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....
Thursday, May 08, 2008
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.
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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
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
Monday, April 28, 2008
Sydney's $260m cheap home plan
Prime city land will be transformed into hundreds of new affordable apartments under a $260 million project to bring key workers, priced out of the property market, closer to their work.
The City of Sydney's depot in Bay Street, Ultimo, home to a collection of garbage trucks, and a piece of nearby State Government land now housing 5 per cent of the area's public housing tenants, will be handed over as part of the project to address the city's affordable housing shortage.
The development on the 3.6-hectare site in Glebe-Ultimo will be for 700 new affordable, social and private housing units.
Workers who would benefit include police officers, nurses, cleaners and security guards.
天星碼頭客量減冀增票價
天星小輪申請尖沙嘴至中環，及尖沙嘴至灣仔的兩條航線加價。
總經理梁德興表示，由於中環天星碼頭搬遷後，兩條航線的客量減少一成八，加上油價上升，令成本增加。他相信，平日票價加三角，不會對市民構成很大負擔；又指若不引入假日收費，平日票價的加幅須增至五角。他希望新票價可在七月實施。
天星小輪申請，平日上層票價增至二元五角，下層兩元；假日上層收三元，下層二元四角。
總經理梁德興表示，由於中環天星碼頭搬遷後，兩條航線的客量減少一成八，加上油價上升，令成本增加。他相信，平日票價加三角，不會對市民構成很大負擔；又指若不引入假日收費，平日票價的加幅須增至五角。他希望新票價可在七月實施。
天星小輪申請，平日上層票價增至二元五角，下層兩元；假日上層收三元，下層二元四角。
山 東 火 車 相 撞 500 死 傷
(星島日報報道) 內地發生十一年來最嚴重火車相撞慘劇。一列從北京開出的火車昨凌晨在山東境內，疑因超速 導致脫軌，被另一火車攔腰相撞，數百乘客在睡夢中被夾死或拋出車外，最少七十人死亡，四百一十六人受傷，傷者包括四名法國人。當局出動數千名軍警及醫護人 員救援，濟南鐵路局局長及黨組書記已被撤職。
這宗接近五百死傷的火車相撞慘劇震驚中央，國家主席胡錦濤、總理溫家寶批示全力救援，副總理張德江奉命前往現場。據悉，出事路段限速為每小時八十公里，而脫軌火車當時時速高達一百三十一公里。專家初步認定列車超速為肇事原因，排除恐怖襲擊的可能。
事發於昨日凌晨四時四十一分，由北京開往青島的T195次載客 火車，行至山東膠濟鐵路淄博市周村站至王村站，第九至十七卡車廂突然脫軌，車尾橫鎆於對面路軌，被迎面而來由山東煙台開往菏澤的5034次載客火車攔腰相撞。5034次火車車頭及第一至五卡車廂亦脫軌翻側。
這宗接近五百死傷的火車相撞慘劇震驚中央，國家主席胡錦濤、總理溫家寶批示全力救援，副總理張德江奉命前往現場。據悉，出事路段限速為每小時八十公里，而脫軌火車當時時速高達一百三十一公里。專家初步認定列車超速為肇事原因，排除恐怖襲擊的可能。
事發於昨日凌晨四時四十一分，由北京開往青島的T195次載客 火車，行至山東膠濟鐵路淄博市周村站至王村站，第九至十七卡車廂突然脫軌，車尾橫鎆於對面路軌，被迎面而來由山東煙台開往菏澤的5034次載客火車攔腰相撞。5034次火車車頭及第一至五卡車廂亦脫軌翻側。
外匯基金見紅 虧損146億
全球投資市場波動，連累外匯基金今年首季出現146億虧損，其中股票虧損達524億，拖累整體盈利。這是2001年以來，首季虧損最多的一次；也是 2005年以來，首次出現季度業績「見紅」。面對立法會議員的質疑，金管局總裁任志剛罕有地提前透露，4月份的投資回報不俗，可將頭三個月的虧損「賺回 來」。
早前任志剛已經預告過，由於全球投資環境轉弱，因此外匯基金2008年第一季度的投資難免有所虧損。在昨天（4月28日）的立法會財經事務委員會時正式公 布：首季投資債券賺256億元，外匯亦獲利122億元。但股票市場虧損達524億，港股和其他股票各虧300億和224億，總計虧損146億元。
隨時上落數十億
任志剛強調，近期全球市場仍大幅波動，每日的投資收入上落隨時達數十億元，個別日子的波幅更超過一百億元，因此有機會出現短期虧損。但在各環節投資套戥下，首季投資的損失，只佔外匯基金近1.5萬億的總資產不足1%。
在立法會財經事務委員會上，任志剛多番被議員質疑港股投資策略過於進取。財經事務委員會主席湯家驊認為：「若隨便問街上一位投資者，我相信他們都會認為今次虧損很多。」
任志剛隨即反駁說：「若湯議員找到一些基金，首季虧損同樣是少於百分之一的，請你說給我聽，讓我邀請這些投資經理來。很多港股基金虧損都很多，投資亦總有 贏有輸。」任志剛認為，不能單以某一個環節的投資去看，亦不能「輸打贏要」，各項投資在此消彼長下，才能令上季投資虧損佔外匯基金總資產少於1%。
任志剛續解釋，因外匯基金的港股投資組合不易變動，令投資相對被動。他解釋，政府1998年入市後，雖曾利用盈富基金減持大部份股票，但仍有部份轉作長期持有，有關股值現佔外匯基金的5%。基於1998年港府曾公開承諾，有關股份會作長期持有，所以最終並沒減持。
四月投資可彌補虧損
任志剛隨即罕有提前透露，四月份的投資已有「少許改善」，過去三個月的虧損已開始賺回，希望四月後會轉虧為盈。另因去年四月開始改變跟政府的分帳安排，分 帳額會按近六年平均投資回報計算，2008年收費率由7%提升至9.4%，政府財政儲備今年首季仍可獲分帳118億元，預計全年更會有超過400億元。
對外匯基金今年首季虧損1%，投資者學會主席譚紹興坦言，任志剛及金管局投資人員，薪酬在業界素來偏高，公眾有理由要求金管局投資表現應更佳。中大財務學碩士課程主任蘇偉文亦指，相信金管局在部份投資項目仍有提早止蝕的空間。
另外，對有議員批評任志剛任期及薪酬機制透明度不足，財經事務及庫務局長陳家強指，財政司司長負責制訂整體金融政策，再交金管局執行，因此需要有委任金管局總裁的彈性，目前國際社會對金管局的評價亦相當高。
至於外匯基金會否如中國投資公司般，進行海外併購？任志剛表示他持開放態度，但是他個人認為目前國際金融市場，出手投資應該小心行事。
大家小心投资阿
早前任志剛已經預告過，由於全球投資環境轉弱，因此外匯基金2008年第一季度的投資難免有所虧損。在昨天（4月28日）的立法會財經事務委員會時正式公 布：首季投資債券賺256億元，外匯亦獲利122億元。但股票市場虧損達524億，港股和其他股票各虧300億和224億，總計虧損146億元。
隨時上落數十億
任志剛強調，近期全球市場仍大幅波動，每日的投資收入上落隨時達數十億元，個別日子的波幅更超過一百億元，因此有機會出現短期虧損。但在各環節投資套戥下，首季投資的損失，只佔外匯基金近1.5萬億的總資產不足1%。
在立法會財經事務委員會上，任志剛多番被議員質疑港股投資策略過於進取。財經事務委員會主席湯家驊認為：「若隨便問街上一位投資者，我相信他們都會認為今次虧損很多。」
任志剛隨即反駁說：「若湯議員找到一些基金，首季虧損同樣是少於百分之一的，請你說給我聽，讓我邀請這些投資經理來。很多港股基金虧損都很多，投資亦總有 贏有輸。」任志剛認為，不能單以某一個環節的投資去看，亦不能「輸打贏要」，各項投資在此消彼長下，才能令上季投資虧損佔外匯基金總資產少於1%。
任志剛續解釋，因外匯基金的港股投資組合不易變動，令投資相對被動。他解釋，政府1998年入市後，雖曾利用盈富基金減持大部份股票，但仍有部份轉作長期持有，有關股值現佔外匯基金的5%。基於1998年港府曾公開承諾，有關股份會作長期持有，所以最終並沒減持。
四月投資可彌補虧損
任志剛隨即罕有提前透露，四月份的投資已有「少許改善」，過去三個月的虧損已開始賺回，希望四月後會轉虧為盈。另因去年四月開始改變跟政府的分帳安排，分 帳額會按近六年平均投資回報計算，2008年收費率由7%提升至9.4%，政府財政儲備今年首季仍可獲分帳118億元，預計全年更會有超過400億元。
對外匯基金今年首季虧損1%，投資者學會主席譚紹興坦言，任志剛及金管局投資人員，薪酬在業界素來偏高，公眾有理由要求金管局投資表現應更佳。中大財務學碩士課程主任蘇偉文亦指，相信金管局在部份投資項目仍有提早止蝕的空間。
另外，對有議員批評任志剛任期及薪酬機制透明度不足，財經事務及庫務局長陳家強指，財政司司長負責制訂整體金融政策，再交金管局執行，因此需要有委任金管局總裁的彈性，目前國際社會對金管局的評價亦相當高。
至於外匯基金會否如中國投資公司般，進行海外併購？任志剛表示他持開放態度，但是他個人認為目前國際金融市場，出手投資應該小心行事。
大家小心投资阿
Storms leave 200 injured in Virginia, officials say
Story Highlights
NEW: Injuries in Suffolk, where a tornado destroyed homes and businesses
A second tornado struck Colonial Heights injuring at least 18, an official said
Video shows roofs torn off, cars flipped, trees snapped in half
A third twister damaged several homes near Lawrenceville
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
菲律賓：他們窮到賣腎
（菲律賓‧馬尼拉）菲律賓是非法活人器官熱賣地，大多數活人腎臟用來移植在富裕外國人的身上，其中許多外國人來自中東，而賣腎者單腎只得2萬比索（約1500令吉），在手術後從未獲得醫療護理，許多人都患高血壓或僅存的腎臟出現功能障礙。
活人賣血賣腎多數是農民、三輪車夫、沒有受教育者和失業漢。馬尼拉灣附近的巴示戈（Baseco）是著名活人賣腎小鎮，曾被媒體喻為無島；官員估計在這個人口有5萬人的小鎮，約3000人曾賣掉一個腎臟。另外，附近的卡拉瓦格、古馬卡、洛佩斯和薩里阿亞等鎮也有活人賣血賣腎。
除了馬尼拉灣巴示戈是著名活人賣腎小鎮外，腎病學家最近也發現馬尼拉附近的卡拉瓦格、古馬卡、洛佩斯和薩里阿亞等鎮，也是活人賣血賣腎的貧困小鎮。大多數鎮民是農民、三輪車夫、沒有受教育者和失業漢。
巴示戈的官員估計，在這個人口有5萬人的小鎮，大約3000人曾賣掉一個腎臟。鎮長伊斯帕諾說︰“從1970年代起，這裡就有腎臟的買賣。” 負責這次調查的腎病學家帕迪拉說，一些賣腎者單個腎只得到低至2萬比索的賣腎錢、一些雜貨和藥物，而在手術後從未獲得醫療護理。許多賣腎者都患高血壓或僅存的腎髒出現功能障礙。
今天3月，菲律賓衛生部長費朗西斯科‧杜克簽署了一項政令，以監督腎捐獻和移植活動，禁止以得到金錢報酬為前提的腎交易，並確保捐獻者能得到適當保護，同時使腎移植過程更透明、道德。 之前，不少菲律賓媒體報道，非法腎交易在菲律 賓十分猖獗。不少窮人、囚犯急於脫貧，不惜將腎臟賣給從事非法腎交易的公司，為等待腎移植的外國客戶提供器官。
菲律賓腎病學會會長戈麥斯透露，政府規定為外國人移植器官，頂限是接受移植病人總數的10%，但在2002年到2005年之間，本地人腎臟移植外國人的次數卻有400多起，不過，相信實際移植的次數可能更高。
據政府腎病控制計劃署的數字顯示，在2006年，菲律賓24所醫院從非親非故的活人移植腎臟的次數，共有436起，而從已故者移植腎臟的次數有36起
活人賣血賣腎多數是農民、三輪車夫、沒有受教育者和失業漢。馬尼拉灣附近的巴示戈（Baseco）是著名活人賣腎小鎮，曾被媒體喻為無島；官員估計在這個人口有5萬人的小鎮，約3000人曾賣掉一個腎臟。另外，附近的卡拉瓦格、古馬卡、洛佩斯和薩里阿亞等鎮也有活人賣血賣腎。
除了馬尼拉灣巴示戈是著名活人賣腎小鎮外，腎病學家最近也發現馬尼拉附近的卡拉瓦格、古馬卡、洛佩斯和薩里阿亞等鎮，也是活人賣血賣腎的貧困小鎮。大多數鎮民是農民、三輪車夫、沒有受教育者和失業漢。
巴示戈的官員估計，在這個人口有5萬人的小鎮，大約3000人曾賣掉一個腎臟。鎮長伊斯帕諾說︰“從1970年代起，這裡就有腎臟的買賣。” 負責這次調查的腎病學家帕迪拉說，一些賣腎者單個腎只得到低至2萬比索的賣腎錢、一些雜貨和藥物，而在手術後從未獲得醫療護理。許多賣腎者都患高血壓或僅存的腎髒出現功能障礙。
今天3月，菲律賓衛生部長費朗西斯科‧杜克簽署了一項政令，以監督腎捐獻和移植活動，禁止以得到金錢報酬為前提的腎交易，並確保捐獻者能得到適當保護，同時使腎移植過程更透明、道德。 之前，不少菲律賓媒體報道，非法腎交易在菲律 賓十分猖獗。不少窮人、囚犯急於脫貧，不惜將腎臟賣給從事非法腎交易的公司，為等待腎移植的外國客戶提供器官。
菲律賓腎病學會會長戈麥斯透露，政府規定為外國人移植器官，頂限是接受移植病人總數的10%，但在2002年到2005年之間，本地人腎臟移植外國人的次數卻有400多起，不過，相信實際移植的次數可能更高。
據政府腎病控制計劃署的數字顯示，在2006年，菲律賓24所醫院從非親非故的活人移植腎臟的次數，共有436起，而從已故者移植腎臟的次數有36起
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Pope offers prayer at Ground Zero
Pope Benedict XVI has visited Ground Zero in New York, the scene of the 11 September 2001 attacks on Twin Towers, at the end of a six-day tour of the US.
He greeted survivors, fire and police workers, and relatives of some of the 2,749 people who died there.
The Pope prayed for the rescuers and victims, as well as "those whose hearts and minds are consumed with hatred".
He later celebrated Mass at New York's Yankee stadium, concluding what analysts describe as a successful trip. His visit has dominated the American media, and demand for the 55,000 tickets for Sunday's Mass far outstripped supply, reported the BBC's David Willey in New York.
Donald Trump was “impressed”
MANHATTAN real estate mogul, entrepreneur and TV celebrity Donald Trump was “impressed” by The Pearl-Qatar during his unofficial visit to the island last week. United Development Company, which develops and promotes The Pearl-Qatar said: “The New York-based famous property developer was impressed by both Qatar’s booming economy and its exciting investment opportunities.”
The QR55bn Pearl-Qatar is the largest real estate development in Qatar and one of the most lavishly designed in the world. Trump, president of the celebrated Trump Organisation, a massive US-based real estate empire which includes scores of New York City skyscrapers, as well as resort hotels in Miami and casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas, made an unofficial visit to the island, accompanied by his daughter and two sons.
Trump who wrote the best selling book The Art of the Deal and called ‘The Donald’ by the American media was warmly welcomed by UDC executives. Trump was all praise for the developers of The Pearl-Qatar for what he called “an absolutely spectacular project.” He sought details of the impressive project from UDC executives during an hour-long boat tour around the island.
Trump, who was voted by the editors of Business Week magazine as one of the top 10 most competitive businesspeople on the entire planet, has expressed keen interest in exploring opportunities still available on the island. Describing the quay walls along the shores of the island, Trump said: “They really did a good job here. It is a fantastic job.”
During his tour around The Oyster, the marketing centre for The Pearl-Qatar, Trump received an extensive presentation, which covered all aspects of the prestigious development, which will soon be home to over some 41,000 local and international residents.
Besides the residential facilities there will be three marinas, with over a 1,000 berths for private yachts, three five-star hotels, plus a host of international brand name retail outlets. “The island has increasingly been attracting investment interest from around the world.
This visit by Donald Trump is yet another example of the growing reputation worldwide of UDC and its flagship project, The Pearl-Qatar,” said general manager (sales) Salim Abdul-Rahim.
The QR55bn Pearl-Qatar is the largest real estate development in Qatar and one of the most lavishly designed in the world. Trump, president of the celebrated Trump Organisation, a massive US-based real estate empire which includes scores of New York City skyscrapers, as well as resort hotels in Miami and casinos in Atlantic City and Las Vegas, made an unofficial visit to the island, accompanied by his daughter and two sons.
Trump who wrote the best selling book The Art of the Deal and called ‘The Donald’ by the American media was warmly welcomed by UDC executives. Trump was all praise for the developers of The Pearl-Qatar for what he called “an absolutely spectacular project.” He sought details of the impressive project from UDC executives during an hour-long boat tour around the island.
Trump, who was voted by the editors of Business Week magazine as one of the top 10 most competitive businesspeople on the entire planet, has expressed keen interest in exploring opportunities still available on the island. Describing the quay walls along the shores of the island, Trump said: “They really did a good job here. It is a fantastic job.”
During his tour around The Oyster, the marketing centre for The Pearl-Qatar, Trump received an extensive presentation, which covered all aspects of the prestigious development, which will soon be home to over some 41,000 local and international residents.
Besides the residential facilities there will be three marinas, with over a 1,000 berths for private yachts, three five-star hotels, plus a host of international brand name retail outlets. “The island has increasingly been attracting investment interest from around the world.
This visit by Donald Trump is yet another example of the growing reputation worldwide of UDC and its flagship project, The Pearl-Qatar,” said general manager (sales) Salim Abdul-Rahim.
Amid strong farm economy, some dire signs
"I would think there would be a lot of cautiousness among farmers because most of the people can remember the '80s," says retired Iowa farmer Harlan Meier. He lived through the last two major farm economy downturns — the Depression in the 1930s and the 1980s farm crisis.
DES MOINES, Iowa - At a time of record agricultural profits, concerns are mounting that American farmers could be edging toward a financial crisis not seen since the 1980s farm-economy collapse.
DES MOINES, Iowa - At a time of record agricultural profits, concerns are mounting that American farmers could be edging toward a financial crisis not seen since the 1980s farm-economy collapse.
Soaring land values, increasing debt and a reliance on government subsidies for ethanol production have prompted economists to warn that what some describe as a golden age of agriculture could come to a sudden end. At risk are the livelihoods of thousands of farmers, the health of hundreds of banks and the vitality of an agricultural industry that has been one of the nation's few economic bright spots in recent months.
"We're in a very risky time, and yet we don't seem concerned about that risk nearly as much as we should be," said Barry L. Flinchbaugh, an agricultural economist at Kansas State University.
The potential problem, economists said, is that strong demand for corn and other grains has caused prices to reach historic highs. That has led to record farmland values and steadily increasing debt as farmers borrow money to buy more land, finance the higher costs of fertilizer and seed and upgrade their equipment.
As long as the demand remains, good times for farmers should continue. But if demand falls, they could find themselves in a situation reminiscent of the early 1980s when the farm economy largely crumbled.
Among factors that could affect demand would be a change in the federal government's policy on ethanol subsidies, now estimated at about $6 billion a year, revisions in the farm bill that would lower support payments or an increase in the dollar's value, which would hurt exports.
Farm economists question whether the federal backing for ethanol will continue in the face of complaints that soaring corn prices are increasing food costs. Corn is used in most animal feed and is a key ingredient in myriad other products.
"U.S. energy policy has been friendly to ethanol in the last couple of decades. The question is, will it continue to be. It's running up food prices and that's causing pressure on Congress to limit mandates for ethanol usage," said Neil Harl, an emeritus professor of economics at Iowa State University.
The farm bill appears mired in Congress as lawmakers bicker with the Bush administration, which has threatened a veto if any increases in spending are not offset by reductions elsewhere. Congress on Thursday passed a short-term extension to the 2002 farm bill that keeps programs funded through April 25.
Flinchbaugh and others said the agricultural economy bears a striking resemblance to that seen in the mid-1970s, when a seemingly insatiable demand for U.S. crops drove up land values and farmers took advantage of their soaring equity to increase debt. When federal policy changed and demand suddenly dropped, land values and farm income plunged, forcing thousands of farmers to sell out and leading to the failure of nearly 300 agricultural banks.
Grain farmer Harlan Meier, 76, of Davenport, lived through the last two major farm economy downturns — the Depression in the 1930s and the 1980s farm crisis.
Even at a time of such strong prices, Meier noted that farmers are paying much higher prices for seed and nitrogen fertilizer, a product needed in abundance for fields repeatedly planted in corn. The increased costs and memories of the 1980s have made him hesitant to take on debt.
"I guess you could say there's an awful lot of concern in the rural communities and with some of the city people," Meier said. "I would think there would be a lot of cautiousness among farmers because most of the people can remember the '80s and I would think there's probably a lot of cautious people now on spending a lot of money."
Economists worry that farmers could be tempted to add debt due to the belief that high commodity prices would continue.
Those prices have been driven up by a strong demand for corn and soybeans from countries such as China and India, coupled with the needs of more than 50 corn-reliant ethanol plants built in the last few years.
The cash price for corn on the Chicago Board of Trade has soared from $1.86 a bushel in the 2004-2005 marketing year to the current price of about $6 per bushel. Soybeans were at $5.88 a bushel in 2004-2005 and now are at around $13.50.
As prices have climbed, so have farmland values. In Iowa, the nation's biggest corn producer, the average price per acre of farmland has increased 67 percent in the past five years.
"Land prices are increasing dramatically, and prices of grains are high just like the '70s," said Danny Klinefelter, an extension economist at Texas A&M. "It concerns me. It concerns me a lot."
Harl, who has written extensively on the 1980s farm crisis, said the key is how much debt farmers take on, and it appears that amount is increasing significantly.
"The longer these higher commodity prices go, the more it will draw people in to borrow heavily to buy the land and that's when things get dicey," Harl said.
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, farm business debt is expected to reach $228 billion by the end of this year, an $8 billion increase from last year and a new record for the fourth consecutive year.
The government said much of the debt is driven by the need for new machinery, equipment and grain storage, as farmers strive to keep up with the increasing demand for grain.
Debt for land is expected to rise to nearly $121 billion this year, a 2.8 percent increase.
米價暴漲九日飆升四成
(星島日報報道)澳洲稻米失收，本港超市的食米加風亦已吹至澳洲米，兩大超市昨日的澳洲食米零售價較九日前飆升三成二至三成六；部分牌子的泰國米售價更繼續攀升，在百佳出售的八公斤皇府泰國香米升幅高達四成。財政司司長曾俊華昨表示，市民雖然面對食品價格上升，但食品供應不會有問題，但不少父母仍為撲奶粉大傷腦筋，惠康超市網頁昨顯示的奶粉牌子缺貨率達三成半，其中以美贊臣奶粉缺貨最多。
百佳和惠康本月十一日宣布食米平均加價一成後，米價再度上升，據百佳網頁資料，除了缺貨的袋鼠牌澳洲絲苗米外，其餘兩個牌子即五公斤裝雙羊牌百搭米和金冠牌澳洲絲苗米，昨日的售價相對本月十一日分別再增加三成六和三成二，兩公斤裝的
雙羊牌百搭米售價亦上升兩成七。
惠康網頁則顯示，五公斤裝雙羊牌百搭米和金冠牌澳洲絲苗米的升幅與百佳相若，澳洲Sunrice三款米，包括低糖米、壽司米和野生長米亦全铫調高逾兩成，只有袋鼠牌澳洲絲苗米未有再加價。惠康發言人表示，所有食米的售價均受供應和匯率影響，無論是哪個來源地的食米，超市方面都會待供應商加價後，才調整零售價，希望盡量保持價格穩定。泰國米方面，自本月十一日以來，惠康調整了部分牌子的售價，加幅由百分之三至一成二不等。
百佳除了調整八公斤皇府泰國香米和另外兩個牌子的售價外，其餘售價大致沒有進一步上升。財政司司長曾俊華昨在網誌表示，過去香港無論經歷甚麼風雨，都不用憂慮會出現糧荒，但現在糧食問題竟然引起市民和輿論的關注，「兩三星期前，因為有報道說入口大米價格上漲，竟然有市民去搶購大米。」他說，政府會致力確保世界各地的供應商有充足的食品輸港，多元化的入口來源有助保持食品價格穩定，在未來一段日子，市民或許仍會面對食品價格上升，但食品供應不會出現問題。
不過，根據惠康超市網頁資料，該超市共售賣二十六款奶粉，當中九款顯示缺貨，比率達三成半，美贊臣五款奶粉中，更有四款缺貨，雅培三款奶粉亦有兩款缺貨。百佳五十二款奶粉中有五款缺貨，當中兩款是雅培。
惠康發言人表示，不同分店的存貨數量不同，網上購物資料顯示缺貨反映貨倉存貨量非百分百，但不一定完全沒有貨品供應。奶粉供求受出生率上升、人民幣升值和內地居民來港購物意欲因素影響，超市方面已向供應商反映希望調整供應量，以補充貨源
百佳和惠康本月十一日宣布食米平均加價一成後，米價再度上升，據百佳網頁資料，除了缺貨的袋鼠牌澳洲絲苗米外，其餘兩個牌子即五公斤裝雙羊牌百搭米和金冠牌澳洲絲苗米，昨日的售價相對本月十一日分別再增加三成六和三成二，兩公斤裝的
雙羊牌百搭米售價亦上升兩成七。
惠康網頁則顯示，五公斤裝雙羊牌百搭米和金冠牌澳洲絲苗米的升幅與百佳相若，澳洲Sunrice三款米，包括低糖米、壽司米和野生長米亦全铫調高逾兩成，只有袋鼠牌澳洲絲苗米未有再加價。惠康發言人表示，所有食米的售價均受供應和匯率影響，無論是哪個來源地的食米，超市方面都會待供應商加價後，才調整零售價，希望盡量保持價格穩定。泰國米方面，自本月十一日以來，惠康調整了部分牌子的售價，加幅由百分之三至一成二不等。
百佳除了調整八公斤皇府泰國香米和另外兩個牌子的售價外，其餘售價大致沒有進一步上升。財政司司長曾俊華昨在網誌表示，過去香港無論經歷甚麼風雨，都不用憂慮會出現糧荒，但現在糧食問題竟然引起市民和輿論的關注，「兩三星期前，因為有報道說入口大米價格上漲，竟然有市民去搶購大米。」他說，政府會致力確保世界各地的供應商有充足的食品輸港，多元化的入口來源有助保持食品價格穩定，在未來一段日子，市民或許仍會面對食品價格上升，但食品供應不會出現問題。
不過，根據惠康超市網頁資料，該超市共售賣二十六款奶粉，當中九款顯示缺貨，比率達三成半，美贊臣五款奶粉中，更有四款缺貨，雅培三款奶粉亦有兩款缺貨。百佳五十二款奶粉中有五款缺貨，當中兩款是雅培。
惠康發言人表示，不同分店的存貨數量不同，網上購物資料顯示缺貨反映貨倉存貨量非百分百，但不一定完全沒有貨品供應。奶粉供求受出生率上升、人民幣升值和內地居民來港購物意欲因素影響，超市方面已向供應商反映希望調整供應量，以補充貨源
Mogadishu battles leave 81 dead
(CNN) -- Two days of fighting between government and Ethiopian troops and Islamic militants in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, left 81 civilians dead and more than 100 wounded, a local human rights group reported Sunday
Sudan Ali Ahmed, the head of the Mogadishu-based Elman Human Rights Group, accused the rebels of using civilians has human shields, while the transitional government's Ethiopian allies shelled residential neighborhoods with tanks and artillery.
"We are condemning the warring sides in the strongest terms for violating human rights and committing war crimes against civilians," Ahmed said.
Large numbers of civilians have been fleeing two neighborhoods in the northeastern part of the capital where the fighting has been taking place, witnesses reported, joining a population of displaced Somalis that aid groups estimate already tops 1 million.
A witness told CNN that Ethiopian troops seized a mosque in one of the neighborhoods where the worst fighting was taking place. The Ethiopians left the bodies of six elderly men outside the mosque around noon Sunday and were separating men and boys from the neighborhoods and arresting them, the witness saidNeed some new exhaust system?
Please visit www.datco.com.my click here
$117 per barrel
Crude hits record $117 per barrel
- Story Highlights
- Nigerian militant group says it sabotaged a major oil pipeline, vows more attacks
- Group's attacks have cut nearly a fourth of Nigerian's normal petroleum output
- Crude prices have risen as much as 4 percent this week
Malaysian in a coma in Shenzhen; two others said to have died
KUALA LUMPUR: A 66-year-old Malaysian, Tang Gon Seang, is among more than a dozen people who are in a coma after eating star fruits in Shenzhen province in China.
Two patients have died at the Shenzhen General Hospital after eating the fruit.
Tang, a retired assistant headmaster of SRJK (C) Kwang Hwa in Butterworth and his wife Teoh Hui Fong, 58, had gone to visit their engineer son in Shenzhen on Feb 18.
On March 29, he passed out and was rushed to the Shenzhen hospital, where has been in a coma since.
Tang’s brother-in-law Teoh Thian Lye, 55, said that at first doctors at the intensive care unit were baffled by his condition.
Then, a specialist at the hospital asked Hui Fong whether her husband had eaten star fruits and she replied he had eaten some which he bought from a wet market there.
“The specialist then told her there were more than 10 people in the hospital, who also fell into a coma after eating the star fruits bought in Shenzhen. Two had even died,” said Thian Lye at MCA Public Complaints and Services Department head Datuk Michael Chong’s office yesterday.
The family is seeking Chong’s help as they could not afford the huge hospital bill and want to bring Tang back to Malaysia.
The hospital bill is RM1,000 a day after being reduced from RM5,000 a day. To bring home Tang, they also require a medical report on his condition and the cause of illness to ascertain whether he could be flown back.
However, the Shenzhen General Hospital has refused to give the report and only provided a note in Mandarin which stated that Tang had suffered food poisoning after eating star fruits.
The note added that Tang suffered renal failure, high blood pressure, lung problems and breathing difficulties.
“The family is in a fix. They hope the hospital can reduce the fees,” said Chong.
He said they also wanted to warn other Malaysians in Shenzhen not to eat star fruits while there. Chong said notices had been put up at the Shenzhen General Hospital warning people about eating the fruit.
What is going on with these China guys? Why would they want to recycle the fruits ?Sunday, April 13, 2008
Sensitive and stolen U.S. military items are being sold
2008-04-10
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sensitive and stolen U.S. military items are being sold on eBay and Craigslist, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office. Government investigators posing as buyers were able to purchase a dozen prohibited military items on the popular online selling sites.
The report notes that the items purchased could easily have been shipped overseas and "used directly against our troops and allies."
The items include:
• Two F-14 fighter jet components. The United States has retired its fleet of F-14s. Only Iran is currently using them.
• Night vision goggles specially made to military specifications that allow the user to identify U.S. troops at night.
• Army combat uniforms. The military has prohibited the sale of uniforms to non-military personnel since January 2007, when Iraqi Insurgents used U.S. military uniforms to sneak into a base in Karbala and kill five U.S. service members.
• Special "enhanced" body armor vests used by U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, and not available to the general public.
EBay says that it has more than 113 million items listed for sale at any given time and that military goods account for well under one-tenth of 1 percent of those. A quick search of eBay revealed several Army combat uniforms for sale, despite the sale ban. "With 7 million listings being added every day, we do the best we can, but things slip through from time to time," said Kim Rubey, senior public relations manager for eBay.
Testifying before the House National Security and Foreign Affairs subcommittee Thursday, eBay Vice President Tod Cohen said the company vigorously works to keep prohibited items off the site. "We created prohibited and restricted items policies and built tools using state-of-the-art technology to enforce those policies" he said.
Who get the pay, who must pay !
Hillary to Bill: Knock it off on Bosnia
2008-04-11
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Hillary Clinton wants her husband to quit talking about her trip to Bosnia in 1996, the former president said Friday. "Hillary called me and said, "I misstated it, you said I misstated it, but you got to let me handle it because you don't remember it, either.' ... I said, 'Yes, ma'am,' " Bill Clinton said in Terre Haute, Indiana.
The comments follow those he made in Boonville, Indiana, on Thursday, when he strongly defended his wife over the recent coverage surrounding her 1996 Bosnia trip claims, saying the media acted as if she'd "robbed a bank."
"I got tickled the other day, a lot of the way this whole campaign has been covered has amused me, but there was a lot of fulminating because Hillary, one time late at night when she was exhausted, misstated and immediately apologized for it, what happened to her in Bosnia in 1995. Did y'all see all that? Oh, they blew it up," the former president said at a campaign event.
"You would have thought, you know, that she'd robbed a bank the way they carried on about this," he added. "And some of them, when they're 60, they'll forget something when they're tired at 11 at night, too."
On March 26, Hillary Clinton said she "misspoke" during a foreign policy address March 17 when she gave a dramatic description of her arrival in Bosnia 12 years ago, recounting a landing under sniper fire. She said that when she arrived in Bosnia on March 25, 1996, "I remember landing under sniper fire. There was supposed to be some kind of a greeting ceremony at the airport, but instead we just ran with our heads down to get into the vehicles to get to our base."
Friday, April 11, 2008
More than 100 migrant workers from Myanmar were inside truck freezer
BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- The rising temperature first signaled trouble to Muang Win as he stood crammed into a truck container with 120 other Burmese migrants, rumbling toward the dream of a better life.
He called the driver on his mobile phone, he told CNN, but the driver didn't answer. People around him collapsed as it got hotter and hotter. Win and others banged on the walls.
"It took such a long while 'till he stopped the truck," he said. "When the driver pulled over the truck and came down to open the container, I almost fainted out."
Police say 54 people, including an 8-year-old girl, died Wednesday evening after they were stuffed into that sweltering container -- a deadly reminder of the perils facing people who pay human smugglers and often endure hardship in hopes of economic opportunity.
It happened in Ranong Province, in southern Thailand.
Each of the 121 people in the truck container had paid about $160 for a driver to take them into Thailand, which has long depended on cheap labor from neighboring countries, such as Burma, Cambodia and Laos.
The Thai government lets in only a small number of immigrants from those countries, and that has led to a rise in smuggling cases. Up to 2 million immigrants from Myanmar have fled to Thailand to escape chronic poverty and political conflict at home. Many smuggled migrants who do make it to Thailand wind up being abused by their employers.
None of the 121 migrants had identity documents, police said, so authorities tried to identify them by relying on the word of survivors. Seventeen bodies had not yet been identified by Friday, when accounts from survivors like Win began to surface.
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Win spoke from a cell from a police station in Suksumran, where about 65 other survivors have been taken. The police chief there said he expects to see more would-be migrants.
"We still need more labor here," he said. "There are many construction projects going on."
He called the driver on his mobile phone, he told CNN, but the driver didn't answer. People around him collapsed as it got hotter and hotter. Win and others banged on the walls.
"It took such a long while 'till he stopped the truck," he said. "When the driver pulled over the truck and came down to open the container, I almost fainted out."
Police say 54 people, including an 8-year-old girl, died Wednesday evening after they were stuffed into that sweltering container -- a deadly reminder of the perils facing people who pay human smugglers and often endure hardship in hopes of economic opportunity.
It happened in Ranong Province, in southern Thailand.
Each of the 121 people in the truck container had paid about $160 for a driver to take them into Thailand, which has long depended on cheap labor from neighboring countries, such as Burma, Cambodia and Laos.
The Thai government lets in only a small number of immigrants from those countries, and that has led to a rise in smuggling cases. Up to 2 million immigrants from Myanmar have fled to Thailand to escape chronic poverty and political conflict at home. Many smuggled migrants who do make it to Thailand wind up being abused by their employers.
None of the 121 migrants had identity documents, police said, so authorities tried to identify them by relying on the word of survivors. Seventeen bodies had not yet been identified by Friday, when accounts from survivors like Win began to surface.
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Win spoke from a cell from a police station in Suksumran, where about 65 other survivors have been taken. The police chief there said he expects to see more would-be migrants.
"We still need more labor here," he said. "There are many construction projects going on."
Thursday, April 10, 2008
PM: Tell your family before you convert
PUTRAJAYA: The Government will soon introduce a regulation requiring non-Muslims wishing to convert to Islam to inform their family before doing so.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said this would prevent problems of families disputing the conversion of their loved ones when they die. He suggested that non-Muslims who intend to convert have a form or letter declaring that their families had been told and had understood his or her decision.
Noting that there was no such regulation at present, Abdullah advised them to inform their families to “make things easier for everyone.”
“We will have a regulation. When a person wants to convert to Islam, we have to ask him whether his wife knows about it. If people want to convert, there is nothing wrong, why must they hide? Tell them (the family).
“We don’t want problems later when the man converts and converts the children also, when the wife has rights too,” he told reporters after chairing a meeting of the National Council on Islamic Religious Affairs here yesterday.
Abdullah pointed out that withholding such information from the family would pose a problem to religious authorities performing their duties. He said he told those at the meeting that religious issues were “very sensitive” and should be tackled wisely to avoid racial tension.
This included the demolition of places of worship and funeral disputes, he said.
Abdullah also said that it was agreed that the halal certificate would now be issued by the Halal Industry Development Corporation (HIDC) but would still bear the logo of the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim). He said the meeting also discussed the assimilation of Jakim’s research officers into the HIDC.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said this would prevent problems of families disputing the conversion of their loved ones when they die. He suggested that non-Muslims who intend to convert have a form or letter declaring that their families had been told and had understood his or her decision.
Noting that there was no such regulation at present, Abdullah advised them to inform their families to “make things easier for everyone.”
“We will have a regulation. When a person wants to convert to Islam, we have to ask him whether his wife knows about it. If people want to convert, there is nothing wrong, why must they hide? Tell them (the family).
“We don’t want problems later when the man converts and converts the children also, when the wife has rights too,” he told reporters after chairing a meeting of the National Council on Islamic Religious Affairs here yesterday.
Abdullah pointed out that withholding such information from the family would pose a problem to religious authorities performing their duties. He said he told those at the meeting that religious issues were “very sensitive” and should be tackled wisely to avoid racial tension.
This included the demolition of places of worship and funeral disputes, he said.
Abdullah also said that it was agreed that the halal certificate would now be issued by the Halal Industry Development Corporation (HIDC) but would still bear the logo of the Malaysian Islamic Development Department (Jakim). He said the meeting also discussed the assimilation of Jakim’s research officers into the HIDC.
Monday, April 07, 2008
Reciting EQUATIONS to her clients as they have sex.
MATHS genius turned hooker Sufiah Yusof reveals how she drives men wild... by reciting EQUATIONS to her clients as they have sex. And the Asian beauty
defiantly claims that selling her body for up to £1,000 a time provides her with a far more glamorous life than she ever dreamt of when she went to Oxford University aged just 13.
"My clients love the fact that I can stimulate their minds AND their bodies," she boasts in a shockingly frank interview with the News of the World. "And I don't believe my education has been wasted—in fact I usually take problem sheets with me to solve before appointments."
Sufiah decided to CONFESS ALL after we revealed how the former child prodigy was working as a £130-an-hour prostitute while studying for a masters in economics. It is the latest heartbreaking twist to a life that seemed so full of promise—but went tragically wrong when she cracked under the pressure of her bullying father's cruel academic regime and fled university at 15.
Eight years on, he is now in jail for sexually assaulting two girl pupils and Sufiah has somehow convinced herself that her seedy new career is the answer to all her problems. "People think escorting is sleazy and terrible but I don't see it like that," she says.
"I've always had a high sex drive—and now I'm getting all the sex I want—and guys are much better in bed with an escort than a girlfriend. "I have men who are thrilled about my passion for mathematics.
In fact one made me recite equations while he pleasured me, then I gave him oral sex while he chatted about algebra. It drove him wild."
And brainbox Sufiah has worked out that subtracting your respectability to become a prostitute can equal big money. Peeling "I have a nice life and I am in control," she says. "I hate this stereotype society has of escorts being exploited. It is so far from the truth. "My clients treat me like a princess. One guy I see in London took me shopping on Bond Street. He bought me a beautiful black Gucci dress for £700 and then took me to Selfridges and told me to pick any handbag I liked." She chose a £600 Gucci clutch.
"I'm a Primark and Topshop girl normally! I felt like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman. "Later that night we went for dinner. I wore my Gucci dress and sexy lingerie and took great pleasure in peeling it off for him later on back at his hotel." Sufiah was working as an administrative assistant earning £ 16,000 a year in Manchester when an escort agency boss approached her in a bar four months ago.
She'd run up debts of £3,500 in rent arrears and credit cards. And she was still haunted by her hellish childhood—subjected to her father Farooq's Accelerated Learning Technique where she studied maths day in day out in rooms kept freezing cold to improve her concentration.
So the big rewards the agency boss promised seemed more than tempting. "I have studied so intensely for so many years I wanted to have fun," she says. She can't see the sordid side of prostitution—and instead likens herself to Belle De Jour—the saucy hooker played by Billie Piper in the TV drama.
"I'd read Belle De Jour's Diary of a London Call Girl and was fascinated," she said. "When this immaculate lady in a designer suit asked if I had ever considered escorting, I found it appealing. "I went home, researched agencies on the internet and found one I thought looked professional. I sent them photographs and they put me on their site." A couple of days later Sufiah was offered her first client. She recalls: "I felt quite nervous but excited too.
I slipped on some black lace underwear and stockings and suspenders and a dress, and just though, ‘Wow, this is thrilling.' "He was waiting for me at the bar of the Hilton. I expected him to be older but when I saw him he was lovely. "He was only in his late 20s, tall and handsome. I thought, ‘I can't believe I'm getting paid to have sex with this man.' "I'd have been thrilled if he chatted me up in a bar. We had a drink then went upstairs to his room and had fantastic sex.
I left that night feeling totally elated having had an amazing time with £250 in my purse." Since then, she has built up a base of regular rich clients and sees between five and ten men each week. Her sugar daddies have treated her to fabulous clothes, designer bags, trips on yachts and even helicopter rides. Sufiah, whose interview can be seen on video at notw.co.uk, brags that she can earn more than £1,000 in a night by having diner with a client and staying over.
"It's like they want to rescue me. One man asked me how much I earned a year. I said £60,000. He told me, ‘I'll pay that amount straight into your bank and buy you a flat and you can be my mistress.' "But I don't want that because I'm happy doing what I do. Now I wonder if I could go back to a normal relationship, where you watch EastEnders and have boring sex. I've got used to being treated like a princess." It is as if she has run away from reality—just as she ran away from university and her father's dominance at 15.
Sufiah becomes solemn and subdued when she talks of her upbringing. "As I grew older I began to clash with my father," she says. "He was violent on occasions. Because he pushed me so far academically, I became more confident for a girl of my age. I grew up too quickly. "From 11, I was studying maths all the time. I didn't have any friends. I wasn't in the Brownies.
My father said they didn't teach Muslim values. I hardly ever played with other children." She passed her maths A level aged 12 and started at St Hilda's College, Oxford. "It was an amazing place but I was too young. By the time I was 15 I wanted to be in control of my life. I fought back." Sufiah sparked a two week nationwide police hunt when she ran away instead of going home at the end of term, saying she'd "had enough of 15 years of physical and emotional abuse".
Her father claimed she had been kidnapped and brainwashed by members of a socialist organisation. But now, speaking about it for the first time, Sufiah says: "I couldn't bear the thought of going home so I ran away. I'd saved up £200 and found a hostel in London for £14 per night. After a week I moved to a hostel in Bournemouth. I knew I could survive on my own." When she was found in an internet cafe, Sufiah refused to go home and was placed in foster care by Bournemouth social services.
She says: "I stayed with two families who were very good to me. My mum and dad would call me and ask me to go home—but I didn't want to." Rich Her 50-year-old father is now in jail for 18 months after being convicted of sexually assaulting two 15-year-old girls he taught at his home in Coventry. When Sufiah reached 18 she returned to Oxford to continue her studies—and fell in love with fellow student Jonathan Marshall. They married a year later but it barely lasted a year. "At the time I thought we would be together forever, but we married too young and grew apart," she says.
After the split she moved back to London where she taught maths in the evenings to make ends meet. Then six months ago she moved to Manchester—and stumbled across her new career. "I'm still only young and I can't decide what I want to do," she says. "My escort work provides me with a fabulous life. "I still enjoy learning and I find it puts me in the right frame of mind for an intelligent conversation with my clients."
But she admits not all her sexual encounters work out. "At the end of the day you don't have to sleep with a client if you don't want to. I've done that twice now. Both men were young and very nervous. I just left. "The dullest client I've ever had was a rich man who talked about cars all night. It was really, really boring." Sufiah is well aware she could easily find a job in the City where she could match her £60,000 a year sex earnings. But she said: "I don't want to take anything away from people who do jobs like that but it's not for me.
I have a nice life. I don't want for anything." Her mother Halimahton is now divorcing jailed Farooq and is desperate for her daughter to get in touch with her. "I was shaking when I found out what had become of her," she says. But talking about her bitter split with her parents, Sufiah says: "I would describe our relationship as estranged. "I have contact with them occasionally but I couldn't speculate on what they will make of my new life.
"I don't have any regrets. I've never felt more confident about my body and I've had some of the best sex of my life."
Texas takes legal custody of 401 sect children
(CNN) -- Authorities said Monday they have taken legal custody of 401 children who lived on an isolated West Texas polygamist retreat built by imprisoned "prophet" Warren Jeffs.
The children are being kept at a temporary shelter at historic Fort Concho in nearby San Angelo while authorities investigate whether a child bride gave birth on the ranch at age 15.
The children in state custody are joined at the shelter by 133 women, most of them mothers, who were taken during the past few days from the sprawling Yearning for Zion ranch, said Marleigh Meisner, a spokeswoman for the state's Child Protective Services agency.
The women are free to return to the 1,900-acre compound, officials said, but many have chosen to remain. At this point, officials said, the children's fathers are not permitted to see them.
The children are being kept at a temporary shelter at historic Fort Concho in nearby San Angelo while authorities investigate whether a child bride gave birth on the ranch at age 15.
The children in state custody are joined at the shelter by 133 women, most of them mothers, who were taken during the past few days from the sprawling Yearning for Zion ranch, said Marleigh Meisner, a spokeswoman for the state's Child Protective Services agency.
The women are free to return to the 1,900-acre compound, officials said, but many have chosen to remain. At this point, officials said, the children's fathers are not permitted to see them.
Al-Zawahri: Innocents die by error, necessity
Al-Qaida No. 2, answering questions, says enemies use Muslims as shields
Al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri, rejecting criticism of attacks by the terror network's followers that have killed thousands, maintained Wednesday that it does not target innocent people.His comments came during a 90-minute audio response that was billed as the first installment of answers to the more than 900 questions submitted on extremist Internet sites by al-Qaida supporters, critics and journalists in December.
"We haven't killed the innocents, not in Baghdad, nor in Morocco, nor in Algeria, nor anywhere else," al-Zawahri said, according to a 46-page English transcript that accompanied the audio message posted on Web sites linked to al-Qaida.
Olympic relay tripped up
Security men tackle Green Party activist Sylvain Garel, third left at rear, as he tries to approach Stephane Diagana, right, the 400-meter world champion in 1997, as he carries the Olympic torch Monday in Paris.
PARIS - Paris’ Olympic torch relay descended into chaos Monday, with protesters scaling the Eiffel Tower, grabbing for the flame and forcing security officials to repeatedly snuff out the torch and transport it by bus past demonstrators yelling “Free Tibet!”
The relentless anti-Chinese demonstrations ignited across the capital with unexpected power and ingenuity, foiling 3,000 police officers deployed on motorcycles, in jogging gear and even inline skates.
Chinese organizers finally gave up on the relay, canceling the last third of what China had hoped would be a joyous jog by torch-bearing VIPs past some of Paris’ most famous landmarks.
Thousands of protesters slowed the relay to a stop-start crawl, with impassioned displays of anger over China’s human rights record, its grip on Tibet and support for Sudan despite years of bloodshed in Darfur.
Five times, the Chinese officials in dark glasses and tracksuits who guard the torch extinguished it and retreated to the safety of a bus — the last time emerging only after the vehicle drove within 15 feet of the final stop, a track and field stadium. A torchbearer then ran the final steps inside.
Outside, a few French activists supporting Tibet had a fist-fight with pro-Chinese demonstrators. The French activists spat on them and shouted, “Fascists!”
In San Francisco, where the torch is due to arrive Wednesday, three protesters wearing harnesses and helmets climbed up the Golden Gate Bridge and tied the Tibetan flag and two banners to its cables. The banners read “One World One Dream. Free Tibet” and “Free Tibet.”
On Tuesday, China condemned protests as “despicable,” blaming them on groups seeking to split Tibet from the country.
The 17.4-mile route in Paris started at the Eiffel Tower, headed down the Champs-Elysées toward City Hall, then crossed the Seine before ending at the Charlety track and field stadium.
Throughout the day, protesters booed trucks emblazoned with the names of Olympic corporate sponsors, chained themselves to railings and hurled water at the flame. Some unfurled banners depicting the Olympic rings as handcuffs from the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame cathedral. Others waved signs reading “the flame of shame.”
The Interior Ministry said police made 18 arrests.
Officers sprayed tear gas to break up a sit-in by about 300 pro-Tibet demonstrators who blocked the route. Police tackled protesters who ran at the torch; at least two activists got within arm’s length before they were grabbed by police. Near the Louvre, police blocked a protester who approached the flame with a fire extinguisher.
One detained demonstrator, handcuffed in a police bus, wrote “liber” on her right palm and “te” on the other — spelling the French word for “freedom” — and held them up to the window.
With protesters slowing down the relay, a planned stop at Paris City Hall was canceled. Earlier, French officials hung a banner declaring support for human rights on the building’s facade.
A spokesman for the French Olympic Committee, Denis Masseglia, estimated that a third of the 80 athletes and other VIPs who had been slated to carry the torch did not get to do so.
On a bus carrying French athletes, one man in a track suit shed a tear as protesters pelted the vehicle with eggs, bottles and soda cans.
The chaos started at the Eiffel Tower moments after the relay began. Green Party activist Sylvain Garel lunged for the first torchbearer, former hurdler Stephane Diagana, shouting “Freedom for the Chinese,” before security officials pulled him back.
“It is inadmissible that the games are taking place in the world’s biggest prison,” Garel said later.
Outside parliament, as the torch passed, 35 lawmakers protested, shouting “Freedom for Tibet.”
“The flame shouldn’t have come to Paris,” said Carmen de Santiago, who had “free” painted on one cheek and “Tibet” on the other.
Pro-Chinese activists carrying national flags held counter-demonstrations.
“The Olympic Games are about sports. It’s not fair to turn them into politics,” said Gao Yi, a Chinese doctoral student in computer science.
France’s former sports minister, Jean-Francois Lamour, stressed that though the torch was extinguished along the route, the Olympic flame itself still burned in a lantern where it is kept overnight and on airplane flights. A Chinese official said that flame was used to re-light the torch each time it was brought aboard the bus.
Pro-Tibet advocate Christophe Cunniet said he and other activists were detained after they waved Tibetan flags, threw flyers and tried to block the route. Cunniet said police kicked him, cutting his forehead. “I’m still dazed,” he said.
At least one athlete, former Olympic champion Marie-Jose Perec, was supportive of the demonstrators. “I think it is very, very good that people have mobilized like that,” she told French television.
But other athletes and sports officials were bitterly dismayed.
“A symbol like that, carried by young people who want to deliver a message of peace, should be allowed to pass,” said the head of the French Olympic Committee, Henri Serandour. “These games are a sounding board for all those who want to speak about China and Tibet. But at the same time, there are many wars on the planet that no one is talking about.”
International Olympic Committee spokeswoman Giselle Davies agreed. “We respect that right for people to demonstrate peacefully, but equally there is a right for the torch to pass peacefully and the runners to enjoy taking part in the relay,” she said.
China’s Foreign Ministry assailed the demonstrations. “We express our strong condemnation to the deliberate disruption of the Olympic torch relay by Tibetan separatist forces,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said in a Web statement. “Their despicable activities tarnish the lofty Olympic spirit and challenge all the people loving the Olympic Games around the world.”
Jiang also disputed reports that the torch had to be extinguished several times, calling them false. “To protect the security and dignity of the Olympic torch under the circumstances there, the modes of relay were temporarily changed,” she said. Jiang did not provide additional details.
Police had hoped to prevent the chaos that marred the relay in London a day earlier. There, police had repeatedly scuffled with activists and 37 people were arrested.
Beijing organizers criticized the London protests as a “disgusting” form of sabotage by Tibetan separatists.
“The act of defiance from this small group of people is not popular,” said Sun Weide, a spokesman for the Beijing Olympic organizing committee. “It will definitely be criticized by people who love peace and adore the Olympic spirit. Their attempt is doomed to failure.”
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has left open the possibility of boycotting the Olympic opening ceremony depending on how the situation evolves in Tibet. Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Monday that was still the case.
Activists have been protesting along the torch route since the flame embarked on its 85,000-mile journey from Ancient Olympia in Greece to the Aug. 8-24 Beijing Olympics.
The round-the-world trip is the longest in Olympic history, and is meant to highlight China’s rising economic and political power. Activists have seized on it as a platform for their causes.
The relay also is expected to face demonstrations in New Delhi and possibly elsewhere on its 21-stop, six-continent tour before arriving in mainland China May 4.
Friday, April 04, 2008
Regular or Super ?
曹志成：充分發揮性能‧新車高馬力應用超級汽油？
雪蘭莪‧八打靈再也）馬來西亞汽車修理廠商公會總會長曹志成表示，不管c.c大小的轎車都適合使用95無鉛汽油；不過，對於新車款及大c.c的汽車而言，則無法將其性能發揮得“淋漓盡致”。
95及97品質不相上下
他強調，95無鉛汽油與97無鉛汽油的品質不相上下，因此長期使用也不會對汽車帶來很大的負面影響或損壞汽車的引擎。
儘管如此，他說，對於c.c大的轎車而言，95無鉛汽油的發動力會比97無鉛汽油來得弱，而無法充分發揮其性能。
“隨著汽車制造廠商對引擎設計不斷精進，因此我鼓勵新車款及高c.c的車主使用品質較好的汽油，以確保汽車引擎保持最佳狀態及有效發揮其性能。”
據了解，市面上92、95無鉛汽油與97、98無鉛汽油，主要的區別在於辛烷值不同，而辛烷值是測定汽油抗震爆能力的指標。
辛烷值愈高之汽油將可使高壓縮比，高性能之車款，充分展現引擎原設計之高c.c及高扭力的性能，同時也發揮省油之效果；在實際測試當中，98無鉛汽油的抗爆性最好，其次是95、92。
曹志成今日（週五，4月4日）接受本報訪問，針對政府計劃推出的經濟汽油，即95無鉛汽油是否影響轎車性能或引擎的課題，作出以上回應。
胥視多個因素
95未必比97耗油？
曹志成表示，或許很多人會誤以為95無鉛汽油也比97無鉛汽油耗油，但此說法是錯誤的。
“汽車引擎耗油與否胥視多個因素，包括汽車c.c、引擎設計、引擎之良好保養程度、車主的駕駛方式等；舉例（1）引擎設計強調省油，其耗油量肯定較低、（2）汽車c.c大或引擎欠缺保養的耗油量較高、（3）倘若車主經常踩大油、又縮油的駕駛方式會導致汽車較耗油。”
根據本報的獨家報道，政府計劃推出價格較便宜的95無鉛汽油，以把原本津貼97無鉛汽油的錢來補貼95無鉛汽油及其它必需品，籍此遏制通貨膨脹，減輕人民的負擔。
曹志成希望消費者接受政府建議的新措施。
“這是兩全其美的方案，尤其石油價格高漲乃是全球的趨勢，因此希望消費者接受。”
Opinion
早晨！
虽然现在是我是在晚上写这个话题，不过习惯了你们的哈罗早晨，所以也一样跟你门喊个早晨！
我今天要跟你门讲的其实我是很愤怒，可能你们觉得没什么大不了可是对我而言我却提消费者喊冤。
如果你有注意今天的星州日报，你可以看到大标题“经济油”。这个报道的问题是，非常的误导而且报道的不专业。接下来我还看到在星洲日报的网页里有馬來西亞汽車修理廠商公會總會長曹志成的发表。此人的发表令我更加生气，原因是因为身为馬來西亞汽車修理廠商公會總會長，他应该知道马来西亚是没有卖通流RON95无铅汽油，大部分都是以RON92(俗称regular) 及RON97 (俗称super). 单从这一点你们可以想看我们的修车业是很落后的。
话归原题。我可以看出来此次报道的原意是要人民明白RON92 及RON97 都是可以共用的。主要原因是因为，大部分人都是在添 RON 97 的汽油也是 目前正在销售RM1.92的那一个汽油。其实这是一种浪费但是政府没有去教育人民，而且这回的报道也是算失败的一个，因为报道者没有做好功课，没有真真的理解到RON真真的意义及寻找到专业人士来解说。 可能他们找到了馬來西亞汽車修理廠商公會總會長来解说，但是可惜也是误导的。
星洲日报的报道在此网页 http://www.sinchew.com.my/node/60509?tid=1 你们可以自己去读，证实他们的误导。以下的就是我来解说RON的区别及为何马来西亚人都不用
regular的汽油
很多马来西亚都误解及问题
1.Super 是新油， Regular 是久油， 所以新的肯定比旧的好。我每次到油站添油的时候，油站的工人会很奇怪的问我，你驾新车为什么打regular油？这样汽车是会坏的
2.还有很多人以为Regular是以前的有铅汽油, 所以他们不敢用
3.很多人认为包括曹先生都有这样的定论“對於新車款及大c.c的汽車而言，則無法將其性能發揮得“淋漓盡致””
4. 越来越少油站提供Regular了
正确解答
1. a)Super 或 Regular 都是新油， 两者都是无铅的。
b) 两者的区分是在他们的 RON (辛烷值)(全名Researched Octane Number)，一個抵抗震爆(knocking)的指標。数值越高表明更容易在高压自燃
2.上面解说了，都是无铅的
3.这个误解可大咯。不要因为它贵，你认为它好，或以为RON数值高，就是可以提升你的汽车的性能，让我告诉你，更容易的自然不代表更多性能或可以让你的汽车行驶更远。
你的汽车越贵，越大cc，也不代表就是要用RON97的。很多欧美的汽车都是采用RON92的引擎设计的，这是鲜少为人知的东西。我有在油站注意到另一个有趣的画面，所有的摩多都是添RON92的。这个我很费解！正确使用您的车厂建议的汽油RON数值才是上策。因为如果你的汽车如是设计使用RON87/RON92，而你却进入RON97/RON100， 你没有帮你的汽车增加任何的马力，只有在增加自己的负担及国家的负担。因为为了生产RON97国家必须津贴多过RON92的用户。
4.这个事实很残酷，因为在商言商，油站的经营者都是为了谋利而开的所以很多因为不要为了建多一个油库来储存多一类的汽油，所以很多都放弃了RON92的汽油。最糟糕者就是国油公司Petronas,因为他们没有RON92的。
我自从回国后，都一直在努力的向家人身边的朋友解说只要regular不会让他们的引擎产生震暴，就应该用regular就好了，成功率大概有75％。我生气，生政府的气为何不叫人民使用正确的汽油？生气媒体的误导！也生所谓的专业人士的误导！我想大家可以真的做的比目前更好，真的是失望啊....
我觉得988是可以在这方面作出适当传播，让大家明白用Super/Regular的区别。我用了2006年的数字做了初步计算，要是我们能转换10％的用户成为Regular的话我们是能够每一天节约将近一百万！对，1天节约1百万，也就是用户及政府津贴共合可省约1百万。
你看看巴，该不该让更多的人去明白区别及开始使用RON92 Regular?
李德骏上
雪蘭莪‧八打靈再也）馬來西亞汽車修理廠商公會總會長曹志成表示，不管c.c大小的轎車都適合使用95無鉛汽油；不過，對於新車款及大c.c的汽車而言，則無法將其性能發揮得“淋漓盡致”。
95及97品質不相上下
他強調，95無鉛汽油與97無鉛汽油的品質不相上下，因此長期使用也不會對汽車帶來很大的負面影響或損壞汽車的引擎。
儘管如此，他說，對於c.c大的轎車而言，95無鉛汽油的發動力會比97無鉛汽油來得弱，而無法充分發揮其性能。
“隨著汽車制造廠商對引擎設計不斷精進，因此我鼓勵新車款及高c.c的車主使用品質較好的汽油，以確保汽車引擎保持最佳狀態及有效發揮其性能。”
據了解，市面上92、95無鉛汽油與97、98無鉛汽油，主要的區別在於辛烷值不同，而辛烷值是測定汽油抗震爆能力的指標。
辛烷值愈高之汽油將可使高壓縮比，高性能之車款，充分展現引擎原設計之高c.c及高扭力的性能，同時也發揮省油之效果；在實際測試當中，98無鉛汽油的抗爆性最好，其次是95、92。
曹志成今日（週五，4月4日）接受本報訪問，針對政府計劃推出的經濟汽油，即95無鉛汽油是否影響轎車性能或引擎的課題，作出以上回應。
胥視多個因素
95未必比97耗油？
曹志成表示，或許很多人會誤以為95無鉛汽油也比97無鉛汽油耗油，但此說法是錯誤的。
“汽車引擎耗油與否胥視多個因素，包括汽車c.c、引擎設計、引擎之良好保養程度、車主的駕駛方式等；舉例（1）引擎設計強調省油，其耗油量肯定較低、（2）汽車c.c大或引擎欠缺保養的耗油量較高、（3）倘若車主經常踩大油、又縮油的駕駛方式會導致汽車較耗油。”
根據本報的獨家報道，政府計劃推出價格較便宜的95無鉛汽油，以把原本津貼97無鉛汽油的錢來補貼95無鉛汽油及其它必需品，籍此遏制通貨膨脹，減輕人民的負擔。
曹志成希望消費者接受政府建議的新措施。
“這是兩全其美的方案，尤其石油價格高漲乃是全球的趨勢，因此希望消費者接受。”
Opinion
早晨！
虽然现在是我是在晚上写这个话题，不过习惯了你们的哈罗早晨，所以也一样跟你门喊个早晨！
我今天要跟你门讲的其实我是很愤怒，可能你们觉得没什么大不了可是对我而言我却提消费者喊冤。
如果你有注意今天的星州日报，你可以看到大标题“经济油”。这个报道的问题是，非常的误导而且报道的不专业。接下来我还看到在星洲日报的网页里有馬來西亞汽車修理廠商公會總會長曹志成的发表。此人的发表令我更加生气，原因是因为身为馬來西亞汽車修理廠商公會總會長，他应该知道马来西亚是没有卖通流RON95无铅汽油，大部分都是以RON92(俗称regular) 及RON97 (俗称super). 单从这一点你们可以想看我们的修车业是很落后的。
话归原题。我可以看出来此次报道的原意是要人民明白RON92 及RON97 都是可以共用的。主要原因是因为，大部分人都是在添 RON 97 的汽油也是 目前正在销售RM1.92的那一个汽油。其实这是一种浪费但是政府没有去教育人民，而且这回的报道也是算失败的一个，因为报道者没有做好功课，没有真真的理解到RON真真的意义及寻找到专业人士来解说。 可能他们找到了馬來西亞汽車修理廠商公會總會長来解说，但是可惜也是误导的。
星洲日报的报道在此网页 http://www.sinchew.com.my/node/60509?tid=1 你们可以自己去读，证实他们的误导。以下的就是我来解说RON的区别及为何马来西亚人都不用
regular的汽油
很多马来西亚都误解及问题
1.Super 是新油， Regular 是久油， 所以新的肯定比旧的好。我每次到油站添油的时候，油站的工人会很奇怪的问我，你驾新车为什么打regular油？这样汽车是会坏的
2.还有很多人以为Regular是以前的有铅汽油, 所以他们不敢用
3.很多人认为包括曹先生都有这样的定论“對於新車款及大c.c的汽車而言，則無法將其性能發揮得“淋漓盡致””
4. 越来越少油站提供Regular了
正确解答
1. a)Super 或 Regular 都是新油， 两者都是无铅的。
b) 两者的区分是在他们的 RON (辛烷值)(全名Researched Octane Number)，一個抵抗震爆(knocking)的指標。数值越高表明更容易在高压自燃
2.上面解说了，都是无铅的
3.这个误解可大咯。不要因为它贵，你认为它好，或以为RON数值高，就是可以提升你的汽车的性能，让我告诉你，更容易的自然不代表更多性能或可以让你的汽车行驶更远。
你的汽车越贵，越大cc，也不代表就是要用RON97的。很多欧美的汽车都是采用RON92的引擎设计的，这是鲜少为人知的东西。我有在油站注意到另一个有趣的画面，所有的摩多都是添RON92的。这个我很费解！正确使用您的车厂建议的汽油RON数值才是上策。因为如果你的汽车如是设计使用RON87/RON92，而你却进入RON97/RON100， 你没有帮你的汽车增加任何的马力，只有在增加自己的负担及国家的负担。因为为了生产RON97国家必须津贴多过RON92的用户。
4.这个事实很残酷，因为在商言商，油站的经营者都是为了谋利而开的所以很多因为不要为了建多一个油库来储存多一类的汽油，所以很多都放弃了RON92的汽油。最糟糕者就是国油公司Petronas,因为他们没有RON92的。
我自从回国后，都一直在努力的向家人身边的朋友解说只要regular不会让他们的引擎产生震暴，就应该用regular就好了，成功率大概有75％。我生气，生政府的气为何不叫人民使用正确的汽油？生气媒体的误导！也生所谓的专业人士的误导！我想大家可以真的做的比目前更好，真的是失望啊....
我觉得988是可以在这方面作出适当传播，让大家明白用Super/Regular的区别。我用了2006年的数字做了初步计算，要是我们能转换10％的用户成为Regular的话我们是能够每一天节约将近一百万！对，1天节约1百万，也就是用户及政府津贴共合可省约1百万。
你看看巴，该不该让更多的人去明白区别及开始使用RON92 Regular?
李德骏上
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
请不要来
KUALA LUMPUR: Two policemen have been arrested after a foreigner lodged a report alleging that they had raped her.
The 42-year-old woman claimed that the policemen, who were investigating a suicide case at the budget hotel where she stayed, took her in the police patrol car to a secluded spot in Jalan Pudu before allegedly raping her. The alleged incident took place between midnight on Monday and early morning yesterday.
City chief police officer Deputy Comm Datuk Muhamad Sabtu Osman, who confirmed the arrest of his two men, said the woman had been sent to the hospital for a medical examination.
“We are investigating the rape allegation. So far there is no evidence yet to suggest she was raped. However, we did recover several items which we believe belong to the alleged victim,” he said.
It is learnt that the woman, who entered the country several days ago with three of her friends, stayed at the budget hotel. The two policemen went to the hotel to investigate a suicide case when they spotted the alleged victim, who is said to have known the dead victim. The woman, with the help of a local, sought the help of Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai, who urged the police to conduct a thorough investigation
This is Malaysia, foreigner please do not come here for holiday 各位想要旅行马来西亚的人，请不要来
The 42-year-old woman claimed that the policemen, who were investigating a suicide case at the budget hotel where she stayed, took her in the police patrol car to a secluded spot in Jalan Pudu before allegedly raping her. The alleged incident took place between midnight on Monday and early morning yesterday.
City chief police officer Deputy Comm Datuk Muhamad Sabtu Osman, who confirmed the arrest of his two men, said the woman had been sent to the hospital for a medical examination.
“We are investigating the rape allegation. So far there is no evidence yet to suggest she was raped. However, we did recover several items which we believe belong to the alleged victim,” he said.
It is learnt that the woman, who entered the country several days ago with three of her friends, stayed at the budget hotel. The two policemen went to the hotel to investigate a suicide case when they spotted the alleged victim, who is said to have known the dead victim. The woman, with the help of a local, sought the help of Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai, who urged the police to conduct a thorough investigation
This is Malaysia, foreigner please do not come here for holiday 各位想要旅行马来西亚的人，请不要来
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