World celebrates as South Africa's Mandela turns 91

Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first black president, turns 91 on Saturday with a call for community service and celebrations from New York's Madison Square Garden to downtown Johannesburg.

A mural seen of the South African flag and former South African president Nelson Mandela's face, made by hand imprints in the city of Cape Town, South Africa, Friday, July 17, 2009.

The increasingly frail former statesman who is affectionately called Madiba, his clan name, has been inundated by messages of goodwill, from multinational companies to ordinary South Africans.

But the Nobel peace laureate will spend the day at home with his family and close friends.

This year's birthday marks the inaugural Mandela Day, initiated by his charitable foundation in honour of the much-loved icon who became president in 1994.

People around the world are being urged to dedicate 67 minutes of their day to volunteer for community service.

The number reflects the number of years since Mandela dedicated his life to the struggle for equality in South Africa, as he joined the ruling African National Congress in 1942.

Oprah Winfrey, a long-time Mandela friend, is among the big names who have pledged their support for the day.

President Jacob Zuma praised Mandela as a beacon of hope, saying it has taken too long for the country to celebrate "this gold that is Nelson Mandela".

"If there is a story to be told of an icon that inspires the world, characterised by the humility, warm humanity and a will for prosperity, then Madiba's 91-year life story offers a story of life worth living," said Zuma.

"Madiba taught us that we couldn't live in peace in South Africa while the rest of Africa suffered the scourge of conflict and war," added Zuma.

Mandela stepped down as president in 1999, after serving one term in office. He is still revered around the world for his promotion of peace, non-racialism and the fight against HIV.

"Dear Madiba, thank you for getting out of jail or you would never have been president. Very very happy birthday," wrote an eight-year-old pupil from a girls' school in Johannesburg, printed in one of the many special newspaper supplements dedicated to his birthday.

Last year, Mandela held a lavish dinner at his rural homestead in Qunu, in the Eastern Cape province, where he invited guests ranging from former heads of state, royalty and diplomats to ordinary villagers.

On Saturday, the main celebration is in New York, with a star-studded concert at Madison Square Garden.

The line up includes the legendary American soul supremo Aretha Franklin, Stevie Wonder, and the West African musician Baaba Maal.

In South Africa, celebrations will take place across the country under the theme of devoting time to help the less fortunate. Local pop stars will also hold a concert in downtown Johannesburg.

According to his foundation, South Africa's ambassador to the UN is lobbying for the official recognition of Mandela Day by the world body.

 

Source: SGGP

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Astronauts prepare for first space walk of mission

Astronauts from the US space shuttle Endeavour prepared for their first spacewalk of the mission Saturday aimed at completing a Japanese space laboratory at the International Space Station.

In this photo provided by NASA, astronaut Tom Marshburn, STS-127 mission specialist, works on the mid deck of space shuttle Endeavour during flight day two activities, Thursday, July 16, 2009.

During their first full day in space, the Endeavour crew inspected the spacesuits that they will use during the five spacewalks planned during the mission.

The seven-person crew, including six Americans and one Canadian also tested rendezvous equipment, installed a camera for the orbiter docking system and extended the docking ring that sits on top the system.

The Endeavour mission aims to help fulfill "Japan's hope for an out-of-this-world space laboratory," as the shuttle delivers state-of-the-art equipment to conduct experiments in the vacuum of space, according to NASA.

Earlier Friday the shuttle successfully docked at the space station amid questions about the integrity of the shuttle's heat shield.

During the delicate docking maneuver the two space vehicles approached each other at 28,000 kilometers (17,398 miles) per hour, giving Commander Mark Polansky a margin of error of 4.5 centimeters (1.8 inches) to complete the procedure, NASA said.

The entry of Endeavour's crew aboard the ISS brought the number of astronauts inside the orbiting space station to a record 13.

As the shuttle approached the ISS, Polansky photographed the underside of the Endeavour to discover whether Wednesday's takeoff caused any damage to the shuttle's heat shield.

During the launch, which came after five failed take off attempts since June 13, debris could be seen peeling away from the shuttle external rocket booster and then striking the spacecraft.

Endeavour astronauts used the shuttle's robotic arm for what the space agency called "the standard flight day two inspection" of the reinforced carbon nose cap and the wing's leading edge.

Imagery experts on the ground will continue to scrutinize images transmitted by the astronauts to determine the state of the shuttle's thermal protection system, NASA said.

The US space agency has been cautious about conditions for the shuttle's exit and return since the Columbia craft blew apart some 20,000 meters (65,500 feet) above the Earth in 2003 as it was returning from a 16-day space mission to land in Florida.

A chunk of insulation that broke off from Columbia's external fuel tank during takeoff had gouged the space shuttle's heat shield, allowing superheated gases to melt the shuttle's internal structure before it exploded, killing all seven astronauts onboard.

One of the crew's members, Endeavour Mission Specialist Tim Kopra, will be staying aboard the ISS, taking over from Japanese engineer Koichi Wakata, who has been in space for 124 days.

The ISS should be completed in 2010, also the target date for the retirement of the US fleet of three space shuttles.

Source: SGGP

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Clinton begins India visit with tribute to terror victims

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton plans Saturday to honour the victims of last year's attacks in Mumbai when she begins a visit to India aimed at deepening ties with an emerging global player.

Tata Motors Chairman Ratan Tata, left, and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton smile during Clinton's meeting with a group of Indian businessmen, in Mumbai, India, Saturday, July 18, 2009.

But Clinton, on her maiden visit here as chief US diplomat, sought to allay fears that President Barack Obama's administration was pressuring India into seeking peace with Pakistan, which has been linked to the attacks.

A peace deal would allow Pakistan to turn its attention away from India, with which it has fought three wars, and focus entirely on beating an Islamist insurgency along the border with Afghanistan, a US priority.

Clinton, who arrived here Friday night, will begin her first full day with a commemoration at the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel, where she is a guest and where many of the 166 fatalities occurred in a siege by Islamist militants.

Media are barred from the event at 9:00 am (0430 GMT) because of what US officials called local sensitivities.

Clinton said it was wrong for Indians to fear that Washington was pressuring their government into resuming peace talks with Pakistan after an Indian journalist said such an impression existed.

"No, not at all," Clinton told journalist Rajdeep Sardesai with CNN-IBN television in an interview.

India and Pakistan launched a peace process in 2004 to resolve all outstanding issues of conflict, including a territorial dispute over the divided Himalayan territory of Kashmir.

India suspended the dialogue in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror strikes.

After talks Thursday in Egypt with his Pakistani counterpart Yousef Raza Gilani, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said negotiations with Pakistan would remain on hold until Islamabad takes action against the perpetrators of the attacks which New Delhi blames on the banned Pakistani militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).

The Obama administration is keen to go far beyond security and bolster a whole range of ties with a country it sees as key to curbing climate change, reviving global trade talks and checking the spread of nuclear weapons.

Clinton's first stop in India's financial and entertainment capital also includes meetings with key business leaders, educational professionals and a women's group, as well as leading Bollywood actor Aamir Khan.

She heads to the capital New Delhi Sunday for talks with Singh and Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna before flying to Thailand to lead the US delegation at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) talks.

In a front-page article in the Times of India newspaper Friday, Clinton emphasised the two countries' already close ties in medicine, finance and education.

Closer cooperation was vital to tackle global security threats, nuclear proliferation and climate change, as well as opening up trade and new markets, she wrote.

"The world has a lot riding on our cooperation," she said in the article.

Relations between Washington and New Delhi were frosty during the Cold War and the two countries were at loggerheads over India's decision in 1998 to test an atom bomb and gatecrash the elite club of nuclear-armed nations.

But ties have been transformed since the administration of George W. Bush last year signed a pact opening up sales of civilian nuclear technology to India for the first time in three decades.

Clinton's visit could see an announcement of the two locations India has chosen for US firms to build multi-billion-dollar nuclear power plants, aides said this week.

India's refusal to sign the international non-proliferation treaty (NPT) has hung over the deal but Clinton wrote in the Times of India that they were still committed.

During her visit, the two sides could also sign an end-use monitoring deal allowing Washington to make sure sales of military equipment are used for the purpose stated, aides said.

It could lead to a bonanza for US defence firms, analysts say.

 

Source: SGGP

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Banking results show sector healing but fragile

The latest quarterly results from the ailing banking sector show major lenders appear to be healing, but with some segments of the industry still weak amid a recession-mired economy.

Pedestrians pass a branch of Bank of America in Chicago, Illinois. Bank of America said Friday it earned 3.2 billion dollars in the second quarter, down 5.9 percent from a year ago but better than most forecasts in the latest positive news for the ailing sector

On Friday, Bank of America and Citigroup reported healthy profits for the second quarter, although Citi's results were skewed by a one-time gain that offset hefty losses.

Earlier in the week, JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs beat market expectations with strong results, mainly from the institutional, or Wall Street side, of operations, with consumer segments still struggling.

Nonetheless, the sector seen as critical to an economic recovery showed marked improvement on the heels of a massive effort by the US government to steady the financial system that included capital injections of tens of billions of dollars.

Over the past week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average shot up 7.33 percent over the week to Friday to 8,743.94, ending a four-week losing streak for blue chips.

The broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index leapt 6.97 percent to 940.38 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq rallied 7.44 percent over the week to 1,886.61.

Fred Dickson, analyst at DA Davidson & Co., said some banks "have enjoyed a nice uptick in investment banking but do not have to deal with the negative ramifications of mark-to-market accounting of derivative holdings that wreaked havoc on financial earnings over the last couple of years."

But he said the troubles are not over in the financial sector.

"The process of unwinding subprime mortgage derivative swaps and other commercial derivative swaps hasn’t materially improved over the last three months but is now being overlooked by investors as the banks are simply not talking about them," Dickson said.

Bank of America said it earned 3.2 billion dollars in the second quarter, down 5.9 percent from a year ago but better than most forecasts.

That left shareholders with a profit of 33 cents per share, better than market expectations.

Douglas McIntyre at 24/7WallSt.com said the results at Bank of America were "remarkable" considering that it was "forced into a horrible deal to buy Merrill Lynch."

But he also noted that "the firm did indicate that credit quality continued to drop, a potential Achilles' heel going forward."

In a more mixed result, Citigroup said Friday it earned a profit of 4.3 billion dollars in the second quarter, resulting from a big one-time gain on a joint brokerage venture.

But Citi also posted hefty losses from its real estate and trading operations as it continued to be battered by the global financial crisis.

Citi's results rebounded from a 2.49-billion-dollar loss in the same period a year ago, but the profit came from a one-time pretax gain of 6.7 billion dollars, or 11.1 billion before taxes, from creating the Morgan Stanley Smith Barney joint brokerage.

The deal closed June 1 put Citi's Smith Barney unit together with the trading division of Wall Street rival Morgan Stanley, with Citi getting cash as part of the deal.

John Carney at the financial website Clusterstock said Citi's results excluding the Smith Barney deal would show a loss of 27 cents a share, slightly better than Wall Street estimates.

But he said the bank is still hobbled: "Citi's loan portfolio continues to suffer. It has posted an additional 3.9 billion dollars to loan loss reserves."

Citi, once the world's biggest financial services firm, has received 45 billion dollars in bailout funds from the government in the form of capital injections.

In June, Citigroup finalized plans to convert its Treasury capital injection into common stock, a move that gives the government a major stake in the ailing banking group.

Yet the improving outlook for the sector is clouded by a potential collapse of large business lender CIT Group, which failed in its bid for a fresh government bailout and appeared headed for bankruptcy.

Larry Summers, the top economic adviser to President Barack Obama, said the banking industry and the economy are slowly recovering.

"I'm sure we have not seen the last bank failure during this cycle," he told a Washington forum. "But I do believe that the kind of systemic risks in the banking system that were a matter of great concern just six months ago have receded."

Source: SGGP

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Indonesia attacks 'clearly linked' to Malaysian extremist: official

The twin suicide bombings of luxury hotels in Jakarta were "clearly linked" to Malaysian-born extremist Noordin Mohammed Top, the man believed behind the 2002 Bali bombing, a senior counter-terrorism official said Saturday.

Indonesia's President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono holds up pictures released by the Indonesian intelligence agency as he speaks during a news conference at the presidential place in Jakarta 17, 2009.

"From the modus operandi, this is clearly linked to Noordin M. Top," the security ministry's anti-terror desk chief, Ansyaad Mbai, was quoted as saying by state-run Antara news agency.

At least nine people were killed and up to 50 were injured in Friday's attacks on the JW Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton hotels in downtown Jakarta.

No group has claimed responsibility but police have said the home-made bombs were identical to those used in previous attacks linked to Noordin, a master bomb-maker and leader of a splinter group of the Jemaah Islamiyah network.

The former accountant and violent Islamist has been on the run since allegedly masterminding the 2002 bombings on the resort island of Bali, which killed more than 200 people.

Mbai said Friday's attacks proved that Noordin's group was still capable of sophisticated operations despite a major crackdown by Indonesian police on violent extremists over the past decade.

"Before, suicide bombings took place outside, at a hotel compound or something. But this, in the middle of a tight security system, shows they can penetrate to reach their prime target," he said.

"This incident proves that they are still strong and it should be a priority to capture the principal actor, that is Noordin M. Top. As long as the actor isn't caught, all efforts to anticipate anything are in vain."

Local media in March reported Noordin narrowly evaded capture in East Java after seeking treatment for a liver illness.

Police said the bombs used Friday were the same as devices discovered at an Islamic boarding school in Central Java last week during a raid that was reportedly part of the ongoing search for Noordin.

Source: SGGP

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Low protein milks rampant in market

Despite the Government efforts to increase unscheduled checks on dairy product production, false protein claims are rampant among milk products.

Due to false protein claims on some milk products, customers should be cautious when shopping

Inspectors from HCM City’s Department of Health were recently shocked when calling on Truyen Tam Processing Factory.

In a 30 meter squared area, one machine is housed that produces tens of tons of milk a month, even to kindergartens in the Mekong delta province of Tien Giang.

Although the label states its Vitamin and protein content, the producer failed to say what the levels were, neither could they present certificates of food hygiene and safety.

Previously, agencies in Tien Giang had discovered the company’s dairy product in paper packages with protein levels just 30 percent of that claimed on its labels.

Hundreds of milk products are displayed at Binh Tay Market, District 6, including milk in nylon bags, in paper containers or in tins. Most of them show indications that they are from Australia, Netherlands, New Zealand and China but are packaged in Ho Chi Minh City.

At Ty Loan shop, the owner said the nutrition content of milk is given by dairy producers and some milk has no protein content information.

For instance, a 500 gram full-cream milk powder for one year olds, the elderly and pregnant women, packaged by Phuoc Tai Co., has no percentage of protein content.

The head of the Department of Food Hygiene and Safety, Dr. Nguyen Cong Khan, said inspectors will tighten control of dairy products and conduct tests on food hygiene and safety, as well as protein content.

Violators will receive harsh punishments, he added. 

In his July 17 dispatch to the three ministries of Industry and Trade, Finance and Health, the Minister in charge of the Government Office, Nguyen Xuan Phuc, ordered that they report milk prices to the Government before July 30, as the media had reported the prices have increased continuously since 2007, infringing on customers’ rights.

Related article:
Dairy firms caught cheating – again

Source: SGGP

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Antiques donated to army museum

Two hundred artifacts, from the third to first century BC to the 20th century, were presented to the Vietnam Army Ordnance Museum by UNESCO on July 17 in Hanoi.

Bricks on show were used for building the citadel of Ho Dynasty in 16th century, they are displayed in the northern province of Thanh Hoa (Photo: Tuoi Tre)

These antiques, given by UNESCO Vietnam's Ancient Relics Preservation Centre, are related to building the country and fighting foreign aggressors, with typical terra cotta cookers from the first century, and jars, bowls and plates from the Ly, Tran and Le dynasties from the 11th century to the 18th century.

There is also sword collection from the Tay Son insurgent army, which had been led by the hero Nguyen Hue in the 18th century, and bricks used for building the citadel of Ho Dynasty in the 16th century.

Source: SGGP

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Industrial Zones and new urban areas to build preschools

Contractors of new residential areas and industrial zones, as well as export processing zones, have to also build the infrastructure for education and healthcare, the deputy chairwoman of Ho Chi Minh City’s People’s Committee, Nguyen Thi Thu Ha, said recently.

Children at a private preschool in District 5, HCM City (Photo: SGGP)

Mrs Ha said that previously the city, when planning industrial and export processing zones, always asked investors to focus on education and healthcare infrastructure. However, the city lacked supervision and investors had not paid attention to that requirement.

Private preschools account for 50 percent of those in the city, teaching nearly 114,000 children.

The city always creates advantageous conditions for companies to invest in building schools that are suitable with the city’s plan, she said.

Specifically, the city has stimulus packages for education and is willing to assist investors with 100 percent of interest rates for seven years.

To solve the shortage of schools for children with the new school year approaching, the city’s People’s Committee is aiming to build, repair and broaden schools.

Relevant departments should coordinate with districts to focus on quickly solving procedures, compensation and site clearance, as well as disbursement to build schools to meet education demands in the city.

Investors and parents should coordinate with the city’s authorities to discuss current difficulties in education infrastructure, she added.

Source: SGGP

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Lack of funds slow landslide protection

With land erosion across the country over recent years having become a serious threat to residents’ lives and property, many of HCM City’s landslip prevention projects are slow in progress or awaiting funds. Some completed projects have already become cracked and worn away, causing losses of billions of dong.

According to the city’s People’s Committee’s flood prevention and natural disaster alleviation plan in 2009, districts 2, 7, 9 Nha Be, Can Gio, Binh Thanh, and Thu Duc should increase the speed of progress, as well as having regular checks and upkeep embankments.

Despite of the government’s ban, barges still dredge sand in Dong Nai River, causing critical landslips (Photo : SGGP)

However, some local district administrations along the rivers Sai Gon, Dong Nai, Tac, Soai Rap, Muong Chuoi, Rach Tom only plant warnings to people of landslip-prone roads or areas where erosion prevention construction is slow or awaiting funds.

The city’s Department of Transport authorized 21 landslip prevention projects. Of those, one project in Thanh Da canal was completed earlier this year, two others are in progress, six have yet to get underway and 12 are awaiting funds.

A lack of money has slowed projects. Two bridges in Phuoc Long and Rach Tom in Nha Be District have been built very slowly with few funds forthcoming.

The deputy head of Nha Be’s flood prevention steering board, Vu Minh Chau, said although the erosion problem has increased alarmingly with six cases in June, sweeping away 10,000 square meters of land and tens of houses into rivers, projects are run slowly and residents in such areas live in fear of more destruction.

In the short-term, dykes are shored up to cope with the problem but cannot last long.

Embankments built to prevent landslips along the Kinh Lo River in Nha Be have been worn away gradually, with some long cracks seen on the surface. 

The local government had to evacuate 73 people from the dangerous areas. The situation is similar at Hiep Phuoc wharf.

The designs of these embankments are also not great, as the cracks have soon appeared after completion, causing losses of billion of dong, said Mr. Chau.

He has petitioned to set up community inspection, including residents and workers, which must present construction designs before being built.

Related article;
Officials struggle to halt illegal sand dredging

Source: SGGP

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Seven new swine flu cases

A H1N1 patient in the quarantine area.

The Ministry of Health confirmed seven more cases of H1N1 flu in Vietnam on July 17, raising the country’s total number to 345.

Among the patients, 299 have returned home after being discharged. Forty-six remain in hospital and are in stable conditions. No deaths have been reported.

On the same day, the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City announced that 20 people at Dong Nai Province’s Xuan Hiep Commune had tested positive for the H1N1 virus.

These people had earlier met an overseas Vietnamese family, whose children were found to have been infected with swine flu on July 10.

They have been quarantined for treatment.

Globally, 128,273 cases in 137 countries have been recorded with H1N1 by July 17, of which 679 patients have died.

Source: SGGP

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