Jun 9, 2012
Nuclear Agency Talks With Iran Stall Over Access to Sites
Nuclear Agency Talks With Iran Stall Over Access to Sites: Discussions aimed at securing access to restricted sites — where the United Nations believes scientists may have tested explosives that could be used on nuclear warheads — stalled on Friday.
Political Memo: Demographic Shifts in Key States Could Aid Obama in Fall
Political Memo: Demographic Shifts in Key States Could Aid Obama in Fall: Polls show that President Obama holds a thin cushion against economic and political woes in many states: minority voters and the shape-shifting November electorate.
E-Mails Highlight Extent of Obama’s Deal With Industry on Health Care
E-Mails Highlight Extent of Obama’s Deal With Industry on Health Care: Newly released messages between administration officials and drug industry lobbyists underscore the compromises underlying President Obama’s effort to overhaul health care.
Six Words From Obama, and a Barrage From Republicans
Six Words From Obama, and a Barrage From Republicans: Congressional Republicans and Mitt Romney seized on a comment by President Obama — “the private sector is doing fine” — to criticize him as out of touch.
Obama Shows Support for Philippines in China Standoff
Obama Shows Support for Philippines in China Standoff: In a meeting with President Benigno S. Aquino III, President Obama said the two countries would “consult closely together” as part of the “pivot by the United States back to Asia.”
Big U.S. Banks Brace for Downgrades
Big U.S. Banks Brace for Downgrades: Banks, bond issuers and investors are bracing for aftershocks from a wave of bank downgrades expected to hit the U.S. as soon as the coming week.
Jun 7, 2012
Bad day for LinkedIn: 6.5 million hashed passwords reportedly leaked – change yours now
Bad day for LinkedIn: 6.5 million hashed passwords reportedly leaked – change yours now: 
Update: LinkedIn has responded to the issue, updating its official Twitter account to state that it is “looking into reports.” Scroll down for more information.
Already in the spotlight over concerns that its iOS app collects full meeting notes and details from a device’s calendar and sends them back to the company in plain text, LinkedIn user accounts are now said to have been compromised, with 6.5 million hashed and encrypted passwords reportedly leaked.
Norweigan IT webite Dagens IT reported the breach, with 6.5 million encrypted passwords posted to a Russian hacker site. Security researcher Per Thorsheim has also confirmed reports via his Twitter feed, stating that the attackers have posted the encrypted passwords to request help cracking them.
Finnish security firm CERT-FI is warning that whilst user details have not been posted, it is believed that the attackers will have access to user data as well as their passwords.
One LinkedIn user has already confirmed his password was leaked:
LinkedIn hasn’t responded to reports at the time of writing, so the breach is yet to be confirmed. However, over 300,000 passwords are said to have been decrypted, and more are being cracked as we write this. We suggest you employ good security practises and amend yours, regardless of whether you have been affected or not.
LinkedIn is home to more than 150 million users, suggesting the breach is limited to less than 10% of the professional social network’s userbase, but it will still affect a huge number of users.
The unsalted hashes use SHA-1 encryption, and while it is somewhat secure, it can still be cracked if the user employs a simple dictionary password.
Earlier today we reported that the LinkedIn iOS app collects full meeting notes and details from your device’s calendar and sends them back to the company in plain text.
The information is gathered without explicit permission by a feature that allows users to access their calendar within the app. LinkedIn has took the time to formulate an official response, noting that a new version of the app it on its way.
It also provided a list of what it does and doesn’t do with your data.
Please note that the two issues are completely unrelated.
We have contacted LinkedIn for clarification on the password breach and will update the article should we receive a response.
Update: LinkedIn has tweeted the following update from its account:
Update: LinkedIn has responded to the issue, updating its official Twitter account to state that it is “looking into reports.” Scroll down for more information.
Already in the spotlight over concerns that its iOS app collects full meeting notes and details from a device’s calendar and sends them back to the company in plain text, LinkedIn user accounts are now said to have been compromised, with 6.5 million hashed and encrypted passwords reportedly leaked.
Norweigan IT webite Dagens IT reported the breach, with 6.5 million encrypted passwords posted to a Russian hacker site. Security researcher Per Thorsheim has also confirmed reports via his Twitter feed, stating that the attackers have posted the encrypted passwords to request help cracking them.
Finnish security firm CERT-FI is warning that whilst user details have not been posted, it is believed that the attackers will have access to user data as well as their passwords.
One LinkedIn user has already confirmed his password was leaked:
btw after getting the list of @linkedin hashes and hashing my old pwd with no salt there is a match for the hash in the listWhat should you do? For starters, change your password.
— securityninja (@securityninja) June 6, 2012
LinkedIn hasn’t responded to reports at the time of writing, so the breach is yet to be confirmed. However, over 300,000 passwords are said to have been decrypted, and more are being cracked as we write this. We suggest you employ good security practises and amend yours, regardless of whether you have been affected or not.
LinkedIn is home to more than 150 million users, suggesting the breach is limited to less than 10% of the professional social network’s userbase, but it will still affect a huge number of users.
The unsalted hashes use SHA-1 encryption, and while it is somewhat secure, it can still be cracked if the user employs a simple dictionary password.
Earlier today we reported that the LinkedIn iOS app collects full meeting notes and details from your device’s calendar and sends them back to the company in plain text.
The information is gathered without explicit permission by a feature that allows users to access their calendar within the app. LinkedIn has took the time to formulate an official response, noting that a new version of the app it on its way.
It also provided a list of what it does and doesn’t do with your data.
Please note that the two issues are completely unrelated.
We have contacted LinkedIn for clarification on the password breach and will update the article should we receive a response.
Update: LinkedIn has tweeted the following update from its account:
Our team is currently looking into reports of stolen passwords. Stay tuned for more.
— LinkedIn News (@LinkedInNews) June 6, 2012
LeakedIn: Check if your LinkedIn password was leaked with this tool
LeakedIn: Check if your LinkedIn password was leaked with this tool: 
The LinkedIn password release debacle is still in full swing, as millions discover that their account was potentially compromised. I recommend that you, no matter what, change your LinkedIn password.
However, if you want to see whether or not your account was specifically made unsafe, there is an answer. Meet LeakedIn (ten points to its creators for the name), which will hash your password client side, and check that value against what leaked. It’s a safe way to check and see if your password was lade bare. [As always: use at your own risk.]
Oh, and if you were compromised, you get one of these, I just found out:
Also in the news today was the fact that LinkedIn has been playing a bit of unsafe hanky panky with user data. From our own Matthew Panzarino:
➤ LeakedIn
Ps. Change your dang LinkedIn password regardless of whether it was leaked today and do it now.
The LinkedIn password release debacle is still in full swing, as millions discover that their account was potentially compromised. I recommend that you, no matter what, change your LinkedIn password.
However, if you want to see whether or not your account was specifically made unsafe, there is an answer. Meet LeakedIn (ten points to its creators for the name), which will hash your password client side, and check that value against what leaked. It’s a safe way to check and see if your password was lade bare. [As always: use at your own risk.]
Oh, and if you were compromised, you get one of these, I just found out:
Also in the news today was the fact that LinkedIn has been playing a bit of unsafe hanky panky with user data. From our own Matthew Panzarino:
The LinkedIn mobile app for iOS devices collects full meeting notes and details from your device’s calendar and sends them back to the company, The Next Web has been informed. The information is gathered without explicit permission by a feature that allows users to access their calendar within the app.The US Congress is already beating the war drums over the password leak. It hasn’t been a very good day for LinkedIn. However, the company’s market performance has been, well, muted. Perhaps Wall Street missed the memo.
➤ LeakedIn
Ps. Change your dang LinkedIn password regardless of whether it was leaked today and do it now.
China's Overseas Investment Surges
China's Overseas Investment Surges: China's overseas investment in the first quarter more than doubled to $21.4 billion as state-owned companies snapped up resource-related assets around the globe.
Former Mongolia President Ineligible for Election
Former Mongolia President Ineligible for Election: In the latest setback to his attempted political comeback, Mongolia's former President Enkhbayar Nambar said he has been deemed ineligible to stand in this month's parliamentary elections.
News Analysis: Drones and Cyberattacks Renew Debate Over Secrecy
News Analysis: Drones and Cyberattacks Renew Debate Over Secrecy: Leaks about drones and cyberattacks, two weapons that by many accounts have devastated Al Qaeda and set back Iran’s nuclear effort, have angered lawmakers in both parties.
Al Qaeda Power Shifting Away From Pakistan
Al Qaeda Power Shifting Away From Pakistan: The killing this week of Al Qaeda’s deputy head, Abu Yahya al-Libi, tore at the connective tissue between the group’s embattled leadership and affiliates in the Middle East and Africa.
The future of ‘famine foods,’ unconventional edibles in the garden
The future of ‘famine foods,’ unconventional edibles in the garden:
They’re called poor people’s foods. Plants foraged by starving folk and scavenged when crops succumb to drought: They’re what you eat just to get by. Many are unusually rich in nutrients, have medicinal value and may even taste good. But because they’re free for the taking they get little respect.
Read full article >>
They’re called poor people’s foods. Plants foraged by starving folk and scavenged when crops succumb to drought: They’re what you eat just to get by. Many are unusually rich in nutrients, have medicinal value and may even taste good. But because they’re free for the taking they get little respect.
Read full article >>
In Mali, an Islamic extremist haven takes shape
In Mali, an Islamic extremist haven takes shape:
A vast new sanctuary is emerging for al-Qaeda’s African followers in the desert wastelands of northern Mali, where Tuareg secessionists, allied with extremist Muslim guerrillas, have shaken off government rule and declared an independent Islamist state.
Read full article >>
A vast new sanctuary is emerging for al-Qaeda’s African followers in the desert wastelands of northern Mali, where Tuareg secessionists, allied with extremist Muslim guerrillas, have shaken off government rule and declared an independent Islamist state.
Read full article >>
How Useful Are Short-Term Medical Missions?
How Useful Are Short-Term Medical Missions?:
Press Release – University of Sydney
Australia is a world leader in sending medical personnel to less developed countries to assist with a variety of medical issues but the contribution of these missions has now been examined in a study, led by a University of Sydney academic, which calls …How Useful Are Short-Term Medical Missions?
Australia is a world leader in sending medical personnel to less developed countries to assist with a variety of medical issues but the contribution of these missions has now been examined in a study, led by a University of Sydney academic, which calls for improved transparency, implementation and policymaking.
“This is the first review of accounts of short-term medical missions to lower and middle income countries over a 25-year period,” said Dr Alexandra Martiniuk, lead author of the study, from the Sydney Medical School at the University and its affiliated George Institute.
“It highlights the impact, sustainability and priorities of these missions.”
The review is published today in the BMC Health Services Research journal and is co-authored by Joel Negin, from the University’s School of Public Health, together with practitioners from Canada and the University of NSW.
The study reviewed 230 accounts of short-term medical missions to low and middle income countries over a 25 year period (1985-2009).
For the first time this new research formally defines medical missions, describing them as short trips of one day to two years by a healthcare professional, typically from a high income country, to a developing country to provide direct medical care.
“The number of health professionals going on these missions is growing globally and medical schools are also noting an increased demand from their students to volunteer as a health professional in developing countries.”
As identified in this new research: the USA, Canada and Australia represent the top three countries sending medical missions to developing countries.
The USA sends short-term medical missions to Honduras most often, Canada to Somalia and Australia to Papua New Guinea (28 percent of missions). The next most popular destination for short-terms missions from Australia is the Solomon Islands (17 percent). Of those missions that specified the health condition being focused on, the most common were cleft lip and palate deformities, oral and dental health and vaginal fistulas.
Several weaknesses of short-term medical missions were highlighted by the study review.
“A major concern was the quality and effectiveness of the medical care provided by foreign doctors unfamiliar with local health needs, local culture and the strengths and limitations of the healthcare system in which they must leave their patients for follow up care,” Dr Martiniuk said.
Such experiences can be further undermined by an absence of follow-up data and ongoing good relationships with the local health services Medical missions may also not be the best use of limited financial and human resources.
This includes the considerable costs involved in financing medical missions such as airfares, accommodation, vaccinations, visa costs, customs fees for medicines and medical equipment. It is often asked if money would be better spent donated directly to health care facilities in the destination country.
“This new research also highlights the ethical dilemma of the importance of responding to the needs of individual patients, so often the focus of these types of missions, versus addressing the health needs of the community as a whole,” Dr Martiniuk said.
Preventing illness – by, for example, using safe water, immunisation or insecticide-treated bed nets for malaria – is more likely to reduce the burden of long term disease in a community, the study observes.
“Considering their popularity and growth, there is a need to harness the positive power of these medical missions and to reduce their weaknesses. This can be done by increasing true partnership with people in developing countries and mentorship over the long term to help local people increase their own skills to reduce the need for medical missions,” Dr Martiniuk said.
ENDS
Content Sourced from scoop.co.nz
Original url
Press Release – University of Sydney
Australia is a world leader in sending medical personnel to less developed countries to assist with a variety of medical issues but the contribution of these missions has now been examined in a study, led by a University of Sydney academic, which calls …How Useful Are Short-Term Medical Missions?
Australia is a world leader in sending medical personnel to less developed countries to assist with a variety of medical issues but the contribution of these missions has now been examined in a study, led by a University of Sydney academic, which calls for improved transparency, implementation and policymaking.
“This is the first review of accounts of short-term medical missions to lower and middle income countries over a 25-year period,” said Dr Alexandra Martiniuk, lead author of the study, from the Sydney Medical School at the University and its affiliated George Institute.
“It highlights the impact, sustainability and priorities of these missions.”
The review is published today in the BMC Health Services Research journal and is co-authored by Joel Negin, from the University’s School of Public Health, together with practitioners from Canada and the University of NSW.
The study reviewed 230 accounts of short-term medical missions to low and middle income countries over a 25 year period (1985-2009).
For the first time this new research formally defines medical missions, describing them as short trips of one day to two years by a healthcare professional, typically from a high income country, to a developing country to provide direct medical care.
“The number of health professionals going on these missions is growing globally and medical schools are also noting an increased demand from their students to volunteer as a health professional in developing countries.”
As identified in this new research: the USA, Canada and Australia represent the top three countries sending medical missions to developing countries.
The USA sends short-term medical missions to Honduras most often, Canada to Somalia and Australia to Papua New Guinea (28 percent of missions). The next most popular destination for short-terms missions from Australia is the Solomon Islands (17 percent). Of those missions that specified the health condition being focused on, the most common were cleft lip and palate deformities, oral and dental health and vaginal fistulas.
Several weaknesses of short-term medical missions were highlighted by the study review.
“A major concern was the quality and effectiveness of the medical care provided by foreign doctors unfamiliar with local health needs, local culture and the strengths and limitations of the healthcare system in which they must leave their patients for follow up care,” Dr Martiniuk said.
Such experiences can be further undermined by an absence of follow-up data and ongoing good relationships with the local health services Medical missions may also not be the best use of limited financial and human resources.
This includes the considerable costs involved in financing medical missions such as airfares, accommodation, vaccinations, visa costs, customs fees for medicines and medical equipment. It is often asked if money would be better spent donated directly to health care facilities in the destination country.
“This new research also highlights the ethical dilemma of the importance of responding to the needs of individual patients, so often the focus of these types of missions, versus addressing the health needs of the community as a whole,” Dr Martiniuk said.
Preventing illness – by, for example, using safe water, immunisation or insecticide-treated bed nets for malaria – is more likely to reduce the burden of long term disease in a community, the study observes.
“Considering their popularity and growth, there is a need to harness the positive power of these medical missions and to reduce their weaknesses. This can be done by increasing true partnership with people in developing countries and mentorship over the long term to help local people increase their own skills to reduce the need for medical missions,” Dr Martiniuk said.
ENDS
Content Sourced from scoop.co.nz
Original url
ASIA HAND : Back to the brink in Thailand
ASIA HAND : Back to the brink in Thailand: Thailand's intensifying political clashes over legislation to give an amnesty to self-exiled former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra have spilled over into street protests, threatening a new round of civil and parliamentary instability. For the time being, a repeat of the 2006 military coup is not considered imminent, but national reconciliation is looking a very distant prospect. - Shawn W Crispin (Jun 7, '12)
Young Chinese spearheads efforts to save dialects
Young Chinese spearheads efforts to save dialects: Li Da, 25, is a technical consultant with Hewlett-Packard by day and a "Shanghainese crusader" by night. "It's sad to see so many local children and young people losing the language of their forefath .....
 |  |
Search recent Google Scholar additions, sorted by date
Search recent additions, sorted by date:
Over the years, we’ve added several Scholar features to help researchers keep up with recent publications -- customized ranking for recent articles, email alerts and following author profiles. As the next step in this endeavor, today we are making it possible for you to search just the recent additions to the index. The search results are presented in date order, most recently added articles appearing first. To help you decide how far back you would like to scan, each search result indicates how long ago the article was added to the index.
To search recent additions, enter a search query as you normally do, and then click on “Recent additions” in the sidebar of the results page.
You can choose to search over just the abstracts (the common case) or entire articles. Our experience indicates that for search results presented in date order, searching over abstracts often allows you to find the key recent articles quickly.
Posted by: Anurag Acharya, Distinguished Engineer
To search recent additions, enter a search query as you normally do, and then click on “Recent additions” in the sidebar of the results page.
You can choose to search over just the abstracts (the common case) or entire articles. Our experience indicates that for search results presented in date order, searching over abstracts often allows you to find the key recent articles quickly.
Posted by: Anurag Acharya, Distinguished Engineer
Daily Number: 38% - More Americans Say They Are Political Independents
Daily Number: 38% - More Americans Say They Are Political Independents: The ranks of political independents continue to grow and now stand at 38% of the public.
CAMBODIA: Malaria gains fragile
CAMBODIA: Malaria gains fragile:
 | PHNOM PENH, 7 June 2012 (IRIN) - Two years after some US$22 million in donor funds were pumped into malaria control along the Cambodia-Thailand border to fight off suspected resistance to treatment, health workers say the battle is not over. |
Philippines: Obama Should Press Aquino to Tackle Abuses
Philippines: Obama Should Press Aquino to Tackle Abuses:
(Washington, DC, June 7, 2012) – US President Barack Obama should press Philippine President Benigno Aquino III to bring to justice security forces implicated in serious human rights abuses, Human Rights Watch said today. Obama will be the host for a visit by the Philippine president in Washington, DC, beginning on June 8, 2012.
read more
US President Barack Obama should press Philippine President Benigno Aquino III to bring to justice security forces implicated in serious human rights abuses.
read more
Dozen Children Injured in Police Raid
Dozen Children Injured in Police Raid:
Twelve children suffered burns when police on Wednesday stormed an "illegal" Islamic school in China's troubled Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in an incident that an exile rights group said highlighted religious discrimination.
According to state media, police moved to rescue a group of children from "illegal preachers" in southern Xinjiang's Hotan (in Chinese, Hetian) city but that 12 among them were burned when the suspects fired explosives in their bid to fend off the police raid.
Fifty-four children were rescued and three suspects were seized during the operation in which three police officers were also wounded, state news agency Xinhua quoted a police spokesman as saying.
Xinjiang's Tianshan news portal said the 12 children were hospitalized with burns from a blaze triggered by the explosives.
RFA's Uyghur service contacted the emergency room of the Hotan district people's hospital at which some of the children were admitted but its staff refused to provide key details.
One medical staff said "all the children are fine" but on further questioning clarified that only "some of them" were at the hospital while others were at different hospitals.
The World Uyghur Congress, a Germany-based Uyghur exile group, accused the "armed" police of using tear gas in the raid on what it said was an Islamic school teaching children the Koran.
"What happened in Hotan is that armed Chinese personnel raided a Koran-teaching school where there were Uyghur youths," spokesman Dilxat Raxit told RFA's Mandarin service.
"Armed Chinese personnel used tear gas on the Uyghur youths. This is what led to clashes that resulted in injuries on both sides." he said. "The Chinese authorities try to eradicate people's religious beliefs. "
Raxit also said that police had arrested 47 people, including 11 women, in a crackdown following the raid, accusing them of owning illegal publications and disturbing social stability.
Controls on religion
Xinjiang is home to the mainly Muslim Turkic-speaking Uyghurs, who say they have long suffered ethnic discrimination, oppressive religious controls, and continued poverty and joblessness despite China's ambitious plans to develop its vast northwestern frontier.
Hotan particularly has been the scene of numerous violent incidents in recent years.
No extraordinary security measures had been taken in the city following the incident, said one Han businesswoman, identified as Wang and living in Hotan.
She was unaware of the raid at the religious school.
Asked whether there were additional police personnel on the streets, she said, "No more than usual."
"There are a lot of police on the streets every day."
Religious activity is strictly controlled in the Xinjiang region, where children under 18 are forbidden from receiving a religious education or attending mosque.
Last month, an 11-year-old Uyghur boy studying at an unsanctioned religious school in Korla city died in police custody under suspicious circumstances, family sources said.
The sources said that Korla police told Mirzahid Amanullah Shahyari’s mother that he had committed suicide under their watch and forced her to bury the body immediately.
Official Chinese media reports, however, said that he died at a hospital after being beaten by fellow students at the illegal religious school.
The case also drew strong condemnation from the World Uyghur Congress, which called the boy's treatment “barbaric.”
Mirzahid had first been sent to another school in Hotan when he was seven years old, but the teacher sent him home out of safety concerns, the sources said.
Reported by Jilil Musha of RFA's Uyghur service and Gao Shan of Mandarin service. Translated by Jennifer Chou and Jilil Musha. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai.
Twelve children suffered burns when police on Wednesday stormed an "illegal" Islamic school in China's troubled Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in an incident that an exile rights group said highlighted religious discrimination.
According to state media, police moved to rescue a group of children from "illegal preachers" in southern Xinjiang's Hotan (in Chinese, Hetian) city but that 12 among them were burned when the suspects fired explosives in their bid to fend off the police raid.
Fifty-four children were rescued and three suspects were seized during the operation in which three police officers were also wounded, state news agency Xinhua quoted a police spokesman as saying.
Xinjiang's Tianshan news portal said the 12 children were hospitalized with burns from a blaze triggered by the explosives.
RFA's Uyghur service contacted the emergency room of the Hotan district people's hospital at which some of the children were admitted but its staff refused to provide key details.
One medical staff said "all the children are fine" but on further questioning clarified that only "some of them" were at the hospital while others were at different hospitals.
The World Uyghur Congress, a Germany-based Uyghur exile group, accused the "armed" police of using tear gas in the raid on what it said was an Islamic school teaching children the Koran.
"What happened in Hotan is that armed Chinese personnel raided a Koran-teaching school where there were Uyghur youths," spokesman Dilxat Raxit told RFA's Mandarin service.
"Armed Chinese personnel used tear gas on the Uyghur youths. This is what led to clashes that resulted in injuries on both sides." he said. "The Chinese authorities try to eradicate people's religious beliefs. "
Raxit also said that police had arrested 47 people, including 11 women, in a crackdown following the raid, accusing them of owning illegal publications and disturbing social stability.
Controls on religion
Xinjiang is home to the mainly Muslim Turkic-speaking Uyghurs, who say they have long suffered ethnic discrimination, oppressive religious controls, and continued poverty and joblessness despite China's ambitious plans to develop its vast northwestern frontier.
Hotan particularly has been the scene of numerous violent incidents in recent years.
No extraordinary security measures had been taken in the city following the incident, said one Han businesswoman, identified as Wang and living in Hotan.
She was unaware of the raid at the religious school.
Asked whether there were additional police personnel on the streets, she said, "No more than usual."
"There are a lot of police on the streets every day."
Religious activity is strictly controlled in the Xinjiang region, where children under 18 are forbidden from receiving a religious education or attending mosque.
Last month, an 11-year-old Uyghur boy studying at an unsanctioned religious school in Korla city died in police custody under suspicious circumstances, family sources said.
The sources said that Korla police told Mirzahid Amanullah Shahyari’s mother that he had committed suicide under their watch and forced her to bury the body immediately.
Official Chinese media reports, however, said that he died at a hospital after being beaten by fellow students at the illegal religious school.
The case also drew strong condemnation from the World Uyghur Congress, which called the boy's treatment “barbaric.”
Mirzahid had first been sent to another school in Hotan when he was seven years old, but the teacher sent him home out of safety concerns, the sources said.
Reported by Jilil Musha of RFA's Uyghur service and Gao Shan of Mandarin service. Translated by Jennifer Chou and Jilil Musha. Written in English by Parameswaran Ponnudurai.
Call to End Biased ‘Songbun’ System
Call to End Biased ‘Songbun’ System:
North Korea maintains a class system of rewarding citizens that is based on allegiance to the country’s hardline regime and is used to determine the allocation of food, according to a new study that has prompted calls for international pressure to end the discrimination.
The “songbun” system identifies three main classes of North Korean society—core, wavering, and hostile—and uses these labels to selectively dole out privilege and opportunity, the Washington-based Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) said in a report released Wednesday.
This includes the distribution of food aid, the report said, indicating that the system could have been a key factor in the survival or death of North Koreans during a famine in the mid-1990s that resulted in as many as 3.5 million deaths.
“We have some evidence that the songbun system determined ration levels in the public distribution system which fed the country from the founding of the North Korean state until the deterioration of the system during the famine and its ultimate collapse,” HRNK said.
“In the context of the famine, songbun may have determined who lived and who died, who ate well and who starved, and whose children suffered permanent physical (through stunting) and intellec¬tual damage (prolonged acute malnutri¬tion lowers IQ levels) from acute severe malnutrition.”
Correlation with nutrition
While the songbun system is not officially a North Korean policy, class stratification has been referred to a number of times since the country was “liberated” by communist forces six decades ago.
In 1958, founding father of North Korea Kim Il Sung delivered a speech in which he reported that the “core,” or devoted, class represented 25 percent of the population, while the percentage of the population considered “wavering” and “hostile” to the regime represented 55 percent and 20 percent, respectively.
Those numbers largely correspond with findings from a 1998 nationwide survey conducted by the World Food Program, UNICEF, Save the Children, and the European Union on the nutritional condition of North Korean children.
Taken about one year after what was widely considered to be the worst period of the famine, the study showed that 32 percent of children exhibited no evidence of malnutrition, while 62 percent suffered from moderate malnutrition, and 16 percent suffered from severe acute malnutrition, with an error rate of 5 percent.
“While the survey had its limitations because of restrictions placed on the effort by the North Korean state, it is noteworthy that the size of the three social classes is about the same as the size of the nutritional categories,” the report said.
“If the regime was feeding people through the public distribution system (PDS) based on their songbun classification, it would be reflect¬ed in the nutritional data; and the data does show considerable coincidence.”
Andrew Natsios, a scholar at Georgetown University in Washington who formerly served as the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), called the PDS a “tool of control” based on the songbun system.
He said that the PDS, which has in the past been used by international donors to distribute food to the North Korean public, determines rations based on the importance of a citizen’s job to the survival of the state.
“My advice would be that no food [aid] should go through the PDS, period. We need to find different ways of distributing food,” he said.
“This report needs to inform all food distributions henceforth … and if the North Koreans won’t agree to it, then we just don’t distribute the food.”
‘Marked for life’
The report, titled “Marked for Life,” was compiled from interviews with 75 North Korean defectors, the most recent in 2011.
The study’s author, Robert Collins, of the U.S. Department of Defense, also cited a 1993 manual written by the North Korean Ministry of Public Security that informs officials on how to investigate a citizen’s sociopolitical background.
A person’s classification is assigned at birth, according to how one’s family members have been viewed by the regime since the nation’s founding in 1948, and the government maintains a file on every citizen from the age of 17.
While a person’s file is updated every two years, an upgrade in status is rare, the study said. North Koreans can easily be downgraded based on political or criminal offenses and their families are generally considered guilty by association.
Songbun’s three classes are further subdivided into 51 classes of loyalty to the Kim family.
The system has its origins in the social restructuring enforced by the country’s founders, who sought to elevate peasants at the expense of landlords.
During the 1950-53 Korean War, those who fought against the Japanese colonialists and the U.S. received “core” status, while those who collaborated with the enemy or whose family members left North Korea were branded “hostile.”
Granting privilege
In addition to determining how to allow access to food, the study said, classification through songbun also has a bearing on a person’s education, employment, health care, and even whom one can marry.
Only around one-quarter of North Korea’s 24 million inhabitants are considered part of the core class and dominate the country’s military and ruling Worker’s Party. They are granted the right to live in the relatively prosperous capital Pyongyang, and are given access to the best education and jobs.
Those in the hostile class live mostly in remote parts of the country’s impoverished northeastern provinces and work hard labor on farms and in mines. They are the class that has suffered the most from failed state policies and during the famine of the 1990s.
And while the emergence of informal markets since the late 1990s has challenged state control, it is clear that songbun still exists and perpetuates discrimination amongst the lowest ranks of North Korean society, the report said.
It called on members of the international community to put pressure on the North Korean regime to abandon songbun, but acknowledged that the country’s current leader, Kim Jong Un, is unlikely to change the policy.
“The songbun policy is a prime enabler of regime security and a decisive provider of critical labor inputs, and thus its reform may endanger the regime’s survival,” it said.
Reported by Joshua Lipes.
North Korea maintains a class system of rewarding citizens that is based on allegiance to the country’s hardline regime and is used to determine the allocation of food, according to a new study that has prompted calls for international pressure to end the discrimination.
The “songbun” system identifies three main classes of North Korean society—core, wavering, and hostile—and uses these labels to selectively dole out privilege and opportunity, the Washington-based Committee for Human Rights in North Korea (HRNK) said in a report released Wednesday.
This includes the distribution of food aid, the report said, indicating that the system could have been a key factor in the survival or death of North Koreans during a famine in the mid-1990s that resulted in as many as 3.5 million deaths.
“We have some evidence that the songbun system determined ration levels in the public distribution system which fed the country from the founding of the North Korean state until the deterioration of the system during the famine and its ultimate collapse,” HRNK said.
“In the context of the famine, songbun may have determined who lived and who died, who ate well and who starved, and whose children suffered permanent physical (through stunting) and intellec¬tual damage (prolonged acute malnutri¬tion lowers IQ levels) from acute severe malnutrition.”
Correlation with nutrition
While the songbun system is not officially a North Korean policy, class stratification has been referred to a number of times since the country was “liberated” by communist forces six decades ago.
In 1958, founding father of North Korea Kim Il Sung delivered a speech in which he reported that the “core,” or devoted, class represented 25 percent of the population, while the percentage of the population considered “wavering” and “hostile” to the regime represented 55 percent and 20 percent, respectively.
Those numbers largely correspond with findings from a 1998 nationwide survey conducted by the World Food Program, UNICEF, Save the Children, and the European Union on the nutritional condition of North Korean children.
Taken about one year after what was widely considered to be the worst period of the famine, the study showed that 32 percent of children exhibited no evidence of malnutrition, while 62 percent suffered from moderate malnutrition, and 16 percent suffered from severe acute malnutrition, with an error rate of 5 percent.
“While the survey had its limitations because of restrictions placed on the effort by the North Korean state, it is noteworthy that the size of the three social classes is about the same as the size of the nutritional categories,” the report said.
“If the regime was feeding people through the public distribution system (PDS) based on their songbun classification, it would be reflect¬ed in the nutritional data; and the data does show considerable coincidence.”
Andrew Natsios, a scholar at Georgetown University in Washington who formerly served as the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), called the PDS a “tool of control” based on the songbun system.
He said that the PDS, which has in the past been used by international donors to distribute food to the North Korean public, determines rations based on the importance of a citizen’s job to the survival of the state.
“My advice would be that no food [aid] should go through the PDS, period. We need to find different ways of distributing food,” he said.
“This report needs to inform all food distributions henceforth … and if the North Koreans won’t agree to it, then we just don’t distribute the food.”
‘Marked for life’
The report, titled “Marked for Life,” was compiled from interviews with 75 North Korean defectors, the most recent in 2011.
The study’s author, Robert Collins, of the U.S. Department of Defense, also cited a 1993 manual written by the North Korean Ministry of Public Security that informs officials on how to investigate a citizen’s sociopolitical background.
A person’s classification is assigned at birth, according to how one’s family members have been viewed by the regime since the nation’s founding in 1948, and the government maintains a file on every citizen from the age of 17.
While a person’s file is updated every two years, an upgrade in status is rare, the study said. North Koreans can easily be downgraded based on political or criminal offenses and their families are generally considered guilty by association.
Songbun’s three classes are further subdivided into 51 classes of loyalty to the Kim family.
The system has its origins in the social restructuring enforced by the country’s founders, who sought to elevate peasants at the expense of landlords.
During the 1950-53 Korean War, those who fought against the Japanese colonialists and the U.S. received “core” status, while those who collaborated with the enemy or whose family members left North Korea were branded “hostile.”
Granting privilege
In addition to determining how to allow access to food, the study said, classification through songbun also has a bearing on a person’s education, employment, health care, and even whom one can marry.
Only around one-quarter of North Korea’s 24 million inhabitants are considered part of the core class and dominate the country’s military and ruling Worker’s Party. They are granted the right to live in the relatively prosperous capital Pyongyang, and are given access to the best education and jobs.
Those in the hostile class live mostly in remote parts of the country’s impoverished northeastern provinces and work hard labor on farms and in mines. They are the class that has suffered the most from failed state policies and during the famine of the 1990s.
And while the emergence of informal markets since the late 1990s has challenged state control, it is clear that songbun still exists and perpetuates discrimination amongst the lowest ranks of North Korean society, the report said.
It called on members of the international community to put pressure on the North Korean regime to abandon songbun, but acknowledged that the country’s current leader, Kim Jong Un, is unlikely to change the policy.
“The songbun policy is a prime enabler of regime security and a decisive provider of critical labor inputs, and thus its reform may endanger the regime’s survival,” it said.
Reported by Joshua Lipes.
Nine Uyghurs Jailed Over Religious Activities
Nine Uyghurs Jailed Over Religious Activities:
Authorities in China’s restive northwestern Xinjiang region have jailed nine ethnic Uyghurs for “inciting separatism” and “disturbing social order” over their participation in “illegal” religious activities, according to an exile rights group Wednesday.
The sentences of between six and 15 years were handed down May 31 by three county-level courts in Kashgar prefecture, the exile World Uyghur Congress (WUC) said.
It condemned the jailings, calling them an attack on religious freedom of the Uyghurs, who form a distinct, Turkic-speaking minority in Xinjiang and claim to have long suffered ethnic discrimination, oppressive religious controls, and continued poverty and joblessness.
"The court verdicts were reached without any fundamental legal procedures and were a result of the political needs of China," WUC spokesman Dilxat Raxit said.
"China is using heavy sentences to persecute and completely deprive the rights of legal defense and appeal of the defendants,” he said, according to Agence France-Presse.
Heaviest sentence
In the heaviest of the sentences, the Shule County Intermediate People’s Court sentenced Sidik Kurban to 15 years in jail and five years’ deprivation of political rights on charges of “inciting ethnic separatism” following what it said was his involvement in illegal religious activities.
He had overseen the operation of illegal, home-based religious schools throughout Xinjiang over the past decade that provided instruction for 86 students, including young children, the WUC cited a local newspaper as saying.
The same Shule county, Kargilik (Yecheng) county, and Kashgar city courts also sentenced seven others to seven years jail for "disturbing social order," saying they had engaged in underground religious activity.
A ninth person was given 10 years in jail by the Kashgar city court for illegal business activities and was also slapped with a fine.
Xinjiang has been gripped for years by persistent ethnic tensions between the Muslim Uyghurs and the rapidly growing Han Chinese migrant population, leading to riots in the regional capital Urumqi on July 5, 2009 which left 200 dead and 1,700 injured, according to state media.
Reported by Hai Lan for RFA’s Cantonese service. Written in English by Rachel Vandenbrink.
Authorities in China’s restive northwestern Xinjiang region have jailed nine ethnic Uyghurs for “inciting separatism” and “disturbing social order” over their participation in “illegal” religious activities, according to an exile rights group Wednesday.
The sentences of between six and 15 years were handed down May 31 by three county-level courts in Kashgar prefecture, the exile World Uyghur Congress (WUC) said.
It condemned the jailings, calling them an attack on religious freedom of the Uyghurs, who form a distinct, Turkic-speaking minority in Xinjiang and claim to have long suffered ethnic discrimination, oppressive religious controls, and continued poverty and joblessness.
"The court verdicts were reached without any fundamental legal procedures and were a result of the political needs of China," WUC spokesman Dilxat Raxit said.
"China is using heavy sentences to persecute and completely deprive the rights of legal defense and appeal of the defendants,” he said, according to Agence France-Presse.
Heaviest sentence
In the heaviest of the sentences, the Shule County Intermediate People’s Court sentenced Sidik Kurban to 15 years in jail and five years’ deprivation of political rights on charges of “inciting ethnic separatism” following what it said was his involvement in illegal religious activities.
He had overseen the operation of illegal, home-based religious schools throughout Xinjiang over the past decade that provided instruction for 86 students, including young children, the WUC cited a local newspaper as saying.
The same Shule county, Kargilik (Yecheng) county, and Kashgar city courts also sentenced seven others to seven years jail for "disturbing social order," saying they had engaged in underground religious activity.
A ninth person was given 10 years in jail by the Kashgar city court for illegal business activities and was also slapped with a fine.
Xinjiang has been gripped for years by persistent ethnic tensions between the Muslim Uyghurs and the rapidly growing Han Chinese migrant population, leading to riots in the regional capital Urumqi on July 5, 2009 which left 200 dead and 1,700 injured, according to state media.
Reported by Hai Lan for RFA’s Cantonese service. Written in English by Rachel Vandenbrink.
Anger Over China's Syria Stance
Anger Over China's Syria Stance:
Chinese netizens reacted angrily to official media commentary on Chinese and Russian opposition to military intervention in Syria, amid reports of further civilian deaths and a visit by Russian president Vladimir Putin to Beijing.
Russia and China on Thursday reiterated their opposition to military intervention in the Middle East via a regional bloc of which they are both members, a day after the Syrian opposition accused forces loyal to the regime of massacring 100 people.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) called in a statement for a "peaceful resolution of the Syrian problem through political dialogue."
China's state-run media backed up Beijing's position, hitting out at calls for military intervention on humanitarian grounds in an editorial which was widely circulated on the popular Sina Weibo microblogging site.
"The West is always using the prevention of a humanitarian disaster as a pretext for interfering in the internal affairs of another country," said the article in the ruling Communist Party's own newspaper, the People's Daily.
"If the West wants to use the Houla incident as a pretext for overturning the Assad regime, it will only serve to intensify the internal conflict in Syria and give rise to a true, and far more horrific, humanitarian disaster," the paper said.
"We must be firm in our conviction of the possibility of a 'soft landing' for the Syrian government."
Some 108 people, including 49 children, were massacred in Houla, a cluster of villages in Syria's central Homs province, last week in one of the worst atrocities in the 15-month uprising against President Bashar al- Assad's government.
The United Nations Human Rights Council said it was the work of "pro-regime elements," while Syrian officials have blamed the killings on "terrorist" groups.
Calls for action
The article drew a number of angry comments.
Sina Weibo user @0415YXD, one of more than 600 who commented, wrote: "The People's Daily has no backbone."
@langjisanya hit out at all the talk about Syria. "We need action," the microblogger wrote. "Every day, we 'denounce' this and we 'condemn' that, but we need to do something to show the people of this country, not just shout slogans."
Some users hit out at Beijing for failing to step in to prevent the killing of innocent civilians. "Let's not get this wrong again!" wrote @guiqulaixixi. "Let's think about those dead children, and whether or not we bear some responsibility."
While some commenters appeared to support the view that international intervention would cause more problems than it would solve, many more were strongly critical of their own government's foreign policy.
"Support the West, and the Western attitude," wrote user @zhengxinsheng1. "I don't like the way China always has to side with dictatorial regimes."
And user @kaixinkaixinguodejia added: "This anti-humanitarian government in Syria is too disgusting for words! I would like to express my support for military intervention in Syria!"
"Otherwise, even more innocent civilians will die ... It makes me so angry."
Others appeared to draw parallels between China's government and that of President Bashir al-Assad.
"Maybe we are all sitting on an express train to Syria!?," wrote user @xiaohetunMandy.
Growing pressure
Moscow and Beijing have consistently opposed international intervention in Syria, but they face growing pressure to change their stance after 15 months of conflict in which more than 13,500 people are said to have died.
Syrian pro-government forces this week killed at least 87 people in Al-Kubeir village, Hama province, many of them women and children, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The group put the number of villagers killed in Wednesday's assault at 87 after the exiled opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) gave an initial estimate of 100 dead. Damascus has denied the reports.
The United States has demanded a full transfer of power in Syria, setting the stage for a renewed diplomatic stand-off after Russia and China said they were strongly against intervention and regime change.
Putin is visiting China from June 5-8, on a trip that is expected to yield bilateral trade deals and increased energy cooperation.
"The two sides have set a goal to reach U.S.$200 billion in bilateral trade by 2020, a substantial increase from the current volume of nearly U.S.$80 billion," the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Reported by Luisetta Mudie.
Chinese netizens reacted angrily to official media commentary on Chinese and Russian opposition to military intervention in Syria, amid reports of further civilian deaths and a visit by Russian president Vladimir Putin to Beijing.
Russia and China on Thursday reiterated their opposition to military intervention in the Middle East via a regional bloc of which they are both members, a day after the Syrian opposition accused forces loyal to the regime of massacring 100 people.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) called in a statement for a "peaceful resolution of the Syrian problem through political dialogue."
China's state-run media backed up Beijing's position, hitting out at calls for military intervention on humanitarian grounds in an editorial which was widely circulated on the popular Sina Weibo microblogging site.
"The West is always using the prevention of a humanitarian disaster as a pretext for interfering in the internal affairs of another country," said the article in the ruling Communist Party's own newspaper, the People's Daily.
"If the West wants to use the Houla incident as a pretext for overturning the Assad regime, it will only serve to intensify the internal conflict in Syria and give rise to a true, and far more horrific, humanitarian disaster," the paper said.
"We must be firm in our conviction of the possibility of a 'soft landing' for the Syrian government."
Some 108 people, including 49 children, were massacred in Houla, a cluster of villages in Syria's central Homs province, last week in one of the worst atrocities in the 15-month uprising against President Bashar al- Assad's government.
The United Nations Human Rights Council said it was the work of "pro-regime elements," while Syrian officials have blamed the killings on "terrorist" groups.
Calls for action
The article drew a number of angry comments.
Sina Weibo user @0415YXD, one of more than 600 who commented, wrote: "The People's Daily has no backbone."
@langjisanya hit out at all the talk about Syria. "We need action," the microblogger wrote. "Every day, we 'denounce' this and we 'condemn' that, but we need to do something to show the people of this country, not just shout slogans."
Some users hit out at Beijing for failing to step in to prevent the killing of innocent civilians. "Let's not get this wrong again!" wrote @guiqulaixixi. "Let's think about those dead children, and whether or not we bear some responsibility."
While some commenters appeared to support the view that international intervention would cause more problems than it would solve, many more were strongly critical of their own government's foreign policy.
"Support the West, and the Western attitude," wrote user @zhengxinsheng1. "I don't like the way China always has to side with dictatorial regimes."
And user @kaixinkaixinguodejia added: "This anti-humanitarian government in Syria is too disgusting for words! I would like to express my support for military intervention in Syria!"
"Otherwise, even more innocent civilians will die ... It makes me so angry."
Others appeared to draw parallels between China's government and that of President Bashir al-Assad.
"Maybe we are all sitting on an express train to Syria!?," wrote user @xiaohetunMandy.
Growing pressure
Moscow and Beijing have consistently opposed international intervention in Syria, but they face growing pressure to change their stance after 15 months of conflict in which more than 13,500 people are said to have died.
Syrian pro-government forces this week killed at least 87 people in Al-Kubeir village, Hama province, many of them women and children, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The group put the number of villagers killed in Wednesday's assault at 87 after the exiled opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) gave an initial estimate of 100 dead. Damascus has denied the reports.
The United States has demanded a full transfer of power in Syria, setting the stage for a renewed diplomatic stand-off after Russia and China said they were strongly against intervention and regime change.
Putin is visiting China from June 5-8, on a trip that is expected to yield bilateral trade deals and increased energy cooperation.
"The two sides have set a goal to reach U.S.$200 billion in bilateral trade by 2020, a substantial increase from the current volume of nearly U.S.$80 billion," the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Reported by Luisetta Mudie.
Tibetans Forced Back Into Nepal
Tibetans Forced Back Into Nepal:
In a rare move, Chinese border police have forcibly sent back a group of Tibetan pilgrims seeking to re-enter Tibet from Nepal after confiscating their residency permits and detaining them for a week, according to Tibetan and Nepalese sources.
One analyst called the move “puzzling” and “a new development” in China’s handling of Tibetans wanting to return from Nepal to their homes.
There are about 20,000 Tibetan refugees in Nepal, and Beijing is becoming more aggressive in urging Kathmandu to restrict their activities and to take action against other refugees fleeing alleged rights abuses and other actions by the Chinese authorities.
The group of pilgrims which was sent back to Nepal came originally from Tibet’s Nagchu prefecture and comprised five men and four women in their 20s and 40s, a Tibetan living in Kathmandu named Tendar said.
“They were detained on May 26 at the border post [at Dam],” he said.
“All nine were severely beaten for two days by the Chinese border police and were then handed over to the Nepalese immigration authorities. One Chinese official from the border post came with the group all the way to Kathmandu,” he added.
Demands for money
Lingtsa Tseten Dorje, a Tibetan protest marcher detained in Nepal, said he saw the group when they were brought in to the immigration facility in which he was being held.
“In the afternoon of June 4, nine Tibetans arrived in the facility,” he said. “They had been caught by the Chinese border police on the night of May 26 and were detained at the border post.”
“After their residency permits from Tibet were confiscated, all nine were handed over to Nepalese authorities along with all their belongings.”
Two officials from the Chinese embassy in Nepal came to the immigration office to question the group, but the Tibetans refused to speak to them, he said.
Nepalese officials are now demanding large sums of money to secure the group’s release, Dorje said—asking first for 9,000 Nepali rupees (U.S. $102) , then 10,000, and finally 100,000 rupees from each.
“If they cannot pay, the authorities are threatening the Tibetans with jail time,” he said.
Pilgrimage in India
Sambhu Lama, an official with the Nepal-based HURON human rights group, said the group had first arrived in Kathmandu in mid-December, apparently intending to stay.
“They lived in the Tibetan Reception Center and were registered,” he said.
They were identified as Tenzin Chonzom, 40, Quma (Tenzin Sangmo), 44, Sonam Lhandon, 20, Luse, 40—all women—and Tamding, 23, Tenzin Higual, 26, Du Wang, 20, Lu Sang, 25, and Dam Cheng, 20—all men.
Before they were interviewed for asylum, though, the group decided to attend the Kalachakra teachings given in India in January by exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and then return to Tibet, Sambhu Lama said.
“They went to the Kalachakra, went on pilgrimage around India, and then stayed in India for a few months because of rumors about re-education camps being set up in Tibet for pilgrims who had attended the Kalalchakra.”
“They only decided to head back to Tibet once they heard that these pilgrims were released and the situation was better in their [native] region.”
Stopped at the border by Chinese police because they did not have the “proper pass” to cross back into Tibet, the group was then held for nine days before being handed over to Nepalese authorities, he said.
The group now faces fines for “illegal entry” into Nepal and “penalty fines,” Sambhu Lama said, adding that when these fines are paid, they will be sent to the Indian border, accompanied by a Nepalese immigration official.
Tibetan refugees often use Nepal as a transit point to live in India.
“The detainees, however, do not have any money to bear the cost of their release, so we have contacted Tibetan organizations in Kathmandu for their help,” he said.'
'A new development'
Columbia University Tibet scholar Robbie Barnett cited recent but unconfirmed reports of three similar cases, saying the actions are “a new development” in China’s handling of Tibetans crossing the border from Nepal.
“It’s quite common for internationally prominent Chinese dissidents to be refused re-entry into mainland China, but the people involved in these cases were not in that category, were Chinese citizens, and had traveled legally to Nepal as far as is known.”
“It’s very puzzling,” he said.
Mikel Dunham, a writer and lecturer who travels frequently to Nepal, said that Nepal’s growing security ties with China and domestic political uncertainties have left Tibetans wishing to return to Tibet “extremely vulnerable.”
“As long as Nepal remains stuck in the growing pains and false starts of its newly created republic, the humane treatment of Tibetans seeking to re-enter Tibet via Nepal will remain an extremely low priority for Nepal’s government,” he said.
“In short, we can expect the Chinese to call the shots along the border while the politicians in Kathmandu persist in their internecine jockeying for personal power.”
Reported by Thupten Sangyal and Lumbum for RFA’s Tibetan service. Translations by Karma Dorjee. Written in English with additional reporting by Richard Finney.
In a rare move, Chinese border police have forcibly sent back a group of Tibetan pilgrims seeking to re-enter Tibet from Nepal after confiscating their residency permits and detaining them for a week, according to Tibetan and Nepalese sources.
One analyst called the move “puzzling” and “a new development” in China’s handling of Tibetans wanting to return from Nepal to their homes.
There are about 20,000 Tibetan refugees in Nepal, and Beijing is becoming more aggressive in urging Kathmandu to restrict their activities and to take action against other refugees fleeing alleged rights abuses and other actions by the Chinese authorities.
The group of pilgrims which was sent back to Nepal came originally from Tibet’s Nagchu prefecture and comprised five men and four women in their 20s and 40s, a Tibetan living in Kathmandu named Tendar said.
“They were detained on May 26 at the border post [at Dam],” he said.
“All nine were severely beaten for two days by the Chinese border police and were then handed over to the Nepalese immigration authorities. One Chinese official from the border post came with the group all the way to Kathmandu,” he added.
Demands for money
Lingtsa Tseten Dorje, a Tibetan protest marcher detained in Nepal, said he saw the group when they were brought in to the immigration facility in which he was being held.
“In the afternoon of June 4, nine Tibetans arrived in the facility,” he said. “They had been caught by the Chinese border police on the night of May 26 and were detained at the border post.”
“After their residency permits from Tibet were confiscated, all nine were handed over to Nepalese authorities along with all their belongings.”
Two officials from the Chinese embassy in Nepal came to the immigration office to question the group, but the Tibetans refused to speak to them, he said.
Nepalese officials are now demanding large sums of money to secure the group’s release, Dorje said—asking first for 9,000 Nepali rupees (U.S. $102) , then 10,000, and finally 100,000 rupees from each.
“If they cannot pay, the authorities are threatening the Tibetans with jail time,” he said.
Pilgrimage in India
Sambhu Lama, an official with the Nepal-based HURON human rights group, said the group had first arrived in Kathmandu in mid-December, apparently intending to stay.
“They lived in the Tibetan Reception Center and were registered,” he said.
They were identified as Tenzin Chonzom, 40, Quma (Tenzin Sangmo), 44, Sonam Lhandon, 20, Luse, 40—all women—and Tamding, 23, Tenzin Higual, 26, Du Wang, 20, Lu Sang, 25, and Dam Cheng, 20—all men.
Before they were interviewed for asylum, though, the group decided to attend the Kalachakra teachings given in India in January by exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama and then return to Tibet, Sambhu Lama said.
“They went to the Kalachakra, went on pilgrimage around India, and then stayed in India for a few months because of rumors about re-education camps being set up in Tibet for pilgrims who had attended the Kalalchakra.”
“They only decided to head back to Tibet once they heard that these pilgrims were released and the situation was better in their [native] region.”
Stopped at the border by Chinese police because they did not have the “proper pass” to cross back into Tibet, the group was then held for nine days before being handed over to Nepalese authorities, he said.
The group now faces fines for “illegal entry” into Nepal and “penalty fines,” Sambhu Lama said, adding that when these fines are paid, they will be sent to the Indian border, accompanied by a Nepalese immigration official.
Tibetan refugees often use Nepal as a transit point to live in India.
“The detainees, however, do not have any money to bear the cost of their release, so we have contacted Tibetan organizations in Kathmandu for their help,” he said.'
'A new development'
Columbia University Tibet scholar Robbie Barnett cited recent but unconfirmed reports of three similar cases, saying the actions are “a new development” in China’s handling of Tibetans crossing the border from Nepal.
“It’s quite common for internationally prominent Chinese dissidents to be refused re-entry into mainland China, but the people involved in these cases were not in that category, were Chinese citizens, and had traveled legally to Nepal as far as is known.”
“It’s very puzzling,” he said.
Mikel Dunham, a writer and lecturer who travels frequently to Nepal, said that Nepal’s growing security ties with China and domestic political uncertainties have left Tibetans wishing to return to Tibet “extremely vulnerable.”
“As long as Nepal remains stuck in the growing pains and false starts of its newly created republic, the humane treatment of Tibetans seeking to re-enter Tibet via Nepal will remain an extremely low priority for Nepal’s government,” he said.
“In short, we can expect the Chinese to call the shots along the border while the politicians in Kathmandu persist in their internecine jockeying for personal power.”
Reported by Thupten Sangyal and Lumbum for RFA’s Tibetan service. Translations by Karma Dorjee. Written in English with additional reporting by Richard Finney.
Internet Draft Decree Slammed
Internet Draft Decree Slammed:
Washington has voiced concerns to the Vietnamese government over a draft decree on strict new Internet controls in the communist state, calling the proposal “unworkable” and a threat to freedom of expression in the country.
The U.S. Embassy in Vietnam issued its comments in a letter addressed to the Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications dated last week, but made public Thursday.
Vietnam, which France-based Reporters Without Borders lists as an “Enemy of the Internet,” is expected to release the proposed Decree on Management, Provision and Use of Internet Services and Information on the Network in June.
Under the proposal, Internet users would be required to register with their real names. In addition, foreign Internet companies would be forced to relocate their data centers and establish local offices in Vietnam.
The U.S. said the proposed measures would hamper commercial development of the Internet sector and threaten netizens’ rights to express their ideas freely.
“The United States is concerned with requirements that a broad range of suppliers—including those that are intermediaries, rather than content generators—play an active role in filtering content and be sanctioned if they fail to adequately monitor actions by third parties,” the letter said.
“These provisions would be extremely difficult to implement and would impose such prohibitive regulatory burdens that many innovative suppliers simply might not be able to enter the market or, if currently present, might abandon it for other markets.”
Washington also took issue with various provisions of the proposed decree which it called “overly broad and vague,” and “likely to negatively impact individuals’ rights to freedom of expression.”
It noted that the right to freedom of expression is guaranteed under Vietnam’s constitution and that the Vietnamese government had signed international obligations to ensure that right.
“All countries face the common problem of addressing domestic regulatory concerns relating to services offered over globally interconnected networks that affect their citizens,” it said.
“It is neither feasible nor practical for any one country to set rules for a global medium, and the benefits such networks offer are severely diminished if suppliers must become ‘local’ in all countries.”
Instead of “highly prescriptive rules” that would be difficult to enforce, Washington suggested an open dialogue with interested parties from around the world to discuss alternative approaches to addressing “legitimate concerns.”
Congress takes issue
The decree also drew the attention of U.S. Congressman Frank Wolf, who wrote a letter Wednesday to Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of the popular Facebook social media platform.
Facebook is currently blocked in Vietnam, though netizens can access the site with relative ease.
In the letter, Wolf said the decree “would impact both Internet companies doing business in Vietnam and millions of Vietnamese citizens looking to the Internet as a source of news and information about the outside world.”
“This decree … would make it illegal to post anything online critical of the Vietnamese government,” he said, adding that the requirement for users to provide their real names and personal information would provide a “means for the government to track them.”
Wolf called the requirement that Internet companies inform the government of any prohibited activities that take place on their sites “deeply problematic as it could make companies … complicit in government repression.”
He concluded by calling on Zuckerberg to set an example to other American Internet companies by promoting the principles of democracy and human rights through Facebook’s corporate actions if the new set of online restrictions are enacted in Vietnam.
Zuckerberg vacationed in Vietnam last December with his now-wife Priscilla Chan.
Media controls remain restricted in Vietnam, which New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused of mounting a sophisticated and sustained attack on online dissent, including by detaining and intimidating anti-government bloggers.
Reporters Without Borders says at least three journalists and 17 bloggers are currently in jail in the one-party state.
Reported by Joshua Lipes.
Washington has voiced concerns to the Vietnamese government over a draft decree on strict new Internet controls in the communist state, calling the proposal “unworkable” and a threat to freedom of expression in the country.
The U.S. Embassy in Vietnam issued its comments in a letter addressed to the Vietnamese Ministry of Information and Communications dated last week, but made public Thursday.
Vietnam, which France-based Reporters Without Borders lists as an “Enemy of the Internet,” is expected to release the proposed Decree on Management, Provision and Use of Internet Services and Information on the Network in June.
Under the proposal, Internet users would be required to register with their real names. In addition, foreign Internet companies would be forced to relocate their data centers and establish local offices in Vietnam.
The U.S. said the proposed measures would hamper commercial development of the Internet sector and threaten netizens’ rights to express their ideas freely.
“The United States is concerned with requirements that a broad range of suppliers—including those that are intermediaries, rather than content generators—play an active role in filtering content and be sanctioned if they fail to adequately monitor actions by third parties,” the letter said.
“These provisions would be extremely difficult to implement and would impose such prohibitive regulatory burdens that many innovative suppliers simply might not be able to enter the market or, if currently present, might abandon it for other markets.”
Washington also took issue with various provisions of the proposed decree which it called “overly broad and vague,” and “likely to negatively impact individuals’ rights to freedom of expression.”
It noted that the right to freedom of expression is guaranteed under Vietnam’s constitution and that the Vietnamese government had signed international obligations to ensure that right.
“All countries face the common problem of addressing domestic regulatory concerns relating to services offered over globally interconnected networks that affect their citizens,” it said.
“It is neither feasible nor practical for any one country to set rules for a global medium, and the benefits such networks offer are severely diminished if suppliers must become ‘local’ in all countries.”
Instead of “highly prescriptive rules” that would be difficult to enforce, Washington suggested an open dialogue with interested parties from around the world to discuss alternative approaches to addressing “legitimate concerns.”
Congress takes issue
The decree also drew the attention of U.S. Congressman Frank Wolf, who wrote a letter Wednesday to Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of the popular Facebook social media platform.
Facebook is currently blocked in Vietnam, though netizens can access the site with relative ease.
In the letter, Wolf said the decree “would impact both Internet companies doing business in Vietnam and millions of Vietnamese citizens looking to the Internet as a source of news and information about the outside world.”
“This decree … would make it illegal to post anything online critical of the Vietnamese government,” he said, adding that the requirement for users to provide their real names and personal information would provide a “means for the government to track them.”
Wolf called the requirement that Internet companies inform the government of any prohibited activities that take place on their sites “deeply problematic as it could make companies … complicit in government repression.”
He concluded by calling on Zuckerberg to set an example to other American Internet companies by promoting the principles of democracy and human rights through Facebook’s corporate actions if the new set of online restrictions are enacted in Vietnam.
Zuckerberg vacationed in Vietnam last December with his now-wife Priscilla Chan.
Media controls remain restricted in Vietnam, which New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused of mounting a sophisticated and sustained attack on online dissent, including by detaining and intimidating anti-government bloggers.
Reporters Without Borders says at least three journalists and 17 bloggers are currently in jail in the one-party state.
Reported by Joshua Lipes.
The Indonesian Rupiah: Money with Character & a lot of Zeros
The Indonesian Rupiah: Money with Character & a lot of Zeros:
By: Ed Caffin
Indonesian money surely isn’t the most practical. Most people carry many notes around in their wallets, because even for the smallest purchase, you’ll need thousands of rupiahs. It gets worse when you have to pay large sums of cash, and all those zeros start to make you dizzy. Also, well-used notes, like the 1,000 rupiah one, can look so much abused that I sometimes hesitate to pay with them. On the other hand, rupiah banknotes are, unlike those of most other countries, quite beautiful and interesting to look at. The Indonesian rupiah truly is money with character. Here are some facts and figures.
Why are rupiahs called rupiahs? The name rupiah comes from the Sanskrit word for wrought silver, rupya. The name was first used to denote a coin introduced by a 16th century ruler in Northern India. The coin obviously was silver based. From there, rupee or rupiah became a common name for the monetary unit in many countries along the Indian ocean, like India, Pakistan, Seychelles and Sri Lanka. And the name also made it to Indonesia.
Money: The Indonesian rupiah , By: Daniel Giovanni
What denominations are there? Indonesian rupiah banknotes come in denominations of 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000 and 100,000 rupiah. In 2004 and 2005, the latest version of the 10.000 – 100,000 notes were issued and in 2009, the new 2,000 note was issued for the first time. There are also 3 coins, in denominations of 100, 500 and 1,000 rupiah. Originally there were also coins of 25 and 50 rupiah, but they were taken out of circulation, since the value of the material began to exceed the value of the coin itself! And did you know, the rupiah is actually subdivided into 100 sen (cent)? Due to inflation no sen coins or notes are used anymore today.
Indonesian Rupiah notes: colorful & with a lot of zeros!
Here’s a list of denominations and what’s on them:
Indonesian rupiah notes
100000 Rupiah — Soekarno, M. Hatta (The first president and vice president of Republic of Indonesia); Parliament
50000 Rupiah — I Gusti Ngurah Rai (Balinese hero); Beratan Lake
20000 Rupiah y.2004 — Oto Iskandar Di Nata (Independence hero); tea pickers
10000 Rupiah y.2010 — Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II (Sultan of Palembang); Palembang traditional house
5000 Rupiah y.2001 — Tuanku Imam Bondjol (hero from West Sumatra); woman weaving
2000 Rupiah y.2009 — Pangeran Antasari (Prince of Banjar, South Borneo); Dayak dance
1000 Rupiah y.2000 — Pattimura (National hero from Maluku); fishing boat; volcano
Indonesian rupiah coins
1000 Rupiah (newest) — angklung (music instrument)
500 Rupiah — flower of jasmine (bunga melati)
200 Rupiah — Jalak Bali (Name of bird, Bali origins)
100 Rupiah (white coin) — burung Kakaktua (yellow coin) — Karapan Sapi
50 Rupiah — Kepodang (bird)
What about the future of the rupiah? Since banknotes nowadays have at least 3 zeros, Bank Indonesia proposed a redomination of the rupiah by truncating 3 zero digits. So the 100,000 rupiah note would be replaced by a new one of 100. This should simplify transactions, which often run into millions. It would definitely be a lot more convenient, but some people fear it would cause an increase in devaluation of the rupiah. Whatever happens, I sure hope the rupiah will keep its character.
Learn how to pronounce the names of the rupiah bills in the video below:
By: Ed Caffin
Indonesian money surely isn’t the most practical. Most people carry many notes around in their wallets, because even for the smallest purchase, you’ll need thousands of rupiahs. It gets worse when you have to pay large sums of cash, and all those zeros start to make you dizzy. Also, well-used notes, like the 1,000 rupiah one, can look so much abused that I sometimes hesitate to pay with them. On the other hand, rupiah banknotes are, unlike those of most other countries, quite beautiful and interesting to look at. The Indonesian rupiah truly is money with character. Here are some facts and figures.
Why are rupiahs called rupiahs? The name rupiah comes from the Sanskrit word for wrought silver, rupya. The name was first used to denote a coin introduced by a 16th century ruler in Northern India. The coin obviously was silver based. From there, rupee or rupiah became a common name for the monetary unit in many countries along the Indian ocean, like India, Pakistan, Seychelles and Sri Lanka. And the name also made it to Indonesia.
Money: The Indonesian rupiah , By: Daniel Giovanni
What denominations are there? Indonesian rupiah banknotes come in denominations of 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000 and 100,000 rupiah. In 2004 and 2005, the latest version of the 10.000 – 100,000 notes were issued and in 2009, the new 2,000 note was issued for the first time. There are also 3 coins, in denominations of 100, 500 and 1,000 rupiah. Originally there were also coins of 25 and 50 rupiah, but they were taken out of circulation, since the value of the material began to exceed the value of the coin itself! And did you know, the rupiah is actually subdivided into 100 sen (cent)? Due to inflation no sen coins or notes are used anymore today.
Indonesian Rupiah notes: colorful & with a lot of zeros!
What’s on the Indonesian Rupiah Notes?
The designs and images have changed a lot over time, but in the newest series every note has a national hero and a landmark or cultural scene on it. With a country so diverse, it must have been hard to choose. In addition, all banknotes are distinctive in color. For example, in the current series the 1,000 rupiah note is blue and green with Captain Pattimura featuring the front side and a picture with a view on Maitara and Tidore islands in North Moluccas on the reverse side. Of course, the red coloured 100,000 rupiah note features Indonesia’s biggest heroes Soekarno and Hatta, with the Indonesian Parlement building in Jakarta on the reverse side.Here’s a list of denominations and what’s on them:
Indonesian rupiah notes
100000 Rupiah — Soekarno, M. Hatta (The first president and vice president of Republic of Indonesia); Parliament
50000 Rupiah — I Gusti Ngurah Rai (Balinese hero); Beratan Lake
20000 Rupiah y.2004 — Oto Iskandar Di Nata (Independence hero); tea pickers
10000 Rupiah y.2010 — Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II (Sultan of Palembang); Palembang traditional house
5000 Rupiah y.2001 — Tuanku Imam Bondjol (hero from West Sumatra); woman weaving
2000 Rupiah y.2009 — Pangeran Antasari (Prince of Banjar, South Borneo); Dayak dance
1000 Rupiah y.2000 — Pattimura (National hero from Maluku); fishing boat; volcano
Indonesian rupiah coins
1000 Rupiah (newest) — angklung (music instrument)
500 Rupiah — flower of jasmine (bunga melati)
200 Rupiah — Jalak Bali (Name of bird, Bali origins)
100 Rupiah (white coin) — burung Kakaktua (yellow coin) — Karapan Sapi
50 Rupiah — Kepodang (bird)
Since When Does Indonesia Use the Rupiah?
While the Nederlands-Indische gulden was used in colonial days, the rupiah was introduced right after Indonesia declared its independence. During to the revolutionary war of 1945-1949, a few versions of the rupiah were issued, but it wasn’t until 1953, with Bank Indonesia just established, when the first ‘new Indonesian rupiah’ appeared. Roughly every 10 years new versions have been issued.Everybody a Millionaire in Indonesia?
Maybe you still remember the first time you got money of an ATM machine in Indonesia and walked away with hundreds of thousands of rupiah in your pocket, or maybe even a few million. It wasn’t always like that. In 1953, Bank Indonesia issued banknotes of 5 rupiah and above. Since then, much has changed. In the spiralling inflation of the ’60s and ‘70s and again during the Asian Financial Crisis of the late nineties, the Indonesian rupiah has devaluated strongly. And that has been the biggest problem for the Indonesian rupiah: it means consumers have to carry large amounts of money.What about the future of the rupiah? Since banknotes nowadays have at least 3 zeros, Bank Indonesia proposed a redomination of the rupiah by truncating 3 zero digits. So the 100,000 rupiah note would be replaced by a new one of 100. This should simplify transactions, which often run into millions. It would definitely be a lot more convenient, but some people fear it would cause an increase in devaluation of the rupiah. Whatever happens, I sure hope the rupiah will keep its character.
Learn how to pronounce the names of the rupiah bills in the video below:
Arriving & Getting into Jakarta
Arriving & Getting into Jakarta:
By: Emma Kwee
Jakarta is serviced by Soekarno Hatta International airport, located about an hour driving (20 kilometers) from central Jakarta. The airport is often called Cengkareng by Indonesians, after the subdistrict it is located in. Many international airlines from Europe, Asia and Australia make Soekarno-Hatta their turnaround airport, while a number do continue on to Bali and Australia.
Somewhat surprisingly, Sukarno Hatta is one of the best on-time airports in the world (coming second in 2009)! This airport is also the hub of Indonesia’s own Garuda Indonesia as well as home for most of Indonesia’s regular domestic airlines and low-cost carriers (LCC). Sukarno Hatta consists of 3 terminals, with the newly built low cost terminal being the latest addition.
For most international visitors a visa on arrival is mandatory (25 USD). Make sure you have USD, Euro or Rupiah at hand, otherwise you’ll have to ask permission to visit the ATM that conveniently is located after customs! Also, run if you want to be first in line…
The Damri buses leave from terminal 2 and 3. DAMRI shuttle buses connect to numerous destinations in Jakarta and beyond; Gambir (the most appropriate for those going to Jalan Jaksa area), Rawamangun, Blok M, Tanjung Priok, Kampung Rambutan, Pasar Minggu, Lebak Bulus and Kemayoran (Rp 20,000) as well as directly to the neighboring cities of Bekasi, Serang (Rp 30,000), Bogor and Cikarang (Rp 35,000). The bus service from the airport operates until midnight (despite what taxi touts may say to you), is reliable and comfortable. You can get the tickets in the many counters after the airport exit. If arriving by an international flight to the terminal 2, head to the left after going out of the building until you see DAMRI ticket booths and bus stops. In terminal 3, the bus stop is in front of it just behind taxi ranks. Note that DAMRI service to the airport shuts down much earlier – for example, the bus from Gambir operates from 3.30am to 7.30pm.
Cipaganti also operates shuttle buses to Jakarta and beyond. They are stationed near terminal 1A, 1B, 1C, 2D, 2E, 2F. There minivans usually depart every hour and are a comfortable way of getting into the city.
A great option for those traveling on to Bandung is Primajasa. The buses leave hourly and cost some 75.000 Rp. The trip to Bandung takes between 2,5-3,5 hours, depending on traffic.
By: Emma Kwee
Jakarta is serviced by Soekarno Hatta International airport, located about an hour driving (20 kilometers) from central Jakarta. The airport is often called Cengkareng by Indonesians, after the subdistrict it is located in. Many international airlines from Europe, Asia and Australia make Soekarno-Hatta their turnaround airport, while a number do continue on to Bali and Australia.
Somewhat surprisingly, Sukarno Hatta is one of the best on-time airports in the world (coming second in 2009)! This airport is also the hub of Indonesia’s own Garuda Indonesia as well as home for most of Indonesia’s regular domestic airlines and low-cost carriers (LCC). Sukarno Hatta consists of 3 terminals, with the newly built low cost terminal being the latest addition.
For most international visitors a visa on arrival is mandatory (25 USD). Make sure you have USD, Euro or Rupiah at hand, otherwise you’ll have to ask permission to visit the ATM that conveniently is located after customs! Also, run if you want to be first in line…
Reaching Jakarta from Soekarno Hatta Airport
From the airport you can reach the city by taxi or by bus. Taxis leave straight from the arrival hall. The time that only Bluebird taxis are reliable is over, but prices do differ between different companies. If a taxi depicts ‘tarif lama’ or ‘tarif bawah’ its fares are said to be cheaper. Also, check whether they use a meter (argo)! Reliable companies are: Taxiku, Express and Cipaganti (that also operates shuttle buses).The Damri buses leave from terminal 2 and 3. DAMRI shuttle buses connect to numerous destinations in Jakarta and beyond; Gambir (the most appropriate for those going to Jalan Jaksa area), Rawamangun, Blok M, Tanjung Priok, Kampung Rambutan, Pasar Minggu, Lebak Bulus and Kemayoran (Rp 20,000) as well as directly to the neighboring cities of Bekasi, Serang (Rp 30,000), Bogor and Cikarang (Rp 35,000). The bus service from the airport operates until midnight (despite what taxi touts may say to you), is reliable and comfortable. You can get the tickets in the many counters after the airport exit. If arriving by an international flight to the terminal 2, head to the left after going out of the building until you see DAMRI ticket booths and bus stops. In terminal 3, the bus stop is in front of it just behind taxi ranks. Note that DAMRI service to the airport shuts down much earlier – for example, the bus from Gambir operates from 3.30am to 7.30pm.
Cipaganti also operates shuttle buses to Jakarta and beyond. They are stationed near terminal 1A, 1B, 1C, 2D, 2E, 2F. There minivans usually depart every hour and are a comfortable way of getting into the city.
A great option for those traveling on to Bandung is Primajasa. The buses leave hourly and cost some 75.000 Rp. The trip to Bandung takes between 2,5-3,5 hours, depending on traffic.
The Asia Foundation and U.S. Department of State Supports Timor ...
The Asia Foundation and U.S. Department of State Supports Timor ...: On May 28, 2012, at the Salao Nobre of Ministry of Foreign Affair of Timor-Leste (MoFA), Secretary General of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Timor-Leste, Mr.
Lack of Parliamentary quorum; Anti Corruption Law not yet discussed
Lack of Parliamentary quorum; Anti Corruption Law not yet discussed:
The Anti Corruption Law proposal should have been discussed already at the National Parliament but continued lack of a quorum prevents it from happening.
“The law came in at a time we have to deal with political campaigns, presidential and now the parliamentary elections. Everyone’s gone to the base, we cannot get a quorum anymore,” said Member of Parliament (MP) Agostu Tara last week (22/05), at the National Parliament, Dili.
The MP claims most other MP’s come and go arbitrarily.
The Anti Corruption Law proposal should have been discussed already at the National Parliament but continued lack of a quorum prevents it from happening.“The law came in at a time we have to deal with political campaigns, presidential and now the parliamentary elections. Everyone’s gone to the base, we cannot get a quorum anymore,” said Member of Parliament (MP) Agostu Tara last week (22/05), at the National Parliament, Dili.
The MP claims most other MP’s come and go arbitrarily.
Textbooks in Portuguese only not in Tetum
Textbooks in Portuguese only not in Tetum:
The Syndicate of Teachers Timor-Leste (SPTL) is raising an eyebrow at the unavailability of textbooks in Tetum, with books available in Portuguese only.
“We keep talking about promoting Timorese culture. Tetum is part of the original culture of Timor but we are developing it,” said the Secretary General for SPTL, Francisco Fernandes, recently from his office in Farol, Dili.
He added even though all teaching books are in Portuguese, teaching in Portuguese is still not being done at 100 per cent.
“Infant students learning in Portuguese, most of them still play with toys and they count in Indonesian 1, 2, 3. They do not speak it [Portuguese] daily, they do not count in Portuguese,” said SPTL SG Fernandes.
The Syndicate of Teachers Timor-Leste (SPTL) is raising an eyebrow at the unavailability of textbooks in Tetum, with books available in Portuguese only.“We keep talking about promoting Timorese culture. Tetum is part of the original culture of Timor but we are developing it,” said the Secretary General for SPTL, Francisco Fernandes, recently from his office in Farol, Dili.
He added even though all teaching books are in Portuguese, teaching in Portuguese is still not being done at 100 per cent.
“Infant students learning in Portuguese, most of them still play with toys and they count in Indonesian 1, 2, 3. They do not speak it [Portuguese] daily, they do not count in Portuguese,” said SPTL SG Fernandes.
Jun 6, 2012
Thai Youth Seek a Fortune Away From the Farm
Thai Youth Seek a Fortune Away From the Farm: Experts worry that Thailand, the world’s leading rice exporter, may have trouble finding people to work in rice paddies, as young people stay longer in school and prefer to work in Bangkok.
Airports and Hotels Look at Tiered Pricing for Internet Access
Airports and Hotels Look at Tiered Pricing for Internet Access: Trying to both meet the customer demand for Wi-Fi and cope with the costs of expanding bandwidth, airports and hotels are adopting tiered pricing models.
More Young Americans Out of High School Are Also Out of Work
More Young Americans Out of High School Are Also Out of Work: A new survey finds that those without a college degree have dismal job prospects and considerable obstacles blocking improvement.
Facebook mulls lowering age restrictions
Facebook mulls lowering age restrictions:
Facebook is considering ways to invite children younger than 13 onto its social network, a controversial move that could bolster the company’s bottom line but also spark concern among regulators over the safety of young Internet users.
Read full article >>
Facebook is considering ways to invite children younger than 13 onto its social network, a controversial move that could bolster the company’s bottom line but also spark concern among regulators over the safety of young Internet users.
Read full article >>
CIA memoirs offer revelations and settle scores among spies
CIA memoirs offer revelations and settle scores among spies:
In between his defense of secret prisons, coercive interrogations of al-Qaeda suspects and the shredding of highly sensitive videotapes, former CIA spymaster Jose A. Rodriguez Jr. makes room in his memoir “Hard Measures” to talk about the competition: other CIA memoirists.
Read full article >>
In between his defense of secret prisons, coercive interrogations of al-Qaeda suspects and the shredding of highly sensitive videotapes, former CIA spymaster Jose A. Rodriguez Jr. makes room in his memoir “Hard Measures” to talk about the competition: other CIA memoirists.
Read full article >>
Socialcam — the app on Facebook that’s so sleazy, it’s insightful
Socialcam — the app on Facebook that’s so sleazy, it’s insightful:
By now you have heard of it, the scourge of civilization, the embarrassment of humanity, the evidence that America is going to hell on a hand-held. Socialcam, the sharing app on Facebook that allows your friends to see what user-generated videos you’ve been watching, zoomed from fewer than 10 million active users in April to more than 40 million in May — though, as Web critics have pointed out, at least some of this rise can be attributed to vaguely sketchy practices and terribly trashy marketing techniques.
Read full article >>
By now you have heard of it, the scourge of civilization, the embarrassment of humanity, the evidence that America is going to hell on a hand-held. Socialcam, the sharing app on Facebook that allows your friends to see what user-generated videos you’ve been watching, zoomed from fewer than 10 million active users in April to more than 40 million in May — though, as Web critics have pointed out, at least some of this rise can be attributed to vaguely sketchy practices and terribly trashy marketing techniques.
Read full article >>
Mubarak examined by doctors after breakdown, Egypt news agency reports
Mubarak examined by doctors after breakdown, Egypt news agency reports:
CAIRO -- A team of doctors was brought overnight to the prison where ousted President Hosni Mubarak reportedly suffered a health-crippling nervous breakdown, Egypt’s state news agency reported Wednesday.
Read full article >>
CAIRO -- A team of doctors was brought overnight to the prison where ousted President Hosni Mubarak reportedly suffered a health-crippling nervous breakdown, Egypt’s state news agency reported Wednesday.
Read full article >>
Jordan clerics protest against government
Jordan clerics protest against government: Imams demonstrate outside royal palace to call for end to security services' interference in Islamic affairs.
Deadly gunfight in Nigeria's northeast
Deadly gunfight in Nigeria's northeast: Police say at least 19 members of armed Islamist group Boko Haram killed during fighting in Kano and Maiduguri cities.
Assad appoints new Syria prime minister
Assad appoints new Syria prime minister: Former agriculture minister and ruling Baath party member Riyad Hijab entrusted with task of forming government.
Knesset rejects bill to legalise settlements
Knesset rejects bill to legalise settlements: Israeli legislators reject attempt to prevent demolition of outpost built on Palestinian land.
Fund launched to back Syrian rebels
Fund launched to back Syrian rebels: Syrian activists say Assad's government gunmen are responsible for second massacre in as many weeks.
Obama Averages 47% Job Approval in May
Obama Averages 47% Job Approval in May: President Obama's job approval rating averaged 47% in May, unchanged from April. Comparing Obama's current rating with previous presidents' ratings in May of their re-election years suggests a close race that could go either way.
Middle East Leads World in Negative Emotions
Middle East Leads World in Negative Emotions: Iraqis are more likely to experience negative emotions on a daily basis than any other population in the world. Palestinians are a distant second.
Views of Obama, Romney More Strongly Negative Than Positive
Views of Obama, Romney More Strongly Negative Than Positive: More Americans continue to hold strongly negative than strongly positive opinions of both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama. Obama continues to elicit much stronger positive reactions from Democrats than Romney does from Republicans.
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