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Chinese School – Vehicle of Saudi Arabia consulate attacked in Karachi, 1 killed

pynet2englishorg — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 07:14:16 +0000

Policemen inspect a car shattered by bullets in Karachi May 16, 2011. Gunmen on motorcycles attacked the car belonging to the Saudi Arabian consulate in the Pakistani city of Karachi on Monday killing a Saudi diplomat, police and the Saudi ambassador said. (Xinhua/AFP Photo)

KARACHI, Pakistan, May 16 (Xinhua) — A vehicle of the Saudi Arabia consulate came under attack in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi on Monday morning and a driver was killed, police said.

Shots were fired by some unknown militants riding a motorbike in the Defence area of Karachi when the consulate car was on its way to office, police said.

It was the second attack at Saudi Arabia consulate in Karachi in a week. Last Wednesday, unidentified motorcyclists threw two hand grenades on the consulate but no one was hurt.

Police sources said the attacks may be a reaction to the killing of Osama bin Laden in operation by U.S. special forces in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad on May 2.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack.

There is no immediate reaction to the incident by the Saudi embassy in Islamabad.

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Chinese language – 2 killed as leftist rebels, gov’t troops clash in S Philippines

pynet2englishorg — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 07:12:31 +0000

Two people were killed when leftist rebels and government troops clashed in southern Philippines early on Sunday, the military said Monday.

A New People’s Army guerrilla and a pro-government militiaman died during the encounter in Wali village, Maitum town, in Mindanao’s Sarangani province, according to Lieutenant Colonel Lyndon Paniza, spokesperson of the army’s 10th Infantry Division.

Paniza told Xinhua by phone some 30 rebels were seen recruiting minors in several communities in Maitum, prompting the military to conduct a combat operation that resulted in the firefight.

In Compostela Valley province, soldiers on Sunday also recovered several improvised explosives believed planted by NPA rebels.

Paniza said troops from the 71st Infantry Battalion conducting peace and development operations (PDOP) in Kingking village, Pantukan town, stumbled upon the cache of explosives, about eight IEDs.

The military has slammed the leftist guerrillas for using landmines which army officials say are banned by the Geneva Convention of which the NPA’s parent organization and the government of the Republic of the Philippines are both signatories.

China Travel – Cathay Pacific flight turns back to Singapore airport on engine fire

pynet2englishorg — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 07:09:42 +0000

Passengers disembark from Cathay Pacific flight CX715, an Airbus A330 passenger jet, after it made an emergency landing at Singapore’s Changi Airport early May 16, 2011. The aeroplane, which was enroute to Jakarta, experienced engine trouble shortly after takeoff and had to return to Singapore.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

SINGAPORE, May 16 (Xinhua) — A flight of Cathay Pacific bound for Jakarta turned back to Singapore’s Changi Airport about 45 minutes after taking off from the airport on Monday, as one of its engines caught fire, the airline and the airport confirmed.

“Upon the landing of the aircraft, Changi Airport’s Airport Emergency Service responded immediately with six fire vehicles and extinguished a fire in one of the engines,” the airport said in a statement sent to Xinhua, adding that other flight operations were not affected as another runway remained operational.

Cathay Pacific said in a separate statement that all the 136 passengers on board the flight CX715 disembarked without incident and alternative flight and accommodation arrangements were made for its passengers.

The airline said the flight carried out by an Airbus A330 plane returned to Singapore “after a stall warning from the No. 2 engine. The crew shut down the Rolls Royce engine when they received the alert.”

“Cathay Pacific and Rolls Royce are investigating the incident, ” it added.

The details of the incident were not immediately clear, but Reuters cited its photographer who happened to be on the flight as recounting a terrifying experience of hearing two sharp bangs about 20 minutes after taking off and the plane shaking violently in the incident.

The engine explosion in an Airbus A380 jumbo jet last year that led to a Qantas flight turning back and making an emergency landing in Singapore also involved an issue with its Rolls Royce engine. The incident forced Qantas to ground its A380 fleet for several months.

China Business – Pakistan, U.S. discuss bin Laden raid aftermath

pynet2englishorg — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 07:08:31 +0000

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari late Sunday night and discussed ways to ease the tension of bilateral ties that surfaced after the U.S. military helicopters raided a compound in the city of Abbottabad and killed Osama bin Laden.

“Both agreed to resolve the issues amicably and move forward,” a statement from the president office said. “The two discussed present situation in the aftermath of the Abbottabad operation.”

The president, in the statement, apprised Clinton of the concerns expressed by Pakistan’s Parliament over the operation.

Hillary Clinton called the Pakistani president as U.S. influential senator John Kerry met Pakistan’s army chief and will meet more Pakistani leaders on Monday.

Army chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani apprised Senator John Kerry about “intense feelings of rank and file of Pakistan Army” on U.S. unilateral raid at Abbottabad to kill Osama bin Laden, an army statement said.

John Kerry, Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, arrived late Sunday night and met with the Pakistan army chief to try to get back on track the relations deteriorated after the U.S. action.

HSK – Multinational military exercise kicks off in Cambodia

pynet2englishorg — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 03:47:57 +0000

The “Angkor Sentinel 2011″ multinational peacekeeping military exercise kicked off Monday at Cambodia’s military commanding headquarters in Kampong Speu province, some 50 kilometers west of Phnom Penh, a senior military official said Monday.

The exercise, co-hosted by the United States, involves 300 members of the Cambodian armed forces, 200 ones of the U.S. Army Pacific, and some others from Mongolia, Indonesia and Nepal, said Lt. Gen. Chhum Socheat, the spokesman for Cambodian Defense Ministry.

“It’s to strengthen and expand cooperation between Cambodia and the United States in peacekeeping operations and humanitarian activities,” he said.

The 12-day training (May 16-27) focuses on command post exercise, engineering work such as building school and hospital, humanitarian affairs, rescues and medical treatment, he said.

“Angkor Sentinel 2011″ is a part of the Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI) program, the United Nations Peacekeeping framework for strengthening peace and security.

This is the second consecutive year that Cambodia has hosted the event, he said.

learn mandarin – NATO chopper makes hard landing in S Afghanistan

pynet2englishorg — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 03:44:50 +0000

A helicopter, belonging to the NATO- led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) had a hard landing in southern Afghan province Kandahar on Monday, a press release from ISAF said.

The landing site, in Panjwa’i district of Kandahar province, some 450 km south of Afghan capital Kabul, “has been secured and all personnel are accounted for,” according to the press release.

There are no casualties reported, and “the cause of the incident is under investigation,” read the press release.

The Kandahar province is the main battle field where the Afghan security forces and ISAF have been chasing Taliban. However, ” there are no reports of enemy fire in the area,” said the ISAF press release.

learn Chinese online – FLASH: PROSECUTION SUCCEEDS IN PROVING MALAYSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER’S SODOMY CRIME ON PRIMA FACIE LEVEL

pynet2englishorg — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 03:44:03 +0000

FLASH: PROSECUTION SUCCEEDS IN PROVING MALAYSIAN OPPOSITION LEADER’S SODOMY CRIME ON PRIMA FACIE LEVEL

learn Chinese – New Zealand plays down talk of Fiji-Tonga tension escalation

pynet2englishorg — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 03:40:00 +0000

The New Zealand government is closely monitoring the standoff over the flight to Tonga of a senior Fijian military officer who has been charged with sedition, but does not think the situation will escalate, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said Monday.

A Fijian court Monday issued a warrant for the arrest of Lieutenant Colonel Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba Mara, who was last week picked up by a Tongan navy ship while on bail.

Fijian police have launched an investigation to determine who helped the former commander of the 3rd infantry regiment to escape.

Fiji Prime Minister, Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama, said he planned to start extradition proceedings to get Mara back to face charges, and called the action of Tonga’s navy a breach of Fiji’s sovereignty.

Mara, son of the late former Fiji prime minister Kamisese Mara, was a senior army commander until he was charged earlier this month with plotting to overthrow Bainimarama’s regime, which seized power in a 2006 coup.

Mara Monday reportedly issued a message from Tonga saying those in power in Fiji had been corrupted and the military government had failed to carry out their original plan to run the country for a short time before returning to barracks.

In a statement, Tonga’s Prime Minister, Lord Tui’vakano, said his country had no interest in interfering in Fiji’s domestic affairs.

Chinese School – Malaysian opposition leader ordered to defend himself in sodomy case

pynet2englishorg — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 03:34:56 +0000

Prosecutors succeeded on Monday in proving Sodomy charges against Malaysian opposition leader, Anwar Ibrahim on a prima facie level after the court found corroborating evidence in the case.

Anwar was ordered to defend himself.

“The evidence corroborates. I find a prima facie case against the accused and therefore call upon him to enter his defence,” judge Zabidin Mohamad Diah announced at the court.

The verdict paved the way for a lengthy trial ahead of an expected snap poll by the end of this year.

63-year-old Anwar, who was also Malaysia’s former Deputy Prime Minister is accused of sodomising his former assistant Mohammad Saiful at a condominium unit in Kuala Lumpur in June, 2008 — a crime that could see him whipped and jailed for 20 years.

Chinese language – Japan protests Russia’s latest official visit to disputed islands

pynet2englishorg — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 03:33:43 +0000

Japan on Monday protested a visit by a Russian government delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov to two of the disputed Russian-held islands off Hokkaido, northern Japan on Sunday.

Japan’s Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto told the Russian Ambassador to Japan Mikhail Bely that the trip to islands by Ivanov and four other Cabinet ministers was regrettable and that Moscow should not arrange any more visits to the islands by senior Russian officials.

The Russian visit to the islands of Etorofu and Kunashiri “runs counter to Japan’s basic position and hurts the feeling of Japanese people,” Matsumoto said to Bely, having summoned him to the ministry’s offices earlier Monday.

Bely, for his part maintained Moscow’s stance that the disputed islands are in fact Russian territory.

Top Russian dignitaries such as President Dmitry Medvedev and a host of others who started visiting the islands last fall much to the chagrin of Japan, have opted to suspend their vistas to the four disputed islands known in Japan as the Northern Territories and in Russia as the Southern Kurils, in recent weeks, due to the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that ravaged northeastern parts of Japan.

However, observers said that the period of grace is over and Russia intends to continue with its territorial promotion.