Tourism threatens China`s world heritage sites: UN expert

Booming tourism is threatening world heritage sites in east Asian countries, especially China, a UN expert told a forum in east China`s Jiangxi Province on Friday.

Peter Ogden, a project expert for the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Beijing office, made the comments at the Lushan Forum on World Heritage Cultural Landscape in East Asia.

Ogden pointed out that about a quarter of east Asia`s world heritage sites have been threatened by tourism. However, the industry has helped boost cross-cultural interactions, brought jobs to local people and promoted regional economic development.

China is the second largest owner of world heritage sites with 45 on the World Heritage List, next only to Italy which has 49.

China has the largest domestic tourism market and also serves as the world`s third largest tourist destination. Therefore, the country faces more concrete challenges in protecting world heritage sites, according to Ogden.

He suggested east Asian countries maintain coordination between tourism development and world heritage protection.

The forum is scheduled to be held from Oct. 24 to 26 at Mount Lushan in Jiujiang City.

Sources : Antara

Read More..

Asia’s Aviation Industry Booms

Across Southeast Asia, rising incomes over the last decade have been a boon for the aviation industry, and new low-cost passenger airlines are experiencing record growth. Bangkok is experiencing growing pains as it races to build airports and aviation infrastructure, train tens of thousands of new pilots, while keeping safety standards high.

In the first eight months of 2013 industry trade groups say more than 138 million passengers were carried by Asia Pacific airlines in the region - a rise of five percent over the last year.

Sydney-based Center for Asia Pacific Aviation said this growth is being driven by low cost air carrier companies, which accounted for more than half of all seats in 2012. A decade ago, there were none.

Passengers wait at airline counters at Hong Kong's international airport

Martin Craig, chief executive officer for the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), said Asia's growing middle class is pushing the demand for travel. 

"This massive increase in intra-Asian tourism and air travel is simply driven by the fact that so many more people are going into the so-called 'middle-class' status with discretionary income and one of the first things they want to spend their hard earned spare cash is on going overseas," said Craig.

South East Asia's middle class, now estimated at around 500 million people, is expected to reach as many as 1.7 billion by 2030. But Craig said even these projections may be too conservative.

To fly all of those passengers, industry analysts say they will need to train nearly 200,000 pilots.

Analysts say the main maturing domestic air travel markets are Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand which collectively have 25 low cost carriers in operation, and more on the way.

Industry analyst Brendan Sobie, said Laos, Burma and Vietnam are considered "frontier markets" with huge potential for growth. He said in Vietnam, passenger growth is running in the double digits.

"Being a frontier emerging market and having a lot of economic activity in Vietnam - so it has some catch up to do in order to approach some of the other markets in South East Asia - from a growth and low cost penetration standpoint we're starting to see that catching up now taking place and IATA sees Vietnam as one of the three largest growing markets in the world in next few years," Sobie said.

In Burma, the number of available seats on passenger planes out of the main airport in Rangoon has roughly doubled in the past two years.

As airlines rush to meet the rising demand, analysts say safety needs to be at the heart of the industry. But safety standards across the region remain uneven.

Earlier this month a Lao Airlines plane crashed into the Mekong river during a heavy rain storm, killing all 49 people aboard.

The passengers and crew hailed from 10 nations, and the crash was the deadliest air disaster for Lao Air since 1954.

In Burma in 2012, four aircraft were involved in major accidents. As the country experiences a surge in tourists eager to visit the once-closed nation, some groups are raising alarm that the industry is expanding too quickly. The U.S. State Department has warned travelers to Burma that the air industry’s safety record and oversight remains closed to outside scrutiny.

Industry analysts such as credit ratings agency Standard and Poors says there are uneven infrastructure and training standards across the region. In some cases, the pace of development may be outstripping the ability of officials to ensure safety standards and adequate infrastructure.

For Center for Asia Pacific Aviation's Brendan Sobie,  the challenge lies in countries ensuring sufficient infrastructure to cope with the rising demand and passenger arrivals. 

"The country and airports that don't invest basically lose out on the traffic to other airports and countries. That of course creates an incentive to invest," he said. "Unfortunately, there's a huge lag; it takes a long time to build an airport and build a runway and build a terminal and what happens is that sometimes the growth is just very rapid, they just get behind the curve and we're seeing some of the governments now racing to catch up to that."

With tourism and trade surging in developing countries of Southeast Asia, much is at stake in how governments handle the growth and respond to concerns about safety.

Sources : VOA

Read More..

US Deal Spotlights Vietnam's Ambitious Nuclear Plans

An agreement signed between the United States and Vietnam earlier this month could allow U.S. companies to sell nuclear technology to Vietnam. The deal still needs to be ratified by the U.S. Congress, but the agreement has nonetheless put what some critics say are Vietnam’s overly ambitious nuclear power plans in the spotlight.

On October 10, Secretary of State John Kerry signed a civil cooperation agreement with Vietnam’s Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific leaders summit in Brunei.

The so-called 123 Agreement will allow U.S. companies to export nuclear equipment to Vietnam and take advantage of the country’s potential nuclear power market, which is expected to grow from $10 billion currently to $50 billion by the end of 2030.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, right, meets with Vietnam's Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh during ASEAN meetings in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei on Tuesday, July 2, 2013.

Despite having its own sources of coal, oil and hydropower, energy analysts predict Vietnam will have to import energy as soon as 2015 to maintain its rapidly growing economy. In anticipation of the problem, the government has announced ambitious plans to build as many as 13 nuclear power plants over the next 20 years. Deals have already been made with Russia and Japan.

Murray Hiebert, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, thinks these nuclear projects require long-term investments and relationships. However, he says, the U.S. nuclear deal does not appear to be solely about U.S. economic interests.

“I think there are two things that are at work here, one is potentially the economics and the jobs, the other is the U.S. has moved quite quickly to improve relations with Vietnam. We’ve had President Sang visiting here in July... [and] Vietnam is part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership along with the U.S. and 10 other countries,” said Hiebert.

Not everyone is happy about the plans to build a nuclear energy industry in Vietnam.

The country is on a seismic fault line and has a long coastline. In 2011, a study by an Italian research institution suggested the site planned for the first reactor, in Ninh Thuan province, could be especially vulnerable to earthquake-generated tsunamis.

So far, only a few critics have voiced their concerns, but Hiebert says this number could grow with time.

“Does it eventually lead to opposition in Vietnam like we had to the Chinese-invested bauxite mine or to the high speed rail link between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City? I really don’t know, but I suspect as Vietnam gets closer to developing nuclear reactors that there will be more questioning among the environmental groups and others,” said Hiebert.

Some experts within the country have raised concerns that the government’s plans are too ambitious. One of them is Pham Duy Hien, a former director of the Dalat Nuclear Research Institute, which houses Vietnam’s nuclear research reactor.

Hien says there are reports that plans to start building two Russian-funded reactors have been delayed, but so far there is no official confirmation. He says they have to be delayed because not enough groundwork has been done.

Hien points out that although Vietnam does need energy, it does not need it so badly that it must rush to get a plant ready by 2020.

Crucially, the proposed U.S. deal prohibits Vietnam from enriching or reprocessing plutonium or uranium while developing nuclear energy.

That is aimed at preventing Vietnam from developing nuclear weapons, but regional defense expert Professor Carl Thayer from the University of New South Wales in Australia says he thinks such nuclear proliferation concerns are minimal.

“It would make perfect sense if major powers are against you to blackmail or threaten with nuclear weapons… You could tell China, ‘yes you can kill us or defeat us but we’ll destroy Shanghai’, but I don’t see that.”

Thayer said the signing of the 123 Agreement is an indication of strategic trust between the countries and any backtracking on Vietnam’s part would be too risky.

Although it’s impossible to say for sure whether the U.S. Congress will ratify the deal, as long as nuclear power is handled in a safe way and used only for civilian purposes, Hiebert says he believes the Obama administration will put forward a good case for the agreement to go ahead.

Sources : VOA

Read More..

UN Rapporteur: Iran Violating Human Rights

The U.N. Special Rapporteur for assessing the human rights situation in Iran has warned of “the systemic and systematic violations” of a wide range of rights in that country.

Ahmed Shaheed told the U.N. General Assembly committee that deals with such issues he hopes the new Iranian president will implement promised reforms to improve the situation.  

Ahmed Shaheed said he interviewed 137 people during the past year for his report, corroborating information which details human rights violations from gender discrimination to torture, to public executions.

He welcomed overtures from the new president, Hassan Rouhani, and his release of more than a dozen political prisoners, but said much more still needs to be done to remedy a long list of violations of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights.

Shaheed cited concerns about the conditions in Iran’s prisons.

“Testimonies continue to recount overcrowding, limited access to sanitation, and inadequate provision of food, water and medical treatment," said Shaheed.

Ahmed Shaheed.

He noted with concern the continuing high rate of executions.  During the 18-month period beginning in January 2012, he said some 724 executions took place in Iran.  In the past three months alone, the state announced 135 executions.  Shaheed called for Iran to suspend use of the death penalty.

“I have called for a moratorium for a number of reasons.  One is the large number of deaths.  I take the view, that unless although international law allows executions there are safeguards built into it, I am afraid in Iran I do not see these safeguards in operation. That's a very serious concern," he said.

The special rapporteur said journalists and bloggers also face violations of their rights in carrying out their work, noting that 15 journalists have been arrested since January; 67 Internet cafes were closed during the month of July; and up to five million websites are reportedly blocked.

He also noted a disturbing new law that allows a male custodian to marry his female adopted child, raising issues of early and forced marriage.

Shaheed noted severe restrictions to free expression, association and assembly for religious minorities - including Baha’i, Christians, Sunnis and Yarsan.

Iran’s delegate to the meeting said although her government views the work of the special rapporteur as biased and his mandate politically motivated, Tehran has cooperated.  But she said the allegations against her government are unfair and the report unbalanced.

The special rapporteur urged Tehran to allow him to visit to discuss the situation.  The last time the Iranian government allowed in a special rapporteur was 2005.

Special rapporteurs are independent experts appointed by the U.N. secretary-general to investigate allegations of human rights violations.

Shaheed made several recommendations in his report, and told the committee that if Iran complied with existing laws and implemented the rule of law consistently, many of the issues the international community has with its rights record would disappear.

Sources : VOA

Read More..

US to Talk to Turkey about Concerns Regarding China Missile Deal

The United States is talking to Turkey about its concerns regarding Ankara's decision to co-produce a long-range air and missile defense system with a Chinese firm that is currently under U.S. sanctions, U.S. Ambassador Francis Ricciardone said on Thursday.

“We are very concerned about the prospective deal with the sanctioned Chinese firm. Yes, this is a commercial decision, it is Turkey's sovereign right, but we are concerned about what it means for allied air defense,” Ricciardone told reporters.

Turkey, a member of the NATO military alliance, announced in September it had chosen the FD-2000 missile defense system from China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp, or CPMIEC, over rival systems from Russian, U.S. and European firms.

CPMIEC is under U.S. sanctions for violations of the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Act.

“We have just begun expert discussions with Turkey and it will be done through official channels. We will have respectful conversations. We are concerned, but Turkey will make its own decision after examining the facts,” Ricciardone said.

Turkey has said it is likely to sign the $3.4 billion missile defense deal with CPMIEC but that its decision is not yet final. Some defense analysts had expected the contract to go to U.S. company Raytheon Co or Franco-Italian firm Eurosam SAMP/T.

Diplomats say buying a system that does not work with NATO systems would hamper the ability of NATO allies to work together, undermining a principle of the 28-nation alliance.

Sources : VOA

Read More..

Pakistan PM Sharif urges Obama to end drone strikes

Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif has told President Obama the US should halt drone strikes in Pakistan, a critical source of tension in the relationship.

The two leaders held wide-ranging talks at the White House on Wednesday, pledging to strengthen the often-strained ties between the nations.

The leaders also discussed tension between Pakistan and India over the disputed Kashmir region.

Mr Obama said the US and Pakistan remained important strategic partners.

The talks in the Oval Office came just hours after India accused Pakistani troops of firing guns and mortars at several dozen Indian border posts in Kashmir.

One Indian guard was killed and six others injured, according to media reports.

Mr Obama did not address the incident in remarks after their meeting, but praised Mr Sharif for "taking a very wise path in exploring how decades of tension between India and Pakistan can be reduced".

"Billions of dollars have been spent on an arms race in response to these tensions, and those resources could be much more profitably invested in education, social welfare programmes on both sides of the border," he said. "[That] would be good for the entire subcontinent - and good for the world."

Mr Sharif spoke of his commitment to building a "co-operative relationship with India, and our efforts to peacefully resolve all our outstanding issues, including Kashmir".

'A challenge'

Relations between Islamabad and Washington nosedived more than two years ago, when US special forces killed al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden in a raid on his hideout in Abbottabad in north-eastern Pakistan without giving the Pakistani government advance warning.

Their ties were further tested by the killing of 24 Pakistani troops in a US air strike along the Afghan border later in 2011.

Following the meeting, Mr Obama acknowledged that tensions and misunderstandings would persist between the two nations.

"It's a challenge. It's not easy," he said.

"We are committed to working together and making sure that rather than this being a source of tension between our two countries, it can be a source of strength."

And he pledged co-operation in "ways that respect Pakistan's sovereignty, that respect the concerns of both countries".

Mr Sharif said the US and Pakistan "have travelled together as friends and allies in defence of freedom and the pursuit of international peace and security".

"Our two countries are bound by a common commitment to the cherished values of democracy," he said.

Drones

Mr Sharif said the two had agreed to strengthen co-operation on counterterrorism.

"I also brought up the issue of drones in our meeting, emphasising the need for an end to such strikes," he said.

He stated his top domestic priorities were the economy, energy, education and combating extremist activity.

"We both agreed that progress in these core areas is indispensable for creating new opportunities and building a hopeful future for our next generation," Mr Sharif said.

Mr Obama said both leaders had agreed on the importance of leaving Pakistan's neighbour Afghanistan "stable and secure" as US and coalition forces prepare to withdraw next year.

The White House said a peaceful Pakistan-Afghanistan border was critical to a successful counterterrorism and counterinsurgency effort.

Both leaders "expressed satisfaction with the positive momentum achieved in defence relations", the White House later said in a statement.

They also pledged to abide by the commitments of the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, Korea, emphasising that nuclear terrorism was "one of the most challenging threats to international security," the White House said.

Sources : BBC

Read More..

French, Thai Experts Aid Search for Laos Plane Wreckage

French and Thai experts are helping rescue workers in Laos search for the remains of a passenger plane that crashed into the Mekong River Wednesday.

All 49 people on board the Lao Airlines plane are presumed dead. As of Saturday, more than 30 bodies had been recovered.

A French rescue team surveys the crash site of an ATR-72 turboprop plane in Pakse, Oct. 19, 2013.

The teams from France's air accident agency and the Thai military were using sonar equipment Saturday to scan the river for the aircraft and remaining victims.

The French-made ATR-72 turboprop plane was flying Wednesday from the capital of Vientiane to the southern town of Pakse, when it crashed into the river in southern Laos. The storm it was flying through is being considered as a possible cause of the crash.

A passenger list identified the nationalities of 44 passengers on board, including 17 Lao, seven French, five Australians, five Thais, three Koreans, two Vietnamese, and one person each from the United States, Canada, China, Malaysia and Taiwan. The other five people on the plane were crew members.

Sources : VOANEWS

Read More..

Black Boxes Located in Lao Plane Crash

Lao officials say experts from the French manufacturer of the plane that crashed into the Mekong River last week have located the plane's black boxes, which contain the data from the last minutes of the doomed flight.

But officials say divers have not been able to retrieve the flight data recorders from the river because of strong currents and poor visibility.

A Lao official announced Monday that Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong has ordered the creation of a task force to look into the crash.

A relative (R) of a victim of a plane crash arrives to a building of a Chinese temple, which is functioning as a temporary mortuary, in Pakse on October 19, 2013.

"The Prime Minister had signed an order to set up a task force to investigate the plane crash and look into the cause of the accident as well as recommend action measures to the government. ... The task force is ordered to proceed immediately and quickly," he said.

The French-made ATR-72 turboprop plane crashed last Wednesday as it was flying from the capital of Vientiane to the southern town of Pakse. Bad weather is considered as a possible cause of the accident.

Divers have recovered the bodies of 43 of the 49 who were on board the aircraft when it went down. No one is believed to have survived.

Laos observed a nationwide minute of silence Monday to pay tribute to the victims.

More than half of the 44 passengers on board were foreigners, including nationals of Australia, Canada, China, France, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam. The plane also had five crew members, including a Cambodian captain.

Sources : VOANEWS

Read More..

Ban "deeply saddened" by death of peacekeeper in Darfur

Ban Ki-moon.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki- moon on Saturday said that he was "deeply saddened" by the death of a peacekeeper in an attack in Sudan`s Darfur region on Friday, and expected a "swift action" by Sudan to "bring the perpetrators to justice."

"The secretary-general was deeply saddened to hear of the death of a Zambian military observer of the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID) in an attack by unidentified armed assailants in El Fasher, North Darfur yesterday," said a statement issued here by Ban`s spokesman.

"The secretary-general expresses his deepest sympathies to the families of the fallen peacekeeper, the Government of Zambia and to all UNAMID personnel," the statement said.

In July 2007, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution to set up the joint United Nations-African Union peacekeeping operation in Darfur (UNAMID) to address the humanitarian crisis in the western region of Sudan. This joint peacekeeping mission replaced a previous mission led solely by the African Union.

Sources

Read More..

Ban calls for int`l action to protect migrants after ship tragedy

Ban Ki-Moon.

The international community should take action to protect the rights of migrants and prevent such tragic incidents as ship capsizing, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Saturday.

Ban made the statement following reports of loss of lives in a second ship capsizing off the coast of the Italian island of Lampedusa, where a tragic shipwreck killed more than 300 people a week earlier.

"The secretary-general is deeply saddened to hear reports of the loss of lives as another boat carrying migrants capsized yesterday off the coast of Italy, only a few days after the tragic incident near Lampedusa which had already claimed more than 300 lives," said the statement released by Ban`s spokesperson.

According to media reports, at least 33 people were dead and some still missing after a boat carrying around 250 African migrants capsized Friday in waters between Malta and Italy.

In the first nine months of 2013, more than 30,000 migrants arrived in Italy, doubling the number in 2012. Just two days before the latest disaster, the European Union promised to help Italy with the problem, providing an additional 30 million euros (40.6 million U.S. dollars) in funding this year.

"The secretary-general calls on the international community as a whole to take action to prevent such tragedies in the future, including measures that address their root causes and that place the vulnerability and human rights of migrants at the center of the response," the statement said. 

Sources

Read More..

India Begins Assessing Cyclone’s Impact

Indian people watch high tide waves as they stand at the Bay of Bengal coast in Vishakhapatnam, India, Oct. 12, 2013. Hundreds of thousands of people living along India's eastern coastline were taking shelter Saturday from a massive, powerful cyclone Phai

Strong winds and heavy rain continue to lash eastern India, hours after Cyclone Phailin came ashore late Saturday. Authorities say they have evacuated nearly a million people, one of India’s largest evacuations in more than two decades.

As day broke Sunday, authorities were able to get their first opportunity to assess the impact of Phailin, after the very severe cyclone slammed into the eastern states of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh with winds of more than 200 kilometers per hour.

With communication and power lines down, Orissa meteorological department chief Sharad Sahu says it will take time to fully assess the damage and casualties associated with the cyclone, particularly in the coastal town of Gopalpur.

“And now mobile [phones] are not working and our office telephone is also not working and some of the walls have collapsed there, so people are not able to collect data," Sahu said. "We are not getting data, we are not able to contact our Gopalpur office people.”

Sahu says Phailin will weaken gradually but the storm will continue to cause heavy rain and gusty winds until late Monday as it moves inward. 

"In the northern districts like Balasore and Bhadrak, these districts we have reports that around 80 kilometers per hour winds are blowing towards those areas," Sahu said. "This system is a very strong system, and it is gradually moving towards the northwest, towards the interior parts of Orissa and Chhattisgarh (states)."

By early Sunday, a handful of cyclone-related deaths were reported in both Orissa and Andhra Pradesh, but officials expressed relief that the death toll had not climbed significantly in the subsequent hours.

More than 10 million people live in the path of the storm in Orissa and Andhra Pradesh.

Authorities credit massive preparations in the days ahead of the cyclone for saving lives.  Hundreds of thousands of people living in villages along the coast were evacuated to shelters.

Officials did not want a repeat of 1999, when a storm hit the same area, causing widespread damage and killing 10,000 people.

For Phailin, the Indian army, navy and air force have been deployed to assist with rescue and recovery efforts.

On Saturday, Vice Chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority Marri Shashidhar Reddy said the priority is to minimize the loss of life.

"The state government, they will be there with their resources, the army, they will be there with their resources, it will be on a war footing as and when things require clearing and other things," Reddy said.

Officials are so far reporting extensive damage to crops, a blow to the impoverished state of Orissa, which relies primarily on agriculture.

Sources

Read More..

Bahrain settlement scuttled by Saudi Arabia

Al-Akhbar: The good news is that a political settlement of the Bahraini crisis – sponsored by the United States and acceptable to Iran – is beginning to take shape. The problem is that Saudi Arabia is not yet ready to play along.

 

Recent developments on the Bahraini crisis suggest that agreement on a political resolution, initiated by Washington and agreed to by Tehran, is gaining momentum. However, it appears that Saudi Arabia is not yet ready to sign on to the deal, encouraging elements in Manama over which it has sway to take a hard line against the nearly three-year uprising.

The details of the proposed six-point agreement were discussed in several meetings held in London in August attended by Crown Prince Salman bin Khalifa and the Secretary General of Wefaq Ali Salman, with American oversight. It would involve giving the Shia opposition a majority in parliament, which in turn would gradually be turned into a legislative, rather than simply an advisory, body.

The prime minister would still be appointed by the king, but must be approved by the legislature. And while the ruling family would retain sensitive ministerial posts such as finance, defense, interior, and foreign affairs in the government, the remaining portfolios would be given to the opposition. Finally, the regime would have to release all prisoners and facilitate the return of those employees laid off during the course of the uprising.

Today, there are three major currents in the Bahraini regime that are competing over what course to take in dealing the crisis: the Saudi-backed prime minister, Khalifa bin Khalifa, represents the hard-liners; the reform-minded crown prince favors a more conciliatory approach; King Hamad bin Khalifa plays the middle ground between the two.

The US plan was offered to the Iranians, who found it acceptable. It was not only that the Bahraini crisis was becoming a major burden on American interests in the region, but the Barack Obama administration was hoping to neutralize Iran’s involvement in Syria in return for resolving the interminable Bahraini conflict.

But when the strike against Syria did not materialize, the Americans were no longer as enthusiastic about pushing their proposal, because they would not receive anything in return from the Iranian side.

This allowed those who have the most to lose from a political settlement, such as Saudi Arabia, to take an uncompromising stand and reinforce the hard-liners’ position in Manama, prompting them to unleash a major crackdown that has seen dozens of activists jailed under harsh sentences.

A meeting between the Bahraini and Iranian foreign ministers on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly gathering in New York – in which Manama’s envoy asked the Iranians to return their ambassador to the kingdom – did not result in either side taking concrete steps. Today, progress in Bahrain remains hostage to developments in Syria and the power struggle underway in the region as a whole.

This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.

Read More..

Taliban Attack Survivor Malala Resented in Pakistan Hometown

Pakistan's Malala Yousafzai poses during a photo opportunity before speaking at an event in New York, Oct.10, 2013.

For many of her compatriots, Malala Yousafzai is a stooge of the United States and a CIA agent, a symbol of the West's evils and a global conspiracy to bring down her native Pakistan.

She has won the European Union's prestigious human rights award and was one of the favorites to win the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, but in her native Swat valley, friends and neighbors reacted with a mixture of resentment, fear and jealousy.

“Malala is spoiling Pakistan's name around the world,” said  Mohammad Rizwan, a shop owner in her hometown of Mingora. “We didn't need Malala to come and tell us how important education is.”

Around the corner from his shop is the quiet street where Malala, 16, was shot a year ago after trying to defy the Taliban with her outspoken views on women's right to education.

She survived after being airlifted to Britain for treatment and has since become a symbol of defiance against militants holed up in nearby tribal areas on the Afghan border.

But in this deeply conservative part of Pakistan, where women are expected to stay at home and keep their views to themselves, many people view Malala's campaign with suspicion.

In a nation thriving on conspiracy theories, some have even doubted the sincerity of her campaign, claiming it is part of her family's ploy to move to Britain or that she is just an attention seeker.

Social media sites are brimming with insulting messages. “We hate Malala Yousafzai, a CIA agent,” says one Facebook page.

“Here, people have been unkind to her. They want to forget her. They think she is a drama queen. But what can you do?” said Ahmad Shah, a childhood friend of Malala's father who helped write her speech at the United Nations this year.

“Here in Swat, we have seen the hell that is Taliban rule. And yet, some people still say they would much rather side with the Taliban than Malala. Sometimes people never learn.”

In an impoverished region where violence is part of daily life, some of Malala's neighbors were simply afraid. Some appeared keen to forget about her and move on.

The picturesque valley was overran by the Taliban, who imposed strict Islamic laws and kept its people in fear, in 2007. It is now controlled by the Pakistani army. Mingora, a dusty town of windy roads surrounded by jagged hills, is festooned with billboards reading “Long live the Pakistan Army!”

There were no posters of Malala.

“Malala is a talented girl, no doubt,” said Zahid Khan, head of the Swat Peace Jirga, an anti-Taliban body who has survived three attempts on his life for his work.

“I have been attacked. Shot. Almost killed. But no one is honoring me. The state hasn't given me a cent in compensation.”

The Taliban have issued repeated threats to kill her.

“She says she does not want to live like an illiterate person in a walled compound and deliver children,” said Shahidullah Shahid, a Pakistani Taliban spokesman.

“Her mother and grandmother used to live in walled compounds and deliver children, so by saying that she didn't even spare her mother.”

At Khushal Public School, a three-story building where she studied, many avoided mentioning her name altogether.

A red and yellow school bus parked outside its metal gate was the same as the one in which Malala was shot on Oct. 9, 2012. In her classroom, her old seat was still empty. Someone had placed a schoolbag there to mark her presence.

But there were no events held to mark the first anniversary of her shooting.

“We want the girls to forget the trauma of that day,” said Nargis Bibi, a school administrator. “We want them to forget it. We don't want them to relive it again. We all want to move on.”

Quratulain Ali, Malala's friend, said quietly: “We are all very happy in our hearts [that she was nominated to win the Nobel Peace Prize] but we don't often speak about it openly. There could be danger for us also.”

The award went to the Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which is overseeing the destruction's of Syria's arsenal.

Sources

Read More..

S. Korea Charges 100 Officials Over Nuclear Reactor Corruption

Employees of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co. walk inside the company's Seoul office after prosecutors seized documents and computer hard drives in South Korea.

South Korea has charged 100 officials and suppliers in its nuclear energy industry with corruption over faked safety certificates for nuclear reactor parts. The scandal, coming on the heels of the Fukushima disaster in Japan, has led to much criticism about how the nuclear industry is regulated.

Public prosecutors in South Korea have indicted at least 100 people after a months-long investigation into bribery in the nuclear power industry.

The scandal - South Korea's biggest in the nuclear industry - involved alleged collusion between parts suppliers and officials at state-run energy companies.

Two senior executives are among those charged: the former CEO at Korea Hydro and Nuclear Power and the vice president of Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO).

A minister in the government office of policy coordination, Kim Dong-yeon, announced the charges Thursday. He said they investigated 10 year's worth of safety certificates for parts at South Korea's 20 operating nuclear reactors.

He said 277 of those documents were found to be forged, and 7,733 parts relevant to the documents have been replaced.  He said necessary measures including safety reassessment have been completed for some of the parts.

A nearly completed investigation of three offline reactors and five currently under construction found more than 2,000 forged safety certificates. Authorities say almost all those parts have been replaced.

The probe also discovered South Korea's nuclear reactors had to be quickly shut down 128 times in the last decade because of faulty parts. It was not made clear if those parts were ones with fake safety certificates.

Suh Kune-yull, a professor at the department of nuclear engineering at Seoul National University, said the scale of the scandal is shocking.

But what is important, he said, is whether it is directly related to the safety of nuclear reactors or would cause an accident during operation. He said they are not related to such concerns, as faulty parts could only be a problem if there was an accident. However, "we cannot be relaxed," he said.

Analysts and officials say a culture of corruption was created as former nuclear regulatory and industry officials were allowed to swap jobs.

After the scandal broke last year, the government banned retirees of public enterprises from being re-hired by cooperative firms.

But Suh said that close relationship still poses a threat.

He said this pattern must be broken, but a shadow of it still remains. He said they could experience a disaster similar to Fukushima one day if the shadow is not removed completely.

Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant failed to withstand a 2011 earthquake and tsunami, resulting in meltdowns officials there are still struggling to contain.

Critics partly blame poor planning at Fukushima on the old ties in Japan's nuclear industry.

South Korean minister Kim said they are still investigating a further 21 former and current officials related to nuclear reactor corruption.

He said they hope the so-called nuclear mafia style behavior would be rooted out if strict investigations, law enforcement, and system improvements to prevent corruption continue.

South Korea's 23 nuclear power reactors supply about a third of the natural resource-poor country's electricity. But, Asia's fourth largest economy has battled to keep up with its growing demand for power.

The Fukushima disaster had already dropped support for nuclear power, and South Korea's own nuclear scandal is raising further questions.

But concerns about safety have not ruffled authorities in Seoul, who still plan to build another 16 nuclear reactors by the year 2030.

The widening corruption case has also embarrassed South Korea's efforts to expand its nuclear power business overseas.

Seoul won a $20 billion contract in 2009 to supply four reactors to the United Arab Emirates.

Sources

Read More..

'Severe' Cyclone Heads Towards Eastern India

Thousands of people are fleeing their homes in search of higher ground as India braces for a massive cyclone along its eastern seaboard.
The Indian government says it plans to evacuate 100,000 people to safer areas before Cyclone Phailin, currently spinning in the Bay of Bengal, hits the region Saturday.
Officials in the states of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh say Phailin is expected to make landfall in the area with winds up to 220 kilometers per hour and a coastal storm surge of two meters. Weather forecasters have warned those numbers could increase as the "very severe" cyclone strengthens.  
Indian authorities have warned of extensive damage to crops, village dwellings and old buildings, as well as a disruption of power, water and rail services.   
The Indian Meteorological Department also called on tens of thousands of farmers in the rice and cotton-growing states to save their crops.

“Farmers have 48 hours to prepare,” said director general L. S. Rathore. “We have asked them to harvest if their crops are ready, to bundle the crops together to minimize the damage or to drain out any water stagnating in their fields.”

Authorities in the affected states began stocking shelters with rations, put disaster response teams on standby, and canceled government employees' holidays as Phailin - some 800 km (500 miles) from the Indian coastline - moved closer.
  Cyclone season

The country's cyclone season runs from April to December, with severe storms often causing dozens of deaths, evacuations of tens of thousands of people from low-lying villages and wide damage to crops and property.

In 1999, a super cyclone battered the coast of Odisha for 30 hours with wind speeds reaching 300 kph. It killed 10,000 people.

The Odisha government canceled holidays for civil servants in vulnerable areas during the Hindu festival of Dussehra and ordered relief and rescue officials to spread out.

“We will start evacuation of people from low-lying areas from the morning of Friday,” said Odisha's Revenue and Disaster Management Department Minister Surya Narayan Patro.

He said food rations were sent to cyclone centers, schools and other buildings on elevated areas where people can shelter.

Disaster response units and fire personnel are on standby, control rooms are being set up and satellite phones have been sent to district heads, to ensure communications despite possible disruptions, he added.

In neighboring Andhra Pradesh, government workers, who have been on a strike for almost a week over a political decision to divide the state, came back to work in case of an emergency.

Helicopters and boats are being positioned in strategic spots and mobile service providers have been asked to make sure damage to communications towers is repaired immediately.

Sources

Read More..

ASEAN: No Breakthrough on South China Sea Issue

With U.S. President Barack Obama absent, Chinese leaders have been able to bask in the spotlight at summits this week in Asia. That allowed them to highlight their stances on contentious issues, especially the territorial dispute involving the South China Sea.

Obama had been expected at the summits in Brunei to push for a regional maritime code of conduct that could help avert armed clashes in the disputed waters.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, 5th from left, joins hands with the ASEAN leaders for a group photo before the 16th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) - China Summit in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, Oct. 9, 2013.

China lays claim to 80 percent of the South China Sea, overlapping those made by several neighboring countries. And its officials this week have expressed no enthusiasm for outsiders applying pressure regarding the disputes.

At the 18-nation East Asia Summit China's premier, Li Keqiang met with other regional heads of government and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and called for the talks to focus on areas of cooperation such as economic development and improving people's livelihoods.

Premier Li said East Asia's significant progress in past years has been achieved because the region has been spared military conflicts “which has allowed the countries in this region to keep their focus on development.”

The premier asserted that “freedom of navigation in the South China Sea has never been an issue and will never be one.” He also said China will continue to work for progress in consultations with ASEAN members on a code of conduct in the disputed waters “on the basis of consensus building.”

In other words, China wants to settle the issue country-to-country, not collectively as Washington, Tokyo and some ASEAN members prefer.

An ASEAN-China joint statement issued Thursday revealed no breakthrough. It merely contains a pledge by the regional body and Beijing to “work towards the conclusion of a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea on the basis of consensus.”

Kerry at the East Asia Summit said “a Code of Conduct is a necessity for the long term, but nations can also reduce the risk of miscommunication and miscalculation by taking steps today.” He added that “the rights of all nations, large and small, must be respected.”

Brunei, Taiwan, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam also have claims in the sea conflicting with China's.

The summit's host, the Sultan of Brunei, Hassanal Bolkiah, told reporters at the event's conclusion, there have been “positive developments” recently towards a code of conduct. “ASEAN and China instructed ministers and senior officials to intensify discussions on the proposed CoC [Code of Conduct],” he said.

Shinzo Abe, the prime minister of Japan, which has a separate territorial dispute with China in the East China Sea, told the summit tensions over the South China Sea directly affect regional peace and stability.

The Japanese leader told reporters he would like to see a code of conduct on the South China Sea between ASEAN and China implemented “soon.”

The Philippines government is expressing a similar sentiment.

At the East Asian Summit, U.S. Secretary of State Kerry and Vietnam's foreign minister, Pham Binh Minh, signed a so-called 123 accord. If signed by President Obama and subsequently not blocked by the U.S. Congress, the agreement would allow American atomic energy firms into Vietnam in exchange for Hanoi's pledge not to enrich its own uranium.

A senior U.S. State Department official, speaking on background noted Vietnam "has taken steps towards the development of a robust domestic infrastructure to support its nuclear-power generation program." And that with this agreement "Vietnam has signed on to the strongest global standards of non-proliferation."

Secretary Kerry, minutes after signing the agreement, told Vietnam's prime minister, Nguyen Tan Dung, “it would create numerous opportunities for our businesses between our two countries. And obviously our nuclear cooperation is quite significant.”

Kerry also told the Vietnamese leader that he looked forward to visiting his country “somewhere in the next few months.”

The U.S. Secretary of State made the remark before heading to Malaysia. However, his Friday visit to Manila has been canceled due to the threat posed by a tropical storm approaching the Philippines.

Kerry was dispatched to Asia to stand in for President Obama.

The president pulled out of his trip to the back-to-back regional summits in Indonesia and Brunei, as well as planned visits to Malaysia and Philippines last week because of the U.S. government shutdown. 

Sources

Read More..

Southeast Asia agrees anti-haze system

"We hope the respective ministries will upload the digitised concession maps as soon as possible," said Singapore`s Environment Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. 

Southeast Asian leaders on Wednesday approved a new system aimed at cracking down on illegal forest fires blamed for the region`s worst smog crisis in years.

The Haze Monitoring System, developed by Singapore, is intended to hold plantation companies accountable for controversial land clearance activities which cause the annual fires.

It will use land concession maps and high-resolution satellite images of the blazes to determine the culprits.

"We hope the respective ministries will upload the digitised concession maps as soon as possible," said Singapore`s Environment Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.

"It will send a strong signal to all companies that they will be held accountable," he wrote on his Facebook page after the system was approved by the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations at a summit in Brunei.

Several big palm oil companies have been accused of lighting fires on their concessions to clear land in Indonesia`s Sumatra island.

The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil has said it would investigate some of its members over the allegations.

The group -- which produces a sought-after certification for producers deemed sustainable -- bans its members from using burning to clear land.

In June Singapore and Malaysia were blanketed by the putrid, choking smog for days, affecting tourism, forcing schools to close and causing a rise in respiratory illnesses.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono had to apologise to both countries.

Analysts had warned that if the smoke becomes an annual crisis, some multinational companies might consider relocating operations and expatriate families out of Singapore, a regional financial centre.

Southeast Asia suffered its worst haze outbreak in 1997-98, which cost the region an estimated $9 billion. It was hit with a serious recurrence in 2006.

Sources

Read More..

TCEB Launches 'Thailand CONNECT' Campaign to Boost MICE Business

TCEB Launches 'Thailand CONNECT' Campaign to Boost MICE Business

The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau has unveiled 'Thailand CONNECT', a global marketing campaign designed to make it easier for corporate buyers and meetings organisers to sell Thailand as a premier MICE destination.

The campaign will focus on three pillars: diversity of Thai destinations, unrivalled business opportunities, and the high quality of Thailand's MICE professionals. It is accompanied by a number of specific promotional packages that will extend financial support to MICE events and delegates attending MICE events in Thailand, depending on their country of origin and duration.

Mr Nopparat Maythaveekulchai, TCEB's President, said that the new "CONNECT" campaign is designed to help Thailand achieve a 2014 target of 987,000 MICE visitors from abroad, with revenues projected at 96.9 billion baht (US$3.2 billion), up respective 5% and 10% over the figures projected for 2013. It will help TCEB enhance the global visibility of the Thailand brand as part of the Five-Year Master Plan (2012-2016) and its three key strategies - WIN, PROMOTE and DEVELOP.

"The key word here is "CONNECT". We believe that Thailand can "connect" extremely well with global buyers by offering a combined package of three Unique Selling Propositions," Mr. Nopparat said.

These USPs are:

1. Diversity of Destinations.

Thailand's strategic location at the heart of Asia, together with convenient facilities and infrastructure, offer visitors an extensive choice of venues covering five 'MICE Cities' (Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket, Chiang Mai and Khon Kaen). Six international airports connect to 190 destinations worldwide with over 500 flights per day. Nine conference and exhibition venues offer a combined total exhibition space of 222,984 square meters.

2.Unrivalled Business Opportunities.

ASEAN's second largest economy is poised to play a leading role in the forthcoming unified regional market of the ASEAN Economic Community, or AEC in 2015. Economic integration will remove trade barriers and bring free transfer of goods, services, skilled labor, trade and investment amongst the ASEAN population of almost 600 million. Thailand is a production and export base for key industries such as automotive and industrial components, computers and IT, energy, rubber and plastics. In addition, Thailand's free trade agreements with 11 countries will create more business opportunities.

3. High Quality Professionals.

In addition to its legendary hospitality and quality of service, Thailand's MICE industry has led the world in setting global standards and winning numerous global accolades and awards. ICCA ranked Thailand as worldwide No. 1 by number of international meetings, while UFI ranked Thailand No. 1 by number of international exhibitions.

Said Mr. Nopparat, "The MICE industry has always played a key role in driving the broader economy, earning revenues of approximately 80 billion baht or about 2.66 billion U.S. dollars per year. During the 2013 fiscal year, from October 2012 to August 2013, Thailand welcomed 993,072 MICE travelers, with revenues of over 86,280 billion baht (US$ 2.87 billion). Top MICE visitors were from the conventions industry (318,663 visitors), followed by incentives travelers (247,888 visitors), corporate meetings (237,701 visitors) and exhibitions (188,820 visitors).

About Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB)
The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (Public Organization) or TCEB takes the lead on behalf of the Thai government's in the development and success of Thailand's MICE sector. Established in 2004, TCEB works to drive growth, elevate quality standards and inspire creativity in the industry. TCEB offers a range of advisory services and attractive support packages to contribute to the success and productivity of business events held in Thailand. This includes global outreach to build collaboration across a global network of MICE players. TCEB strives to create new business opportunities and lay the foundations for long term, sustainable industry growth. For more information, please visit www.tceb.or.th.

Sources

Read More..

Air China to Commence Beijing-Chiang Mai Service on November 7

Air China Limited, or Air China in short, will introduce a Beijing - Chiang Mai service on November 7. Want to have first-hand experiences of the charming streets depicted in "Lost in Thailand," a 2013 Chinese box-office hit? Fly to Thailand on Air China.

Located in Thailand's northern mountainous region, Chiang Mai is Thailand's second largest city and also northern Thailand's political, economic and cultural center. This city, celebrated for its Buddhist traditions, boasts many historical and cultural sites and monuments. Though second only to the nation's capital city of Bangkok in terms of modernity, this "Rose of the Northern Thailand," as it's often called, oozes unique charms not found in bustling Bangkok. The period from October to March is best for travel. There's a lot to do to keep your interest high - whizz on a rented motorcycle, don an ethic costume, chomp on a curry-flavored meal, get a Thai massage, wander through temples, fly a sky lantern - "Lost in Thailand" can tell you what to do.

The new service taps into the huge travel source market from Beijing to Chiang Mai by utilizing Air China's hub in Beijing. It's also a worthy addition to Air China's global route network, bolstering the connectivity between Air China's routes to Asia Pacific and the long-haul routes to Europe and the United States. For the time being, no direct air services are available between Europe/Australia/America and Chiang Mai. As a result, almost 90% of the travelers to Chiang Mai have to transfer in Bangkok. Relying on Air China's extensive global route network, Air China's Beijing - Chiang Mai direct service will further feed connecting traffic into Air China's long-haul routes, making travel between Europe/ Australia/America and Chiang Mai via Beijing a reality.

The Beijing - Chiang Mai flights, CA823/4, are operated three times a week on Monday/Thursday/Saturday with the B737-800. The outbound flight departs from Beijing at 18:30 Beijing time and arrives in Chiang Mai at 22:40 local time. The return flight leaves Chiang Mai at 23:45 local time and arrives in Beijing at 05:00 Beijing time.

Sources

Read More..