Thursday, September 13, 2012

Under fire, Vietnamese bloggers keep up dissent

Under fire, Vietnamese bloggers keep up dissent

Under fire, Vietnamese bloggers keep up dissent

Posted: 13 Sep 2012 09:23 AM PDT

Vietnam's government has vowed to crack down on three dissident blogs, a move that appeared to backfire Thursday as record numbers of people visited the sites and the bloggers pledged to keep up their struggle for freedom of expression.

More rumors swirl on status of China's absent VP

Posted: 13 Sep 2012 08:35 AM PDT

FILE - In this Aug. 29, 2012 file photo, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping meets with Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. New rumors about health problems facing China's leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping swirled Thursday, Sept. 13 as the government continued to stonewall on commenting on his condition or whereabouts 12 days after he dropped from sight. (AP Photo/How Hwee Young, Pool, File)New rumors about health problems facing China's leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping swirled Thursday as the government continued to stonewall on commenting on his condition or whereabouts 12 days after he dropped from sight.

US embassies step up security after Libya attack

Posted: 13 Sep 2012 08:13 AM PDT

Philippine policemen stay beside a machine gun as they secure an area in front of the U.S. Embassy in Manila, Philippines on Thursday Sept. 13, 2012. Manila police tightened security in the area following an attack that killed the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans in Libya. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)Security was increased at American embassies and consulates around the world Thursday following an attack that killed the U.S. ambassador in Libya, while the U.S. urged its citizens abroad to be vigilant.

Afghan president postpones trip over prophet film

Posted: 13 Sep 2012 06:56 AM PDT

FILE - In this May 2, 2012 file photo, President Barack Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai walk together after they signed a strategic partnership agreement at the presidential palace in Kabul, Afghanistan. U.S. troops are still in Afghanistan, nearly 11 years after they invaded. Why? The answer boils down to one word: al-Qaida. The goal is to damage the terrorist group enough to prevent a repeat of the 9/11 attacks. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)The Afghan president canceled his official visit to Norway amid concerns following Mideast riots over a film that ridicules Islam's Prophet Muhammad, officials said Thursday. Hamid Karzai also talked to President Barack Obama and expressed condolences over the killing of the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans in Libya.

Under fire, a Vietnamese blogger vows dissent

Posted: 13 Sep 2012 06:20 AM PDT

Vietnam's government has vowed to crack down on three dissident blogs, a move that appeared to backfire Thursday as record numbers of people visited the sites and the bloggers pledged to keep up their struggle for freedom of expression.

Australian police arrest man on terror charge

Posted: 13 Sep 2012 06:15 AM PDT

Australian police charged a man with terrorism offenses Thursday following raids in which they seized firearms, computer equipment and a USB stick containing what they said were "violent extremist materials."

Secretive past disappearances of Chinese leaders

Posted: 13 Sep 2012 06:07 AM PDT

FILE - In this March 17, 2003 file photo, new Chinese Vice Premier Huang Ju sits during a session of the National People's Congress in which he was appointed to his new job in Beijing. Huang lectured Chinese bankers in early 2006 on the importance of government control over state banks. Then he dropped from sight. Nearly two months passed before a Chinese official said vaguely that Huang had been unwell and was convalescing in hospital. Media were banned from reporting on his condition. Because of his illness, Huang, a key ally of former Chinese President Jiang Zemin, had been expected to retire in the fall of 2007. He died four months earlier. The official announcement of his death gave no cause, though reports say he had pancreatic cancer. (AP Photo/Greg Baker, File)The extended absence of Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, just weeks before he is expected to be named China's top leader, is nothing new in the Communist Party's opaque, secretive political culture. Top leaders have vanished amid power struggles and health problems before only to resurface — or not. Here is a sample:

Oil price up after attack on US consulate in Libya

Posted: 13 Sep 2012 05:40 AM PDT

Oil traded above $97 a barrel Thursday after attacks on U.S. diplomatic missions and the killing of the U.S. ambassador to Libya sparked new worries about unrest in the Middle East.

After Pakistan fire, police probe factory owners

Posted: 13 Sep 2012 04:44 AM PDT

A woman looks for her missing family member at a morgue in Karachi, Pakistan, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012. Pakistani officials say the death toll from devastating factory fires that broke out in two major cities has killed hundreds. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)Pakistani police registered a murder case against the owners and managers of a garment factory in the southern city of Karachi after a fire swept through the building and killed 258 people, many of whom were unable to escape because the exit doors were locked, a senior police officer said Thursday.

Cambodia genocide defendant ruled unfit for trial

Posted: 13 Sep 2012 02:07 AM PDT

In this photo taken on Oct. 19, 2011 released by the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Ieng Thirith, foreground, the Khmer Rouge's former minister of social affairs, smiles during a hearing in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Ieng Thirith will be set free after a court in Cambodia ruled Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012, that she was medically unfit to stand trial for genocide, a decision survivors called shocking and unjust. (AP Photo/Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, Mark Peters)One of the leaders of the former Khmer Rouge regime will be set free after a court in Cambodia ruled Thursday that she was medically unfit to stand trial for genocide, a decision survivors called shocking and unjust.

Asian casino boom aims to lure region's new rich

Posted: 13 Sep 2012 01:45 AM PDT

FILE - In this May 22, 2012 file photo, attendants learn poker at a gambling table at Gaming Expo Asia in Macau. In the Philippines, a $4 billion casino project will soon rise from reclaimed land on Manila Bay. In South Korea, foreign investors will break ground next year on a clutch of casino resorts offshore. In the Philippines, a $4 billion casino project will soon rise from reclaimed land on Manila Bay. In South Korea, foreign investors will break ground next year on a clutch of casino resorts offshore. And on the eastern edge of Russia, authorities plan a resort zone aimed at drawing Chinese high-rollers. The projects are part of a casino building boom rolling across Asia, where governments are trying to develop their tourism markets to capture increasingly affluent Asians with a penchant for gambling. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)In the Philippines, a $4-billion casino will soon rise from reclaimed land on Manila Bay. In South Korea, foreign investors are expected to break ground next year on a clutch of casino resorts offshore. And on the eastern edge of Russia, authorities plan a resort zone aimed at drawing Chinese high-rollers.

Gunmen kill 7 road workers in southwest Pakistan

Posted: 13 Sep 2012 12:45 AM PDT

A government official says gunmen have killed seven road construction workers in southwest Pakistan.

China's absent VP mentioned in news report

Posted: 12 Sep 2012 09:56 PM PDT

In this May 4, 2012 photo, Chinese vice Premier Li Keqiang, center, stands up while Zhou Yongkang, left, and Li Changchun, right, both Communist Party Politburo Standing Committee members, clap at a conference to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the founding of Chinese Communist Youth League at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China. Xi Jinping, China's vice president, has not been seen in public since Sept. 1, fueling speculation that he suffered a health crisis that forced him to cancel meetings with Hillary Clinton and others. Much attention will likely turn to Executive Vice Premier Li Keqiang, who many had picked as Hu Jintao's preferred successor before Xi emerged in late 2007 as a choice more acceptable to the party's factions. (AP Photo/Alexander F. Yuan)China's missing leader-in-waiting, Xi Jinping, was mentioned Thursday in an official newspaper report, state media's only reference to him since he dropped from sight 12 days ago, sparking rumors of illness.

Pakistan fires kill 283, lax safety laws blamed

Posted: 12 Sep 2012 02:31 PM PDT

A woman looks for her missing family member at a morgue in Karachi, Pakistan, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012. Pakistani officials say the death toll from devastating factory fires that broke out in two major cities has killed hundreds. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)Fires at two clothing factories in Pakistan left 283 people dead — many trapped behind locked doors and barred windows — tragedies that highlight workplace perils in a country where many buildings lack basic safety equipment and owners often bribe officials to ignore the violations.

Deaths in factory fires in Pakistan rises to 283

Posted: 12 Sep 2012 11:23 AM PDT

Rescue workers load a dead body into an ambulance after recovering it from a burnt garment factory in Karachi, Pakistan, Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2012. The death toll from a pair of devastating factory fires that broke out in Karachi and Lahore, Pakistan's two biggest cities, rose on Wednesday to more than 300 people. Many of the victims perished because they were unable to escape buildings that lacked emergency exits and basic safety equipment such as alarms and sprinklers. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)The death toll from a pair of devastating factory fires that broke out in Pakistan's two biggest cities rose on Wednesday to 283 people, many of whom perished because they were unable to escape buildings that lacked emergency exits and basic safety equipment such as alarms and sprinklers.
Posted by Harshad at 11:05 AM

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