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Oct 20, 2010

Tibetan students in China protest over language policy

Students marching to centre of Rongwo Town at the gate of Rongwo Monastery 19 October
The Tibetan students are said to be angered by changes to education policy
At least 1,000 ethnic Tibetan students in China have protested against what they call the erosion of their culture and language, a rights group says.

Pope Benedict picks 24 new cardinals

Pope Benedict, 20/10
Pope Benedict has now chosen three groups of cardinals
Pope Benedict XVI has chosen 24 new cardinals, including 10 Italians, as he moves to put his stamp on Vatican affairs.
Twenty of the new cardinals, who are the Pope's close advisers, are under the age of 80, making them eligible to choose the next pontiff.

Chilean politician alleges miners' warnings 'ignored'

A police officer stands guard by the capsule outside the presidential palace in Santiago
The Chilean Navy has patented the name and design of the rescue capsule
A Chilean politician has alleged that on the day the San Jose mine collapsed trapping 33 men, workers voiced safety fears but were told to stay on shift.
Deputy Carlos Vilches said one of the miners had told him that managers refused their request to surface some three hours before the disaster.

Portugal transformed by green energy revolution

The lights of Lisbon: Around 45 percent of Portugal's power now comes from renewable sources.
Lisbon, Portugal (CNN) -- In recent years Portugal has been harnessing its enviable southern European climate to benefit more than just its tourism industry.

Pinera: Mining conditions must improve

London, England (CNN) -- Chile's president said Monday that conditions must improve in the country's mining industry, just days after 33 miners were rescued from a collapsed mineshaft at a copper mine in the country's remote Atacama Desert.

British aid worker released in Somalia

Somali government fighters battle militants in Mogadishu last month.
(CNN) -- Somali gunmen on Wednesday released a British aid worker kidnapped last week while working for Save the Children.
The aid worker, named as Zimbabwe-born Frans Barnard, was freed after tribal elders negotiated with his captors, Save the Children confirmed.

Saudi prince gets life in prison for murdering servant

London, England (CNN) -- A British court sentenced a Saudi prince Wednesday to the maximum penalty of life in prison for murdering his servant.

Fresh clashes as French protests continue

(CNN) -- Fresh clashes broke out Wednesday between protesters and police in France as hundreds of thousands rallied in opposition to planned pension reforms.

GEC To Stay At GCIC Until Dec. 31, Guam

Guam- 12 days are left until the General Election, and the Guam Election Commission is on track in its preparations for the big event.

In fact, the agency won't be moving out of the GCIC building anytime soon. GEC has a home at least until the end of the year. Executive Director John Blas told the Board of Directors during their Wednesday meeting that a check in the amount of $6,683.23 was cut for them to remain at GCIC until December 31. He also told members, the Department of Administration is working on the $534 still owed for their August rent to the landlord and $9,000 to utilize GCIC's second floor conference room. Board member Martha Ruth also suggested the use of the Department of Labor's conference room to save more money.

IT’S WAR: Public servants give TT government ultimatum

 
 PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Thousands of public servants took to the streets in Trinidad and Tobago on Tuesday in support of their demands for increased salaries as the Public Service Association (PSA) called for a national strike next week.The PSA is demanding that public workers would not be accepting anything less than TT$6,000 (US$1,000) a month and the union’s president Watson Duke said that the authorities were maintaining their original offer.

Wedding bells for five of Chile's rescued miners

Image: Trapped miner Esteban Rojas hugs his wife as he prays after reaching the surface to become the 18th to be rescued from the San Jose mine in Copiapo
Hugo Infante / Government of Chile via Reuters file
Trapped miner Esteban Rojas hugs his wife Jessica Yanez after reaching the surface on October 13. They are now to be married in church, 25 years after their civil ceremony.
COPIAPO, Chile — Five of Chile's 33 rescued miners are to have church weddings after surviving for more than two months trapped underground.

WINNERS in Currency Wars, Oct 20, 2010


The return of “great power politics” - Stabroek News

Oct 20, 2010 — October 20, 2010 ... Smaller frontier economies could be the winners ... in the same way conventional wars defined the 20th, some say.

Thaksin's zero-sum game is a road to self-destruction

Fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra will return to Thailand if his proxy Pheu Thai Party sweeps the next election and forms a one-party government, a satellite television station run by his family said recently

A life-and-death issue

With the Philippines remembering the first anniversary of the days when the deadly and destructive storms 'Ondoy' (Ketsana) and 'Pepeng' (Parma) struck Metro Manila and a great part of Luzon, now is a good time to remind ourselves of the causes of the great flood. One of them was the unprecedented volume of water that Ondoy brought: about six months’ worth of rain in just 24 hours. But this was aggravated by other causes, like discarded plastic bags clogging esteros, canals and other waterways.

A neglected necessity

Sooner or later someone you know will likely be busy scurrying back and forth to a hospital, caring for a child or spouse who has a high fever and a low hemoglobin count. All sorts of tips will come flooding in from friends, such as guava juice to raise the HB count, and dried worm pills for stamina. However, pending a diagnosis to determine whether the patient has dengue or a mysterious new disease, they may be forced to wait in a temporary ward — or worse, in the hallway — as all the beds are occupied.

Pakistan’s cloak-and-dagger democracy

The simmering crisis in Pakistan deepens with the government attempting a swingback to the Musharraf era in terms of its dealings with the judiciary. In a development that is almost unparalleled, the chief justice of the Supreme Court has sought an explanation on the reported move to subjugate the judges once again. Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Geelani has advanced a feeble denial, couched in the sanctimonious cant that the Pakistani Peoples Party (PPP) leaders “have sacrificed their lives for the independence of the judiciary”.

Scientists say Asia's corals dying en masse

Coral reefs in Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean are dying from the worst bleaching effect in more than a decade, Australian marine scientists said Tuesday.

Surabaya offers an appealing alternative

It is neater, cleaner and more orderly - quite unlike Jakarta’s oppressiveness

To many Malaysians, Surabaya - Indonesia’s second largest city - is a mystery.

Certainly most of our businessmen head straight to Jakarta only to end up being overwhelmed by the capital’s sheer size and complexities.

India at the high table

India's uncontested elevation to a non-permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council, with endorsement from 187 of the UN's 192 member-states, erases the humiliation of 1996 when New Delhi unwisely contested against Japan and lost badly.

How deep runs the Commonwealh Games rot

mplications of the old saying about what happens when “thieves fall out” would appear to underlie the Congress’ imposing a gag order on Delhi state leader Sheila Dikshit and Commonwealth Games organising committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi. It was not merely to avoid embarrassment to the party, but a calculated damage-containment exercise. For when reacting to Sheila’s allegations against the CWG org

Prepared for ‘Juan’

The Philippines' capital Metro Manila may be heaving a sigh of relief after having been mostly spared by the wrath of Super-typhoon 'Juan' (international codename: Megi), but it should empathise with the plight of Northern Luzon that bore the brunt of the storm’s destructive crossing and must not rest its guard lest it be caught flat-footed again the way it was during 'Ondoy' (Ketsana). The supertyphoon has largely brought damage to the northeastern corridor of the archipelago, geographically the first landfall of storms and the most drenched and affected by Pacific howlers. Despite being weather-beaten and storm-tossed, the geographical location of that region and its relative inaccessibility have somehow also ensured that its beautiful flora and fauna are preserved and renewed, especially from the depredation of greedy loggers and the despoliation of tourist-wastrels.

Sandra Bullock Anne Fletcher Ryan Reynolds The Proposal

By Sean O’Connell
Hollywoodnews.com: Have you ever heard the famous bit of homespun Texas wisdom, “You dance with the one who brung you?” Bet Sandra Bullock, who has adopted the Lone Star state, knows it, so it makes sense to learn the actress is sticking with Warner Bros., the studio that successfully guided ..

Zagat Hollywood Steve Spielberg Meryl Streep 3-D


By Sean O’Connell
Hollywoodnews.com: All lists are subjective, and most movie lists are flawed. But if there’s a constant when it comes to compilations, it’s that they always stimulate great debate.

BBC News - Mel Gibson lands Hangover 2 cameo role

Mel Gibson
Gibson's next movie, Beaver, has seen its release date postponed
Hollywood actor Mel Gibson has landed a cameo role as a tattoo artist in the Hangover sequel, it has been reported.
Industry newspaper The Hollywood Reporter said the Braveheart star will join original cast members including Bradley Cooper in the movie.
The original film, about a disastrous stag ..

Bomber who killed seven at CIA base 'was not vetted'

Click to play

The clip purportedly shows al-Balawi (r) with Taliban chief Hakimullah Mehsud

A suicide bomber who killed seven CIA agents at a meeting at a remote base in eastern Afghanistan in January had not been properly vetted, the CIA has said.

France clears fuel blockades ahead of pension vote

A man holds a placard which reads 'Listen to the public's rage' ...

Wed Oct 20, 8:24 AM

A man holds a placard which reads 'Listen to the public's rage' during a demonstration in front of the French Senate in Paris October 20, 2010.

REUTERS/Charles Platiau

Why China Stinks

Spending Review 2010: Live

Chancellor George Osborne is patted on the back by colleagues after delivering the Comprehensive Spending Review
Chancellor George Osborne gets a pat on the back by colleagues after delivering the Comprehensive Spending Review Photo: PA

Dramatic solar eclipse pictured by Nasa

Dramatic solar eclipse pictured by NASA
The moon passes between NASA'S Solar Dynamics Observatory and the sun Photo: NASA / BARCROFT

On October 7 the observatory's path around the Earth brought it in perfect alignment with the new Moon as it arced in front of the Sun.

Could the Government Seize Your Gold? Rules to Consider, Steps to Take

Could the government seize your gold?

It's a question that's being asked with increasing frequency these days. The United States is struggling with a post-financial-crisis economy that can't seem to get healthy, which has led to a ballooning budget deficit and a staggering national debt.