TAIWAN REJECTS MANILA APOLOGY FOR FISHERMAN DEATH
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan slammed Manila's apology for the shooting
death of a Taiwanese fisherman as informal and insincere, and said
Wednesday it is recalling its representative and will discourage travel
to the Philippines.
The shooting has focused renewed attention on fishing disputes in and
around the South China Sea, which have turned the area into one of the
region's most tense.
- It has also brought to the fore China's efforts to make common cause with Taiwan, which split from the mainland amid civil war in 1949.
- The Philippine apology was made Tuesday to the Taiwanese people, but not the Taiwanese government, with which Manila maintains only quasi-official relations. Like all but a handful of countries, it maintains full diplomatic ties with the communist government in Beijing.
- The Taiwan foreign ministry did not release the precise language of the Philippines statement on the fisherman's death, except to say it expressed "deep regret and apology to the Taiwanese people for the unfortunate incident."
- Philippine coast guard personnel opened fire on a Taiwanese fishing vessel in disputed waters in the Bashi Strait off the northern Philippines last Thursday, killing the 65-year old fisherman.
- The Philippines has acknowledged that its coast guard personnel were responsible, but said they were acting in self-defense because the Taiwanese fishing vessel was about the ram a Philippines fisheries department ship that was carrying coast guard personnel.
- Premier Jiang Yi-huah said Taiwan was displeased with the apology delivered by the Philippine representative office in Taipei, citing language that he claimed reflected a desire by the Philippines government to distance itself from the affair.
- Jiang also professed unhappiness with the source of compensation money the family of the fisherman will receive— the Filipino people rather than the Philippines government itself.
Source: Philstar...More...
DEPORTED MEXICANS FORCED TO LIVE IN TUNNELS
A record number of undocumented immigrants were deported from the
United States last year. Most of the 410,000 migrants forced out of the
country were Mexican.
Many deportees ended up displaced in places like Tijuana, a city on
Mexico's border with the US. Some have been forced to find shelter in
tunnels.
Source; Aljazeera
GREENHOUSE GAS LEVEL HITS MILESTONE AS CO2 LEVEL SET RECORD
WASHINGTON, U.S.A. - Worldwide levels of the chief greenhouse gas that causes
global warming have hit a milestone, reaching an amount never before
encountered by humans, federal scientists said.
Carbon dioxide was measured at 400 parts per million at the oldest
monitoring station which is in Hawaii sets the global benchmark. The
last time the worldwide carbon level was probably that high was about 2
million years ago, Pieter Tans of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration said on Friday.
That was during the Pleistocene Era. “It was much warmer than it is
today,” Tans said. “There were forests in Greenland. Sea level was
higher, between 10 and 20 metres.”
Other scientists say it may have been 10 million years ago that Earth
last encountered this much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The first
modern humans only appeared in Africa about 200,000 years ago.
The measurement was recorded Thursday and it is only a daily figure, the
monthly and yearly average will be smaller. The number 400 has been
anticipated by climate scientists and environmental activists for years
as a notable indicator, in part because it’s a round number — not
because any changes in man-made global warming happen by reaching it.
Source: Yahoo News...More
THOUSANDS PACK KELANA JAYA STADIUM FOR PAKATAN RALLY
KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 — Some 50,000, mostly dressed in black, have packed
the Stadium MBPJ while thousands others are trying to get in for a rally
for free and fair elections organised by Pakatan Rakyat (PR) Stadium
MBPJ in Kelana Jaya near here tonight.
The evening shower caused traffic congestion but most of the crowd
dropped off at the Kelana Jaya LRT station and walked to the stadium
near the Subang Airport road.
Among those speaking at the rally are opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and DAP strongman Lim Kit Siang.
Anwar arrived after 10pm on a scooter and was greeted with loud roars
that echoed through the stadium by the crowd who chanted "Kami Anak
Malaysia". Thousands dressed in black have packed the stands and also
the football pitch in the stadium.
"This is the beginning of a battle between the rakyat and an
illegitimate, corrupt, and arrogant government," the PKR de facto leader
told the crowd.
Traffic remains backed up around Kelana Jaya right up to the NPE toll plaza near Sunway.
Source: The Malaysian Insider, Malaysia Kini
PHILIPPINE VOLCANO ERUPTS
MANILA, Philippines - Three German tourists and their Filipino tour guide were
crushed to death when one of the Philippines’ most active volcanoes
spewed a giant ash cloud and a hail of rocks on Tuesday, authorities
said.
Up to 20 foreigners and their guides were on the slopes of picturesque
Mount Mayon when it erupted without warning, and rescue workers had been
dispatched on helicopters to search for survivors, officials and a tour
operator said.
- “It rained like hell with stones,” local tour operator Marti Calleja quoted an Austrian woman who survived the ordeal as saying.
- “The rocks that came crashing down on them were as big as dining (table) sets,” he told AFP by phone.
More news...
GE13: MALAYSIAN PM SHOCKED BY ‘CHINESE TSUNAMI’ ?
KUALA
LUMPUR : Datuk Seri Najib Razak Barisan Nasional’s (BN) survived a
hard-fought polls battle in face of 'Chinese tsunami' yesterday, but
rival Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has vowed to fight the result following
allegations of widespread fraud.
The BN chairman
admitted it had not expected the wholesale abandonment by the Chinese
community, which he blamed on the Pakatan Rakyat’s alleged play on
racial sentiments to woo support from the country’s second largest
ethnic group.
- “I think they were taken in by some of the undertakings given by the opposition... and that’s why there was that swing.... and a lot of sentiments there, some of them racial in nature, that were being played up in this election, which is not very healthy for this country,” he told a 1am press conference at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) today, shortly after a simple majority victory cemented BN’s place in Putrajaya.
- “I expected it but I did not expect it to this extent. None of us expected it to this extent. But despite the extent of the swing against us, BN did not fall,” he added.
At
a separate press conference, PR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar
Ibrahim said the pact rejected the results of the poll, pointing to
unanswered allegations on electoral fraud.“As of now, we are not accepting the results... until the EC (Election Commission) responds and issues an official statement to the allegations of irregularities and fraud,” he told reporters.
Anwar addresses media during a news conference in Kuala Lumpur early May 6, 2013. — Reuters picAs at 12.50am this morning, BN retained federal power with a simple majority, scoring 112 seats to PR’s 58.
- Najib urged Malaysians and leaders in the federal opposition to accept tonight’s results “with an open heart”, and warned against any street demonstrations to protest the outcome.
- He said BN will establish a mechanism to look into all the promises it made during campaigning to ensure that these will be implemented in full.
- “One of the things we will do is the process of national reconciliation,” he said, noting the trend in Chinese support for the opposition.
- “Overall, the decision made by the rakyat shows a certain trend in votes that worries the government because if it is not handled well, it could create tension and conflicts in our country,” he said.
- BN scored poorly in the most Chinese-majority seats nationwide, indicating a massive swing in the community’s support towards the opposition.
- The pact suffered significant defeats in its Johor fortress, losing in key seats like Kluang, Kulai and Gelang Patah, where DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang trounced political heavyweight Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman, the state’s four-term mentri besar.
- “There are a lot of factors that occurred, effects from the support of the Chinese to BN. The tsunami that I mentioned earlier, this tsunami of the Chinese community, led to large numbers supporting the opposition,” Najib said.
- “We are still trying to absorb the results and the total ramifications. Give us a few days or weeks for us to hold discussions and have a kind of national reconciliation.
- “We can reject the politics of extremism and racism, and work towards more moderate policies for the country,” he added.
Source: The Malaysian Insider
IN MALAYSIAN GENERAL ELECTION 13, BARISAN NASIONAL WINS
There are two Malaysias. One from the Malay heartland that swung back
to Barisan Nasional (BN) on Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1 Malaysia
campaign to retake Kedah and run the country despite a smaller federal
majority in Election 2013.
The other is a multiracial Malaysia that gave more votes, federal and
state seats to Pakatan Rakyat (PR) especially in cities and towns,
reflecting the growing rural-urban divide of a fast-developing nation.
The record 80 per cent turnout from the 12.9 million voters eligible
to cast their ballots in yesterday’s general election and close results
in BN victories reveal hardcore support for either coalitions, firming
the idea of a two-party system in Malaysia.
ISRAEL LOUNCES ‘AIRSTRIKES’ IN SYRIA
Israel carried out an air strike near Damascus airport overnight, targeting Iranian missiles destined for Lebanon's Shia Muslim Hizbollah movement, a senior Israeli source has said.
"The attack was very close to the airport, the target was Iranian
missiles which were destined for Hizbollah," the anonymous source said.
The warplanes struck areas in and around the Syrian capital Sunday, setting
off a series of explosions as they targeted a shipment of highly accurate,
Iranian-made guided missiles believed to be on their way to Hizbollah.
The attack, the second in three days, signaled a sharp escalation of Israel's
involvement in Syria's bloody civil war.
Source: Al Jazeera
COMPETING PARTIES IN DEAD HEAT FOR MALAYSIAN 2013 ELECTION
KUALA LUMPUR, May 3 — Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) are
almost evenly tied to win Election 2013 with the economy the main issue
ahead of the May 5 general elections, according to a survey by the
Merdeka Center for Opinion Research.
The respected pollster found that 42 per cent of the voters surveyed
agreed that PR should be given a chance to govern the country against 41
per cent who felt only BN should govern Malaysia.
- It added that four per cent of the voters refused to respond while 13 per cent of the voters said they “did not know”.
- “Based on the survey results and the assumption that the election is free and fair, we estimate that neither Barisan Nasional nor Pakatan Rakyat were in the lead as at 9:30pm on May 2, 2013,” Merdeka Center said in a statement this evening.
- The survey was carried out by the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research between 9:00am on April 28 and 9.30pm on May 2, involving 1,600 registered voters comprising 59 per cent Malay, 32 per cent Chinese and nine per cent Indian respondents who were interviewed by telephone in the poll.
- BN leaders have expressed confidence of doing better than Election 2008, saying their election machinery has been working hard to canvass votes in both rural and urban areas to ensure its unbroken rule since independence in 1957.
The BN also believes it can snare 142 seats, counting on what its
officials say was a swing towards the coalition in the last 24 hours in
its traditional vote bank of Sabah and Sarawak.
Leaders from both coalitions have been racing across the country in
the past two weeks to speak at rallies, exhorting party workers to
campaign harder and persuading fence sitters for their votes.
Source: The Malaysian Insider
