5 demonstrators detained in a protest in Turkey

A demonstrator is arrested by police during a protest in Hatay of Turkey, on Oct. 21, 2012. A group of youth protested against foreign intervention in Syria, near the Turkish-Syrian border on Sunday. Five people were detained as some protestors clashed with police.



A demonstrator hurls stones at police during a protest in Hatay of Turkey, on Oct. 21, 2012. A group of youth protested against foreign intervention in Syria, near the Turkish-Syrian border on Sunday. Five people were detained as some protestors clashed with police.



Demonstrators confront police during a protest in Hatay of Turkey, on Oct. 21, 2012. A group of youth protested against foreign intervention in Syria, near the Turkish-Syrian border on Sunday. Five people were detained as some protestors clashed with police.

(Xinhua)

Jordanians demonstrate against gov't in Amman

Hammam Said, the General supervisor of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood group, gives a speech during a demonstration against Jordanian government after Friday prayers near Al-Husseini Mosque in downtown Amman, Jordan, April 13, 2012.

Jordanian demonstrators gather during a protest against Jordanian government after Friday prayers near Al-Husseini Mosque in downtown Amman, Jordan, April 13, 2012.

Obama arrives for Americas summit

CARTAGENA, Colombia, April 13-- U.S. President Barack Obama arrived here on Friday afternoon for the sixth Summit of the Americas, to be held in this Caribbean resort city over the weekend.

The president was met at the airport by a military band and honor guard wearing white uniforms, and reporters saw onlookers almost all the way along the motorcade route to the hotel.

The two-day summit will bring together leaders of 33 countries in the Western Hemisphere to discuss regional issues of common interest, with the theme of "Connecting the Americas: Partners for Prosperity."

Apart from participation in summit meetings and leaders' discussions, Obama is also scheduled to meet with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and join an Entrepreneurial Summit.

Calling the trip an "important" one as the hemisphere is a destination of over 40 percent of U.S. exports, White House officials said Obama will seek to boost trade and investment as well as advance security and democracy in the region.

Obama originally planned to arrive in Cartagena on Saturday, but later decided to come one day earlier and extend his stay in Colombia to three days.

The Colombian government, while announcing Obama's travel plan on Tuesday, called the change a "very positive development" for both the Americas summit and the host country.

The gathering is likely to be a difficult one for Obama, because of growing assertiveness of the region's powers, who are pushing for a full re-admission of Cuba to the Organization of American States (OAS).

Cuba has been shut out from the summit for the sixth time, as Washington opposed on the grounds of the Caribbean island nation not being a democracy.

Cuba was suspended from the OAS in 1962 at the height of the Cold War. The suspension was officially lifted in 2009, but the country has chosen not to return to the pan-American bloc.

(Xinhua)

Flying Car Gets Closer to Reality With Test Flight

Terrafugia's flying car -- dubbed the Transition --has completed a successful test flight and may even go on sale this year. Around 100 people have already put down a $10,000 deposit to get a Transition when they go on sale. But don't expect it to show up in too many driveways. It's expected to cost $279,000 (and it requires a runway).

Flying cars aren't just science fiction anymore. Woburn, Massachusetts-based Terrafugia Inc. said Monday that its prototype flying car has completed its first flight, bringing the company closer to its goal of selling the flying car within the next year. The vehicle -- dubbed the Transition -- has two seats, four wheels and wings that fold up so it can be driven like a car. Last month, it flew at 1,400 feet (426 meters) for eight minutes. Commercial jets fly at 35,000 feet (10.668 meters).

Around 100 people have already put down a $10,000 deposit to get a Transition when they go on sale, and those numbers will likely rise after Terrafugia introduces the Transition to the public later this week at the New York Auto Show. But don't expect it to show up in too many driveways. It's expected to cost $279,000.

And it won't help if you're stuck in traffic. The car needs a runway.

The flying car has always had a special place in the American imagination. Inventors have been trying to make them since the 1930s, according to Robert Mann, an airline industry analyst who owns R.W. Mann & Co. in Port Washington, New York.

But Mann thinks Terrafugia has come closer than anyone to making the flying car a reality. The government has already granted the company's request to use special tires and glass that are lighter than normal automotive ones, to make it easier for the vehicle to fly. The government has also temporarily exempted the Transition from the requirement to equip vehicles with electronic stability control, which would add about six pounds (2.72 kilograms) to the vehicle. The Transition is currently going through a battery of automotive crash tests to make sure it meets federal safety standards.

Mann said Terrafugia was helped by the Federal Aviation Administration's decision five years ago to create a separate set of standards for light sport aircraft. The standards govern the size and speed of the plane and licensing requirements for pilots, which are less restrictive than requirements for pilots of larger planes. Terrafugia says an owner would need to pass a test and complete 20 hours of flying time to be able to fly the Transition, a relatively low hurdle for pilots.

The Transition can reach around 70 miles per hour (112 kph) on the road and 115 mph (185 kph) in the air, spokesman Steven Moscaritolo said. On the ground, it gets 35 miles per gallon (15 kilometers per liter).

Mann questions the size of the market for the Transition. The general aviation market has been in decline for two decades, he said, largely because of fuel costs and the high cost of liability for manufacturers. Also, fewer people are learning how to fly.

"This is not going to be an inexpensive aircraft to produce or market," he said. "It has some uniqueness, and will get some sales, but the question is, could it ever be a profitable enterprise?"

Mann sees the western U.S. as the most likely market, where people could fly instead of driving long distances.

Terrafugia has been working on flying cars since 2006, and has already pushed back the launch once. Last summer the company said it would have to delay expected 2011 deliveries due to design challenges and problems with parts suppliers.

With the appearance in New York, the company hopes to attract the eye of customers as well as investors.

"We are introducing ourselves as a viable company to the automotive world," Moscaritolo said.

(Associated Press)

Obama visits Korean border ahead of nuclear summit

CAMP BONIFAS, ROK -- US President Barack Obama visited the border between the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Sunday.

US President Barack Obama looks through binoculars to see the DPRK from Observation Post Ouellette during a visit to the truce village of Panmunjom in the demilitarised zone (DMZ) which borders the ROK and the DPRK, north of Seoul March 25, 2012.

Arriving on the eve of a global summit on nuclear security hosted by the ROK, Obama flew by helicopter to a US base on the edge of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) to meet troops on the border.

Obama's tour, which followed in the footsteps of White House predecessors and bristled with Cold War symbolism, came amid rising concern over a planned DPRK rocket launch next month that threatens to derail a deal to resume US food aid.

Washington has condemned reclusive and impoverished DPRK's rocket launch plan, which it says will send a satellite into orbit, as a violation of its promise to halt long-range missile launches, nuclear tests and uranium enrichment.

Obama plans to lobby the leaders of China and Russia at the Seoul summit to ratchet up pressure on Pyongyang.

The White House cast Obama's first visit to the DMZ, which has bisected the peninsula since the end of the Korean War in 1953, as a way to showcase the strength of the US-ROK alliance and thank some of the more than 20,000 American troops still deployed in the ROK.

Nuclear Summit

From an observation platform near the line of demarcation that Obama was also set to visit, Obama will have a chance to peer through binoculars at nearby DPRK border posts.

Televised images of Obama venturing into the heavily mined DMZ could burnish his commander-in-chief credentials in an election year and help counter Republican accusations that he has not been tough enough on America's foes.

Obama will join more than 50 other world leaders on Monday for a follow-up to the inaugural nuclear security summit he organized in Washington in 2010 to help combat the threat of nuclear terrorism.

While the DPRK and Iran are not on the guest list or the official agenda, they are expected to be the main focus of Obama's array of bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the two-day summit.

Obama's first stop before holding talks with ROK President Lee Myung-bak was the DMZ, a 4-km (2.5-mile) wide buffer that cuts through the peninsula stretching from coast to coast.

US President Barack Obama visits US military personnel stationed at Observation Post Ouellette along the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) which borders the ROK and the DPRK, outside Seoul, March 25, 2012.

US President Barack Obama looks along the border between the ROK and the DPRK from Observation Post Ouellette during a visit to the truce village of Panmunjom in the demilitarised zone (DMZ), north of Seoul, March 25, 2012.

US President Barack Obama poses with troops while he visits US military personnel inside a chow hall stationed at Camp Bonifas along the DMZ which borders the ROK and the DPRK, outside Seoul, March 25, 2012.

US President Barack Obama arrives in Seoul for 2012 Nuclear Security Summit hosted by the ROK, March 25, 2012.

(Agencies)

Thai PM in South Korea to attend nuclear summit

South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak (C) and Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra (L) are greeted by South Korean children waving South Korean and Thai flags during a welcoming ceremony at the presidential house in Seoul March 24, 2012. Leaders from more than 50 countries will gather in Seoul for a March 26-27 nuclear security summit focusing on measures to protect nuclear materials and facilities and to prevent illicit trafficking.

BANGKOK - Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra began an official visit to South Korea on Saturday before attending the second Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul, Thai News Agency reported.

The visit is aimed to build investors' trust in Thailand's post-flood recovery measures and strengthen ties and cooperation between the two countries.

During her visit on Saturday and Sunday, Yingluck meet with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak to discuss bilateral cooperation in investment, agriculture, military, labor, tourism, nuclear energy and environment.

She is scheduled to visit Hynix Semiconductor Inc, and meet Korea's Chamber of Commerce and Industry chairman Kyung-shik Sohn and chairman of Dong-Ah Eleccomm Company Eui Kyun Su.

She will visit the Han River Flood Control Center's River Information Center and be briefed on water management system.

Yingluck will also speak to students at Ehwa Woman's University, and then deliver a speech at a business luncheon organized by Thailand's Board of Investment and the Federation of Korean Industries.

On Monday and Tuesday the prime minister will attend the Nuclear Security Summit along with leaders of other 52 countries as well as the United Nations, the International Atomic Energy Agency and Interpol.

Thailand will express its political will to strengthen nuclear security and reduce the threat of nuclear-related terrorist activities.

South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak (L) and Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra inspect an honour guard during a welcoming ceremony at the presidential house in Seoul March 24, 2012.

Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra inspects the honor guards upon her arrival at the Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul, March 24, 2012.

South Korea's President Lee Myung-bak (R) toasts with Thailand's Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra during a dinner at the presidential house in Seoul March 24, 2012.

(Xinhua)

Santorum projected to win Louisiana Primary

Republican presidential candidate, former US Sen Rick Santorum, talks with voters at a polling station in Chapin, South Carolina, on Jan. 21, 2012.

WASHINGTON - US Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum Saturday was projected by major TV networks to win the Louisiana primary.

The win would give the Pennsylvania senator a much needed victory after a bad week.

After the polls closed in the southern state, major TV networks including CNN, FOX and NBC all projected Santorum will win the state, based on exit poll numbers.

The state has a close primary, meaning only registered Republicans can vote, and Santorum, a social conservative, was heavily favored to win.

His win came after frontrunner Mitt Romney's 12-point victory in Illinois Tuesday, giving him breathing space as Romney solidifies lead in delegate count.

(Xinhua)

French gunman dies in hail of bullets

French special unit policemen leave the scene after the assault to capture gunman Mohamed Merah during a raid on a five-storey building to arrest a suspect in the killings of three children and a rabbi on Monday at a Jewish school, in Toulouse March 22, 2012.

TOULOUSE, France - A 23-year-old gunman who said al Qaeda inspired him to kill seven people in France died in a hail of bullets on Thursday as he scrambled out of a ground-floor window during a gunbattle with elite police commandos.

Mohamed Merah, a Frenchman of Algerian origin, died from a gunshot wound to his head at the end of a 30-hour standoff with police at his apartment in southern France and after confessing to killing three soldiers, three Jewish children and a rabbi.

"A killer wanted, according to his own words, to bring France to its knees by sowing hatred and terror. He has been neutralised," President Nicolas Sarkozy, who is running for re-election next month, told a campaign rally in the eastern city of Strasbourg.

Merah fired frantically at police from a Colt 45 pistol as he climbed through his apartment window onto a verandah and toppled to the ground some 5 feet (1.5 metres) below, according to prosecutors and police.

Two police commandos were injured in the operation - a dramatic climax to a siege in a suburb of the city of Toulouse which riveted the world after the killings shook France a month before a presidential election.

Interior Minister Claude Gueant told reporters at the scene that Merah emerged from the bathroom firing repeatedly when police pushed a video probe into the room. "In the end, Mohamed Merah jumped from the window with his gun in his hand, continuing to fire. He was found dead on the ground."

Paris prosecutor Francois Molins said Merah had taken refuge in his bathroom, wearing a bullet-proof vest under his traditional black djellaba robe, as police blasted his flat through the night with flash grenades.

Opposition leaders demanded to know how Merah was able to amass a sizeable weapons cache and embark on his killing spree despite being under surveillance and having been questioned as recently as November by the DCRI domestic intelligence service following a trip to Afghanistan.

"Since the DCRI was following Mohamed Merah for a year, how come they took so long to locate him?" Socialist party security spokesman Francois Rebsamen, saying Merah was top of a DCRI regional watchlist.

In Washington, two US officials said Merah was on a US government "no fly" list, barring him from boarding any US-bound aircraft. The officials said that his name had been on the list for some time.

An undated and non-datelined frame grab from a video broadcast March 21, 2012 by French national television station France 2 who they claim to show Mohamed Merah, the suspect in the killing of 3 paratroopers, 3 children and a rabbi in recent days in France.

Exterior view of the ground floor windows where earlier special forces police staged the assault on the gunman Mohamed Merah, in Toulouse March 22, 2012.

Police secure the street outside the five-storey apartment building where earlier special forces police staged the assault on the gunman Mohamed Merah, in Toulouse March 22, 2012.

(Agencies)

14 killed, 60 injured in Poland train collision

A still image taken from the Poland national TV station TVP shows rescuers work at the train collision site in southern Poland, March 4, 2012.

WARSAW - Fourteen people were killed and 60 others injured in a train collision in southern Poland on Saturday as rescue work is on the way, local media reported.

Poland's Interior Minister confirmed the new death toll about the train clash, as hundreds of firefighters and policemen were working hard on the scene to help and rescue passengers trapped inside the train.

More fatalities in the accident, which Polish Transport Minister Slawomir Nowak described as the "most serious railway catastrophes" in Poland's recent history, were not ruled out.

A still image taken from the Poland national TV station TVP shows rescuers work at the train collision site in southern Poland, March 4, 2012.

(China Daily)

Road to a recoed

Chandra Bahadur Dangi, a 72-year-old Nepali who claims to be the world's shortest man at 56 centimeters, walked out from his village in Reemkholi last month to claim a world record.

Photographer Prakash Mathema follows Chandra Bahadur Dangi from his remote village in Nepal to the capital Kathmandu.

KATHMANDU - Home to part of Qomolangma, also known as Mount Everest in the West, the scenic country of Nepal on Sunday added another height-related superlative - of having the world's shortest man.

A Guinness World Records team measured Chandra Bahadur Dangi at 54.60 centimeters (21.5 inches), and declared the 72-year-old the new record holder. He was even shorter than the previous title holder, Junrey Balawing from the Philippines, who stood at 23.5 inches at the age of 18 last year.

Pilloried by neighbors, laughed at in freak shows and spurned by the women he admired from afar, Dangi has always seen his tiny stature as a curse.

"If he is really 72 years old he is the oldest person to be awarded the shortest man record," Guinness Records Editor-in-Chief Craig Glenday told reporters after measurements were taken. Dangi was also the shortest person ever measured by the Guinness World Records, he said.

Dangi, who scrapes a living weaving the naamlo, a traditional jute band used as a head strap for carrying heavy weights, has already become something of a celebrity in southern Nepal.

From a poor and uneducated family in a remote part of the country, Dangi said he had never heard of Qomlangma and was unaware of the world record title before a timber merchant visited his village last month and decided to measure him.

His diminutive size has since made him a celebrity in the impoverished nation of 26.6 million people and he took a plane for the first time last week after traveling from his village, Rimkholi, 267 kilometers west of Kathmandu, to get to a rural airport.

He met the Guinness World Records officials in the capital.

"I am good. I feel happy," Dangi said holding two framed certificates . "I want to travel around the world and spread the name of my country."

Dangi, whose parents died when he was still in his teens, lives with his brother. He says he has no desire to marry.

His family has no idea when he stopped growing as many Nepali villages still lack basic health care. Dangi has never seen a doctor in his life. Five of his brothers and two sisters are of normal size.

Before Balawing, who was declared the shortest man in the world in June last year, another Nepali man, Khagnedra Thapa Magar, who stood 67 centimeters tall, held the title.

He Pingping of China, the record holder before that, was officially verified as the shortest living man who was able to walk unaided at 74 cms. He died at the age of 21 in March 2010.

Clockwise from top left:

Dangi gets anointed with powdered red vermilion by his sister in-law as he prepares to go to the capital for the verification.

Dangi has to clamber up a ladder to reach his home.

Doalk Dangi gives his diminutive uncle a lift while the family made plans to get him to Kathmandu.

Nepal's Chandra Bahadur Dangi celebrates after being declared the world's shortest living man and shortest man ever by The Guinness Book of Records.

Dr Kashila Pradhan (left) measures Dangi at a clinic in Kathmandu, Nepal.

(Reuters)

Russians go to polls today

A board with the profiles of various presidential candidates, amongst them Russia's current Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, is on display during the preparations for the upcoming presidential elections at a polling station in the southern Russian city of Stavropol March 3, 2012. Russians will go to the polls for their presidential election on Sunday.

MOSCOW - Russians will go to the polls on Sunday to choose a new president from among five candidates.

According to local media, some 65 percent of the 109 million eligible voters are expected to cast their ballots at 94,000 polling stations across the country, as well 384 overseas stations in more than 140 countries.

The following are some basic facts about the system of Russia's presidential elections:

The Russian Federation approved its first post-independence constitution through a referendum on Dec 12, 1993. The constitution, which entered into force on Dec 25, 1993, stipulates that Russia adopts a federal state system with a presidential regime.

The constitution provides that the president shall be elected for a four-year term directly by eligible citizens. The president cannot seek reelection after serving two terms in a row.

In December 2008, both houses of Russia's parliament approved constitutional changes that extend the presidential term from four to six years starting from 2012.

Under the constitution, any Russian citizen aged 35 years old and above, who has resided in Russia for no less than 10 years and does not hold citizenship or right of residence in another country, can be elected president.

The Federation Council, the upper house of parliament, decides on election matters.

Presidential candidates can be nominated by parties winning seats in the State Duma, the lower house, or in no less than one third of the legislative assemblies of Russia's 83 regions.

For independents and candidates from legally registered parties that have not entered federal or regional assemblies, they must collect and present enough valid signatures supporting his or her candidacy to the Central Electoral Committee for ratification.

To win an outright victory in the polls, a candidate must gain more than 50 percent of the vote. A runoff election will be held three weeks later if none of the candidates wins more than 50 percent in the first round. The two front-runners in the first round will enter the runoff.

In the runoff, a candidate will win the race if he or she gets more votes than the other does.

Before the 2008 election, the ballot option of voting "against all" and the previous minimum turnout of 50 percent of registered voters were both abolished.

After the parliamentary elections in last December, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin ordered the installation of web cameras at all polling stations.

(Xinhua)

Protest against air raid in Turkey continues

Protesters hold newspapers and banners during a demonstration in Istanbul of Turkey on Dec. 30, 2011. Turkey's Diyarbakir Specially Authorized Prosecutor's Office on Friday launched an investigation into the deadly air strike that killed 35 Kurdish villagers in southeastern Turkey, local newspaper Today's Zaman reported on its website.

A protester holds a banner during a demonstration in Istanbul of Turkey on Dec. 30, 2011. Turkey's Diyarbakir Specially Authorized Prosecutor's Office on Friday launched an investigation into the deadly air strike that killed 35 Kurdish villagers in southeastern Turkey, local newspaper Today's Zaman reported on its website.

A protester holds newspaper during a demonstration in Istanbul of Turkey on Dec. 30, 2011. Turkey's Diyarbakir Specially Authorized Prosecutor's Office on Friday launched an investigation into the deadly air strike that killed 35 Kurdish villagers in southeastern Turkey, local newspaper Today's Zaman reported on its website.

A protester holds a banner during a demonstration in Istanbul of Turkey on Dec. 30, 2011. Turkey's Diyarbakir Specially Authorized Prosecutor's Office on Friday launched an investigation into the deadly air strike that killed 35 Kurdish villagers in southeastern Turkey, local newspaper Today's Zaman reported on its website.

Protesters hold banners during a demonstration in Istanbul of Turkey on Dec. 30, 2011. Turkey's Diyarbakir Specially Authorized Prosecutor's Office on Friday launched an investigation into the deadly air strike that killed 35 Kurdish villagers in southeastern Turkey, local newspaper Today's Zaman reported on its website.

(xinhua)

Italy's boot ready to kick the crisis back

Italian Ambassador to China
Attilio Massimo Iannucci. Photo: Courtesy of the Italian embassy in Beijing

As Italians emerge from the current holiday season, they know that 2012 will be a trying year - one that will possibly define the future of the country beyond the current generation.

This comes as no surprise to Italians because 2011 has already tested them beyond expectations. 2011 was supposed to be a year of celebration as the nation feted the 150th anniversary of the reunification of the Italian peninsula, with a ceremony marked by the presence of high-level officials from around the world, including Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping.

But with the crisis from Greece, Ireland and Portugal spilling over into the bigger European economies such as Spain and Italy, the structural problem of public debt within the eurozone provided international financial speculators with painful leverage.

To prove its commitment to the economic benchmark of the times - budgetary discipline - Italy changed government and passed three austerity budgets, each one more severe than the other. The last one, just approved by the Italian Parliament, in a case of the government feeling the pain of the common man, even elicited public tears from a cabinet welfare minister.

Yet, despite the gloom of the current economic outlook, Italians know that the fundamentals of the economy are strong: a small budget deficit, low debt of the private sector, a strong manufacturing sector (second in Europe only to Germany, the fifth in the world), a solid financial condition of households, the soundness of banks, and limited foreign debt.

While Italy has been thankfully endowed with unsurpassed beauty, its land is remarkably poor in natural resources. Its greatest asset is human capital, which over a span of 3,000 years - almost at a par with China - has made the Italian peninsula a beacon of civilization and ideas, a source of bewildered admiration from foreign visitors.

Italians are not only an inventive, creative and resourceful people. They also remain a thrifty and industrious one. SMEs' niche specializations and high-quality products (Italy's "pocket multinationals" as they are called) guarantee the country's prominence in world exports. It is no small feat that in the middle of the severest world recession since 1929, the country is still achieving one of the largest foreign trade surpluses in manufactured products.

Italians remain frugal and wary of private debt. The household total net wealth is high by international standards, estimated at 178 percent of the size of the GDP. In the real estate market - as in China also Italy's favorite investment - prices are stable, thus preserving families' net worth.

True to the legacy of a people that has produced 19 Nobel Price laureates, Italy's educational performances appear in line with the OECD countries. The scientific productivity of Italian researchers ranks at the top in Europe, a source of technological innovation for Italian firms of any size and sector with the country banking on a booming green economy.

At times of crisis it is reasonable to take stock of one's own assets. While taking comfort in the fundamentals of its own economy and unique culture and creativity, Italy will remain in 2012 actively engaged in the international arena where since 1945 it has been a provider of peace and security also outside of its immediate reaches in Europe and the Mediterranean.

History has often put Italy in the position of being "Europe's comeback kid." We have been there before and while we do not necessarily relish this situation - far from it - we know that we can overcome one more time the challenges ahead in the upcoming Year of the Dragon.

The author is the Italian ambassador to China.

DPRK's Kim Jong Un becomes top military commander

This file photo released on Dec. 26, 2011 by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s official news agency Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) shows Kim Jong Un (front), vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) arrives at the Kumsusan Memorial Palace to pay respect to his father the late leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang, the DPRK, on Dec. 24, 2011. Kim Jong Un has become the top military commander of the DPRK, KCNA reported Saturday.

Kim Jong Un has become the top military commander of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the official KCNA news agency reported Saturday.

A meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) on Friday proclaimed that Kim assumed the supreme commandership of the Korean People's Army according to a will made by his late father Kim Jong Il on Oct. 8, said the KCNA.

At the meeting, the Political Bureau of the WPK Central Committee adopted a document entitled "On Effecting a Great Surge in Building a Thriving Nation True to the Behests of the Great Leader Comrade Kim Jong Il," which says the army and people of the DPRK will carry forward and accomplish the cause of building a thriving socialist nation and the revolutionary cause of Juche under the leadership of Kim Jong Un, said the KCNA.

The document underlines the need to hold Kim Jong Un, the youngest son of Kim Jong Il, as "the only center of unity, cohesion and leadership of the WPK" and devotedly defend him politically and ideologically.

It calls upon all party members, the military and people to "turn sorrow into thousand-fold strength and courage" and struggle to "win a great fresh victory in the Juche revolution under the leadership of Kim Jong Un," according to the KCNA.

Kim Jong Un was named vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the WPK last year. Kim Jong Il, who was the country's top military commander, died on Dec. 17.

Friday's meeting discussed the joint calls of the WPK Central Committee and the Central Military Commission on marking the centenary of the birth of Kim Jong Un's grandfather, Kim Il Sung, the KCNA added.

(Xinhua)

Typhoon kills 20 in Japan

An aerial view shows a flooded residential area caused by the strong tropical storm Talas in Kiho town, Mie prefecture, in western Japan September 4, 2011.


TOKYO - Typhoon Talas dumped record amounts of rain Sunday in western and central Japan, killing at least 20 people and stranding thousands more as it turned towns into lakes, washed away cars and triggered mudslides that obliterated houses. At least 50 people were missing, local media reported.

Evacuation orders and advisories were issued to 460,000 people in the region, which is hundreds of miles (kilometers) from the country's tsunami-ravaged northeastern coast.

At least 3,600 people were stranded by flooded rivers, landslides and collapsed bridges that were hampering rescue efforts, Kyodo News agency reported.

Public broadcaster NHK showed a bridge swept away after intense rain caused a river to swell with brown torrents. People holding umbrellas waded through knee-deep water in city streets and residential areas.

The typhoon dumped record amounts of rain in some areas, and more was expected. It was the country's worst storm since one in 2004 that left 98 people either dead or missing, the Yomiuri newspaper said. By Sunday, Talas had been downgraded to a tropical storm.

Ten people were killed and 32 were missing in Wakayama prefecture alone, police said. One landslide there buried three homes; a woman was killed and four people were missing, but a 14-year-old girl was rescued from the debris.

In nearby Nara prefecture, seven people were reported missing after their homes were swept down a river, NHK said. A 73-year-old man died in Nara when his house collapsed in a landslide, police said.

The storm damaged Nijojo castle in the ancient city of Kyoto, tearing a large piece of plaster from the gate wall. The castle, a popular tourist destination, is designated an important cultural treasure.

An aerial view shows houses submerged in flood water caused by the strong tropical storm Talas in Kiho town, Mie prefecture, in western Japan September 4, 2011.


The center of the season's 12th typhoon crossed the southern island of Shikoku and the central part of the main island of Honshu overnight Saturday. It was moving slowly north across the Sea of Japan off the country's west coast, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Because of the storm's slow speed, the agency warned that heavy rains and strong winds were likely to continue. With the ground already soaked, fears of additional mudslides were growing, and the agency issued landslide warnings in nearly all of the country's prefectures.

(Agencies)

Workers take photographs of a United Express plane after it skidded off the runway at the Ottawa International Airport Sept 4, 2011. The Embraer ERJ 145 plane carrying 44 passengers from Chicago skidded off the runway while landing in Ottawa, although there appeared to be no injuries, a fire department official said on Sunday.

TORONTO - A United Express regional jet carrying 44 passengers from Chicago skidded off the runway while landing in Ottawa on Sunday afternoon, but no one was apparently injured, authorities said.

All the passengers and crew members from United Express Flight 3363 left the plane and were taken to the airport terminal on a city bus, said Marc Messier, a spokesman for Ottawa Fire Services.

"When we arrived, they were pretty much all off the plane," he said, adding that none of the passengers immediately requested medical attention.

Emergency crews sprayed foam on a large amount of fuel that had leaked from the plane, an Embraer ERJ 145, he said.

A Reuters photographer at the airport said the plane, still surrounded by emergency vehicles, was sitting off the runway and appeared to have a damaged right wing.

Trans States Airlines, the operating carrier of the flight, said in a statement that it "cannot speculate as to the cause of the incident," but would provide more information as it becomes available.

The company also said it would be involved in the investigation, which is being led by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada.

United Express flights are operated by various regional carriers working with United Continental Holdings.

(Reuters)

Hundreds of thousands march across Israel for affordable housing

Some 40,000 Israelis take part in a rally asking for lower living costs at Jerusalem's Paris Square, Sept. 3, 2011. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the street on Saturday night across the country in demand for affordable housing, education and medical care.


JERUSALEM, Sept. 3 -- Hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the street on Saturday night across the country in demand for affordable housing, education and medical care.

Over 400,000 people took part in the rally, which was one of the biggest demonstration in Israel, according to local media, as the quantity of protestors kept growing from several thousands to about half a million.

The Israeli police estimated some 250,000 people marched in Tel Aviv. Another 40,000 protestors protested near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's residence in Jerusalem, expressing dissatisfaction over the high cost of living.

Marches took place in several other cities including Eilat, Nahariya, Hadera, Herzliya, which witnessed several thousands of participators respectively.

"Tonight we make history again. From now on the government knows that at any given moment Israelis can return to the streets and must therefore deliver the goods," one of the original organizers, chairman of the Student Union Itzik Shmuli, was quoted by Ynet as saying.

The protesters, many of whom were young Israelis disgruntled with growing inability to buy or rent a home, held a "tent protest" in the streets of Tel Aviv and several other major cities in July.

Prime Minister Netanyahu outlined emergency measures geared at alleviating the housing distress in the same month.

However, the plan failed to subdue public outrage over soaring prices, with protest leaders vowing to step up actions.

Some 40,000 Israelis take part in a rally asking for lower living costs at Jerusalem's Paris Square, Sept. 3, 2011. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the street on Saturday night across the country in demand for affordable housing, education and medical care.

A woman shouts slogans as some 40,000 Israelis take part in a rally asking for lower living costs at Jerusalem's Paris Square, Sept. 3, 2011. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the street on Saturday night across the country in demand for affordable housing, education and medical care.

Some 40,000 Israelis take part in a rally asking for lower living costs at Jerusalem's Paris Square, Sept. 3, 2011. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the street on Saturday night across the country in demand for affordable housing, education and medical care.

(Xinhua)

Libyan rebels in final push to flush out Gaddafi's forces in Tripoli

Libyan rebel fighter fire their weapons during a fight for the final push to flush out Muammar Gaddafi's forces in Abu Salim district in Tripoli August 25, 2011. Libyan rebels stormed Tripoli's Abu Salim district, one of the main holdouts of forces loyal to Gaddafi in the capital, after NATO air strikes on a building in the area on Thursday.

Libyan rebel fighters detain a mercenary during a fight for the final push to flush out Muammar Gaddafi's forces in Abu Salim district in Tripoli August 25, 2011. Libyan rebels stormed Tripoli's Abu Salim district, one of the main holdouts of forces loyal to Gaddafi in the capital, after NATO air strikes on a building in the area on Thursday.

An injured Libyan rebel fighter flashes the victory sign during a fight for the final push to flush out Muammar Gaddafi's forces in Abu Salim district in Tripoli August 25, 2011. Libyan rebels stormed Tripoli's Abu Salim district, one of the main holdouts of forces loyal to Gaddafi in the capital, after NATO air strikes on a building in the area on Thursday.

Libyan rebel fighters fire their weapons during a fight for the final push to flush out Muammar Gaddafi's forces in Abu Salim district in Tripoli August 25, 2011. Gaddafi taunted his Libyan enemies and their Western backers as rebel forces battled pockets of loyalists across Tripoli in an ever more urgent quest to find and silence the fugitive strongman.

Libyan rebel fighters stand guard over an injured detainee during a fight for the final push to flush out Muammar Gaddafi's forces in Abu Salim district in Tripoli August 25, 2011. Libyan rebels stormed Tripoli's Abu Salim district, one of the main holdouts of forces loyal to Gaddafi in the capital, after NATO air strikes on a building in the area on Thursday.

(Reuters)

Assad rejects Western calls to quit

A supporter of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad protests in the al-Fanar district of Beirut on Sunday, as the UN mission began its first full day in Damascus to assess humanitarian needs in the wake of the crackdown.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on Monday dismissed "worthless" recent demands by Western nations that he step down, warning that any outside interference in the country would be met with severe consequences.

"Such remarks should not be made about a president who was chosen by the Syrian people and who was not put in office by the West, a president who was not made in the US," Assad said during an interview with the country's state television, according to SANA News Agency.

"As for the threat of military action ... any action against Syria will have greater consequences (on those who carry it out), greater than they can tolerate," he warned.

Assad pledged that Syrian local elections would be held in December, before parliamentary polls in February after a new law on political parties comes into effect this week, arguing that security has to be restored before a political solution can occur.

The opposition has dismissed Assad's promised political reforms and many opposition figures have rejected his call for national dialogue, saying no discussions can be had while security forces continue to kill protesters.

UN rights chief Navi Pillay told the Human Rights Council meeting in Geneva on Monday that an estimated 2,200 people have been killed since the start of the protests.

The remark made by Assad was the first response from Damascus to a coordinated move by Western power to pressure the Syrian government into stopping its crackdown.

US President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton issued a statement Thursday urging Assad to step down and let Syrians chart their own future.

The Obama administration also broadened its sanctions against Damascus, freezing any Syrian government assets in the US and banning the import of Syrian petroleum products.

In Brussels, diplomats also said that EU governments have "as good as" wrapped up a key deal to ban imports of crude oil from Syria.

However, no country has proposed the kind of action against Syria that NATO forces have carried out in support of Libyan rebels seeking to topple Muammar Gaddafi.

"The Western countries are much more cautious in responding to the Syrian crisis because Syria's geo-political influence is incomparable to that of Libya," said Li Weijian, director of the Research Center of West Asian and African Studies at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies.

"Syria borders Israel and Iraq and the West sees it as a major ally of Iran. So any reckless decisions made by Western nations might lead to further tension and turmoil," he told the Global Times.

AFP

Libyan rebels control Tripoli, Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam detained

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's most prominent son, Saif al-Islam, speaks during an interview with Reuters in Tripoli in March 10, 2011 file photograph. Libya's rebels have captured Muammar Gaddafi's son, Saif Al-Islam, the head of the rebel National Transitional Council told Al Jazeera television on August 21,2011. "We have confirmed information that our guys have captured Saif Al-Islam," Mustapha Abd El Jalil said. "We have given instructions to treat him well so that he can face trial."



BENGHAZI/TRIPOLI, Aug. 21-- Libyan rebel forces have controlled Tripoli except Bab Al-Aziziyah and are clearing up the remnants of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's forces, National Transitional Council's senior official Abdullah Almayhop said.

Rebel soldiers were seen waving opposition flag in the downtown Green Square, where most of the government departments are located.

Almayhop said that Gaddafi's eldest son Mohammed has surrendered to the rebels.

Mustafa Abdul Jalil, the head of Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC), said in an TV interview earlier Sunday night that Saif al-Islam, Gaddafi's second son, had been captured and was under custody in a safe place.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor's office confirmed that Gaddafi's son Saif al-Islam has been detained. The ICC issued arrest warrants on June 27 for Gaddafi, his son Saif al- Islam and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senussi, charged with crimes against humanity.

Jalil said that Gaddafi's guards in Tripoli had surrendered to the opposition troops.

Meanwhile, Gaddafi said in an Audio speech on Sunday that all the tribes and people should march to Tripoli to "purify" the city, according to the State TV.

"The west will not protect you," he said, "Tripoli will be destroyed."

He urged all the imams of mosques to guide people to protect the capital.

The spokesman for Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's government Moussa Ibrahim said on Sunday that 1,300 people had been killed in the fighting in Tripoli since noon Sunday.

He said at a press conference in Tripoli that 5,000 people were wounded in the battle and the NATO should be held responsible for the bloodshed.

He said that the country needs Gaddafi and people should be encouraged to fight for him.

Opposition convoy entered the western district of Tripoli on early Sunday evening with almost no sign of resistance, Al-Jazeera TV channel reported.

Residents of the city began to stream into streets to welcome the opposition troops, despite Gaddafi's call to urge people to take up arms to guard his rule.

Thousands of people flock into the streets in Benghazi, ready to celebrate for the collapse of Gaddafi's rule.


(Reuters)