tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71714070540288988172024-02-19T13:14:12.887+08:00CURRENTBIZ4Ucurrentlife2uhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03194522357179795745noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171407054028898817.post-68272905494353118302011-09-08T09:00:00.000+08:002011-09-08T09:00:04.117+08:00MALAYSIA ROW MAJOR DEVELOPED COUNTRIES<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span title=""></span></span><span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span title="">Competitiveness ranking jumped 21 places to<br /></span><span title="">STATUS
Malaysia's competitiveness jumped to the 21st of the 26 previously,
thus placing a row of major developed countries in the top 25 most
competitive countries in the world.<br /></span><span title="">Among
countries in Asia Pacific, Malaysia is the sixth most competitive after
Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Australia, while among ASEAN
countries were in second place after Singapore.</span></span></span></div>
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-size: small;"><br style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" title="">At
No 21, Malaysia over the past five countries are in a better position
of Israel (to 22), Luxembourg (to 23), Korea (24th), New Zealand (25)
and the United Arab Emirates (27th).<br />Twenty
countries are on Malaysia are mostly developed nations with Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) per capita as well as in the development category
at the level of innovation.<br /><br />The
top ten countries are Switzerland, Singapore, Sweden, Finland, the
United States, Germany, Holland, Denmark, Japan and the United Kingdom
and many of them already at a level to produce innovative goods and
services using the global standard and the latest technology.<br /><br />According
to the Global Competitiveness Report (GCR), published 2011-2012 World
Economic Forum (WEF) in Geneva, Switzerland, yesterday, increase
Malaysia's competitiveness ranking is the result of overall improvements
achieved.<br /><br />Competitive position of
the 142 countries studied was based on the WEF's Global Competitiveness
Index (GCI measured using the 12 core.<br />The
Core Institutions, Infrastructure, Macroeconomic Environment, Health
and Primary Education, Higher Education and Training, Goods Market
Efficiency, Labour Market Efficiency, Financial Market Development,
Technological Readiness, Market Size, Business Sophistication and
Innovation.<br /><br />In the WEF's latest
study, Malaysia recorded improvements in nine of the 12 core with a core
index showing significant increases include the Labour Market
Efficiency, Macro-economic environment, institutions, Goods Market
Efficiency and Higher Education and Training.<br /><br />Commenting
on the performance, speaking at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur
yesterday, Minister of International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk
Mustapa Mohamed, said Malaysia has shown remarkable performance when its
up five rungs from last year to record a maximum score of seven points
5:08 compared to 4.88 years ago.<br /><br />He said the higher score reflects Malaysia's strong economic fundamentals and positive changes in the perception of respondents.</span></span><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</div>
currentlife2uhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03194522357179795745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171407054028898817.post-53385272076185899612011-07-07T08:16:00.004+08:002011-07-12T10:58:50.258+08:00Maid in Strauss-Kahn case sues over 'prostitution'<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-size: small;">The Guinean hotel maid who has accused former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn of attempted rape is suing the New York Post for claiming that she was a prostitute.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">“Yes, we have filed suit against the New York Post for stating that the victim is a prostitute,” her lawyer Kenneth Thompson told AFP in an email.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;">The Post, citing a source close to the defense’s investigation team, has alleged the maid often traded sex for money with male guests at the Sofitel hotel in Manhattan.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
<a href="http://ww2.utusan.com.my/utusan/special.asp?pr=theMessenger&y=2011&dt=0707&pub=theMessenger&sec=World&pg=wo_06.htm"><span style="font-size: small;">[Click to read Maid in Strauss-Kahn case sues over 'prostitution']</span></a></div>
currentlife2uhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03194522357179795745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171407054028898817.post-56538068260927613152011-07-06T16:15:00.000+08:002011-07-06T16:15:00.842+08:00560 apartment units under PR1MA programme to be sold for 120,000 a unit<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ7Zt1hF_uSiC0TQOLUqlC3wLwhukC-zbPcw0IeWznTmYfjiRUmK4yqdmjysmObBUUtYIK69KsOoRJ1XRcu6NEU8aYzB0X1tCpm-arXgK4keVTicn6FjhUu2rhpXWjlbhtzd6xNmLjckPP/s1600/pix_gal0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ7Zt1hF_uSiC0TQOLUqlC3wLwhukC-zbPcw0IeWznTmYfjiRUmK4yqdmjysmObBUUtYIK69KsOoRJ1XRcu6NEU8aYzB0X1tCpm-arXgK4keVTicn6FjhUu2rhpXWjlbhtzd6xNmLjckPP/s200/pix_gal0.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The 560 apartment units at precinct 11 here to be built under the 1Malaysia Housing Programme (PR1MA) will be sold for RM120,000 a unit, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced today.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">He said the price was cheaper than the earlier price set between RM150,000 and RM300,000.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The project, to be developed by Putrajaya Holdings Sdn Bhd, is the first site identified under the first phase of the PRIMA Programme, he said.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://ww2.utusan.com.my/utusan/special.asp?pr=theMessenger&y=2011&dt=0705&pub=theMessenger&sec=Home_News&pg=hn_11.htm">[Click to read 560 apartment units under PR1MA programme to be sold for 120,000 a unit] </a></div>currentlife2uhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03194522357179795745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171407054028898817.post-4926009195550643392011-07-06T15:51:00.000+08:002011-07-06T15:51:13.857+08:00Najib launches 1Malaysia housing programme phase one<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak today launched phase one of the 1Malaysia Housing Programme (PR1MA) which involves the construction of 42,000 houses on 20 strategic sites.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">He said eight projects were expected to commence this year and in 2012 on the 20 sites which had been identified in the Klang Valley, Rawang and Seremban.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">He said PR1MA was specifically for moderate-income Malaysians earning not more than RM6,000 monthly regardless whether they work with the government, the private sector or self-employed.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://ww2.utusan.com.my/utusan/special.asp?pr=theMessenger&y=2011&dt=0705&pub=theMessenger&sec=Home_News&pg=hn_12.htm"><span style="font-size: small;">[click to read Najib launches 1Malaysia housing programme phase one]</span></a></div>currentlife2uhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03194522357179795745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171407054028898817.post-74182831701554708022011-07-04T09:41:00.003+08:002011-07-04T09:41:00.081+08:00US Captain of Gaza-bound ship held in "shocking conditions"<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The captain of a US vessel intercepted after it tried to defy a ban and sail for Gaza from Greece was being held in “shocking conditions” Sunday and had not received consular assistance, a lawyer said.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Captain John Klusmer was arrested when the US boat Audacity of Hope — the flagship in a flotilla of pro-Palestinian activists — attempted to leave Greek waters on Friday after Athens banned all Gaza-bound ships from setting sail.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Klusmer was charged with felony and ordered to appear in court on Tuesday. The US Boat to Gaza organisation said he was being held in jail in “shocking conditions” and as far as it was aware, had not yet received consular assistance.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://ww2.utusan.com.my/utusan/special.asp?pr=theMessenger&y=2011&dt=0704&pub=theMessenger&sec=World&pg=wo_04.htm">[Click to read US Captain] </a></span></div>currentlife2uhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03194522357179795745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171407054028898817.post-42275637428812839052011-07-04T07:41:00.000+08:002011-07-04T07:41:14.922+08:00Britain to pull hundreds of troops from Afghanistan: reports<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">British Prime Minister David Cameron is to announce the withdrawal of at least 500 troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2012 following a similar drawdown by the United States, reports said Sunday.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The move would take the number of British troops in Afghanistan below the key figure of 9,000 and mark a major step towards Cameron’s stated aim of having all British combat forces out of the country by 2015.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Cameron would announce on Wednesday plans to withdraw up to 800 troops by the end of next year, the Sunday Times reported. The Sunday Telegraph put the figure at 500 and said they would leave in mid-2012.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://ww2.utusan.com.my/utusan/special.asp?pr=theMessenger&y=2011&dt=0704&pub=theMessenger&sec=World&pg=wo_05.htm">[Click to read Britain] </a></span></div>currentlife2uhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03194522357179795745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171407054028898817.post-1658186427901958172011-07-01T17:28:00.000+08:002011-07-01T17:28:00.473+08:00Beijing-Shanghai high-speed train makes debut<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJmh7kxbr2M0k43siORQrG3HVQ6blT362FVB92QxqnHYYmt_afal-D3CZgtqB9C5LmlcSXCGvCYwsQjUP1MDDwd0As1J8og_UbOx0tpTaz5Sian6YqluMYo-Hqy4j1p_OsINcRbCa7XCjG/s1600/wo_05.1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJmh7kxbr2M0k43siORQrG3HVQ6blT362FVB92QxqnHYYmt_afal-D3CZgtqB9C5LmlcSXCGvCYwsQjUP1MDDwd0As1J8og_UbOx0tpTaz5Sian6YqluMYo-Hqy4j1p_OsINcRbCa7XCjG/s200/wo_05.1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;">High-speed trains linking China’s two main cities Beijing and Shanghai make their commercial debut Thursday — a step seen as vital to ease pressures on the country’s overloaded transport system.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The $33 billion rail line, which has been operating on a trial basis since mid-May, will halve the journey time to under five hours and could hurt airlines operating on the busy route plagued by delays and cancellations.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://ww2.utusan.com.my/utusan/special.asp?pr=theMessenger&y=2011&dt=0701&pub=theMessenger&sec=World&pg=wo_05.htm">[Click to read Beijing -Shanghai] </a></span></div>currentlife2uhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03194522357179795745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171407054028898817.post-54458549165376281202011-07-01T13:26:00.000+08:002011-07-01T13:26:01.265+08:00Thai Democrats struggle in 'Red Shirt' heartland<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In the northern hinterlands that may hold the key to victory in a hard fought Thai election, the ruling party seems as unpopular as ever, despite decades of wooing rural voters.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The establishment-backed Democrats came to power in a parliamentary vote two years ago but it is almost 20 years since they won a popular mandate, and observers say a flatlining campaign is unlikely to reverse their fortunes.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The rural north and northeast are home to more than half of the Thai electorate, and are the heartland of the “Red Shirt” anti-government protest movement.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://ww2.utusan.com.my/utusan/special.asp?pr=theMessenger&y=2011&dt=0701&pub=theMessenger&sec=World&pg=wo_07.htm">[Click to read Thai Democrats] </a></span></div>currentlife2uhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03194522357179795745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171407054028898817.post-27243044409632407222011-07-01T11:24:00.002+08:002011-07-01T11:24:00.459+08:00Indonesia’s President picks in-law as army chief<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK37xwKPOio2_7gFUtNmWSNDoRb24-q0a61RmJDPdA9VQIYp8agABOZv9swIhUnlQCmDjHGEInFyI5L7lwSAL7B0faow_O32tBvZeObnE33VeVSppAkOp2wf5BdQyiBUr7hHYEvPh4A8vK/s1600/wo_08.1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="174" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK37xwKPOio2_7gFUtNmWSNDoRb24-q0a61RmJDPdA9VQIYp8agABOZv9swIhUnlQCmDjHGEInFyI5L7lwSAL7B0faow_O32tBvZeObnE33VeVSppAkOp2wf5BdQyiBUr7hHYEvPh4A8vK/s200/wo_08.1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-size: small;">Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono picked his brother-in-law as the new army chief, his spokesman said on Wednesday, as speculation grows over who Yudhoyono might pick to as a presidential candidate in 2014 elections.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Under Yudhoyono, Indonesia has started to improve infrastructure and trim layers of bureaucracy, problems cited by investors as deterrents to investment. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://ww2.utusan.com.my/utusan/special.asp?pr=theMessenger&y=2011&dt=0701&pub=theMessenger&sec=World&pg=wo_08.htm">[Click to read Indonesia] </a></span></div>currentlife2uhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03194522357179795745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171407054028898817.post-85691432711831276322011-07-01T09:22:00.000+08:002011-07-01T09:22:00.586+08:00UNHCR undecided on Australia-Malaysia refugee swap<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Australia’s proposed refugee swap with Malaysia looked on shaky ground Thursday with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees suggesting he may not sign off on it.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Antonio Guterres said he did not yet know if the UNHCR would approve the controversial proposal, adding that Australians had bombarded him with emails opposing the deal.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“The only reason why it has not yet been signed is because UNHCR has been intransigent in relation to a certain number of very clear protection principles,” he said in the Sydney Morning Herald.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://ww2.utusan.com.my/utusan/special.asp?pr=theMessenger&y=2011&dt=0701&pub=theMessenger&sec=World&pg=wo_06.htm">[Click to read UNHCR] </a></span></div>currentlife2uhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03194522357179795745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171407054028898817.post-29179708998617884392011-07-01T07:21:00.000+08:002011-07-01T07:21:47.408+08:00China says navy drills not linked to sea disputes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinQHTtoUv0BeJ7niJwJeLAzAdNAXCCpF2JSfS6iu-vqbooFEvCH-O8cYSZTpiLSAq1KJYApMQkY-qrwIzHzb6IXTtqzq3WIa3gwQUUERx1LPVchGBaupzl2aClbPIe31RvMms_IBD4rI22/s1600/wo_09.1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinQHTtoUv0BeJ7niJwJeLAzAdNAXCCpF2JSfS6iu-vqbooFEvCH-O8cYSZTpiLSAq1KJYApMQkY-qrwIzHzb6IXTtqzq3WIa3gwQUUERx1LPVchGBaupzl2aClbPIe31RvMms_IBD4rI22/s200/wo_09.1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">China has said a series of recent naval drills are “routine” and unrelated to simmering tensions in the South China Sea involving a range of nations with competing territorial claims.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When asked about the six military exercises staged by the Chinese navy in June, including a joint drill with Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin, defence ministry spokesman Yang Yujun urged the media not to speculate about their purpose.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://ww2.utusan.com.my/utusan/special.asp?pr=theMessenger&y=2011&dt=0701&pub=theMessenger&sec=World&pg=wo_09.htm">[Click to read China] </a></span></div>currentlife2uhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03194522357179795745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171407054028898817.post-1289148529544635662011-06-30T14:12:00.001+08:002011-06-30T14:12:00.667+08:00Hardline Arab-Israeli imam held in Britain: spokesman<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Controversial Arab-Israeli Islamist leader Sheikh Raed Saleh has been arrested in London while on a speaking tour in Britain, a spokesman for the Islamic Movement told AFP on Wednesday.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“He was arrested on Tuesday night in London and is still in custody. We don’t know yet if he will be deported but we are expecting to hear from his lawyer today,” Sheikh Kamal Khatib told AFP.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Khatib said it was not clear exactly why Saleh had been detained, but he blamed “the Zionist lobby in Britain” for pushing police to hold the leader.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://ww2.utusan.com.my/utusan/special.asp?pr=theMessenger&y=2011&dt=0630&pub=theMessenger&sec=World&pg=wo_02.htm">[Click toread Arab-Israeli] </a></span></div>currentlife2uhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03194522357179795745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171407054028898817.post-86225296783854893092011-06-30T12:08:00.004+08:002011-06-30T12:08:00.852+08:00France air drops arms to Libya rebels: report<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">France has begun parachuting arms shipments to Berber rebels fighting Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi’s forces in the highlands south of Tripoli, the French daily Le Figaro reported on Wednesday.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">According to the paper, which said it had seen a secret intelligence memo and talked to well-placed officials, the air drops are designed to help rebel fighters encircle Tripoli and encourage a popular revolt in the city itself.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“If the rebels can get to the outskirts of Tripoli, the capital will take the chance to rise against Kadhafi,” said an official quoted in the report.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://ww2.utusan.com.my/utusan/special.asp?pr=theMessenger&y=2011&dt=0630&pub=theMessenger&sec=World&pg=wo_03.htm">[Click to read France] </a></span></div>currentlife2uhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03194522357179795745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171407054028898817.post-10284658519745950342011-06-30T10:01:00.004+08:002011-06-30T10:01:00.787+08:00South Korea to open cyber warfare school<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">South Korea’s military will create a cyber warfare school to help combat growing Internet attacks from North Korea, an official said Wednesday.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The army has teamed up with Korea University to open in 2012 the new cyber-defence school, which will admit 30 students a year for a four-year course.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Courses include how to break malicious Internet codes, ways to psychologically prepare for cyber warfare and other IT technologies to guard against potential attacks, an army spokesman told AFP.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://ww2.utusan.com.my/utusan/special.asp?pr=theMessenger&y=2011&dt=0630&pub=theMessenger&sec=World&pg=wo_05.htm">[Click toread South Korea] </a></span></div>currentlife2uhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03194522357179795745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171407054028898817.post-37139202322972475202011-06-30T09:02:00.000+08:002011-06-30T09:02:00.163+08:00Myanmar deports 'blacklisted' Michelle Yeoh<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hollywood star Michelle Yeoh, who plays pro-democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi in an upcoming film, has been deported by army-dominated Myanmar and blacklisted, an official said Tuesday.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“She did not have the chance to enter Myanmar again. She was deported straight away on the first flight after arriving at Yangon International Airport,” a Myanmar official, who did not want to be named, told AFP.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“She’s on the blacklist now,” a second official said, declining to say why.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://ww2.utusan.com.my/utusan/special.asp?pr=theMessenger&y=2011&dt=0629&pub=theMessenger&sec=World&pg=wo_06.htm">[Click to read Myanmar] </a></div>currentlife2uhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03194522357179795745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171407054028898817.post-3022677940382162932011-06-30T08:01:00.000+08:002011-06-30T08:01:27.574+08:00Ten killed as Taliban attack Kabul hotel<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Taliban suicide bombers and gunmen attacked a top Kabul hotel, sparking a five-hour battle with Afghan commandos backed by a NATO helicopter in an assault that left at least 10 people dead Wednesday.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Red tracer bullets arced through the night sky around the hilltop Intercontinental Hotel, whose faded grandeur frequently pays host to Afghan officials and foreigners. Part of the building was in flames.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://ww2.utusan.com.my/utusan/special.asp?pr=theMessenger&y=2011&dt=0630&pub=theMessenger&sec=World&pg=wo_06.htm">[Click to read Taliban] </a></span></div>currentlife2uhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03194522357179795745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171407054028898817.post-17419540231689384892011-06-29T13:00:00.000+08:002011-06-29T13:00:03.755+08:00Defecting Russian spymaster tells wife to be calm<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Colonel Alexander Poteyev was fleeing his homeland, fearing arrest for the biggest betrayal suffered by Russia’s spy service since the Cold War. “Mary, try to take this calmly,” he typed into his mobile telephone. “I am leaving not for a short time but forever.”</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Poteyev’s farewell message to his wife was read out on Monday to a Moscow military court that convicted him in absentia for betraying ten agents in the United States. The affair was splashed across world media last June, a colourful reminder the realm of suburban ’sleeper agents’, dead letter drops and secret ink had not died with the end of communism.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://ww2.utusan.com.my/utusan/special.asp?pr=theMessenger&y=2011&dt=0629&pub=theMessenger&sec=World&pg=wo_05.htm">[Click to read Defecting Russian] </a></span></div>currentlife2uhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03194522357179795745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171407054028898817.post-82290999256877354352011-06-29T10:56:00.001+08:002011-06-29T10:56:00.172+08:00Afghan central bank chief flees to US<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Afghanistan’s central bank governor has resigned and fled to the United States, saying his life is in danger over a corruption probe targeting influential figures connected to the government.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">President Hamid Karzai’s government on Tuesday dismissed the claims of Abdul Qadir Fitrat, chairman of Da Afghanistan Bank, insisting his life was not under threat and calling him a “runaway governor”.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“I announce my resignation from the position of governor of the central bank of Afghanistan immediately,” Fitrat said in a statement issued as he visited the United States, where he reportedly has permanent residency.</div><br />
<br />
<a href="http://ww2.utusan.com.my/utusan/special.asp?pr=theMessenger&y=2011&dt=0629&pub=theMessenger&sec=World&pg=wo_02.htm"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[Click to read Afghan Central bank]</span></a>currentlife2uhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03194522357179795745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171407054028898817.post-20830230952239383932011-06-29T08:53:00.000+08:002011-06-29T08:53:48.187+08:00Evacuations as fire threatens top US military nuclear lab<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The top US military nuclear research lab was ordered to stay closed Tuesday after flames reached it and the local town began evacuating, though all high-risk materials were safe, officials said Monday.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) said there had been “no off-site releases of contamination” after a one-acre (.40 ha) blaze on the southwestern edge of the research complex northwest of Santa Fe, New Mexico.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">An emergency operations unit remains working at the high-security site, founded during World War II when it began developing nuclear weapons technology, and which nowadays employs some 11,800 people.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://ww2.utusan.com.my/utusan/special.asp?pr=theMessenger&y=2011&dt=0629&pub=theMessenger&sec=World&pg=wo_01.htm">[Click to read US Military] </a></span></div>currentlife2uhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03194522357179795745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171407054028898817.post-22019598928644466112011-06-28T09:40:00.000+08:002011-06-28T09:40:00.167+08:00Israel backs away from threat to flotilla reporters<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Israel backtracked on Monday on a threat to bar foreign journalists from entering the country for 10 years if they board a new international aid flotilla that plans to challenge the Israeli naval blockade of the Gaza Strip.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, an official statement said, instructed authorities to exempt foreign reporters from “the usual policy applied to infiltrators and those who enter illegally”.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In an email to foreign news organisations on Sunday, the Government Press Office (GPO) said journalists’ participation in the flotilla would be “an intentional violation” of Israeli law that could result in a 10-year entry ban to Israel and confiscation of their equipment. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://ww2.utusan.com.my/utusan/special.asp?pr=theMessenger&y=2011&dt=0628&pub=theMessenger&sec=World&pg=wo_04.htm">[Click to read Israel Backs Away] </a></span></div>currentlife2uhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03194522357179795745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171407054028898817.post-31112089023873712892011-06-28T07:39:00.000+08:002011-06-28T07:39:58.413+08:00ICC judges issue arrest warrants for Muammar Gaddafi<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheiKWvktRSqkB9S_qscw9uFea5LHK00S31PZrfom9581anbA45dq8nPAiRABKI49o7d1IKB5wtabX-gwatx5w19L2Ze_eAkASg_xXWHBbsi8YfVYS3Lp84X4gFJhUV3tfbMEZ4mE7Cr1Ox/s1600/wo_05.1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheiKWvktRSqkB9S_qscw9uFea5LHK00S31PZrfom9581anbA45dq8nPAiRABKI49o7d1IKB5wtabX-gwatx5w19L2Ze_eAkASg_xXWHBbsi8YfVYS3Lp84X4gFJhUV3tfbMEZ4mE7Cr1Ox/s200/wo_05.1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Judges at the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi for war crimes and crimes against humanity on Monday, the 100th day of a NATO bombing campaign.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Britain, which has led the UN-mandated international effort to protect civilians from Gaddafi ’s forces, hailed the court’s decision and said members of the Libyan regime should now abandon him.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://ww2.utusan.com.my/utusan/special.asp?pr=theMessenger&y=2011&dt=0628&pub=theMessenger&sec=World&pg=wo_05.htm">[Click to read ICC] </a></span></div>currentlife2uhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03194522357179795745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171407054028898817.post-38252827321159570222011-06-27T15:34:00.003+08:002011-06-27T15:34:00.203+08:00Welcome to The Columbia Paper<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">CHATHAM--Welcome to<a href="http://www.columbiapaper.com/"> The Columbia Paper</a>, the website for a new, weekly newspaper of the same name covering Columbia County.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Many of the folks who will write for this publication previously worked on The Independent, which was shut down by its corporate owner, the Journal Register Co., February 6. All of us hope to serve the community with accurate, fair and timely stories and features about this region.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.columbiapaper.com/index.php/component/content/article/25-the-project/46-welcome-to-the-columbia-paper">[Click to read The Columbia Paper] </a></span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div>currentlife2uhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03194522357179795745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171407054028898817.post-52534950853876790062011-06-27T14:50:00.002+08:002011-06-27T14:50:00.672+08:00Fugitive Thaksin vows not to seek revenge<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Fugitive Thai ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has vowed not to seek revenge over the coup which ousted him from power if his party wins the restive kingdom’s upcoming elections.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In a television interview from his self-imposed exile in Dubai, he told the Al-Jazeera news network his top priority was reconciliation and reuniting Thailand, which has been riven with deep divisions since the 2006 coup.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“Never — I never want revenge,” said Thaksin, who fled Thailand before being convicted in his absence for corruption.</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://ww2.utusan.com.my/utusan/special.asp?pr=theMessenger&y=2011&dt=0627&pub=theMessenger&sec=World&pg=wo_06.htm">[Click to read Thaksin] </a></div>currentlife2uhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03194522357179795745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171407054028898817.post-58481192376734329972011-06-27T12:27:00.000+08:002011-06-27T12:27:00.218+08:00Iraq court gives al Qaeda leader’s wife life sentence<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">An Iraqi court has sentenced the wife of a slain al-Qaeda leader to life in prison for her role in aiding insurgents’ activities, a spokesman for the country’s judicial council said on Sunday.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Hasna Ali Yahya, the wife of former al Qaeda leader in Iraq Abu Ayyub al-Masri, was given life imprisonment on Thursday, Abdul-Sattar al-Birqdar, spokesman for Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council said.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">“She was convicted last Thursday according to article four of the anti-terrorism law for (providing) cover and shelter to the terrorist group of Abu Ayyub al-Masri,” Birqdar told Reuters. </span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://ww2.utusan.com.my/utusan/special.asp?pr=theMessenger&y=2011&dt=0627&pub=theMessenger&sec=World&pg=wo_08.htm">[Click to read Iraq] </a></span></div>currentlife2uhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03194522357179795745noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7171407054028898817.post-81513424768098726992011-06-27T10:45:00.000+08:002011-06-27T10:45:00.391+08:00Japan PM may step down by mid-August: lawmakers<div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Japan’s unpopular Prime Minister Naoto Kan may step down by mid-August if parliament passes key bills for disaster reconstruction, senior lawmakers said Sunday.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Kan pledged earlier this month to resign soon, but he has also demanded that bills on reconstruction from the March 11 quake, tsunami and nuclear disaster are passed first, along with legislation to promote renewable energy sources.</span></div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://ww2.utusan.com.my/utusan/special.asp?pr=theMessenger&y=2011&dt=0627&pub=theMessenger&sec=World&pg=wo_09.htm">[Click to read Japan PM] </a></span></div>currentlife2uhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03194522357179795745noreply@blogger.com0