US, Japan delay Okinawa plan but hold firm (AFP)

Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.
Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States and Japan acknowledged Tuesday that they would miss a 2014 deadline for a controversial shift of a US base in Okinawa, but stood firmly behind the plan in the face of opposition.

The future of the Futenma air base on the subtropical island has bedeviled ties between the Pacific allies for years and both governments have been eager to push ahead on a 2006 deal instead of restarting exhaustive talks.

In a joint statement after top-level talks, the Pacific allies said the relocation "will not meet the previous targeted date of 2014" but renewed their commitment to complete the project "at the earliest possible date."

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, meeting with their Japanese counterparts, also confirmed plans to move 8,000 Marines and some 9,000 dependents from Okinawa to the US territory of Guam.

Under the 2006 plan between previous governments, the United States planned to shut the flashpoint Futenma base in Okinawa which has long been a source of grievance as it lies in a crowded urban area.

The Japanese and US leaders on Tuesday endorsed building a replacement base with V-shaped runways at Henoko on an isolated stretch of beach elsewhere on the strategically located island.

A number of activists on Okinawa demanded that the base be removed entirely from the island, the often reluctant host to half of the 47,000 US troops based in Japan under a post-World War II treaty.

US senators recently moved to force the Pentagon to consider a new option, saying the current plan is too costly and politically unrealistic when Japan should be focusing on the rebuilding from its massive earthquake.

Gates, addressing one of his final news conferences as defense secretary, tried to put the effort led by Senators Jim Webb and Carl Levin -- members of President Barack Obama's Democratic Party -- in the context of the current plan.

"The letter from Senators Webb and Levin about the realignment is really a manifestation of growing congressional impatience about the lack of progress," Gates said at a four-way news conference with Clinton.

"We both reaffirmed the US government's commitment to the 2006 realignment plan, but at the same time emphasized the importance of concrete progress over the course of the next year," Gates said.

One prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, resigned last year after failing to fulfill campaign promises to renegotiate Futenma, with the Obama administration insisting the crux of the deal was not open to debate.

His successor, Prime Minister Naoto Kan, has sought to move ahead with the base plan without tying his fate to the issue as he focuses instead on the earthquake aftermath and his government's survival in parliament.

Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa played down criticism that the center-left Democratic Party of Japan has held up progress since taking power in 2009, saying: "This is the cost that is entailed in democracy when we have a change of government."

"The purpose of the US realignment is to maintain deterrence and to reduce the local burden, so we will be making maximum efforts with the United States to achieve both objectives."

Under an alternative plan drafted by Webb, a former Marine who represents Virginia, Futenma would be closed and its air assets largely shifted to Okinawa's existing Kadena Air Base.

Webb also proposed shifting some of the existing air assets from Kadena to elsewhere in Japan and Guam, a solution he said would ease both congestion and costs in Okinawa.

The Senate Armed Services Committee last week agreed to cut off funding for the 2014 shift until the Marine Corps comes up with a new study on Guam -- where opposition is also building -- and considers the alternative on Futenma.

Senator John McCain, the top Republican on the committee, has supported the effort, telling a forum Monday: "As new realities and cost overruns call our current plans into question, Congress must ask the hard questions."

View the original article here

Tata Group overtakes Reliance as India's wealthiest (AFP)

Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.
Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.

MUMBAI (AFP) – India's leading conglomerate Tata Group has become the country's wealthiest in terms of market capitalisation, beating the combined wealth of the two Ambani brothers, stock exchange data showed Tuesday.

The salt-to-steel Tata Group, led by chairman Ratan Tata, was worth 4.32 trillion rupees ($96 billion) -- the highest for any Indian corporate group. The combined value of the two Reliance groups was 3.46 trillion rupees.

Tata and Reliance officials declined to comment on or confirm the data, which is based on an analysis of volume and prices of shares in both the groups' listed companies on Indian exchanges.

Tata Group subsidiaries have reported improved earnings in recent years, which has seen the companies value increase, analysts said.

They include Tata Motors and its British luxury car brands Jaguar Land Rover, the world's seventh largest steel maker Tata Steel and its unit Corus, which have all turned profitable after the global slowdown.

Other units that have added market wealth in the past year include India's largest outsourcer TCS. Group firms Titan Industries, which makes watches, Tata Coffee, Tata Chemicals and agri-business outfit Rallis have also grown.

In contrast, Reliance Industries -- the highest weighted stock on the benchmark Sensex index at the Bombay Stock Exchange -- has been sluggish for over a year, mainly on concerns over output at its main gas fields.

"Investors are jittery over negative news linked to Reliance stocks, which has pulled stocks down," said a dealer with a securities firm from a development bank, who asked to remain anonymous.

Mukesh and younger brother Anil Ambani, who runs the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, last year ended a bitter and public feud over the spoils of their late father's vast business empire.

The elder Ambani, who handles oil and gas and petrochemicals, is India's richest man, with a fortune estimated at $27 billion, according to Forbes magazine.

The younger Ambani, who deals with telecoms, financial services and utilities, is the eighth richest, with a wealth of $8.8 billion.

The reclusive Ratan Tata is not on the Forbes billionaire list but is listed 61st amongst the world's most powerful people.

Anil Ambani has seen fortunes of his firms dip since he and other group officials met investigators probing a multi-billion-dollar telecom licence fraud that has badly shaken India's government.

Some local brokerages have downgraded the Reliance Industries stock, fearing that gas output from the KG D6 basin off India's east coast may not rise sharply in coming months.

Two of Anil Ambani's firms, flagship Reliance Communications and subsidiary Reliance Infrastructure have slipped after news last week that these stocks would be removed from the benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange.

View the original article here

Philippine massacre trial to be on live webcast (AP)

Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.
Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered a live video webcast of the trial of members of a political clan accused in the massacre of 57 people, including 31 journalists.

It is the first time the tribunal has allowed real-time coverage of court proceedings via the Internet, and the trial to be broadcast involves the November 2009 massacre that is the worst act of political violence in a country inured to bloodshed.

Chief Justice Renato Corona's order comes after the court last week gave permission for live radio and television broadcast of the trial.

"With this, the Maguindanao massacre trial will be accessible to viewers worldwide, continuously and without interruption," a court statement said.

The powerful Ampatuan clan patriarch and former southern Maguindanao provincial Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr. and several of his sons are among the 196 people accused of killing members of a rival clan and journalists traveling in a convoy in November 2009.

Of the total, 92 suspects are in custody and 58 have been arraigned. The principal suspect, former town Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., is accused of leading about 150 gunmen with his father's approval in mowing down the victims. Andal Jr. and his father have pleaded not guilty.

The trial is held twice weekly in a maximum-security detention facility inside a police camp where video, pictures and taping have been previously banned. The prosecution has been presenting evidence and witnesses.

One witness, Ampatuan's servant, Lakmudin Saliao, has testified that six days before the killings, the patriarch asked his family over dinner how they could stop rival Esmael Mangudadatu from running for governor.

According to Saliao, Andal Jr. said "If they come here, just kill them all." His father allegedly agreed.

On the day of the killings, Andal Jr. told his father by cellphone that he had blocked the convoy, Saliao testified. The father ordered him to gun down everybody but spare the journalists, to which Andal Jr. replied, "No ... somebody could talk if we won't wipe out everybody," the servant said.

Radio and TV networks had petitioned the court for live coverage, and President Benigno Aquino III supported their petition, writing to the court that live coverage would let Filipinos learn lessons from the violence so that it won't be repeated.

The broadcasters welcomed the earlier court decision but complained about the strict conditions like continuous broadcast without commercials.

"Hopefully, with the live webcast, the objections regarding no commercial breaks or gaps, and continuous broadcast of entire proceedings will be addressed," court spokesman Midas Marquez said.

The live streaming will be hosted by the Supreme Court's website.

Romel Bagares, a lawyer for relatives of some of the victims, said he "supports any move on the part of the court to broaden the public's right to information and media's right to gather news and report or issue fair comment on issues of the day."

However, he said the order needs to be clarified in case there are conflicts in the guidelines for implementing the webcast and conditions for the live radio and television broadcasts.

"We hope the court listens to media and appreciates the logistical, financial and above all, constitutional issues involved in both traditional and new media broadcasts because they are now interfaced and intertwined," Bagares said.

View the original article here

(AP)

Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.
Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan army: Senior officer detained for suspected links with banned militant group.

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

660 reservoirs at risk of overflowing in China (AP)

Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.
Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.

BEIJING – Heavy rains in eastern China have put more than 660 reservoirs at risk of overflowing, an official said Tuesday.

Rain-triggered floods have swept parts of eastern and southern China this month, leaving at least 175 dead and 86 missing and causing 35 billion yuan ($5 billion) in direct economic losses, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

An official at the media department of the Anhui Water Resource Department said water levels at more than 660 reservoirs in the province were above the warning level. Like most Chinese officials, she would give only her surname, Zhao.

The official Xinhua News Agency also said in a Chinese-language report that the reservoirs were in danger of overflowing. The Anhui flood control headquarters said most of the reservoirs — more than 620 — were small, and that only three were large.

Such flooding is common every year during China's rainy season, with reservoirs and rivers overflowing.

Zhao referred further queries to the provincial Communist Party Propaganda Department, but calls were not answered there.

Xinhua said the water levels of the Shuiyang and Qingyi rivers, both tributaries of the Yangtze River running through Anhui, had risen above the warning safety mark.

It said many of the reservoirs in Anhui had started discharging water on orders from the state flood-control headquarters.

In neighboring Zhejiang province, the operator of eastern China's largest reservoir opened three of its nine floodgates Tuesday because of the risk of overflowing.

It was the first time the Xin'anjiang Reservoir has been forced to discharge water since 1999, Zhejiang's flood control headquarters said.

Xinhua quoted officials as saying the release of water into the Lanjiang river wouldn't cause havoc downstream because water there had receded below the danger level.

View the original article here

Vietnam, China hold joint naval patrol amid spat (AP)

Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.
Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.

HANOI, Vietnam – Vietnam and China have concluded two days of joint naval patrols, including a port call in China, despite a heated dispute over claims in the South China Sea, state media said Tuesday.

Two boats from each country participated in the patrols Sunday and Monday, sailing more than 300 nautical miles in the Gulf of Tonkin bordering Vietnam and China, Vietnam's People's Army Newspaper said. A demarcation treaty for the area was signed in 2000.

"Respecting the signed agreements is one of the factors that will promote the friendly and neighborly relations between two countries and ensure sustainable stability and security at sea," it quoted Col. Nguyen Van Kiem, deputy chief of staff of Vietnam's navy, as saying.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei did not comment on the joint patrol at a regular news conference Tuesday. He reiterated Beijing's sovereignty over the South China Sea, but said it would work toward a peaceful resolution to the territorial dispute.

The joint patrol was the 11th since 2005 between the neighboring Communist countries, but it was unclear how long it had been planned or whether it signaled any cooling of tempers. Relations between the two have plummeted in recent weeks as they have traded diplomatic punches over run-ins involving territory in the South China Sea claimed by both.

"The South China Sea has led to a souring of political relations but has not yet spilled over to affect the broad and deep nature of Sino-Vietnam relations," Carlyle Thayer, a Vietnam expert at the Australian Defense Force Academy in Canberra, said in an email. "The holding of the exercises is a good sign."

Last week, Vietnam held live-fire naval drills off its central coast and issued an order outlining who would be exempt from a military draft during wartime. China announced a few days later that it also recently held similar maneuvers in the South China Sea without providing exact dates.

On Tuesday, a newspaper published by China's ruling Communist Party ran a scathing editorial, warning Vietnam to back off.

"If Vietnam wishes to create a war in the South China Sea, China will resolutely keep them company," the Global Times said. "China has the absolute might to crush the naval fleets sent from Vietnam. China will show no mercy to its rival due to 'global impact' concerns."

China has been upset with Vietnam's welcoming of U.S. involvement in helping resolve disputes in the South China Sea that Beijing believes should be settled bilaterally. The editorial said any attack on Vietnam would likely not lead to a direct conflict with the U.S., but that "even if some friction occurs, that is no reason for China to put up with Vietnam's unlimited vice in the South China Sea."

The U.S. has said that keeping key shipping lanes open in the South China Sea is in its national interest.

On Monday, U.S. Republican Sen. John McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam, told a conference held by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, that Chinese aggressive behavior and unsubstantiated territorial claims are "exacerbating tensions in the South China Sea."

He urged the U.S. to help Southeast Asian nations resolve territorial disputes with China, while also assisting them in developing and deploying maritime defense systems, including early warning radar and coastal security vessels.

Hundreds of Vietnamese protested Sunday for the third straight week, yelling "Down with China!" as they marched through the streets of the capital, Hanoi. Many also carried signs demanding that China stop entering Vietnamese-claimed territory in the Spratly and Paracel islands.

Vietnam and China have a long history of scrapes on the contested high seas, typically resulting in tit-for-tat diplomatic rhetoric.

The recent blowup has sparked a feverish response from Hanoi, which accuses Chinese boats of hindering its oil exploration activities within 200 nautical miles of its coast, which it claims as its exclusive economic zone. China dismisses the argument, saying the incidents occurred near territory it claims and that Vietnamese vessels endangered Chinese fishermen.

___

Associated Press writer Christopher Bodeen in Beijing contributed to this report.

View the original article here

3 Indonesian militants get prison for terror plot (AP)

Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.
Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Three Indonesians radicalized by the teachings of a firebrand Muslim cleric were sentenced Tuesday to six years in prison for involvement in a terror plot.

A Jakarta court found Muhammad Iqbal, Helmi Wardani and Kurnia Widodo guilty of violating anti-terrorism laws by making bombs and exploding them in trial runs for a terrorist attack. It said they gleaned their bomb-making knowledge from the Internet.

Presiding Judge Mustofa said the men were influenced by the preaching of Aman Abdurrahman, a radical cleric who was sentenced to nine years in prison in December for involvement in a militant training camp in westernmost Aceh province.

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, has battled militants with links to al-Qaida since 2002, when extremists bombed a nightclub district on Bali island, killing 202 people, most of them foreigners. A security crackdown since then has seen hundreds of militants killed or captured and convicted.

Mustofa said the three men, all in their thirties, were highly educated with no history of militancy until becoming radicalized through their participation in Islamic study at a mosque in West Java that was a base for Abdurrahman.

He said they planned to target police and local officials whom they considered their main enemy because of the government's support for the U.S.-led fight against terrorism.

View the original article here

Aftershock rattles quake-damaged New Zealand city (AP)

Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.
Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – A moderate aftershock has shaken the quake-devastated city of Christchurch in New Zealand.

The Christchurch Press says the main jolt late Tuesday night was widely felt but no major damage was reported. It says power was out in parts of the city and four flights were diverted to Auckland while the Christchurch airport's runway was checked for damage.

The Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences says the quake registered magnitude 5.3 while the U.S. Geological Survey measured it at 5.1. It was only 7.5 miles (12 kilometers) below the surface and centered about 18.6 miles (30 kilometers) southeast of Christchurch.

Thousands of aftershocks have followed the magnitude-6.3 quake in February that killed 181 people and devastated the city's downtown.

View the original article here

West Indies 119-5 at lunch (AFP)

Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.
Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AFP) – West Indies were 119 for five, in response to India's first innings total of 246 on the first day of the first Test on Tuesday at Sabina Park.

Score summary

India 246 (S. Raina 82, H. Singh 70, R. Dravid 40; F. Edwards 4-56, R. Rampaul 3-59, D. Bishoo 3-75)

West Indies 119 for five (A. Barath 64; P. Kumar 3-24, I. Sharma 2-17)

View the original article here

Report: China plans aircraft carrier test in July (AP)

Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.
Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.

BEIJING – China is planning an initial sea trial of its first aircraft carrier next month, a Hong Kong newspaper said Tuesday, a move likely to further worry neighbors amid heightened tensions over territorial disputes.

Some form of limited testing of the ship is planned to coincide with celebrations of the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese Communist Party on July 1, the Hong Kong Commercial Daily said.

The newspaper reported earlier this month that a top general, Chen Bingde, told it that the carrier was being outfitted, the highest-level confirmation by the secretive military that work is under way. Chen refused to give a timetable for its completion.

China has spent the best part of a decade refurbishing the former Soviet aircraft carrier Varyag after it was towed from Ukraine in 1998, and the carrier program has been widely known for several years.

Activity aboard the ship, docked in the northern port of Dalian, has picked up in recent days, with photos on military enthusiast websites showing workers removing heavy equipment from its sloped flight deck.

The newspaper said the ship will be formally launched next year on Oct. 1, China's national day, after workers complete the installation of weapons systems and other equipment.

The still-unnamed ship was bought as an empty shell without engines, weapons systems, or other crucial equipment and isn't believed to have traveled before under its own propulsion. Years of sea trials and flight training are needed before it will be fully operational.

Once launched, it is expected to primarily serve as a training vessel for the navy and for naval pilots, while China moves swiftly to build its own carriers.

The carrier's move toward operability raises the stakes for Washington, long the pre-eminent naval power in Asia, and jangles the already edgy nerves of China's neighbors upset with what they see as Beijing's more assertive posture in enforcing claims to disputed territories.

Over the past year, China has seen a flare-up in territorial spats with Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam and seen its relations strained with South Korea — all of which have turned to Washington for support.

View the original article here

Bangladesh moves to retain Islam as state religion (AP)

Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.
Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.

DHAKA, Bangladesh – Bangladesh will retain Islam as the state religion in amendments the government is proposing to its constitution, a government minister said Tuesday.

A former military ruler declared Islam the state religion in 1988 by amending the charter, but it barely affected Bangladesh's secular legal system mainly based on British common law.

The government says the proposed changes won't affect the legal system. Inheritance and other family laws already are based on religion.

The decision was made late Monday at a Cabinet meeting, the minister told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

A special government committee prepared proposals for the amendment, and the government will send those proposals to the parliament for passing as a law.

Bangladesh won independence from Pakistan in 1971 with help from India through a bloody nine-month war.

The original constitution was installed by independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. After Rahman's assasination in a military coup in 1975, military rulers made a series of amendments to the charter.

Some see the government's latest action as a compromise by Hasina, who during her election campaign before December 2008 polls said she would restore the 1972 constitution if voted to power.

The original charter did not recognize any faith as a state religion, promised elimination of communalism and disfavored discrimination or persecution because of a person's faith.

The new proposals want to restore those provisions of secularism but keep Islam as state religion.

Monday's Cabinet meeting chaired by Hasina also endorsed equal status and equal rights for practicing other religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity, the minister said.

The Cabinet decided to keep the provision of state religion considering the national reality, the minister told AP.

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia has campaigned that Hasina's Awami League party is anti-Islamic. The country's main Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami and its hardline allies also brand Hasina's party as anti-Islamic.

Bangladesh has thousands of Islamic schools that advocate installation of Sharia laws, and a violent hardline group years ago bombed government buildings and courts demanding Sharia law. The government claims the group, Jumatul Mujahedin Bangladesh, was broken after its top leaders were hanged.

The government also proposed an amendment to cancel a constitutional provision that requires the government to hand over power at the end of its term to a nonpartisan administration. A former chief justice is usually chosen to head the three-month caretaker administration that conducts new elections.

The Supreme Court has ruled the provision in the 1996 constitution is undemocratic.

The next general elections is due in 2014, and opponents of Hasina say amending the consitution to remove that provision could lead to vote-rigging.

View the original article here

Obama set to give Afghan speech Wednesday evening (Reuters)

Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.
Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama will deliver a speech on Wednesday evening on his plan to pull back U.S. troops from Afghanistan, the White House said on Tuesday.

"At 8 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, June 22nd, the President will address the nation from the White House to lay out his plan for implementing his strategy -- first unveiled in December 2009 -- to draw down American troops from Afghanistan," the White House said in a statement.

(Reporting by Steve Holland, Editing by Will Dunham)

View the original article here

Indonesian MPs demand protection for Gulf workers (AFP)

Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.
Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.

JAKARTA (AFP) – Indonesian lawmakers on Tuesday urged the government to stop sending migrant workers to the Middle East, and especially Saudi Arabia, after the beheading of a maid who murdered her Saudi employer.

Parliamentarians said the oil-rich kingdom and other Gulf states should not benefit from cheap Indonesian labour until they agreed to protect workers' basic rights.

"We have asked the government to temporarily suspend sending Indonesian workers overseas, especially countries which refuse to sign an agreement which protects our workers' rights," deputy speaker Priyo Budi Santoso said.

Several lawmakers called on Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa and other key members of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's cabinet to resign over the treatment of migrant workers abroad.

The uproar came after Riyadh beheaded an Indonesian maid on Saturday for murdering her Saudi employer.

Ruyati binti Sapubi had been convicted of murdering Khairiya bint Hamid Mijlid with a meat cleaver after being denied permission to leave the kingdom, according to Indonesian officials.

Indonesia recalled its ambassador to Saudi Arabia for consultations on Monday and lodged a strong protest with the government in Riyadh, saying the Saudi authorities had ignored normal consular protocols.

Another 23 Indonesian migrant workers are on death row in Saudi Arabia, according to parliamentary labour commission member Rieke Dyah Pitaloka.

"The suspension (of migrant labour to the Middle East) must be applied soon, especially to Saudi Arabia," she told AFP.

Dozens of protesters including Sapubi's daughter protested outside the Saudi embassy in Jakarta to condemn the execution, carrying banners reading "Saudi is cruel and murderous".

Around 70 percent of the 1.2 million Indonesians working in Saudi Arabia are domestic helpers, according to officials.

Sapubi's case is the latest in a string of incidents involving Indonesian menial labourers in the Middle East.

Indonesians were outraged in April when a Saudi court overturned the conviction of a Saudi woman who had been jailed for three years for allegedly torturing her Indonesian maid with scissors and a hot iron.

London-based Amnesty International said the maid's treatment, which Yudhoyono described as "extraordinary torture," was all too characteristic of the plight of foreign workers in the region.

It said workers from countries like Indonesia, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka underpin the Gulf states' economies but face extreme forms of exploitation.

View the original article here

West Indies 119-5 at lunch (AFP)

Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.
Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AFP) – West Indies were 119 for five, in response to India's first innings total of 246 on the first day of the first Test on Tuesday at Sabina Park.

Score summary

India 246 (S. Raina 82, H. Singh 70, R. Dravid 40; F. Edwards 4-56, R. Rampaul 3-59, D. Bishoo 3-75)

West Indies 119 for five (A. Barath 64; P. Kumar 3-24, I. Sharma 2-17)

View the original article here

Vietnam, China hold joint naval patrol amid spat (AP)

Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.
Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.

HANOI, Vietnam – Vietnam and China have concluded two days of joint naval patrols, including a port call in China, despite a heated dispute over claims in the South China Sea, state media said Tuesday.

Two boats from each country participated in the patrols Sunday and Monday, sailing more than 300 nautical miles in the Gulf of Tonkin bordering Vietnam and China, Vietnam's People's Army Newspaper said. A demarcation treaty for the area was signed in 2000.

"Respecting the signed agreements is one of the factors that will promote the friendly and neighborly relations between two countries and ensure sustainable stability and security at sea," it quoted Col. Nguyen Van Kiem, deputy chief of staff of Vietnam's navy, as saying.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei did not comment on the joint patrol at a regular news conference Tuesday. He reiterated Beijing's sovereignty over the South China Sea, but said it would work toward a peaceful resolution to the territorial dispute.

The joint patrol was the 11th since 2005 between the neighboring Communist countries, but it was unclear how long it had been planned or whether it signaled any cooling of tempers. Relations between the two have plummeted in recent weeks as they have traded diplomatic punches over run-ins involving territory in the South China Sea claimed by both.

"The South China Sea has led to a souring of political relations but has not yet spilled over to affect the broad and deep nature of Sino-Vietnam relations," Carlyle Thayer, a Vietnam expert at the Australian Defense Force Academy in Canberra, said in an email. "The holding of the exercises is a good sign."

Last week, Vietnam held live-fire naval drills off its central coast and issued an order outlining who would be exempt from a military draft during wartime. China announced a few days later that it also recently held similar maneuvers in the South China Sea without providing exact dates.

On Tuesday, a newspaper published by China's ruling Communist Party ran a scathing editorial, warning Vietnam to back off.

"If Vietnam wishes to create a war in the South China Sea, China will resolutely keep them company," the Global Times said. "China has the absolute might to crush the naval fleets sent from Vietnam. China will show no mercy to its rival due to 'global impact' concerns."

China has been upset with Vietnam's welcoming of U.S. involvement in helping resolve disputes in the South China Sea that Beijing believes should be settled bilaterally. The editorial said any attack on Vietnam would likely not lead to a direct conflict with the U.S., but that "even if some friction occurs, that is no reason for China to put up with Vietnam's unlimited vice in the South China Sea."

The U.S. has said that keeping key shipping lanes open in the South China Sea is in its national interest.

On Monday, U.S. Republican Sen. John McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam, told a conference held by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, that Chinese aggressive behavior and unsubstantiated territorial claims are "exacerbating tensions in the South China Sea."

He urged the U.S. to help Southeast Asian nations resolve territorial disputes with China, while also assisting them in developing and deploying maritime defense systems, including early warning radar and coastal security vessels.

Hundreds of Vietnamese protested Sunday for the third straight week, yelling "Down with China!" as they marched through the streets of the capital, Hanoi. Many also carried signs demanding that China stop entering Vietnamese-claimed territory in the Spratly and Paracel islands.

Vietnam and China have a long history of scrapes on the contested high seas, typically resulting in tit-for-tat diplomatic rhetoric.

The recent blowup has sparked a feverish response from Hanoi, which accuses Chinese boats of hindering its oil exploration activities within 200 nautical miles of its coast, which it claims as its exclusive economic zone. China dismisses the argument, saying the incidents occurred near territory it claims and that Vietnamese vessels endangered Chinese fishermen.

___

Associated Press writer Christopher Bodeen in Beijing contributed to this report.

View the original article here

Philippine massacre trial to be on live webcast (AP)

Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.
Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered a live video webcast of the trial of members of a political clan accused in the massacre of 57 people, including 31 journalists.

It is the first time the tribunal has allowed real-time coverage of court proceedings via the Internet, and the trial to be broadcast involves the November 2009 massacre that is the worst act of political violence in a country inured to bloodshed.

Chief Justice Renato Corona's order comes after the court last week gave permission for live radio and television broadcast of the trial.

"With this, the Maguindanao massacre trial will be accessible to viewers worldwide, continuously and without interruption," a court statement said.

The powerful Ampatuan clan patriarch and former southern Maguindanao provincial Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr. and several of his sons are among the 196 people accused of killing members of a rival clan and journalists traveling in a convoy in November 2009.

Of the total, 92 suspects are in custody and 58 have been arraigned. The principal suspect, former town Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr., is accused of leading about 150 gunmen with his father's approval in mowing down the victims. Andal Jr. and his father have pleaded not guilty.

The trial is held twice weekly in a maximum-security detention facility inside a police camp where video, pictures and taping have been previously banned. The prosecution has been presenting evidence and witnesses.

One witness, Ampatuan's servant, Lakmudin Saliao, has testified that six days before the killings, the patriarch asked his family over dinner how they could stop rival Esmael Mangudadatu from running for governor.

According to Saliao, Andal Jr. said "If they come here, just kill them all." His father allegedly agreed.

On the day of the killings, Andal Jr. told his father by cellphone that he had blocked the convoy, Saliao testified. The father ordered him to gun down everybody but spare the journalists, to which Andal Jr. replied, "No ... somebody could talk if we won't wipe out everybody," the servant said.

Radio and TV networks had petitioned the court for live coverage, and President Benigno Aquino III supported their petition, writing to the court that live coverage would let Filipinos learn lessons from the violence so that it won't be repeated.

The broadcasters welcomed the earlier court decision but complained about the strict conditions like continuous broadcast without commercials.

"Hopefully, with the live webcast, the objections regarding no commercial breaks or gaps, and continuous broadcast of entire proceedings will be addressed," court spokesman Midas Marquez said.

The live streaming will be hosted by the Supreme Court's website.

Romel Bagares, a lawyer for relatives of some of the victims, said he "supports any move on the part of the court to broaden the public's right to information and media's right to gather news and report or issue fair comment on issues of the day."

However, he said the order needs to be clarified in case there are conflicts in the guidelines for implementing the webcast and conditions for the live radio and television broadcasts.

"We hope the court listens to media and appreciates the logistical, financial and above all, constitutional issues involved in both traditional and new media broadcasts because they are now interfaced and intertwined," Bagares said.

View the original article here

(AP)

Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.
Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.

ISLAMABAD – Pakistan army: Senior officer detained for suspected links with banned militant group.

Sorry, I could not read the content fromt this page.

View the original article here

Bangladesh moves to retain Islam as state religion (AP)

Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.
Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.

DHAKA, Bangladesh – Bangladesh will retain Islam as the state religion in amendments the government is proposing to its constitution, a government minister said Tuesday.

A former military ruler declared Islam the state religion in 1988 by amending the charter, but it barely affected Bangladesh's secular legal system mainly based on British common law.

The government says the proposed changes won't affect the legal system. Inheritance and other family laws already are based on religion.

The decision was made late Monday at a Cabinet meeting, the minister told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

A special government committee prepared proposals for the amendment, and the government will send those proposals to the parliament for passing as a law.

Bangladesh won independence from Pakistan in 1971 with help from India through a bloody nine-month war.

The original constitution was installed by independence leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. After Rahman's assasination in a military coup in 1975, military rulers made a series of amendments to the charter.

Some see the government's latest action as a compromise by Hasina, who during her election campaign before December 2008 polls said she would restore the 1972 constitution if voted to power.

The original charter did not recognize any faith as a state religion, promised elimination of communalism and disfavored discrimination or persecution because of a person's faith.

The new proposals want to restore those provisions of secularism but keep Islam as state religion.

Monday's Cabinet meeting chaired by Hasina also endorsed equal status and equal rights for practicing other religions, including Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity, the minister said.

The Cabinet decided to keep the provision of state religion considering the national reality, the minister told AP.

The main opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party led by former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia has campaigned that Hasina's Awami League party is anti-Islamic. The country's main Islamic party Jamaat-e-Islami and its hardline allies also brand Hasina's party as anti-Islamic.

Bangladesh has thousands of Islamic schools that advocate installation of Sharia laws, and a violent hardline group years ago bombed government buildings and courts demanding Sharia law. The government claims the group, Jumatul Mujahedin Bangladesh, was broken after its top leaders were hanged.

The government also proposed an amendment to cancel a constitutional provision that requires the government to hand over power at the end of its term to a nonpartisan administration. A former chief justice is usually chosen to head the three-month caretaker administration that conducts new elections.

The Supreme Court has ruled the provision in the 1996 constitution is undemocratic.

The next general elections is due in 2014, and opponents of Hasina say amending the consitution to remove that provision could lead to vote-rigging.

View the original article here

West Indies 119-5 at lunch (AFP)

Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.
Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.

KINGSTON, Jamaica (AFP) – West Indies were 119 for five, in response to India's first innings total of 246 on the first day of the first Test on Tuesday at Sabina Park.

Score summary

India 246 (S. Raina 82, H. Singh 70, R. Dravid 40; F. Edwards 4-56, R. Rampaul 3-59, D. Bishoo 3-75)

West Indies 119 for five (A. Barath 64; P. Kumar 3-24, I. Sharma 2-17)

View the original article here

US, Japan delay Okinawa plan but hold firm (AFP)

Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.
Could not find default endpoint element that references contract 'TranslatorService.LanguageService' in the ServiceModel client configuration section. This might be because no configuration file was found for your application, or because no endpoint element matching this contract could be found in the client element.

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States and Japan acknowledged Tuesday that they would miss a 2014 deadline for a controversial shift of a US base in Okinawa, but stood firmly behind the plan in the face of opposition.

The future of the Futenma air base on the subtropical island has bedeviled ties between the Pacific allies for years and both governments have been eager to push ahead on a 2006 deal instead of restarting exhaustive talks.

In a joint statement after top-level talks, the Pacific allies said the relocation "will not meet the previous targeted date of 2014" but renewed their commitment to complete the project "at the earliest possible date."

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, meeting with their Japanese counterparts, also confirmed plans to move 8,000 Marines and some 9,000 dependents from Okinawa to the US territory of Guam.

Under the 2006 plan between previous governments, the United States planned to shut the flashpoint Futenma base in Okinawa which has long been a source of grievance as it lies in a crowded urban area.

The Japanese and US leaders on Tuesday endorsed building a replacement base with V-shaped runways at Henoko on an isolated stretch of beach elsewhere on the strategically located island.

A number of activists on Okinawa demanded that the base be removed entirely from the island, the often reluctant host to half of the 47,000 US troops based in Japan under a post-World War II treaty.

US senators recently moved to force the Pentagon to consider a new option, saying the current plan is too costly and politically unrealistic when Japan should be focusing on the rebuilding from its massive earthquake.

Gates, addressing one of his final news conferences as defense secretary, tried to put the effort led by Senators Jim Webb and Carl Levin -- members of President Barack Obama's Democratic Party -- in the context of the current plan.

"The letter from Senators Webb and Levin about the realignment is really a manifestation of growing congressional impatience about the lack of progress," Gates said at a four-way news conference with Clinton.

"We both reaffirmed the US government's commitment to the 2006 realignment plan, but at the same time emphasized the importance of concrete progress over the course of the next year," Gates said.

One prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, resigned last year after failing to fulfill campaign promises to renegotiate Futenma, with the Obama administration insisting the crux of the deal was not open to debate.

His successor, Prime Minister Naoto Kan, has sought to move ahead with the base plan without tying his fate to the issue as he focuses instead on the earthquake aftermath and his government's survival in parliament.

Defense Minister Toshimi Kitazawa played down criticism that the center-left Democratic Party of Japan has held up progress since taking power in 2009, saying: "This is the cost that is entailed in democracy when we have a change of government."

"The purpose of the US realignment is to maintain deterrence and to reduce the local burden, so we will be making maximum efforts with the United States to achieve both objectives."

Under an alternative plan drafted by Webb, a former Marine who represents Virginia, Futenma would be closed and its air assets largely shifted to Okinawa's existing Kadena Air Base.

Webb also proposed shifting some of the existing air assets from Kadena to elsewhere in Japan and Guam, a solution he said would ease both congestion and costs in Okinawa.

The Senate Armed Services Committee last week agreed to cut off funding for the 2014 shift until the Marine Corps comes up with a new study on Guam -- where opposition is also building -- and considers the alternative on Futenma.

Senator John McCain, the top Republican on the committee, has supported the effort, telling a forum Monday: "As new realities and cost overruns call our current plans into question, Congress must ask the hard questions."

View the original article here