Asia Floods Take Heavy Toll on Local Economies

A man stands on a flooded pier at Memorial bridge, along the Chao Praya river, in Bangkok, October 14, 2011. (Photo: Reuters)

October 14, 2011
Ron Corben | Bangkok
Voice of America

Floodwaters in central Thailand have inundated industrial parks and manufacturing centers, adding to the mounting economic costs of the disaster. Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos are also continuing to tally the cost of heavy flooding that has claimed hundreds of lives.

Economists fear Thailand's most severe floods in decades may cost the country $5 billion and reduce its gross domestic product by about one percent.

The economic toll is already being felt in the country's industrial heartland, where floods breached the walls of major industrial estates. The damage has shut Honda and Toyota automobile assembly plants that account for about seven percent of their combined global production.

More water is expected in the country's manufacturing center as well as the capital, Bangkok. Together the industrial areas produce nearly one-half of Thailand's national output.

Bhichit Rattakul is executive director of the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center. Bhichit says floods may take up to two months to disperse, with the main body of water still to reach outer Bangkok.

"It's not easily over," said Bhichit. "[It could last] at least another 50 days because the volume of the water is still up in the north; it's not even at Ayutthaya or Bangkok yet. I mean at Ayutthaya we don't see any piece of land at all now; all we see is the water. It's all submerged. The main part of the water is still in Nakhon Sawan area. So you need some time to drain it out."

Officials from the Thai Industry Ministry say up to eight industrial estates and parks that employ over 200,000 highly skilled workers are under threat from floods.

Economists warn Thailand's growth rate will be hit, especially in the fourth quarter of 2011. Thanomsri Fongarunrung, a senior economist with Phatra Securities, says the impact on industrial production is a key concern for the economic outlook.

"Our concern is that the major area in the central area that is mainly the manufacturing of automobile, electronics, right now that is under flood and the major threat is that is comes through to Bangkok," said Fongarunrung.

While authorities warn Bangkok is at risk for flooding in the coming days, much of the damage so far has been in rural and agricultural areas in Southeast Asia.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said the flooding across countries bound by the Mekong River system - Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos - had led to the loss of over 550 lives. In Cambodia, efforts to assist communities had been hampered by high waters and dangerous road conditions.

Peter Brimble, a senior economist for the Asian Development Bank in Phnom Penh, said the damage has been devastating for poorer communities that have been building local infrastructure using government assistance.

"They've been using these small amounts of money - maybe $10,000 or $20,000 a year - to gradually build up some of the small roads and things around the village and their commune - and now they're all washed away," said Brimble.

In Vietnam, flooding hit the Mekong Delta region claiming over a dozen lives including children while storms also hit the north central coastal region leaving 60,000 homes submerged and damaged. In Laos, where floods have affected almost half a million people, the waters have damaged more than 60,000 hectares of farmland damaged as well as local infrastructure.

Read More

Arun Temple

look at this image, around 10 to 6 pm you will see the tourists from many countries.

Read More

Flooding Claims 250 Lives, as Government Response Continues

People sit as they receive flood donations at downtown Phnom Penh, Thursday, Oct. 13, 2011. (Photo: AP)

Friday, 14 October 2011
Chun Sakada, VOA Khmer | Phnom Penh

"Our people are increasingly suffering."

The government raised the national death toll from ongoing flooding to nearly 250 on Friday, as Cambodia continues to grapple with its worst flooding in a decade.

More than 30,000 families have been pushed out of their homes in flooding that began in August. About 390,000 hectares of rice crop have been damaged, along with 2,700 kilometers of roadways in 17 provinces, according to government estimates.

The government has set aside more than $100 million to help repair damages, Hun Sen said Friday.

Relief efforts so far have included food and clothing deliveries to some 76,000 families, Hun Sen said. The Council of Ministers will provide more money to extend the relief efforts to another 40,000 families, he said.

International assistance has meanwhile started coming in, he said, with China providing $8 million for assistance, Japan $330,000 and the US $50,000.

However, some opposition officials have been critical of relief efforts so far.

"Some measures to rescue people seem slow up to now," said Nhem Ponharith, secretary-general of the Human Rights Party. "We really have concerns about the lack of food and medicine in the future."

Yim Sovann, a spokesman for the Sam Rainsy Party, said the government must speed up its efforts. "Our people are increasingly suffering," he said.

Friday's new death toll comes on the heels of an emergency meeting Thursday, after which Hun Sen announced the cancelation of this year's annual Water Festival.

By canceling the festival, during which millions of Cambodians typically flock to the capital for three days of boat races and other events, Hun Sen said the government could use more resources to better help communities cope with the effects of the floods.

"The active forces must help repair the damages," he said. "The majority of the racing boats come from the flooded areas. The government has to pay for the water festival ceremonies."

He encouraged people to celebrate in their home provinces, "at Buddhist pagodas and in their communities."

The government typically pays $2,500 to the nation's 400 or so racing teams, a cost of about $1 million.

Information Minister Khieu Kanharith told reporters Thursday the money will instead be used to help flood victims this year. He encouraged other celebration events during the three-day holiday, including playing music in public venues.

Opposition lawmaker Son Chhay said the cancelation was a bad decision.

"It's a national tradition," he said. The festival also attracts foreign tourists, he said. That revenue will be lost. "We get double interest from foreign tourists visiting Cambodia," he said.

Read More

ASEAN shows solidarity in face of catastrophe

October 15, 2011

JAKARTA (Xinhua) - ASEAN member countries are making efforts to provide relief aids to flood-affected countries in the region.

ASEAN ministers have met and communicated to determine what kind of assistance to be channeled to the victims of the floods in the region, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said on Friday.

Floods have hit Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Philippines since months ago, killing more than 500 people and damaging houses and infrastructures facilities.

"As the chairman of ASEAN, Indonesia has taken an initiative step. Our foreign minister has met with foreign ministers from ASEAN countries to formulate a collective step to help our friendly countries in settling the impact of the disaster," said Yudhoyono.

The member countries of ASEAN expressed their deep sympathy and condolence to the governments and peoples of Southeast Asian countries for the loss of lives and environmental assets caused by floods from heavy incessant rains, said a statement from the government of Indonesia.

"They believe that the governments and peoples of the affected countries will rise from this disaster with strong spirit and resilience to resume normal life and to rebuild their communities, " it said.

In this regard, the ASEAN member states also expressed their readiness to lend the affected countries support and assistance in a timely manner and in appropriate ways in accordance with the spirit of ASEAN solidarity, it said.

ASEAN member countries had also showed their solidarity during the tsunami in December 2004, which killed more than 230,000 people and damaged massive infrastructure facilities.

Many of ASEAN countries, particularly those lying along the Indian Ocean, had got relief aids after the tsunami, such as medical and logistic assistance, from ASEAN member countries.

Similarly with Indonesia, over 170,000 people were killed in the northern tip of Sumatra island of Aceh province. Foreign aids flew into the tsunami-hit area. Similar assistance were also received years later when other strong quakes and tsunamis hit other parts of Indonesia.

"Of course Indonesia is going to give aids to the neighboring countries, similar with the assistance given by them when Indonesia was hit by catastrophes (in the past)," said Yudhoyono.

Going forward, to help reduce the suffering of the victims of disasters, a regional disaster management training and logistics center is going to be built in West Sumatra of Indonesia in December while a full-scale tsunami warning system installed after the tsunami in December 2004 was tested on Wednesday, officials said.

The center will train regional disaster response managers and provide emergency supplies to enable quick disaster response.

Many of ASEAN member countries are prone to floods and earthquake as they are on a vulnerable quake-hit area called "the Pacific Ring of Fire."

Read More

A threat to Kingdom’s FDI

Friday, 14 October 2011 12:02
May Kunmakara
The Phnom Penh Post

Tokyo - Cambodia needs more than an estimated US$13 billion in infrastructure works by 2020 if the country intends to continue attracting foreign investment, a joint survey by some of the world's top financial institution indicated on Wednesday.

During a conference held by the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the International Monetary Fund, experts from the two institutions urged Asia's 16 low-income countries – which need some $358 billion in infrastructure projects by 2020 – to adopt public-private partnerships as a source of infrastructure investment and bank stability. Investment in the Kingdom's roads, bridges and power facilities will create prime conditions for continued high-level foreign direct investment, experts said. The survey – which drew from JICA, IMF, Asian Development Bank and World Bank data – called for $1.2 billion in infrastructure spending per year in Cambodia, with about half going to new projects and the other half to maintenance.

Ministry of Economy and Finance secretary general Vongsey Vissoth said public-private partnerships will play a key role in the country's financial and infrastructure development.

"We're hoping for private-sector [investment], which includes public-private partnerships. And we've already done this kind of partnership," he said. "In the future, we need a system which is much better [to handle these investments] and we need a bigger source of funds for bigger projects."

Several large infrastructure investment projects from China, Korea and Japan will lower Cambodia's power and transportation costs, Vongsey Sissoth added.

"It's the ability to attract this kind of significant development investment that will have a positive impact on the competitiveness of the Cambodian economy."

Faisal Ahmed, IMF's representative in Cambodia, said it is crucial to safeguard banks in terms of improving supervision and reducing interferences in lending decisions – a practice often seen in state-owned banks. "The financial stability risks need to be minimised by strengthening the quality of and coordination among banking and capital market supervisory agencies given the nexus between banks and capital markets," Ahmed said, stressing the importance of sound macroeconomic policy.

Japan Center for International Finance president Takatoshi Kato explained that there is a need for donors and multilateral development banks to provide support to low-income countries' projects through the funding of the preparation process to ensure that the right projects and right project specifications are chosen.

Read More

Confusion Reigns as Thai Capital Braces for Floods

October 14, 2011

BANGKOK (AP) -- Fear and confusion gripped Bangkok on Friday as residents grappled with mixed messages over whether Thailand's worst floods in decades would overwhelm the intricate defenses of the low-lying metropolis of 9 million people.

The government sought to reassure residents that the Thai capital would be spared from the deluge that has submerged entire towns across the country's central plains, devastated rice crops and shuttered hundreds of factories, noting that much of Bangkok sat behind a sturdy flood wall that has been reinforced in recent days.

"I insist that the floods will only affect outer Bangkok and will not be widespread in other areas," Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said Friday.

Authorities have for days been warning that the flooding has reached crisis levels and that waters rushing from the north could combine with rains and high tides in the next few days to flood the capital. Some have said the rush of water would be so strong that authorities would be left with little choice but to watch the city drown.

But the message hasn't always been clear, with some agencies, departments and officials contradicting others, sometimes in the same news conference.

Erroneous reports Thursday said flood waters had broken through one key flood gate, leading one government minister to order residents in the area to urgently evacuate. The government later apologized for the "misinformation," saying the evacuation order had been reversed and that damage to the gate had been overestimated.

The conflicting information has left many residents of Bangkok scratching their heads and wondering whether their neighborhoods are truly at risk -- and if so how best to prepare. Many have been stocking up on bottled water, rice, instant noodles, medicine and other essentials, leading to shortages in some areas. Others have moved their cars to higher ground in parking garages in the city's malls.

Buildings in many areas of the capital have stockpiled sandbags, while others have built protective walls from cement and cinderblocks. The city's subway system was rushing to install steel flood barriers.

"To be frank, I don't really know what's going to happen to Bangkok," said 26-year-old Kuealapat Atsawasiramanee, whose family home is about a half mile from the Chao Phraya River, which snakes its way through the city. "Is it going to be flooded or not, I'm not really sure. There are many pieces of information and news out there and I just don't know what to believe."

"If it's going to flood, the government simply needs to say so. Don't conceal the truth, because that will only lead to more panic."

The confusion hasn't been limited to Bangkok.

A Japanese trade organization on Friday blasted the government for allegedly failing to provide timely and accurate information about the situation in the central province of Ayutthaya, where hundreds of factories have been devastated.

Seiya Sukegawa of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) Thailand said much of the information released by the government before floodwaters hit the area was late, contradictory or difficult to understand because it was not in English.

"Japanese companies didn't know what was happening or which information was true or not," he said. "They received warnings but not enough information and not enough time to decide the next step."

He said more than 300 Japanese-owned factories -- including electronics makers and automotive parts suppliers -- were damaged or destroyed by flooding.

Sukegawa also complained that the Thai government was doing nothing to help companies reach their factories to salvage whatever equipment and technology remained undamaged.

Not just factories and humans were affected in Ayutthaya, an ancient capital. About 100 elephants were forced to flee to higher ground and are facing food shortages as well as possible foot diseases because of the wet conditions.

Chusit Apirumanekul, a hydrologist at the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, sympathized with the difficulties facing the government, saying the unpredictable nature of weather makes it impossible to forecast the flood threat with certainty.

"I think this is quite normal in every country when you have this kind of warning, forecasting, you cannot say that it will happen or it will not happen 100 percent," he said.

Yingluck said Friday that her government would adjust its methods of informing the public and that official information would only be released by the director of the Flood Relief Center.

Near the northern edge of Bangkok's city limits, Somjai Tpientong wondered whether the nearby sandbag wall protecting her community of Rangsit -- one link in the perimeter around Bangkok -- would hold up.

"If the water comes I'll have to let it happen. There's no way I can block it. For me, I'll move to an upper floor," she said. "I feel sorry for the people in lower-lying areas."

Some 8.2 million people in 61 out of Thailand's 77 provinces have been affected by the flooding, which has killed at least 283 people since late July

Read More

Cambodian draft law on NGOs may breach international pact, UN rights expert warns

Maina Kiai, Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association

14 October 2011
UN News Centre

"A legal framework to ensure freedom of association should facilitate, rather than control, individuals' enjoyment of this right formally or informally"

A Cambodian draft law making registration of associations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) mandatory and banning unregistered groups, risks breaching an international treaty, a United Nations rights expert warned today, calling on the Government to review it.

"The current draft NGO law contains a set of problematic provisions, raising concerns over a potential negative impact on Cambodian citizens' democratic participation in furthering the development of their country," UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association Maina Kiai said in a news release, noting that it could violate the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

The mandatory nature of the draft law "constitutes a clear infringement of the right to freedom of association. Having a recognized legal status may confer rights and benefits to organizations such as the ability to open bank accounts, but legal status is not necessary for the enjoyment of the right to freedom of association," he added.

He welcomed a recent statement by Cambodia's ambassador to the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council promising "further consultations" and called on the authorities to review the draft law in open and meaningful discussions with associations and NGOs.

By excluding refugees, stateless persons and other non-Cambodian residents from forming associations or domestic NGOs and limiting eligible founding members to Cambodian nationals, the draft further violates freedom of association, which should be enjoyed by all individuals within Cambodia's territory, he noted.

Other concerns include the high minimum membership requirement; lack of clarity of the criteria for registration, suspension or termination; and the overly cumbersome and bureaucratic registration process for foreign NGOs, which could limit the scope of their activities and hamper their independence.

"A legal framework to ensure freedom of association should facilitate, rather than control, individuals' enjoyment of this right formally or informally," Mr. Kiai said. "It should also emerge from an open, transparent process that engenders goodwill and confidence."

Two other UN experts raised concerns over the effects of the draft law on human rights defenders. The Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Frank La Rue, stressed that the draft could affect the defenders' ability to exercise such rights.

The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Margaret Sekaggya said the free and full exercise of the right to freedom of association places a duty on States to create a favourable environment for defenders to act freely.

"We urge the Cambodian authorities to fully take on board the legitimate concerns repeatedly raised by NGOs and associations during the announced further consultations," the two said, noting that the Government has reviewed and revised the draft law numerous times.

Last month, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia, Surya P. Subedi, urged the Government to review the draft and not proceed with it in its present form.

Read More

Cambodia bans citizens from working as maids in Malaysia

10/14/2011
Reuters

PHNOM PENH — Cambodia has banned its citizens from going to work in Malaysia as maids, its prime minister said on Friday, following a series of horrific reports of beatings and rapes.

The order follows a similar ban imposed by Indonesia on its citizens from taking new jobs as domestic workers in Malaysia, where maids are common in middle-class households, thanks in part to a large migrant labor pool.

"I would like to congratulate the prime minister for the suspension," Cambodia opposition lawmaker Mu Sochua of the Sam Rainsy Party told Reuters after the decision by Prime Minister Hun Sen.

Cambodia's Community Legal Education Center, which is working with abused domestic workers, said there had been reports of three maids who were killed in Malaysia, and two were raped and kept in isolation, their passports held from them.

Indonesia banned its citizens from working as maids in Malaysia in 2009 after several highly publicized cases of physical abuse by Malaysian employers, which triggered anti-Malaysia demonstrations in Jakarta.

Both countries held discussions and reached an agreement in April this year after Malaysia pledged to improve working conditions, but Indonesia has yet to allow hiring to resume, worsening a growing shortage of domestic helpers in the country.

Malaysia is dependent on migrant workers who total up to 2 million people or 21 percent of the country's workforce. Indonesia is the main source of foreign labor in Malaysia. One in every 16 residents in Malaysia's capital hires an Indonesian helper, according to data from the Indonesian Embassy.

An Bunhak, president of the Association of Cambodian Recruiting Agencies, said it would uphold the order from the government to stop sending people to work as maids in Malaysia.

"The Ministry of Labour is enforcing what the prime minister has said," An Bunhak said, adding that about 50,000 maids have sought work in Malaysia since 2009.

Cambodian recruitment agencies also this year decided not to send maids to Kuwait after complaints by human rights groups of abuse by employers there.

Read More

Closing Order of Case 002 Against Senior KR Leaders Nuon Chea, Khieu Samphan, Ieng Sary, Ieng Thirith

Sang Security Centre²⁰⁴⁶

Location and Establishment

476. Sang security centre was a district level security centre located in Trapeang Sva Village, Trea Commune, Kandal Steung District, Kandal Province.²⁰⁴⁷ Applying the CPK's system of identifying administrative boundaries, it was located in district 154 (code-number for Kandal Steung), Sector 25, Southwest Zone. It appears to have commenced operation as a security centre sometime during 1976 or 197 7²⁰⁴⁸ and was operational until the end of the CPK regime.²⁰⁴⁹ Originally a teacher training centre, Sang was ringed by barbed wire and comprised of several concrete structures, including a number of detention buildings, a blacksmith's shack, a kitchen, and a separate house for the prison chairman.²⁰⁵⁰ There were also a number of special detention cells for CPK cadres who had committed serious offences.²⁰⁵¹

Functioning

Structure and Personnel

477. As a district level security centre, Sang was controlled by the district 154 Committee.²⁰⁵² The District Committee would regularly meet with the prison chairman at the Committee's headquarters in Siem Reap Kantuot and one of its successive secretaries, Yann (deceased), would personally visit Sang every two to three months. ²⁰⁵³ South West Zone Secretary, Ta Mok (deceased), may have also visited Sang on a number of occasions.²⁰⁵⁴

478. Up to 20 cadres worked at Sang at any one time.²⁰⁵⁵ There were several different chairmen in charge of Sang during its operation.²⁰⁵⁶ After the first chairman, Mong, was arrested in 1977 or 1978, it appears that other cadres took control of Sang.²⁰⁵⁷ The last chairman, Nev, was in charge of Sang for only a few months before the fall of the CPK regime in January 1979.²⁰⁵⁸ Two former Sang cadres recall that conditions improved after Nev took over. One goes as far as to say that under Nev, no new prisoners arrived, prisoners were not shackled,

and no one was killed.²⁰⁵⁹

Arrest and Detention

479. Seven witnesses and two civil parties who were detained at Sang were interviewed.²⁰⁶⁰ Men, women, and children were all imprisoned there.²⁰⁶¹ At any one time there would be approximately 100 to 300 people in detention²⁰⁶² and prisoners would arrive and leave on a regular basis.²⁰⁶³ However, it appears that under Mong, no-one was released to go back home.²⁰⁶⁴ Those arrested appear to have come mainly from Kandal Steung district.²⁰⁶⁵ Often whole families were brought in together.²⁰⁶⁶ They were a mixture of base people, including CPK cadres, and new people, including former Khmer Republic soldiers.²⁰⁶⁷ A former guard who participated in interrogations recalls that the majority of prisoners were Khmer Republic soldiers. He attests that if someone was accused of being a Lon Nol soldier, CPK cadre would arrest him and bring in the entire family, including children.²⁰⁶⁸ People were arrested for being "enemies" which meant anything from actual or perceived sympathies towards the Khmer Republic regime, the Khmer Sar, feudalism, capitalism, the CIA or the KGB, not following orders, breaking ploughs or stealing food.²⁰⁶⁹ Sometimes people were arrested because others who had been interrogated at Sang Security Cnetre had implicated

them.²⁰⁷⁰

480. Group leaders, village chiefs, and Subdistrict chairmen all brought prisoners to Sang.²⁰⁷¹ Often the prisoners were not told the truth about where they were being taken.²⁰⁷² People arrived by truck, bicycle, ox-cart or on foot. After arriving, they were ordered at gunpoint to get on the ground where their hands were tied. They were then escorted to their cells.²⁰⁷³ It appears that prisoners were put into different categories, as either light or serious prisoners, which determined the conditions of their detention and where they could work.²⁰⁷⁴ One former guard (and later light prisoner) states that those in the most serious category had their legs shackled and were ultimately executed, whereas light prisoners could work outside.²⁰⁷⁵ Those who had committed more serious offences slept in rows of twenty with one leg locked to a long rod or log.²⁰⁷⁶ These prisoners urinated, defecated and slept in the same place.²⁰⁷⁷ However, not everyone was shackled, in particular women.²⁰⁷⁸ Men and women were kept separately in different buildings.²⁰⁷⁹ They slept naked as the prison chief was afraid they could use their clothing to hang themselves.²⁰⁸⁰ One former prisoner recalls a guard coming into his cell and beating his knees with a hammer for no apparent reason.²⁰⁸¹ The food was insufficient and many people died from starvation.²⁰⁸² In addition, prisoners also died from disease and from the injuries they sustained from beatings.²⁰⁸³

481. Prisoners, including children, were forced to work.²⁰⁸⁴ Guards and former prisoners recall that when serious offence prisoners went outside to work they were chained in pairs by their feet.²⁰⁸⁵ A former prisoner recalls farming whilst shackled and having to wrap the chain around his waist.²⁰⁸⁶ Light prisoners would work without being restrained.²⁰⁸⁷ Labour included planting vegetables, rice farming, carrying water, breaking up tree stumps and minding cattle.²⁰⁸⁸ A former guard recalls seeing prisoners being beaten with whips and clubs as they were escorted to work.²⁰⁸⁹ Former prisoners attest to seeing guards beating prisoners to death for minor infractions.²⁰⁹⁰ Sick prisoners who could still work were treated with medicine, whereas those who could not were neglected and sometimes died.²⁰⁹¹

482. Two former cadres recall that sometime in 1978 the Deputy Chairman of Sang, Meng, was imprisoned himself for being "immoral" with a female prisoner.²⁰⁹² Two former detainees heard from others that a female prisoner had been raped by her interrogators, who were themselves subsequently detained.²⁰⁹³ A civil party's nephew states that he eyewitnessed the rape of her sister at Sang.²⁰⁹⁴

Read More

Lady Gaga bans Lady Goo Goo song

Lady Gaga has won an injunction at London's High Court to stop animated character Lady Goo Goo from releasing a single, its makers have said.

Lady Goo Goo, a baby with a long blonde fringe from the Moshi Monsters online game - owned by UK firm Mind Candy - released The Moshi Dance on YouTube.

But Lady Gaga's injunction has stopped its full release, Mind Candy said.

Law firm Mishcon de Reya confirmed it had represented Lady Gaga but said it could not comment further.

The Moshi Monsters game, aimed at six-12-year-olds, invites players to adopt "moshling" characters including Lady Goo Goo, Dustbin Beaver and Roxy.

Its owners had planned to release The Moshi Dance - which features lyrics including "my stroller's pretty and my diapers are silk, I throw my toys out if I don't get my milk" and "my crazy outfits seem to shock" - on iTunes.

Read More

Dana rejects 'sexual' allegations made against relative

Dana Rosemary Scallon has vowed to continue her Irish presidential campaign despite "malicious lies" spread about a member of her family.

Ms Scallon told TV3 News that she had been warned by a freelance journalist that allegations of a "sexual nature" were due to appear in the Irish press.

She said that prompted her to make a statement during a presidential debate on RTE on Wednesday.

She told viewers that she was taking legal action over the claims.

Although she initially refused to state what the "untrue, malicious and vile" allegations were, she admitted on Friday that they were of a sexual nature involving a relative.

She also referred to a "threatening" email she had received, which is understood to have originated in the US.

"I had received an anonymous email on the Saturday night. It wasn't signed," she said.

"I won't be able to share all that was in the mail. It said 'hahahahaha the b**** is finally getting what she deserves' and went on from there to make false accusations."

Ms Scallon said the claims were part of an "orchestrated campaign" against her.

There had been speculation that she may withdraw from the presidential race, as she has not been campaigning for the past two days.

But she vowed to continue her campaign.
'Immense pressure'

Ms Scallon did not go into the details of the claims, but insisted that she was sure they were false.

"I know it is not true, the first time it was ever raised was in a court case in a family dispute. The next time it was raised was during my campaign," she added.

She said she believed it was an attempt "to destroy" her character. "The fact that no action was taken by the alleged victim, to me this proves that it is false," she added.

Ms Scallon also defended her decision to read out a statement during RTE's Prime Time debate that rejected the claims, without clarifying what they were.

"I made it because false and malicious lies and accusations were being made and I had to respond because I was under immense pressure from a freelance journalist.

"I was told there would be extensive coverage over the next few days. I had to put it to rest," she added.

She told RTE viewers on Tuesday: "It has come to my attention that yet further allegations, this time of a most untrue, malicious and vile nature, have been levelled against a member of my family.

"Let it be known that lawyers have already been instructed to forensically investigate a particular communication disseminating this vile and false accusation, which attempts to implicate me and destroy my good character."

Ms Scallon reportedly had to be comforted by the other candidates following the debate.

On Friday she rejected claims that the statement was a publicity stunt.

"I would never try to bring shame to my family name," she added.

The Derry-born candidate added that lines of inquiry were being pursued with "prosecution authorities" in the United States.

She is one of seven candidates whose names will appear on the ballot paper on 27 October.

Ms Scallon, who won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1970, previously stood for the presidency in 1997 and is also a former member of the European parliament.

She has previously faced allegations over her decision to take US citizenship in the 1990s, but has stressed that taking an oath of allegiance to the US constitution did not infringe her Irish citizenship.

The six other candidates in the Irish presidential race are Fine Gael's Gay Mitchell, Labour's Michael D Higgins, Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness and independents Mary Davis, Sean Gallagher and Mr Norris.

Read More

Dangerous precedence in Sultan’s involvement in DUMC case

The decision to use the Sultan of Selangor with regards to the incidence of alleged proselytizing at the Damansara Utama Methodist church dinner has set a dangerous precedence because of several reasons. The people of Malaysia, regardless of the ethnic background and creed, are all directly involved and affected by this historic case in which the Sultan, as the head of Muslim affairs in Selangor, made a legal decision on the very sensitive matter.

While I doubt that the Sultan was truly informed on all aspects, implications, ramifications and potential repercussions of the case, what has been done has been done, and we have to proceed to deal with it, possibly for many years to come. The king may reverse the situation if he rescinds his ruling but this seems unlikely to happen. So the first question that needs to be asked is why hasn’t the syariah court given the opportunity to contribute to the solution of the case? Since the case also involves non-Muslims, shouldn’t the civil court also be involved? We realize of course that if the two courts joined the tussle, it would lead to confusion about which law to apply on whom. Should the Muslims be dealt with with syariah law and the Christians be dealt with by applying civil law? But how would one settle the case with two laws clashing on a case that could potentially result in differing judgments made on two different parties, or both parties becoming affected by ruling of laws that shouldn’t apply to them? It would be a classic case of religious rights and freedom in which two irreconcilable laws try to dominate without any acceptable resolution! All it would do would be to cause an international embarrassment and shame to the country’s ridiculous two-layered legal system!

So now we have a situation in which the Sultan has been used as an instrument of solution, which immediately results in many people raising issues about what’s right and wrong. The royal ruling was made without any legal basis because he made it only as the leader of Islamic affairs in the state. There was no trial to decide who was guilty or not guilty. As a result the ruling in which the Sultan supported the raid by JAIS but assuring all that none would be charged, although the 12 Muslims who attended the fund-raising dinner would be given counseling, is spurious. The immediate assumption is that DUMC is guilty and that there was an attempt to proselytize. This then makes DUMC appear guilty, and so is in a defensive position while it is expected to keep silent and let the whole thing cool down. But it is not to be. Various parties are voicing out their unhappiness. The response from Sarawak is that one’s religion is one’s personal affair with God and none has the right to interfere in it.

The other issue is the question of JAIS’ right to flagrantly enter a church and disrupt its activities. Ng Kam Weng, of The Micah Mandate writes that “the jurisdiction granted by Article 11(4) of the Federal Constitution was to permit the state to control or restrict the propagation of religion among people professing to be Muslims. This must be read in the context of the Article itself which fundamentally provides for every person the freedom to profess, practice and propagate his religion…. There is no legal provision under the Propagation Enactment that allows Jais officials to intrude into the premises of DUMC, much less carry out a raid. From my reading of the Selangor Enactment (1988), the closest possible justification that can be offered by Jais are Sections 12 and 13, which specify that ‘an authorised officer may investigate the commission of any offence under this Enactment and may arrest without warrant any person suspected of having committed any such offence.’”

By this, clearly JAIS is in the wrong and should be judged for a contravention of provisions of the Federal Constitution and the Propagation Enactment. I agree with Bob Teoh, an online commentator, that JAIS “cannot hide behind its spurious actions and be exonerated from its controversial intrusion into a charity dinner held at a church…. It must be held accountable for its actions because it strikes at the very heart of criminal jurisprudence, law enforcement, and administration of justice — Islamic or otherwise. Jais cannot (be)…allowed to get away with it through flawed reasoning…. Jais descended upon a charity function…without invitation, permission or due authority…. Conducting a search without a warrant or an order from the court is considered an extra-judicial action. Is Jais, therefore, exempt from due process? And if so, why?”

The simplistic method of using the Sultan to supposedly settle the whole thing down is clearly illegal and is a denial of the due process of law. What should have been done was to allow the due legal process to be carried out, especially because this is a test case for the country’s dual legal system. Such a process may be protracted and expensive but it is necessary to give our judicial system a sense of honesty and transparency, and an opportunity for clarification and resolution for the long term legal benefits of all Malaysians. Unfortunately, because of the simplistic approach, we are all left hanging with the doubt and dissatisfaction. Because of this the civil-syariah dilemma will continue unresolved, and several questions will continue to haunt us. Will any church building be safe from raids by Islamic enforcement teams from now on, with or without reasonable cause? Which law should now precede in cases involving proselytization, or cases in which Muslim voluntarily joins a church to become Christians (without the church being aware that they are Muslims)?

The other danger in this precedence is the now questionable position of the Sultan as the king of all the people of Selangor. He is installed as people’s king, not merely the king of the Muslims. By taking sides in a religious issue, he has established an unwanted position as a king who is a protector of Muslims and no longer favouring the Christians. By making the decision he has also entered into the soiled realm of politics. Royals are supposed to be above politics being the patron and protector of all his people regardless of their race and religion. Sadly, in the case of Selangor, this may no longer be the case.

Read More

Anwar the unsinkable

Chua Jui Meng warns BN that prison will not erase Anwar’s political appeal.

Chua, who became a political activist when he was studying law, joined MCA in 1976. He was elected as MP for Bakri (Johor) in 1986 and retained the seat for five consecutive terms. He became Deputy International Trade and Industries Minister in 1990 and Health Minister in 1995.

G. Vinod, Free Malaysia Today

Inside or outside of prison, Anwar Ibrahim will always be a force to reckon with.

That is the view of a lot of people, whether they like or hate the opposition leader. But Chua Jui Meng, who repeated the statement in a recent FMT interview, is an admirer.

“I’ve never seen a man so touched by God ,” said the former health minister who is now a vice-president in Anwar’s PKR.

Some may say that is a tad too effusive, even coming from a comrade in arms. But Chua insisted that he had “seen it all” in decades of active politics. “Anwar is touched by God in a very special way. Despite the persecution he is suffering, he is still as bold as ever.”

One manifestation of that boldness, according to Chua, is that Anwar is never shy, even when addressing a predominantly Malay crowd, of articulating his belief that all races can thrive in Malaysia without anyone having to deprive anyone else. “That’s extremely rare,” coming from a Malay politician in Malaysia, he said.

He cautioned his former colleagues in Barisan Nasional that having Anwar behind bars would be politically detrimental to them.

Imprisoning him on “fabricated charges of sodomy” would only help Pakatan Rakyat win more seats in elections, he said.

“And I believe Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is not unintelligent to know that putting Anwar behind bars will make a martyr of him. Remember what happened in 1998. Those who don’t learn from history are bound to repeat it.”

Chua, who became a political activist when he was studying law, joined MCA in 1976. He was elected as MP for Bakri (Johor) in 1986 and retained the seat for five consecutive terms. He became Deputy International Trade and Industries Minister in 1990 and Health Minister in 1995.

He joined PKR in July 2009, citing Malaysia’s need for a strong two-party system.

Game changer

Chua believes that BN leaders know how strong Anwar’s political influence is and will continue to harass him.

But Anwar would always “bounce back strongly”, he said.

“I always tell the non-Malays that it took 50 years for Malaysia to have a man the stature of Anwar.”

Speaking about Pakatan’s chances in the coming polls, Chua said the government’s crackdown on Bersih 2.0 last July had swung fence-sitters to the opposition’s side.

He dismissed the notion that the hudud controversy had caused a dwindling of support for the opposition bloc, saying that many non-Malays, especially the Chinese, had warmed up to PAS.

“The Chinese and Indians may not support hudud, but they respect PAS’ views on it. They know PAS is a game changer in the current political landscape.”

In addition, Chua said, the non-Malays were aware that it would be tough for PAS to legalise hudud in Malaysia without it occupying two-thirds of the seats in Parliament.

“And Umno should realise that it can no longer use hudud as a spectre to frighten the non-Malays like it did in 1999. People are more politically savvy these days.”

In the aftermath of Anwar’s sacking from the Cabinet in 1998, the Malays abandoned the ruling coalition but Chinese and Indians voters kept BN in power out of fear of racial riots and the hudud provisions of Islamic law.

Chua said the main challenge he was facing as PKR’s Johor chief was to get Pakatan’s message across to the rural areas. “Umno is going all out to prevent us from reaching out to Johoreans.”

Read More

Selangor dances the limbo for JAIS

The Sultan's decree does not resolve important issues raised by the farcical raid on DUMC and has left many with bottled up feelings of resentment and discontent

Officials of DUMC have, from the outset, vehemently denied the allegations that Muslims had been proselytised at what they claim was a multiethnic gathering to raise funds for HIV/AIDS. They have however, criticised the actions of JAIS enforcement officials for their role and conduct in the unauthorised raid.

Mariam Mokhtar, Free Malaysia Today

The principal parties involved in the Selangor Islamic Affairs Department (JAIS) raid on a Methodist church function last August have officially endorsed the sultan’s solution, and the matter is deemed closed.

The Sultan of Selangor’s brief statement said that “….there had been attempts to subvert the faith and belief of Muslims” during the dinner at the Damansara Utama Methodist Church (DUMC) organised by the NGO Harapan Komuniti during Ramadan.

Despite this, many issues remain unresolved and the rakyat is more perplexed than ever because his statement raises more questions than answers.

How much involvement has Umno in the affairs of an opposition led state, do state religious authorities think that they are above the law and had abuses of power by JAIS been swept under the carpet?

The statement did not allude to any evidence uncovered in these “attempts” at proselytisation, neither did it make reference to the Christians.

However, it mentioned that no further legal action could be taken because of insufficient evidence and that JAIS had acted correctly in conducting the search.

Sultan Sharafuddin said: “Therefore, after carefully deliberating the report by JAIS and after obtaining advice from religious authorities and legal experts, we are in agreement that there would be no prosecution against any party.

“We are satisfied that the actions of JAIS were correct and did not breach any law enforceable in Selangor. We command that (Islamic officials) provide counseling to Muslims who were involved in the said dinner, to restore their belief and faith in the religion of Islam.”

Officials of DUMC have, from the outset, vehemently denied the allegations that Muslims had been proselytised at what they claim was a multiethnic gathering to raise funds for HIV/AIDS. They have however, criticised the actions of JAIS enforcement officials for their role and conduct in the unauthorised raid.

Perhaps, the most disquieting statement was when the sultan said that he was “gravely concerned and extremely offended by the attempts of certain parties to weaken the faith and belief of Muslims.”

Malaysians have remarked that they are just as offended because nothing has been done to check high-handed officialdom and the mistrust which the officials have in the rakyat.

Firstly, they are offended that Malays are perceived to be of weak faith and an even weaker constitution, that their presence in a largely Christian flock, when hymns are sung or prayers said, could make them denounce their faith.

Secondly, the notion that any multiethnic event, be it a funeral, Christmas party, celebration of a festival or something as innocuous as a dinner, is seen as an attempt to convert the Muslim brethren.

As defender of the faith, the sultan had also directed his subjects to stop questioning the actions of JAIS and that activities which spread other religions to Muslims should cease.

He said: “The religion of Islam as practised in Selangor is one of tolerance. Muslims are always encouraged to respect the believers of other religions. However, persons or parties cannot take the opportunity to spread other religions to Muslims.”

What if a similar raid was on a mosque?

But disgruntled non-Muslims have remarked: “It is all right for you Muslims. But who speaks for us, when members of our community undergo forced conversions?

“Families are torn apart, children are separated from their mothers, bodies are snatched from graves, marriages cannot be registered. Where is the freedom to practise our religion as provided in the constitution?”

A Malay resident of Petaling Jaya living beside a Church said: “No one questions JAIS for wanting to do its job. The issue is how JAIS conducted itself when it carried out the raid.

“Did JAIS have any respect of the sanctity of a place of worship? Did it even follow procedures when conducting the raid? Are there any standard procedures in the first instance?

“If a similar raid were to be conducted on a mosque, wouldn’t there be a Muslim backlash? Without search warrants or strict adherence to guidelines to raid, do you think anyone will have any respect for authority if they simply bulldoze their way in?

“Where is the respect for another person’s religion?” Where is our tolerance?”

Read More

Copycat judge in a copyright case!

While serving as a High Court judge in Johor in early 2000 Abdul Malik had allegedly committed the offence of plagiarising a judgment by then Singapore High Court judge GP Selvam and the irony of the matter was that Malik was hearing a case regarding copyright infringement.

By Martin Jalleh

When the respected retired judge N H Chan called certain judges in the appellate courts “imposters”, “intellectual and legal frauds”, “incompetent”, “inane”, “ignoramuses”, “inconsistent” and even an “idiotic” bunch, little did he realise that he was being very mild.

Now it has come to the public’s notice that crouching amongst the growing company of judicial clowns and court jesters in the Palace of Justice is a copycat judge who allegedly plagiarised chunks of a judgment of another judge – in a copyright infringement case!

Former Law Minister Rais Yatim has confirmed that the government had known about the plagiarising judge, but Rais tries to take the rakyat for a ride by blaming it all on the then Chief Justice (CJ), and that it was left to the latter to investigate and to take appropriate action.

Copycat out of the bag

Recently, veteran lawyer Karpal Singh, with the support of close to 60 Pakatan Rakyat MPs, submitted a motion to the office of the Parliament speaker against Justice Abdul Malik Ishak, to have him placed before a tribunal and be removed.

While serving as a High Court judge in Johor in early 2000 Abdul Malik had allegedly committed the offence of plagiarising a judgment by then Singapore High Court judge GP Selvam and the irony of the matter was that Malik was hearing a case regarding copyright infringement.

Malaysiakini highlighted two news reports in Singapore's Straits Times -- 8 March and 13 April, 2000 which were referred to by Karpal Singh. The newspaper quoted then CJ Eusoff Chin as having written to his Singapore counterpart, Justice Yong Pung How, asking for more information on the allegation of plagiarism.

A month later, Eusoff told journalists that the matter was resolved and that it had arisen out of a "misunderstanding". He however did not elaborate. (By the way, this is the same CJ, whom a former CJ Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah had described as one who “kept lying to him” when the latter was a Federal Court judge and Eusoff was his boss! (Star, 30 Jan. 2008).

The Straits Times also reported that Rais Yatim had promised an investigation. Rais was ridiculous enough as to add that it was not easy to establish plagiarism because it was normal for judges to quote one another extensively and that: "Quoting another judge is not plagiarism."

The Straits Times report of 8 March, 2000 reduced Rais’ “rescue bid” of the judge to pure rubbish when it quoted the former Singapore judge (Selvam) accusing the Malaysian judge of having obtained a copy of his (Selvam's) judgment through a lawyer and "having copied chunks from me without acknowledging". (Rais sat on the case for four long years and did nothing about it!)

Selvam was also quoted to have said the Malaysian judge backdated his judgment so that people "will think I copied from him!" The naked truth appears each time Rais speaks through his rear end.

After the Singapore judiciary got the cat out of the bag, the copycat was transferred out of Johor Baru and kept in cold-storage for a while. Seven years later the plagiariser would be promoted to the Court of Appeal (16 July, 2007)! This can only happen in Bolehland!

Karpal Singh has described (on several online news portals) Malik’s alleged plagiarising as a “judicial scandal”, “misconduct of a very serious nature”, “a source of embarrassment for our judiciary” and one that warrants “stern disciplinary action” by a Royal Tribunal.

Will Justice Abdul Malik Ishak have enough honour left to resign on his own accord? Is there any remaining sense of decency and self-respect in him to acknowledge and accept the fact that his position as a judge has become clearly untenable.

Will the Chief Justice save the judiciary and the country from further embarrassment or has the judiciary entirely lost its sense of shame and the CJ prefers to continue in his elegant silence?

Meanwhile, taking the easy way out like Rais, Minister in the PM’s Department Nazri Abdul Aziz said the government could not take action against Abdul Malik as it was a matter for the current judiciary to settle.

Asked why the judiciary had not censured Abdul Malik until now, he said: “I don’t know, you have to ask them.” Strange, coming from a man who had once proudly and loudly declared himself as the “Minister for the Chief Justice”!

Malik’s other “achievements”

On 10 Oct. 2009, the Court of Appeal, with Malik as the presiding judge, struck out Anwar Ibrahim’s RM100 million defamation suit against Dr Mahathir on the technicality that the memorandum of appeal was not in Bahasa Malaysia. Malik stressed the supremacy of the national language as he delivered his 31-page written judgment in English!

On 5 Oct. 2011, the Federal Court allowed Anwar Ibrahim's application to expunge portions of a written judgment made by Malik on 6 July in the Court of Appeal related to the Sodomy II trial, that were deemed disparaging of the politician and his lawyers.

Karpal Singh (Anwar’s lawyer) complained to the judges that Malik had "without jurisdiction and for an apparent purpose invoked a non-existent jurisdiction to maliciously and scurrilously (go into the merits and) embark on a relentless attack on Anwar and the lawyers (in the written judgment)".

"This amounts to judicial assassination of the worst kind ... (and) to make matters worse, the appellant and the lawyers were not given an opportunity to defend ourselves... as the appellate court had allowed the preliminary objection.

“The remarks were uncalled for and put the Judiciary in bad light. If the case was allowed to be heard on its merits, we (would have been) prepared to defend ourselves. However, we were not allowed to do so as the court allowed the preliminary objection."

Karpal also questioned as to how Malik produced the written 40-page judgment on the day the appeal was heard at the Court of Appeal. Various law journals had reported that the judgment was produced on 6 July, but lawyers for Anwar only received it on 15 Aug.

Malik had also scurrilously written: “This case will fall in history. It will be chronicled as the only known case in our country or for that matter within the Commonwealth enclave where the appellant as an accused person persistently and consistently filed one application after another in an attempt to recuse the learned trial judge from hearing and continuing to hear the sodomy trial which is ongoing.”

Very ironically, it is the case of Abdul Malik which will fall in history and be chronicled as the only known case in our country or for that matter within the Commonwealth enclave where the one found guilty of plagiarising in a copyright infringement case was the judge himself!

Read More

BN fails to kill with a borrowed knife

The BN government has lost a golden opportunity to finish off Pakatan in the battle of the budgets.

The fact that Pakatan had announced its alternative budget earlier should have provided BN with a weapon, that is, RM1,100 to kill off Pakatan and yet BN strategists have failed to capitalise on this simple ruse which, in ancient Chinese military strategy, is called “Killing with a Borrowed Knife” or “Stabbing the Enemy with his Own Knife”.

Selena Tay, Free Malaysia Today

Barisan Nasional’s (BN) strategists for the 2012 Budget presented on Oct 7 really got it wrong this time.

While there were gifts and goodies galore for civil servants, and pensioners as well, the private sector’s low wage-earners and its retirees were neglected.

Pertaining to the private sector’s low-income group, the minimum wage figure was the bone of contention. The sector’s low-wage earners were anxiously waiting for this figure to be announced by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak as Pakatan Rakyat was the first to fix the floor wage at RM1,100 in the Pakatan budget unveiled on Oct 4.

If Najib had set the figure as RM1,200, Pakatan would have been blown out of orbit because there would have been a great swing of support from Pakatan to BN. Instead, BN budget strategists, for whatever reasons best known to themselves, chose to ignore the private sector low-wage earners. The minimum wage figure is a much-needed benchmark upon which wages will be decided but BN has chosen to ignore this fact at its own peril.

Therefore, BN has certainly lost a golden opportunity to gain support from the private sector employees, especially those who work in blue-collar jobs in factories or those lower-ranked office staff such as general or administration clerks. See, all it takes is just RM100 to blow Pakatan away!

The fact that Pakatan had announced its alternative budget earlier should have provided BN with a weapon, that is, RM1,100 to kill off Pakatan and yet BN strategists have failed to capitalise on this simple ruse which, in ancient Chinese military strategy, is called “Killing with a Borrowed Knife” or “Stabbing the Enemy with his Own Knife”.

If BN chooses to announce the minimum wage figure now, the impact will be lost and the public will know that BN is insincere or worst still, it is an election gimmick to garner votes from the low- income group. This terrrible blunder represents a great failure by the BN federal government to improve the earnings of Malaysian citizens. And it just goes to show that it is the government which is depressing the wage market and this means that all this talk by the government about improving workers’ rights is merely hot air.

Concerning the private sector retirees, theirs is a case of double tragedy. They, too, should have been entitled to the bonus payout of RM1,000 (RM500 paid out in August this year before Hari Raya Aidilfitri and RM500 to be paid this coming December). This is because in their heyday, they too have worked hard, paid their taxes and contributed to the development and progress of the nation. It is a travesty of justice that they have been so poorly neglected time and time again by the BN government.

As for those old-timers, aged 70 and above, their Employees Provident Fund (EPF) savings would have most probably run out as the salary was small in those days. Thus, in this present day and age, their savings would have shrunk tremendously due to inflation and they would have no choice but to rely on their children to provide for them. That is all well and fine if their children are earning well but what if their children fail to make it in life? And what about those who are single?

1Malaysia slogan empty rhetoric

The government’s generosity towards the civil servants and pensioners has irked the low-wage earners who are clamouring for fair treatment to be meted out to them, too. It is extremely amazing that the government deems it fit to ignore the pleas for minimum wage from the low-income group in the private sector. This clearly shows that without a doubt the 1Malaysia slogan of “People First, Performance Now” is empty rhetoric to dupe the public. Ditto for the much-hyped up slogan of “BN is a caring government”. Caring indeed but perhaps caring only for its own stranglehold of power in Putrajaya?

Read More

Italy PM Silvio Berlusconi wins confidence vote

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has won a key confidence vote in parliament, sparked by questions over his handling of the economy and personal scandals.

Mr Berlusconi won the vote by 316 to 301.

Italy's government credit rating was recently downgraded and parliament failed to back a key part of the budget this week, triggering the vote.

Mr Berlusconi also faces trial on sex, bribery and abuse of power charges.
'Cohesive majority'

Mr Berlusconi needed a simple majority of 316 of the 630 MPs. Together, his Freedom Party and his main coalition ally, the Northern League, have 293 seats.

The Prime Minister's allies applauded when the result of the vote was announced.

However, the BBC's David Willey, in Rome, says the fact that he scraped through with the minimum number of votes presages trouble ahead. If Mr Berlusconi has to get a vote of confidence on every issue, he will find it very difficult to govern.

Even with Mr Berlusconi's survival, our correspondent says most Italians are betting on a general election as early as next spring - more than a year before Mr Berlusconi's term expires.The confidence vote was forced after parliament on Tuesday failed to approve one article of the budget by a single vote. It later emerged that the finance minister had failed to meet the ballot deadline by 30 seconds.

Demanding the confidence vote, opposition leader Pierluigi Bersani said: "The government is not coping with the situation. The problems have all been laid out, but he only knows how to stay nailed to his seat by using tricks."

Ahead of the vote, Mr Berlusconi, 75, said he felt "serene".

He insisted he had a "cohesive majority" in parliament.

"There is no alternative to this government. Early elections would not solve the problems we have. A political crisis now would mean victory for the party of decline, catastrophe and speculation."
Continue reading the main story
Berlusconi in numbers

At least 51 votes of confidence (including 14 October vote) in his government since it took power in 2008
Three election victories - 1994, 2001 and 2008
Two election defeats - 1996 and 2006
Four ongoing trials
$9bn - net worth of Berlusconi and his family (Forbes, 2010)
2,500 court appearances at 106 trials over 20 years

Despite facing four trials - including for allegedly paying for sex with a 17-year-old girl - and an all-time-low approval rating of 24%, Mr Berlusconi has shown remarkable staying power. He has always maintained his innocence.

On Saturday, he also faces a mass demonstration of some 200,000 people in Rome - similar to recent ones in New York and Madrid - against austerity measures and financial mismanagement.

Italy is considered vulnerable in the current eurozone crisis, with the highest public debt among countries using the European single currency.

The country approved an austerity package last month to balance the budget by 2013 but its central bank chief this week urged the government to introduce more measures to stimulate growth.

Read More

Thai PM reassures as Bangkok braces for floods

Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has sought to reassure Bangkok residents, as efforts continue to protect the city from the country's worst floods in decades.

Ms Yingluck said flood walls would protect the city centre and it should be considered safe.

Her comments came after an evacuation warning for some suburbs issued by a minister sparked panic.

The flooding, which began in late July, has affected huge swathes of Thailand.

Northern and central provinces bore the brunt of the flooding initially but the run-off is now swelling waterways that flow south into Bangkok.

Authorities there have warned that the arrival of the run-off water, plus high tides and bad weather at the weekend, could flood parts of the city.
'Dangerous time'

Flooding has already inundated parts of Pathum Thani, a town directly north of Bangkok.

Central Bangkok is protected by flood walls and in recent days, teams of troops and volunteers have been racing to fill sandbags to fortify existing dykes. "Bangkok may face some problems in areas that are on the outer sides of the irrigation dykes but water levels will not be too high. But inner Bangkok has extremely high defences," Ms Yingluck said.

"In conclusion, Bangkok should still be considered safe," she said.

Late on Thursday, Science Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi said that northern suburbs were at risk of flooding because a floodgate had burst, causing some residents to leave.

But the government later issued a call for calm, saying the breach would not affect Bangkok.

"During 15 to 18 October, it may be a dangerous time because water from the north will be coming in... But I confirm it has not reached a crisis stage as of this moment," said Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra.

Officials in charge of managing the floods say they plan to divert the water through canals to the east and west of Bangkok and then on to the sea.

The main canals are being dredged to help water flow out to sea. Troops are also digging out other canals to improve water flow, a government spokesman said. Sandbags have been distributed to residents in villages within the drainage area, the Bangkok Post newspaper reported.

The flooding has been gathering pace for weeks. More than 280 people have been killed and Thailand's economy has been hit hard because factories are under water.

The city of Ayutthaya, a World Heritage site home to temples and monuments, has been particularly badly affected.

Neighbouring Cambodia has also been hit hard by floods, which have been triggered by heavy monsoon rains. Almost 250 people have been killed since the flooding began, with 17 out of 23 provinces affected.

Are you in the region? Have you been affected by the flooding? Have you been forced to leave your home? You can send us your stories and experiences using the form below.

Read More

France teacher sets herself on fire at Beziers school

An apparently depressed maths teacher in southern France has survived after setting herself on fire at a school.

Students and teachers rushed to the aid of the 44-year-old teacher after she doused herself in petrol during morning break and set herself alight in the playground of the secondary school.

The incident reportedly followed a combative meeting with students at the school in Beziers.

The education minister said he was shocked by this "desperate act".

Luc Chatel visited the hospital at which the teacher is being treated for third-degree burns.

Speaking on RTL radio, he described her as a "teacher who is in a situation of great fragility", and said an investigation was under way.
Jerry can

Parents and pupils told AFP news agency that they had a difficult relationship with the teacher - saying she had been hostile at a recent parents' evening and did not get on with several students in her maths class.

A meeting to clear the air with some of her students on Wednesday had become rowdy, they said.

She came to the Jean Moulin school on Thursday morning with a jerry can, gave a class at 09:00 (07:00 GMT) and then, when the morning break came, walked to the centre of the playground, poured petrol on herself and set herself alight.

"I saw her body on fire, walking forward with her hands on her head," said one student witness, Karim.

"Several people tried to put her out. She said 'No, leave me alone. I don't need help. God told me to do this.'"

Teachers threw blankets over her, Karim said, and the teacher was airlifted to Montpelier nearby.

The school - which houses 3,000 students and 280 teachers - sent all of its pupils home after the incident, and a psychological support unit was set up to cope with the aftermath.

Read More

the kind of fried food in asian

this food cook with spicy however, most of foreigners don't like this food. for some countries like Thailand, Lao and Cambodia...

Read More