寶雞至成都）、成昆（成都至昆明）等多條鐵路中斷，鐵道部部長已經趕赴陝西指揮搶修
繼一九七六年唐山大地震後，四川發生三十二年來中國傷亡最嚴重的地震。事發於昨午二時二十八分，震央位於四川省中部汶川縣地底二十多公里，距離省會成都約一百公里，強度為黎克特制七點八級，威力如二百五十六顆原子彈。由於地震強度大，重慶、寧夏、青海、甘肅、河南、山西、陜西、山東、雲南、湖南、湖北、北京、上 海、海南等省市均有震感，及受到不同程度傷亡及損毀。專家稱是次震央位於蜀西龍門山地區的斷裂帶，地殼移動活躍，屬於淺源地震，故其破壞力度較大，預計還有多次餘震。
總理溫家寶昨晚抵當地指揮救災，解放軍、武警、生部門等數萬名救援人員已趕赴當地，但由於成都至汶川的公路全被毀，直至昨晚救援隊伍仍滯留在中途的都江堰市附近。地震發生後，汶川市對外通訊即時中斷，電話全不通，至今晨截稿，官方亦未掌握當地災情，全縣十多萬居民生死未卜。距離震央約一百公里、人口接近百萬的都江堰市，災情嚴重，八成建築物倒塌。當地聚源鎮一所中學樓房垮塌，最少已造成五十多人死亡，超過九百人被埋。當局設法用大型機械搜救被埋學生。一名當時正在汶川回成都的司機稱，他的車輛在路面上來回晃動，途中看到都江堰市的一所醫院基本上被震塌，路旁山上有很多石頭滾落，非常恐怖。
「快走，快走，地震……」地震發生後，成都居民爭相逃往街上躲避。懷有八個月身孕的成都居民周女士，當時正在一家商場二樓挑選嬰兒用品，樓頂一個燈泡突然在劇烈震動中爆炸。她掏出手機給丈夫打電話，打不通，只好跟人群往外面跑。
本報記者昨晚抵達重慶，目睹數千人在重慶的大型廣場通宵露宿。有居民表示，即使市政府呼籲他們回家，但心有餘悸，寧願全家帶齊棉被及食具，準備在戶外留宿數天。四川是傷亡重災區，官方昨晚稱，目前全省已有八千五百三十三人在地震災害中遇難。綿陽市北川縣初步估計，全縣死亡人數多達三千至五千人，傷者一萬人。眉山市二百多萬人受災，已知八人死亡，三千多人傷。資陽市已有十人死亡，八十六人受傷。
其他省市傷亡人數昨晚亦陸續增加。僅甘肅省截至昨晚十一時已造成一百零四人死亡。陜西西安、咸陽、寶雞、漢中有最少六十一人死亡，一百七十六人受傷，寶成（寶雞至成都）、成昆（成都至昆明）等多條鐵路中斷，鐵道部部長已經趕赴陝西指揮搶修
哦弥陀佛
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Texas sinkhole calm for the moment
# Story Highlights
# 260-foot-deep sinkhole's growth slows, but too early to tell if area is stable
# 900-foot-long sinkhole swallows oil tanks, barrels, tires, telephone poles, vehicles
# Residents uneasy, but officials say they're safe for now
# Town built on salt dome; cause of sinkhole unknown
聖 火 雄 心 燃 亮 珠 峰
(星島日報報道)奧運聖火登山隊昨冒覑風雪，成功把聖火首次送上「世界之巔」珠穆朗瑪峰，並在海拔八千八百四十四米的峰頂，忍受缺氧及寒冷，完成史上最高海拔的奧運火炬接力。登頂一刻，五名火炬手難掩激動，高喊「○八奧運萬歲！」國家副主席習近平形容這是中國人民獻給全人類的厚禮。登山隊總指揮透露，登頂期間受到一些人干擾，但沒影響傳送活動。
珠穆朗瑪峰是喜馬拉雅山的主峰，藏語是「女神」的意思，位於中國和尼泊爾邊界，其南坡在尼泊爾境內，北坡在中國西藏境內，外界認為北京安排聖火登珠峰，有宣示主權的意味。為慎防境內外藏獨人士破壞，聖火登頂的保安格外緊張，大批武警早於一個月前進駐封山，尼泊爾政府亦重兵封鎖 通往珠峰的邊界。
Captive 1,00-pound manta ray returns to ocean
NASSAU, Bahamas - A 1,000-pound manta ray was returned to the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday after three years as a research subject and tourist attraction at a Bahamian resort.
The massive black ray, known as "Zeus," was lowered from a helicopter on a hydraulically welded frame to ensure its safe entry into the water. It spans nearly 13 feet in diameter — including a 3-foot-wide mouth.
Marine biologists had studied the creature and will now use a satellite tracking tag to monitor its movements in the open sea.
Olmert denies taking bribes
Ehud Olmert, Israel's prime minister, has admitted he accepted campaign donations from an American businessman, but denied that the contributions constituted bribes. In a televised statement on Thursday night from his residence in Jerusalem, Olmert said he would resign only if he were indicted by Israel's attorney general.
Olmert said he believed the crisis over a police investigation into allegations he accepted money from Morris Talansky, a US financier, would soon end. He said a lawyer handled his finances and that everything had been done legally.
He said: "I never took bribes, I never took a penny for myself. I was elected by you to be prime minister of Israel and I am not shying away from that responsibility."
Olmert confirmed he would not fight to stay in office if he is charged. "If I am indicted, I will resign my post," he said. Olmert's statement came after police lifted a media gag order that had prevented the Israeli media from reporting on the investigation, and announced details of the accusations.
The investigation has increased pressure on Olmert to quit, and doubt over his future is likely to disrupt faltering peace negotiations with the Palestinians.
Putin confirmed as Russian PM
The Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, has confirmed Vladimir Putin as prime minister a day after his protege Dmitry Medvedev replaced him as president of the country. Members of parliament voted 392-56 for Putin's appointment, with the communists the only party voting against.
In a speech at the Duma on Thursday, Putin said Russia should aim to be among the leading nations in the world in terms of living standards within 15 years.
He called for the "consolidation of political forces and solidarity of society" in Russia and said that "co-ordinated work by all branches of government" is imperative.
Will Putin be Medvedev's Russian doll?
Medvedev nominated Putin to be Russia's prime minister shortly after taking over as the country's president on Wednesday. Putin has said he will work closely with the new president. He will set up a new cabinet, which is expected to be broadly similar to one that was in place during his eight-year presidency.
Close partnership
Many Russians believe that Putin will still exercise formidable power despite no longer being the country's president. He selected Medvedev as United Russia's candidate for a presidential election in March, which Medvedev won by a wide margin.
Medvedev was hand-picked by Putin to become Russia's president 。Jonah Hull, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Moscow, said Putin would aim to boost the profile of the prime minister's office after its role was minimised during his presidential term.
"The potential is now there to create a system of two centres of power, with checks and balances between Putin and Medvedev - something that Russia, in its political system since the Soviet era, has not had," he said.
"[During his presidential term] Putin went out of his way to bolster his presidency and to create a top-down system of government in which the president was unchallenged and unchallengeable.
"There is going to be a certain amount of change in the power sharing arrangement - but there is not, if Putin is to be believed, going to be any change to the constitution."
Military show
Although Putin and Medvedev are political allies, some analysts have said that the partnership could be unstable. After he won the presidency in March, Medvedev said only the president would determine foreign policy, but Putin has called the prime minister's office the "highest executive power in the country".
In his inaugural speech on Wednesday, Medvedev promised to bring greater "civil and economic freedom" to Russia.
He also said he would strive to ensure that the rule of law is upheld.
Shortly after he took the presidential office, Medvedev was presented with a briefcase containing controls for Russia's nuclear arsenal. Both Medvedev and Putin will attend a military parade in Moscow's Red Square on Friday, where Russia's new Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missiles will be displayed. The Victory Day parade is the biggest display of Russia's military might since the end of the Soviet era in 1991.
Putin work cannot be denied ! He is the man of the year ! Again if so....
In a speech at the Duma on Thursday, Putin said Russia should aim to be among the leading nations in the world in terms of living standards within 15 years.
He called for the "consolidation of political forces and solidarity of society" in Russia and said that "co-ordinated work by all branches of government" is imperative.
Will Putin be Medvedev's Russian doll?
Medvedev nominated Putin to be Russia's prime minister shortly after taking over as the country's president on Wednesday. Putin has said he will work closely with the new president. He will set up a new cabinet, which is expected to be broadly similar to one that was in place during his eight-year presidency.
Close partnership
Many Russians believe that Putin will still exercise formidable power despite no longer being the country's president. He selected Medvedev as United Russia's candidate for a presidential election in March, which Medvedev won by a wide margin.
Medvedev was hand-picked by Putin to become Russia's president 。Jonah Hull, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Moscow, said Putin would aim to boost the profile of the prime minister's office after its role was minimised during his presidential term.
"The potential is now there to create a system of two centres of power, with checks and balances between Putin and Medvedev - something that Russia, in its political system since the Soviet era, has not had," he said.
"[During his presidential term] Putin went out of his way to bolster his presidency and to create a top-down system of government in which the president was unchallenged and unchallengeable.
"There is going to be a certain amount of change in the power sharing arrangement - but there is not, if Putin is to be believed, going to be any change to the constitution."
Military show
Although Putin and Medvedev are political allies, some analysts have said that the partnership could be unstable. After he won the presidency in March, Medvedev said only the president would determine foreign policy, but Putin has called the prime minister's office the "highest executive power in the country".
In his inaugural speech on Wednesday, Medvedev promised to bring greater "civil and economic freedom" to Russia.
He also said he would strive to ensure that the rule of law is upheld.
Shortly after he took the presidential office, Medvedev was presented with a briefcase containing controls for Russia's nuclear arsenal. Both Medvedev and Putin will attend a military parade in Moscow's Red Square on Friday, where Russia's new Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missiles will be displayed. The Victory Day parade is the biggest display of Russia's military might since the end of the Soviet era in 1991.
Putin work cannot be denied ! He is the man of the year ! Again if so....
Berlusconi appointed prime minister
Silvio Berlusconi has been sworn in as prime minister of Italy for the third time after forming one of the country's most right-wing cabinets since the second world war. The billionaire, who won last month's election, took his oath at Rome's presidential palace along with government ministers whose main task will be to revive Italy's economy.
Berlusconi has warned Italy that it faces tough years ahead and that he will have to carry out unpopular reforms. However, speaking optimistically before his inauguration, he said "we're in a honeymoon period".
Berlusconi, who also served briefly as prime minister from 1994 to 1995, said he intended to pick up from where he left off in 2006, when he narrowly failed to be re-elected after a five-year term.
Rubbish crisis
Speaking to La Stampa, an Italian newspaper, Berlusconi said: "We have 100 days to avoid disappointing those who put their faith in us, and five years to change and modernise this country."
He has promised to fight crime, crack down on illegal immigration and clear the mounds of rubbish in Naples that have paralysed the southern city.
Berlusconi, 71, aims to hold his first full cabinet meeting in Naples, saying the rubbish crisis is a national problem because it has stained Italy's image abroad.
Another issue will be how to rescue Alitalia, the state-controlled airline, from possible bankruptcy by finding a buyer.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), which sees the Italian economy growing at just 0.3 per cent this year, said Berlusconi's promised tax cuts should be aimed at stimulating demand and that he must ensure they are paid for by spending cuts.
Masood Ahmed, the IMF's external relations director, said: "Any tax cuts need to be at least fully [met] by expenditure reduction, given the pressing need for fiscal consolidation."
Maverick appointment
Berlusconi's cabinet, which he announced on Wednesday, is packed with his right-wing allies from the National Alliance and the strongly anti-immigrant Northern League.
The new government is expected to take a tough line on immigration and security issues.
Among the cabinet is Roberto Calderoli, a Northern League politician known for his anti-Islamic rhetoric, who was once blamed for provoking riots in Libya by wearing a T-shirt featuring a Danish cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad.
A charity in Libya chaired by leader Muammar Gaddafi's son warned of "catastrophic repercussions" if he had a cabinet post.
Commenting on Berlusconi's appointments, Massimo Franco, who writes a column for the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, said: "He has created a government in his own vision and likeness, and this is a huge opportunity and responsibility."
BRAVO! Congratulationss
Berlusconi has warned Italy that it faces tough years ahead and that he will have to carry out unpopular reforms. However, speaking optimistically before his inauguration, he said "we're in a honeymoon period".
Berlusconi, who also served briefly as prime minister from 1994 to 1995, said he intended to pick up from where he left off in 2006, when he narrowly failed to be re-elected after a five-year term.
Rubbish crisis
Speaking to La Stampa, an Italian newspaper, Berlusconi said: "We have 100 days to avoid disappointing those who put their faith in us, and five years to change and modernise this country."
He has promised to fight crime, crack down on illegal immigration and clear the mounds of rubbish in Naples that have paralysed the southern city.
Berlusconi, 71, aims to hold his first full cabinet meeting in Naples, saying the rubbish crisis is a national problem because it has stained Italy's image abroad.
Another issue will be how to rescue Alitalia, the state-controlled airline, from possible bankruptcy by finding a buyer.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), which sees the Italian economy growing at just 0.3 per cent this year, said Berlusconi's promised tax cuts should be aimed at stimulating demand and that he must ensure they are paid for by spending cuts.
Masood Ahmed, the IMF's external relations director, said: "Any tax cuts need to be at least fully [met] by expenditure reduction, given the pressing need for fiscal consolidation."
Maverick appointment
Berlusconi's cabinet, which he announced on Wednesday, is packed with his right-wing allies from the National Alliance and the strongly anti-immigrant Northern League.
The new government is expected to take a tough line on immigration and security issues.
Among the cabinet is Roberto Calderoli, a Northern League politician known for his anti-Islamic rhetoric, who was once blamed for provoking riots in Libya by wearing a T-shirt featuring a Danish cartoon of the Prophet Muhammad.
A charity in Libya chaired by leader Muammar Gaddafi's son warned of "catastrophic repercussions" if he had a cabinet post.
Commenting on Berlusconi's appointments, Massimo Franco, who writes a column for the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, said: "He has created a government in his own vision and likeness, and this is a huge opportunity and responsibility."
BRAVO! Congratulationss
Cyclone Nargis embodied the ‘perfect storm’
BANGKOK, Thailand - It was Asia's answer to Hurricane Katrina. Packing winds upwards of 120 mph, Cyclone Nargis became one of Asia's deadliest storms by hitting land at one of the lowest points in Myanmar and setting off a storm surge that reached 25 miles inland.
"When we saw the (storm) track, I said, 'Uh oh, this is not going to be good," said Mark Lander, a meteorology professor at the University of Guam. "It would create a big storm surge. It was like Katrina going into New Orleans."
Forecasters began tracking the cyclone April 28 as it first headed toward India. As projected, it took a sharp turn eastward, but didn't follow the typical cyclone track in that area leading to Bangladesh or Myanmar's mountainous northwest.
Instead, it swept into the low-lying Irrawaddy delta in central Myanmar. The result was the worst disaster ever in the impoverished country.
It was the first time such an intense storm hit the delta, said Jeff Masters, co-founder and director of meteorology at the San Francisco-based Weather Underground. He called it "one of those once-in-every-500-years kind of things."
"The easterly component of the path is unusual," Masters said. "It tracked right over the most vulnerable part of the country, where most of the people live."
When the storm made landfall early Saturday at the mouth of the Irrawaddy River, its battering winds pushed a wall of water as high as 12 feet some 25 miles inland, laying waste to villages and killing tens of thousands.
Victims lived in the low-lying delta
Most of the dead were in the delta, where farm families sleeping in flimsy shacks barely above sea level were swept to their deaths. Almost 95 percent of the houses and other buildings in seven townships were destroyed, Myanmar's government says. U.N. officials estimate 1.5 million people were left in severe straits.
"When you look at the satellite picture of before and after the storm the effects look eerily similar to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in how it inundated low-lying areas," said Ken Reeves, director of forecasting for AccuWeather.com.
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The Irrawaddy delta "is huge and the interaction of water and land lying right at sea level allowed the tidal surge to deliver maximum penetration of sea water over land," Reeves said. "Storms like this do most of their killing through floods, with salt water being even more dangerous than fresh water."
The delta had lost most of its mangrove forests along the coast to shrimp farms and rice paddies over the past decade. That removed what scientists say is one of nature's best defenses against violent storms.
"If you look at the path of the (cyclone) that hit Myanmar, it hit exactly where it was going to do the most damage, and it's doing the most damage because much of the protective vegetation was cleared," said Jeff NcNeely, chief scientist for the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
"It's an expensive lesson, but it has been one taught repeatedly," he said. "You just wonder why governments don't get on this."
Is climate change to blame?
Some environmentalists suggested global warming may have played a role. Last year, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that warming oceans could contribute to increasingly severe cyclones with stronger winds and heavier rains.
"While we can never pinpoint one disaster as the result of climate change, there is enough scientific evidence that climate change will lead to intensification of tropical cyclones," said Sunita Narain, director of the Indian environmental group Center for Science and Environment.
"Nargis is a sign of things to come," she said. "The victims of these cyclones are climate change victims, and their plight should remind the rich world that it is doing too little to contain its greenhouse gas emissions."
Weather experts, however, are divided over whether global warming is a factor in catastrophic storms. At a January conference of the American Meteorological Society, some postulated warmer ocean temperatures may actually reduce the strength of cyclones and hurricanes.
Masters, at Weather Underground, said Wednesday that in the case of Nargis, the meteorological data in the Indian Ocean region "is too short and too poor in quality to make judgments about whether tropical cyclones have been affected by global warming."
Not enough warning
Despite assertions by Myanmar's military government that it warned people about the storm, critics contend the junta didn't do enough to alert the delta and failed to organize any evacuations, saying that made the death toll worse.
"Villagers were totally unaware," said 38-year-old Khin Khin Myawe, interviewed in the hard-hit delta town of Labutta. "We knew the cyclone was coming but only because the wind was very strong. No local authorities ever came to us with information about how serious the storm was."
The India Meteorological Department, one of six regional warning centers set up by the World Meteorological Organization, began sending regular storm advisories April 27. The information appeared in Myanmar's state-run newspapers, radio and television 48 hours ahead of the storm.
But the international advisories said nothing about a storm surge. And Myanmar, unlike its neighbors Bangladesh and India, has no radar network to help predict the location and height of surges, the WMO said.
There also wasn't any coordinated effort on the part of the junta to move people out of low-lying areas, even though information was available about the expected time and location of landfall.
"How is it possible that there was such a great death toll in the 21st century when we have imagery from satellites in real time and there are specialized meteorology centers in all the regions?" said Olavo Rasquinho of the U.N. Typhoon Committee Secretariat.
Protection from cyclones
Bangladesh has a storm protection system that includes warning sirens, evacuation routes and sturdy towers to shelter people, measures that were credited with limiting the death toll from last year's Cyclone Sidr to 3,100.
Atiq A. Rahman, executive director of the Bangladesh Center for Advanced Studies and a disaster specialist, said Myanmar's death toll would have been lower if it had such a system.
"Taking some action to move people from affected areas would have dramatically helped reduce the numbers of causalities. Absolutely," Rahman said.
But junta officials and some weather experts said evacuating a large area with millions of residents would have been nearly impossible, given the poor roads, the distance to some villages and the likely refusal of some families to leave.
"Even if they warned them, they can't go anywhere. Or they are afraid to go anywhere because they are afraid of losing their property," said Lander, the University of Guam professor. "It is debatable how much of a mass exodus you could have had."
Austrian father reveals his "addiction" to incest
VIENNA (Reuters) - Austrian Josef Fritzl said he became addicted to incest with his daughter, who bore him seven children, and had imprisoned her in a cellar to save her from the outside world.
n comments related by his lawyer to weekly magazine News, Fritzl, who locked up Elisabeth in 1984 when she was 18, said he started raping his daughter a year later.
"My drive to have sex with Elisabeth grew stronger and stronger," Fritzl was quoted as saying.
"I knew Elisabeth didn't want me to do what I did to her. I knew that I was hurting her. ... It was like an addiction ... In reality, I wanted children with her."
Elisabeth, 42, spent nearly a quarter of a century in a windowless cell in the basement of Fritzl's house, giving birth to seven of his children, now aged between 19 and 5 years.
Three of the children remained locked up with their mother in the basement and never saw sunlight until their fate was revealed nearly two weeks ago. Elisabeth has told police that Josef started sexually abusing her when she was 11.
Fritzl, who also has seven children with his wife Rosemarie, said he had locked up Elisabeth after she started to "break all the rules" following the onset of puberty.
She went to bars, drank alcohol and smoked, and ran away a couple of times, the 73-year-old said.
"I tried to get her out of that swamp, organised her an apprenticeship to become a waitress.
"I needed to take precautions, I needed to create a place in which I could at some point keep her away from the outside world, by force if necessary."
INESCAPABLE CYCLE
Fritzl said he found himself trapped in a inescapable cycle once he had locked up Elisabeth. He told his wife their daughter had joined a sect.
"I knew all the time, during the whole 24 years, that what I did was not right, that I must be crazy to do something like that," he said, referring to Elisabeth's underground world as his "empire".
"But nonetheless, it became a matter of course for me to lead a second life in the basement of my house."
Fritzl's lawyer, Rudolf Mayer, has said his client should have psychiatric tests to evaluate whether he is fit to stand trial. Mayer said he might ask for a second assessment should the official court opinion not reflect his client's personality.
Fritzl described himself as a man who valued decency and good manners, and said the emphasis on discipline in Nazi times, when he grew up, might have influenced him.
"Nonetheless, I am not the beast the media depicts me as.
"When I went into the bunker, I brought flowers for my daughter, and books and toys for the children, and I watched adventure videos with them while Elisabeth was cooking our favourite dish," he said.
"And then we all sat around the table and ate together."
Fritzl has been remanded in custody in the city of St Poelten. Mayer confirmed to Reuters that Fritzl's comments were authentic.
Copyright © 2008 Reuters
n comments related by his lawyer to weekly magazine News, Fritzl, who locked up Elisabeth in 1984 when she was 18, said he started raping his daughter a year later.
"My drive to have sex with Elisabeth grew stronger and stronger," Fritzl was quoted as saying.
"I knew Elisabeth didn't want me to do what I did to her. I knew that I was hurting her. ... It was like an addiction ... In reality, I wanted children with her."
Elisabeth, 42, spent nearly a quarter of a century in a windowless cell in the basement of Fritzl's house, giving birth to seven of his children, now aged between 19 and 5 years.
Three of the children remained locked up with their mother in the basement and never saw sunlight until their fate was revealed nearly two weeks ago. Elisabeth has told police that Josef started sexually abusing her when she was 11.
Fritzl, who also has seven children with his wife Rosemarie, said he had locked up Elisabeth after she started to "break all the rules" following the onset of puberty.
She went to bars, drank alcohol and smoked, and ran away a couple of times, the 73-year-old said.
"I tried to get her out of that swamp, organised her an apprenticeship to become a waitress.
"I needed to take precautions, I needed to create a place in which I could at some point keep her away from the outside world, by force if necessary."
INESCAPABLE CYCLE
Fritzl said he found himself trapped in a inescapable cycle once he had locked up Elisabeth. He told his wife their daughter had joined a sect.
"I knew all the time, during the whole 24 years, that what I did was not right, that I must be crazy to do something like that," he said, referring to Elisabeth's underground world as his "empire".
"But nonetheless, it became a matter of course for me to lead a second life in the basement of my house."
Fritzl's lawyer, Rudolf Mayer, has said his client should have psychiatric tests to evaluate whether he is fit to stand trial. Mayer said he might ask for a second assessment should the official court opinion not reflect his client's personality.
Fritzl described himself as a man who valued decency and good manners, and said the emphasis on discipline in Nazi times, when he grew up, might have influenced him.
"Nonetheless, I am not the beast the media depicts me as.
"When I went into the bunker, I brought flowers for my daughter, and books and toys for the children, and I watched adventure videos with them while Elisabeth was cooking our favourite dish," he said.
"And then we all sat around the table and ate together."
Fritzl has been remanded in custody in the city of St Poelten. Mayer confirmed to Reuters that Fritzl's comments were authentic.
Copyright © 2008 Reuters
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
Blogger Raja Petra taken to prison after declining bail on sedition charge
PETALING JAYA: The editor of news portal Malaysia Today, Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin, claimed trial in the Sessions Court here to publishing a seditious article in its website on April 25 while businessman Syed Akbar Ali claimed trial to posting a seditious comment.
Raja Petra, 58, became the first blogger to be charged under the Sedition Act, making it a test case. He is accused of publishing the article “Let’s send the Altantuya murderers to hell” in the website www.malaysia-today.net. The article is alleged to have contained nine paragraphs of seditious words.
He is said to have committed the offence at his house in Jalan BRP 5/5 in Bukit Rahman Putra in Sungai Buloh that day.
When the interpreter read out to him the alleged seditious words, Judge Nurmala Salim interjected by asking her to pronounce the exact words as highlighted in the six pages of Appendix A. The interpreter took 11 minutes to read out the allegedly seditious words to him.
Upon hearing the details of his charge from the interpreter at noon, Raja Petra, who clasped his hands behind his back, claimed trial. Clad in a short-sleeved yellow shirt and blue jeans, Raja Petra was composed throughout the court proceedings.
If convicted, he can be fined a maximum of RM5,000 or jailed up to three years or both under Section 4(1)(c) of the Act.
At this juncture, lead counsel K. Balaguru raised a preliminary objection saying that the charge did not state the time of the alleged offence. He said the prosecution should have classified which category of the Act that his client had allegedly infringed.
At that point, the court was adjourned for 10 minutes after Balaguru informed the judge that veteran lawyer Karpal Singh would also appear for his client.
When the court resumed, Balaguru withdrew his preliminary objection. Queried on prosecution witnesses, Nordin said he would be calling 15 witnesses and would prefer a week for the trial. Nurmala set five days from Oct 6 for trial. Raja Petra declined to post bail and was taken to Sg Buloh prison later.
In Kuala Lumpur’s Jalan Duta Sessions Court, Syed Akbar Ali, 48, pleaded not guilty to posting the comment on Arabs and Islam with Raja Petra’s article titled “Malaysia’s organised crime syndicate: all roads lead to Putrajaya” on June 5 last year.
The former banker looked calm when the charge was read out to him. The offence was allegedly committed at 2.59pm at Zeenath Begum Jewellers Sdn Bhd in Jalan Masjid India.
Judge S.M. Komathy Suppiah granted bail at RM3,000 and fixed June 10 for submissions on the charge.
He posted bail.
Surprise fall in US jobless rate
The US has reported a surprise fall in its unemployment rate and in the number of jobs cut by employers, the labour department has said. National unemployment dipped slightly from 5.1 per cent in March to five per cent, while the number of jobs cut in April was 20,000, far fewer than the 80,000 that economists had feared.
George Bush, the US president, said on Friday that despite the figures being better than expected the economy was "not as robust as any of us would like it".
The figures came two days after the US central bank cut interest rates by a quarter-point from 2.25 per cent to two per cent, the lowest rate since December 2004.
On the same day, government figures showed that the US economy had grown by a modest 0.6 per cent in the first three months of 2008.
Turkey PM denies planning new party
Tayyip Erdogan's office has called local media reports about his ruling Justice and Development (AK) party's planned response to a bid to close it down "untrue".
A leading broadcaster and national newspaper had claimed that the Turkish prime minister would form a new party if the constitutional court shuts his existing one down.
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The case could see 71 members of the AK party, including Erdogan, banned from politics for five years.
Kanal D, a Turkish broadcaster, reported on Monday that Erdogan also said that if he was personally banned, he would call elections and run as an independent candidate.
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The broadcaster said he disclosed the information to a group of journalists at a dinner on Saturday evening.
False statements
The statement from Erdogan's office read: "The stories do not reflect the exact truth in terms of the contents of the conversation, the nature of the invitation and the list of invitees.
"In particular, some untrue statements attributed to our prime minister regarding an ongoing court case and its possible outcome are viewed as being far from well-intentioned."
The prime minister was quoted in Vatan newspaper as saying the Turkish economy could not cope with an extended court process, so the case would be completed in July.
It also quoted him as saying he did not expect the court to actually shut the party down and that he would not seek constitutional changes to avert the closure.
Last week, the AK party submitted its preliminary defence in the case.
Previous bans
The AK party, which won re-election last July, rejects charges that its members were engaged in anti-secular activities and says the case is politically motivated.
The Islamist-rooted government is at odds with the secular establishment, including the powerful military and judiciary, over Islam's role in secular but predominantly Muslim Turkey.
Within the indictment, the prosecutor points to the role of Erdogan and other leading AK party figures in previous parties closed for anti-secular activities.
Turkey has banned a number of political parties in the past for alleged Islamist or Kurdish separatist activities.
Many commentators expect the AK party to suffer the same fate
A leading broadcaster and national newspaper had claimed that the Turkish prime minister would form a new party if the constitutional court shuts his existing one down.
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The case could see 71 members of the AK party, including Erdogan, banned from politics for five years.
Kanal D, a Turkish broadcaster, reported on Monday that Erdogan also said that if he was personally banned, he would call elections and run as an independent candidate.
bodyVariable300="Htmlphcontrol2_lblError";
The broadcaster said he disclosed the information to a group of journalists at a dinner on Saturday evening.
False statements
The statement from Erdogan's office read: "The stories do not reflect the exact truth in terms of the contents of the conversation, the nature of the invitation and the list of invitees.
"In particular, some untrue statements attributed to our prime minister regarding an ongoing court case and its possible outcome are viewed as being far from well-intentioned."
The prime minister was quoted in Vatan newspaper as saying the Turkish economy could not cope with an extended court process, so the case would be completed in July.
It also quoted him as saying he did not expect the court to actually shut the party down and that he would not seek constitutional changes to avert the closure.
Last week, the AK party submitted its preliminary defence in the case.
Previous bans
The AK party, which won re-election last July, rejects charges that its members were engaged in anti-secular activities and says the case is politically motivated.
The Islamist-rooted government is at odds with the secular establishment, including the powerful military and judiciary, over Islam's role in secular but predominantly Muslim Turkey.
Within the indictment, the prosecutor points to the role of Erdogan and other leading AK party figures in previous parties closed for anti-secular activities.
Turkey has banned a number of political parties in the past for alleged Islamist or Kurdish separatist activities.
Many commentators expect the AK party to suffer the same fate
Mogadishu riots over food prices
Police have fired in the air to disperse thousands of people protesting over rising food prices in the streets of Mogadishu, the main city in Somalia.
More than 10,000 people gathered in the southern neighbourhood of Madina on Tuesday and marched towards the main Bakara trading district, where rally leaders addressed the crowd, an AFP correspondent said. No casualties were immediately reported, but on Monday two people were killed in protests, witnesses said. The crowd briefly dispersed after the firing.
"This is the worst problem facing the planet. Nobody cares about civilians and traders are harming us even more than Somalia's armed enemies now," Sheikh Mohamoud Abdulle, a Muslim leader, told the crowd. "We can no longer ignore what is happening and we must respond to the best of our ability."
More than 10,000 people gathered in the southern neighbourhood of Madina on Tuesday and marched towards the main Bakara trading district, where rally leaders addressed the crowd, an AFP correspondent said. No casualties were immediately reported, but on Monday two people were killed in protests, witnesses said. The crowd briefly dispersed after the firing.
"This is the worst problem facing the planet. Nobody cares about civilians and traders are harming us even more than Somalia's armed enemies now," Sheikh Mohamoud Abdulle, a Muslim leader, told the crowd. "We can no longer ignore what is happening and we must respond to the best of our ability."
Green spin leaves shoppers baffled
SUPERMARKET shelves are flooded with "greenwash", says the consumer group Choice, creating a culture of confusion and cynicism among shoppers.
A survey of 185 non-food items, from detergents to tissues, found that only three of the 630 environmental claims made on packaging could be substantiated. Myriad logos, many featuring leaf and tree designs and one showing hands cradling the Earth, appeared to be nothing more than inventions of manufacturers' marketing departments, Choice's chief executive, Peter Kell, said yesterday. Some claims were blatant lies.
"Greenwash is out of control on supermarket shelves," he said.
"Our concern is that the proliferation of irrelevant, vague and unhelpful environmental claims is actually punishing companies wanting to do the right thing … and supermarkets with their own brands are some of the worst offenders."
Among the offending products is Ambi Pur plug-in air freshener, which boasts that it is biodegradable. The fine print reveals the box the device comes in, not the product itself, is biodegradable. And a box of Kleenex tissues marked "100 per cent recycled board" refers to the box and not the contents.
Among claims described as vague, Glad brand council bin liners are said to contain "up to" 40 per cent recyclable plastic. Sorbent's "gold opulence" toilet paper displays five environmental logos on the wrapping, only one of which is a genuine accreditation for recycling, says Choice. Woolworths Select brand toilet paper and tissues, which were the subject of a partial voluntary recall following allegations of misleading labelling last September, were still bearing forest sustainability verification symbols in January, when the products were bought by Choice.
The products are supplied by the Indonesian company Asia Pulp and Paper, which is accused by environmental groups and unions of illegally clearing rainforests in Sumatra and China. Choice said supermarkets needed to get their houses in order and ensure all green claims on "own-brand" products complied with Australian Standards.
However, the Australian Standard for Environmental Labelling was voluntary and largely ignored, Mr Kell said, particularly in relation to words such as "sustainable", "natural", "recycled" and "biodegradable".
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission needed to target misleading claims more aggressively under the Trade Practices Act, he said. The commission recently released a guide warning manufacturers and retailers about claims that overstep the mark. The commission's chairman, Graeme Samuel, said it was already targeting deceptive conduct. He pointed to action it had taken against electricity companies and Saab over misleading environmental claims.
"I don't think we need to be exhorted any further to be taking action because we are of course dealing with these issues," Mr Samuel said, dismissing suggestions that marketing departments appeared to be one step ahead of the regulators.
"We've got a fundamental law under section 52 of the Trade Practices Act which says you should not engage in any misleading or deceptive conduct. Overstep the mark and you will be brought to heel."
A survey of 185 non-food items, from detergents to tissues, found that only three of the 630 environmental claims made on packaging could be substantiated. Myriad logos, many featuring leaf and tree designs and one showing hands cradling the Earth, appeared to be nothing more than inventions of manufacturers' marketing departments, Choice's chief executive, Peter Kell, said yesterday. Some claims were blatant lies.
"Greenwash is out of control on supermarket shelves," he said.
"Our concern is that the proliferation of irrelevant, vague and unhelpful environmental claims is actually punishing companies wanting to do the right thing … and supermarkets with their own brands are some of the worst offenders."
Among the offending products is Ambi Pur plug-in air freshener, which boasts that it is biodegradable. The fine print reveals the box the device comes in, not the product itself, is biodegradable. And a box of Kleenex tissues marked "100 per cent recycled board" refers to the box and not the contents.
Among claims described as vague, Glad brand council bin liners are said to contain "up to" 40 per cent recyclable plastic. Sorbent's "gold opulence" toilet paper displays five environmental logos on the wrapping, only one of which is a genuine accreditation for recycling, says Choice. Woolworths Select brand toilet paper and tissues, which were the subject of a partial voluntary recall following allegations of misleading labelling last September, were still bearing forest sustainability verification symbols in January, when the products were bought by Choice.
The products are supplied by the Indonesian company Asia Pulp and Paper, which is accused by environmental groups and unions of illegally clearing rainforests in Sumatra and China. Choice said supermarkets needed to get their houses in order and ensure all green claims on "own-brand" products complied with Australian Standards.
However, the Australian Standard for Environmental Labelling was voluntary and largely ignored, Mr Kell said, particularly in relation to words such as "sustainable", "natural", "recycled" and "biodegradable".
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission needed to target misleading claims more aggressively under the Trade Practices Act, he said. The commission recently released a guide warning manufacturers and retailers about claims that overstep the mark. The commission's chairman, Graeme Samuel, said it was already targeting deceptive conduct. He pointed to action it had taken against electricity companies and Saab over misleading environmental claims.
"I don't think we need to be exhorted any further to be taking action because we are of course dealing with these issues," Mr Samuel said, dismissing suggestions that marketing departments appeared to be one step ahead of the regulators.
"We've got a fundamental law under section 52 of the Trade Practices Act which says you should not engage in any misleading or deceptive conduct. Overstep the mark and you will be brought to heel."
稅收2007億今年料回落
(星島日報報道)本港去年經濟暢旺，在股市樓市向上、企業盈利豐厚帶動下，政府庫房稅收亦「豬籠入水」。稅務局昨日公布○七／○八年度稅收總額創下有史以來新高，近二千零七億港元，較上年度急升兩成九，更打破稅務局成立六十年以來的稅收紀錄。
當中以利得稅最多，高逾九百一十四億元，印花稅收入更升逾一倍；稅務局坦言，對豐厚稅收感意外。立法會議員及學者強調，庫房大水浸應還富於民，「加碼」協助基層家庭抗衡通脹。
稅務局昨日公布○七／○八年度稅收總額創下歷史新高，高達二千零六億九千八百萬元，打破○六／○七年度紀錄一千五百五十一億元的紀錄，激增四百五十六億元，增幅達兩成九；單是入息稅及利得稅等四大稅項，已錄
得一千三百三十七億元，佔總稅收近七成。 各類稅收中，利得稅收最豐厚，高逾九百一十四億元，較前一年度激增兩成七；當中以地產業及保險業盈利最大，在利得稅中佔最大比例。稅收升幅最凌厲為印花稅，錄得五百一十五億元，較前一年前狂飆一點○六倍；當中以股票印花稅收升幅最突出，升逾一點三六倍達到三百五十四億元，物業印花稅收則升六成三，至一百五十七億元。博彩稅成績亦見理想，錄得一百三十億元，較前升百分之八，當中賽馬及六合彩投注稅收同升百分之九，佔逾一百○一億元。
薪俸稅方面，整體薪俸稅應評稅入息雖錄得百分之八點五升幅，但受惠於預算案的入息稅扣稅五成影響，○七年度薪俸稅收下跌百分之三，跌至三百七十四億元。不過，高薪一族在一片加薪加佣金帶挈下，繳稅金額大升，貧富懸殊現象更趨明顯。
稅務局局長劉麥懿明以「出乎意料之外」形容今年稅收情況，她指出，印花稅收較預期超出一倍，利得稅收因企業業績突出而增加，整體打工仔收入趨升，令十萬人跌入稅網，反映本港經濟持續暢旺，股市樓市勢好令多項稅收激增。稅局本周內將會公布首十名交稅最多的「打工皇帝」納稅情況。
不過，展望下一年度，退稅額高達七成半，以二萬五千元為上限。稅務局預測，○八年度整體稅收總額，將回落至一千六百一十三億元，較○七年度跌兩成，四大稅項中以物業稅下跌五成最多，其他則以商業登記費免收一年，料收入將大跌九成。
劉麥懿明指出，本港稅基一直狹窄從無改善，逾七成稅收落在首十萬名納稅人的肩膊上，而○八年度稅率將回復至○二／○三年水平，預料有九萬七千人因此脫離稅網，稅基會更狹窄，今年稅收則要視乎薪酬會否有大幅上漲，她亦拒絕評論貧富懸殊現象愈趨嚴重，及今年經濟股市波動對稅收影響。
港大社工及社會行政學系講座教授周永新認為，近日通脹惡劣嚴重影響基層市民生活，尤其食物價格急升及通脹屢創新高，政府不可視而不見，他促請政府趁庫房水浸，應將還富於民措施「加碼」。職工盟李卓人同指，近日通脹惡化，庫房水浸政府不應手緊，加強還富協助市民對抗通脹，立法會明將討論打擊通脹措施。
兩人均建議政府，應將注資六千元入強積金戶口加至八千元，當中五千元應作現金派發；跨區交通津貼擴至全港才令基層受惠，周永新估計，各措施只需額外增約三十億元撥款
當中以利得稅最多，高逾九百一十四億元，印花稅收入更升逾一倍；稅務局坦言，對豐厚稅收感意外。立法會議員及學者強調，庫房大水浸應還富於民，「加碼」協助基層家庭抗衡通脹。
稅務局昨日公布○七／○八年度稅收總額創下歷史新高，高達二千零六億九千八百萬元，打破○六／○七年度紀錄一千五百五十一億元的紀錄，激增四百五十六億元，增幅達兩成九；單是入息稅及利得稅等四大稅項，已錄
得一千三百三十七億元，佔總稅收近七成。 各類稅收中，利得稅收最豐厚，高逾九百一十四億元，較前一年度激增兩成七；當中以地產業及保險業盈利最大，在利得稅中佔最大比例。稅收升幅最凌厲為印花稅，錄得五百一十五億元，較前一年前狂飆一點○六倍；當中以股票印花稅收升幅最突出，升逾一點三六倍達到三百五十四億元，物業印花稅收則升六成三，至一百五十七億元。博彩稅成績亦見理想，錄得一百三十億元，較前升百分之八，當中賽馬及六合彩投注稅收同升百分之九，佔逾一百○一億元。
薪俸稅方面，整體薪俸稅應評稅入息雖錄得百分之八點五升幅，但受惠於預算案的入息稅扣稅五成影響，○七年度薪俸稅收下跌百分之三，跌至三百七十四億元。不過，高薪一族在一片加薪加佣金帶挈下，繳稅金額大升，貧富懸殊現象更趨明顯。
稅務局局長劉麥懿明以「出乎意料之外」形容今年稅收情況，她指出，印花稅收較預期超出一倍，利得稅收因企業業績突出而增加，整體打工仔收入趨升，令十萬人跌入稅網，反映本港經濟持續暢旺，股市樓市勢好令多項稅收激增。稅局本周內將會公布首十名交稅最多的「打工皇帝」納稅情況。
不過，展望下一年度，退稅額高達七成半，以二萬五千元為上限。稅務局預測，○八年度整體稅收總額，將回落至一千六百一十三億元，較○七年度跌兩成，四大稅項中以物業稅下跌五成最多，其他則以商業登記費免收一年，料收入將大跌九成。
劉麥懿明指出，本港稅基一直狹窄從無改善，逾七成稅收落在首十萬名納稅人的肩膊上，而○八年度稅率將回復至○二／○三年水平，預料有九萬七千人因此脫離稅網，稅基會更狹窄，今年稅收則要視乎薪酬會否有大幅上漲，她亦拒絕評論貧富懸殊現象愈趨嚴重，及今年經濟股市波動對稅收影響。
港大社工及社會行政學系講座教授周永新認為，近日通脹惡劣嚴重影響基層市民生活，尤其食物價格急升及通脹屢創新高，政府不可視而不見，他促請政府趁庫房水浸，應將還富於民措施「加碼」。職工盟李卓人同指，近日通脹惡化，庫房水浸政府不應手緊，加強還富協助市民對抗通脹，立法會明將討論打擊通脹措施。
兩人均建議政府，應將注資六千元入強積金戶口加至八千元，當中五千元應作現金派發；跨區交通津貼擴至全港才令基層受惠，周永新估計，各措施只需額外增約三十億元撥款
Plane carrying Sudan officials crashes, 21 killed
KHARTOUM, Sudan - A plane carrying southern Sudan’s defense minister and a presidential adviser crashed Friday, killing all 21 people on board, state media reported.
Nineteen passengers and two crew members were killed when the plane went down in a remote Bahr Gazal region of southern Sudan, state-run SUNA news agency reported. Minister of Defense Dominic Dim Deng and Justin Yak, an adviser to the Southern Sudan president, were among the dead.
The cause of the crash was not immediately known. A U.N.-operated radio station that broadcasts in the area, Mireya FM, reported the plane belonged to the Southern Sudan Air Connection company.
SUNA said the pilot radioed a control tower in the city of Rumbek just before the crash, requesting permission to land because one of the engines had technical problems. A few minutes later, the tower lost contact with the plane.
Southern Sudan has its own semiautonomous government after a 2005 peace deal that ended more than two decades of civil war between the ethnic African south and Sudan’s Arab-dominated government in the capital Khartoum.
Nineteen passengers and two crew members were killed when the plane went down in a remote Bahr Gazal region of southern Sudan, state-run SUNA news agency reported. Minister of Defense Dominic Dim Deng and Justin Yak, an adviser to the Southern Sudan president, were among the dead.
The cause of the crash was not immediately known. A U.N.-operated radio station that broadcasts in the area, Mireya FM, reported the plane belonged to the Southern Sudan Air Connection company.
SUNA said the pilot radioed a control tower in the city of Rumbek just before the crash, requesting permission to land because one of the engines had technical problems. A few minutes later, the tower lost contact with the plane.
Southern Sudan has its own semiautonomous government after a 2005 peace deal that ended more than two decades of civil war between the ethnic African south and Sudan’s Arab-dominated government in the capital Khartoum.
Voters turn out for what could be Democrats' final round
# Story Highlights
# NEW: Reports of heavy turnout for Indiana and North Carolina primaries
# 187 delegates are at stake in Tuesday's primaries
# Sen. Hillary Clinton calls primaries a "game changer"
# Clinton must win 70 percent of remaining pledged delegates to match Obama
# NEW: Reports of heavy turnout for Indiana and North Carolina primaries
# 187 delegates are at stake in Tuesday's primaries
# Sen. Hillary Clinton calls primaries a "game changer"
# Clinton must win 70 percent of remaining pledged delegates to match Obama
Oil hits $122 a barrel
NEW YORK (AP) -- Oil futures blasted to a new record of $122 a barrel Tuesday, gaining momentum as investors bought on a forecast of much higher prices and on any news hinting at supply shortages. Retail gas prices edged lower, but appear poised to rise to new records of their own in coming weeks.
A new Goldman Sachs prediction that oil prices could rise to $150 to $200 within two years seemed to motivate much of Tuesday's buying, although a falling dollar and increasing concerns about declining crude production in Mexico and Russia contributed, analysts say.
Light, sweet crude for June delivery jumped to a new record of $122 a barrel before retreating slightly to trade up $1.92 at $121.89 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Bush to Myanmar: 'Let us help'
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush joined a chorus of international leaders urging Myanmar's reclusive military government to allow the flow of aid after a disastrous weekend cyclone killed tens of thousands of people.
"Let the United States come and help you," Bush exhorted the junta on Tuesday.
The death toll has risen to more than 22,000, Myanmar state radio and opposition sources said Tuesday, and has left much of the country without electricity, communications and transportation. The cyclone is the deadliest natural disaster to hit Myanmar -- also known as Burma -- in recorded history, according to a U.N.-funded disaster database that includes figures from the past century.
"The situation is very bad and not getting better," Shari Villarosa, the top U.S. diplomat in Myanmar, told CNN Tuesday.
Many in the international community want to help but are still waiting for the Myanmar government to grant their relief teams entry into the country, Villarosa said. The U.S. Embassy in Myanmar issued a "disaster declaration" in the country and authorized the release of $250,000 for cyclone relief efforts, Deputy State Department spokesman Tom Casey said.
"The United States has made an initial aid contribution, but we want to do a lot more," Bush said at the White House.
"We are prepared to move U.S. Navy assets to help find those who have lost their lives, to help find the missing, and help stabilize the situation.
"But in order to do so, the military junta must allow our disaster assessment teams into the country," Bush said.
The U.S. Navy is making preparations to respond to any requests for assistance, U.S. military officials said. The Navy has calculated it would take its nearest ships four days to get to the affected area. Now that the commercial airport in Yangon has reopened, other aid could be brought in by military air transport.
Myanmar's military junta is subject to international sanctions. Its most famous pro-democracy activist, Aung San Suu Kyi, is under house arrest. Bush's statement on Myanmar came as he signed legislation awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to Suu Kyi "in recognition of her courageous and unwavering commitment to peace, nonviolence, human rights, and democracy in Burma."
A key United Nations agency said Tuesday that simply getting visas for aid workers to enter Myanmar is the greatest challenge facing international aid organizations trying to bring relief into the cyclone-ravaged country. Visas are only available through the foreign ministry in Yangon, the United Nations Joint Logistics Center said in a statement. The government of Myanmar has not officially endorsed international assistance, the UNJLC added, but said Myanmar "is willing to accept international assistance, preferably bilateral, government to government."
Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama said Tuesday Thailand is sending supplies and $100,000 in aid. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said it has released 200,000 Swiss francs (about $190,000) to help with the aftermath of the storm
"Let the United States come and help you," Bush exhorted the junta on Tuesday.
The death toll has risen to more than 22,000, Myanmar state radio and opposition sources said Tuesday, and has left much of the country without electricity, communications and transportation. The cyclone is the deadliest natural disaster to hit Myanmar -- also known as Burma -- in recorded history, according to a U.N.-funded disaster database that includes figures from the past century.
"The situation is very bad and not getting better," Shari Villarosa, the top U.S. diplomat in Myanmar, told CNN Tuesday.
Many in the international community want to help but are still waiting for the Myanmar government to grant their relief teams entry into the country, Villarosa said. The U.S. Embassy in Myanmar issued a "disaster declaration" in the country and authorized the release of $250,000 for cyclone relief efforts, Deputy State Department spokesman Tom Casey said.
"The United States has made an initial aid contribution, but we want to do a lot more," Bush said at the White House.
"We are prepared to move U.S. Navy assets to help find those who have lost their lives, to help find the missing, and help stabilize the situation.
"But in order to do so, the military junta must allow our disaster assessment teams into the country," Bush said.
The U.S. Navy is making preparations to respond to any requests for assistance, U.S. military officials said. The Navy has calculated it would take its nearest ships four days to get to the affected area. Now that the commercial airport in Yangon has reopened, other aid could be brought in by military air transport.
Myanmar's military junta is subject to international sanctions. Its most famous pro-democracy activist, Aung San Suu Kyi, is under house arrest. Bush's statement on Myanmar came as he signed legislation awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to Suu Kyi "in recognition of her courageous and unwavering commitment to peace, nonviolence, human rights, and democracy in Burma."
A key United Nations agency said Tuesday that simply getting visas for aid workers to enter Myanmar is the greatest challenge facing international aid organizations trying to bring relief into the cyclone-ravaged country. Visas are only available through the foreign ministry in Yangon, the United Nations Joint Logistics Center said in a statement. The government of Myanmar has not officially endorsed international assistance, the UNJLC added, but said Myanmar "is willing to accept international assistance, preferably bilateral, government to government."
Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama said Tuesday Thailand is sending supplies and $100,000 in aid. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said it has released 200,000 Swiss francs (about $190,000) to help with the aftermath of the storm
Thursday, May 01, 2008
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