Pakistan high court bans Valentine’s Day

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ChannelNewsAsia

  • Posted 13 Feb 2017 21:42
  • Updated 13 Feb 2017 21:50

Pakistani vendors prepare heart-shaped bouquets for sale ahead of Valentine’s Day along a street in Islamabad on Feb 13, 2017. (AFP Photo/Aamir Qureshi)

ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani court Monday (Feb 13) banned public celebrations of Valentine’s Day in the capital Islamabad, the latest attempt by authorities to outlaw a holiday seen by many in the traditional Muslim society as vulgar and Western.

The Islamabad high court issued the order after a petitioner declared love was being used as a “cover” to spread “immorality, nudity and indecency… which is against our rich traditions and values”. Tiếp tục đọc “Pakistan high court bans Valentine’s Day” →

Saiga Antelopes Are Struck Again by a Plague in Central Asia

~ Trần Đình Hoành ~ 1 bình luận

By ERICA GOODE FEB. 8, 2017

The carcasses of saiga antelopes in Mongolia’s western Khovd province. Scientists have identified the culprit as a virus known as goat plague. WCS

They found the first carcasses in late December, on the frozen steppes of Mongolia’s western Khovd province.

By the end of January, officials in the region had recorded the deaths of 2,500 endangered saiga antelopes — about a quarter of the country’s saiga population — and scientists had identified a culprit: a virus called peste des petits ruminants, or P.P.R., also known as goat plague.

It was the first time the disease, usually seen in goats, sheep and other small livestock, had been found in free-ranging antelopes. For the saiga, an ancient animal that once roamed the grasslands of the world with the woolly mammoth and the saber-toothed tiger, the outbreak was potentially catastrophic.

The antelope’s numbers, once in the millions, have been severely depleted by illegal hunting, habitat loss and competition for food. The species is described as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.

In 2015, 211,000 saigas in Kazakhstan — more than half of the entire antelope species — were wiped out by a bacterial infection in less than a month.

Election in Indonesia’s Capital Could Test Ethnic and Religious Tolerance

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Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, the governor of Jakarta, Indonesia’s capital. While campaigning ahead of elections on Wednesday, Mr. Basuki, who is ethnic Chinese and a Christian, has also been defending himself in court against charges of blasphemy against Islam. Darren Whiteside/Reuters

JAKARTA, Indonesia — In one of the most contentious campaigns in the history of Indonesia’s young democracy, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, the governor of Jakarta, is battling on two fronts: in the court of public opinion and in the court of law.

Mr. Basuki, an ethnic Chinese Christian who leads the capital of the world’s most populous predominantly Muslim country, is not only campaigning in the election on Wednesday but also defending himself against criminal charges of blasphemy against Islam.

He and his chief political ally, President Joko Widodo, have labeled his court case a conspiracy by “political actors” who aim to quash his re-election bid for one of the country’s most powerful offices. Some political analysts also called the court case, which they say violates a decades-old ban on using ethnicity and religion as a political weapon, a move by opponents of Mr. Joko to weaken the president in the prelude to his 2019 re-election bid.

A series of rallies in Jakarta late last year that drew hundreds of thousands of hard-line Islamists, including one in November that turned violent and left one dead and hundreds injured, have eroded Mr. Basuki’s once double-digit lead.

Mr. Basuki is only the second non-Muslim governor of Jakarta since Indonesia’s independence from the Netherlands in 1945. Wednesday’s election is viewed as a test of religious as well as ethnic tolerance in the country, which has more than 190 million Muslims among its population of 250 million, as well as influential religious minorities of Christians, Hindus and Buddhists.

E-mail click rates plunge 12.5% in Asia Pacific

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shutterstock_computer

E-mail click rates in Asia Pacific in Q3 2016 (July to September) have plunged 12.5% from Q2 – a likely consequence of a 53% increase in the average number of e-mails delivered per company at the same period, the latest study from Epsilon showed.

The analysis was compiled from 772 million e-mails sent by approximately 60 company in Q3 2016 across Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore.

E-mail open rates also showed a mild drop from 16.6% to 16.4%. In Q3 2015 the e-mail open rates was 19.6%. Non-bounce rates decreased slightly to 96.2% from 96.7% in Q2 2016 and are slightly higher than Q3 2015 (95.1%). Among all the email sent,  triggered messages accounted for 1.8% of total email volume in Q3 2016, above Q2 2016 (1.2%) and higher than Q1 2016 (0.8%). Tiếp tục đọc “E-mail click rates plunge 12.5% in Asia Pacific” →

Vì sao Nhà nước độc quyền 20 loại hàng hóa, dịch vụ?

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VE – Có những ý kiến trái chiều xung quanh dự thảo danh mục 20 loại hàng hóa, dịch vụ do Nhà nước độc quyền…

Vì sao Nhà nước độc quyền 20 loại hàng hóa, dịch vụ?
Sản xuất vàng miếng nằm trong danh mục 20 loại hàng hóa, dịch vụ do Nhà nước độc quyền.

20 loại hàng hóa, dịch vụ sẽ do Nhà nước độc quyền trong hoạt động thương mại. Đây là nội dung tại dự thảo nghị định về hàng hóa, dịch vụ, địa bàn thực hiện độc quyền Nhà nước trong hoạt động thương mại mà Bộ Công Thương vừa trình Chính phủ cho ý kiến.
 Tiếp tục đọc “Vì sao Nhà nước độc quyền 20 loại hàng hóa, dịch vụ?” →

Chỉ số cảm nhận tham nhũng 2016: Việt Nam tăng nhẹ về điểm số

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TT – Một hệ thống tư pháp liêm chính, nghiêm minh sẽ tạo ra sự thay đổi rõ nét trong cảm nhận về tham nhũng trong khu vực công

Ngày 25 tháng 1 năm 2017, Tổ chức Minh bạch Quốc tế (TI) công bố Chỉ số Cảm nhận Tham nhũng (CPI) 2016, xếp hạng 176 quốc gia và vùng lãnh thổ dựa trên cảm nhận của các doanh nhân và chuyên gia về tham nhũng trong khu vực công. Tiếp tục đọc “Chỉ số cảm nhận tham nhũng 2016: Việt Nam tăng nhẹ về điểm số” →

US, Japan, S Korea request UN Security Council meeting on N Korea

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ChannelNewsAsia

  • Posted 13 Feb 2017 08:38
  • Updated 13 Feb 2017 08:40

Passengers watch a TV screen broadcasting a news report on North Korea firing a ballistic missile into the sea off its east coast, at a railway station in Seoul, South Korea, February 12, 2017. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji

WASHINGTON: The United States, Japan and South Korea on Sunday (Feb 12) requested an urgent UN Security Council meeting to discuss North Korea’s latest missile test.

“The United States, along with Japan and the Republic of Korea, have requested urgent consultations on the DPRK’s launch of a ballistic missile on February 12,” said a US mission spokesperson.

The test was seen as a challenge to Donald Trump’s young presidency.

The request comes after North Korea’s state media quoted officials as saying the ballistic missile test was a “success”.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “guided” the test, the KCNA report said, adding it was carried out in a way that took the “security of the neighbouring countries into consideration”. Tiếp tục đọc “US, Japan, S Korea request UN Security Council meeting on N Korea” →

China expels 32 South Korean missionaries amid tension over THAAD missile defense system

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Japan  Times

Reuters Feb 11, 2017

SEOUL – China has expelled 32 South Korean Christian missionaries, a South Korean government official said on Saturday, amid diplomatic tension between the two countries over the planned deployment of a U.S. missile defense system in the South.

The 32 were based in China’s northeastern Yanji region near the border with North Korea, many of whom had worked there more than a decade, South Korean media have reported.

South Korea’s foreign ministry said on Friday it briefed Christian groups on the case of the missionaries, adding that they were expelled in January.

The ministry advised the groups on the importance of complying with the laws and customs of the areas where they work, it said. Tiếp tục đọc “China expels 32 South Korean missionaries amid tension over THAAD missile defense system” →

U.S., Chinese military planes in ‘unsafe’ encounter over disputed South China Sea

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Japan Times

A Chinese H-6K bomber patrols islands and reefs in the South China Sea in this undated photo. | XINHUA NEWS AGENCY / VIA AP
by Staff Writer Feb 10, 2017

A U.S. Navy reconnaissance aircraft and a Chinese military plane were involved in an “unsafe” encounter earlier this week in international airspace over the disputed South China Sea, the U.S. Pacific Command said Friday.

The U.S. Navy P-3C was on a “routine mission” over the waters on Wednesday when the encounter with a Chinese military KJ-200 aircraft occurred, Pacific Command said.

The two planes flew within 1,000 feet (300 meters) of each other in the area of the contested Scarborough Shoal, just 230 km (140 miles) from the Philippine coast, CNN reported, citing unnamed U.S. defense officials.

Scarborough Shoal, which is also claimed by Manila, has been known as a potential flashpoint, and rumors of a push by China to build on the collection of rocky outcroppings have stoked concern in the region. Building at Scarborough would create a large “strategic triangle” covering much of the South China Sea that would give it the ability to declare and police an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) there. Tiếp tục đọc “U.S., Chinese military planes in ‘unsafe’ encounter over disputed South China Sea” →

NATO Checking Claim that U.S. Airstrikes Killed 22 Afghan Civilians

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By MUJIB MASHAL and TAIMOOR SHAH FEB. 11, 2017

Afghan police during an operation against Taliban militants in the Sangin district of Afghanistan’s Helmand province in January. Watan Yar/European Pressphoto Agency

KABUL, Afghanistan — The NATO mission in Afghanistan has opened a preliminary investigation into claims that more than 20 civilians were killed in recent American airstrikes in the southern province of Helmand, military officials said Saturday.

Elders from the Sangin district, the scene of heavy fighting in recent weeks, with the Taliban blowing up Afghan Army posts there, have said that multiple American airstrikes early Friday morning killed at least 22 civilians, including several women and children.

Brig. Gen. Charles H. Cleveland, a spokesman for the American-led NATO mission, insisted that the military command had seen no conclusive evidence that civilians were killed in the airstrikes, but said that “a formal review to determine the credibility of the claims” had been opened. The investigation team involved NATO officers outside the American command to ensure impartiality, he added.

Trump Responds to North Korean Missile Launch With Uncharacteristic Restraint

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By PETER BAKER FEB. 12, 2017

On Sunday in Seoul, South Korea, people watched a news broadcast on the North Korean missile test. President Trump had a decidedly muted response. Kim Hee-Chul/European Pressphoto Agency

WASHINGTON — After North Korea threatened on New Year’s Day to test an intercontinental ballistic missile, Donald J. Trump, then president-elect, reacted with characteristic swagger. He vowed to stop the North from developing a nuclear weapon capable of hitting the United States. “It won’t happen!” he wrote on Twitter.

But six weeks later, after North Korea defiantly launched a missile into the sea, Mr. Trump, now president, reacted with surprising restraint. Appearing before cameras late at night on Saturday in Florida with his golfing guest, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, Mr. Trump read a statement of just 23 words that pledged American support for Tokyo without even mentioning North Korea.

North Korea Fires Ballistic Missile, Challenging Trump

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By CHOE SANG-HUN FEB. 11, 2017

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan and President Trump denounced North Korea’s latest ballistic missile test, while Senator Chuck Schumer of New York said China should “put the wood to North Korea.”

By REUTERS and THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. Photo by Ahn Young-Joon/Associated Press. Watch in Times Video

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward the sea off its eastern coast on Sunday, in what South Korea called the North’s first attempt to test President Trump’s policy on the isolated country.

A projectile believed to be a modified version of the North’s intermediate-range ballistic missile Musudan took off at 7:55 a.m. from Banghyon, a town near North Korea’s northwestern border with China, and flew 310 miles before falling in the sea, the South Korean military said. Earlier, the United States Strategic Command issued a statement identifying the missile as a medium- or intermediate-range system that “did not pose a threat to North America.”

South Korea condemned the missile launching, saying that it violated a series of United Nations Security Council resolutions that bar North Korea from developing or testing ballistic missile and nuclear weapons technologies. It also said the North had launched the missile to raise tensions over its weapons programs and to use it as leverage in dealing with the Trump administration.

Top Opposition Leader in Cambodia Resigns as Election Nears

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By JULIA WALLACE FEB. 12, 2017

Sam Rainsy, until Saturday the leader of the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party, arriving in Phnom Penh, the capital, in August 2015. He fled the country that November to avoid jail time. Heng Sinith/Associated Press

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — The embattled leader of Cambodia’s main opposition party abruptly quit on Saturday in the face of increasing government pressure, ceding a political stage he had occupied for more than two decades.

The resignation of the leader, Sam Rainsy, came after the government began a series of moves that would allow it to dissolve the Cambodia National Rescue Party he led, in advance of crucial local elections set for June. The opposition has also been hit with a barrage of lawsuits and leaked telephone conversations between leading figures and women purported to be their mistresses.

It was unclear whether Mr. Sam Rainsy, 67, was leaving politics for good or was planning to work quietly behind the scenes. Either way, his exit seemed to represent the end of an era.

As the head of three liberal-leaning political parties since 1995, he had been a thorn in the side of the country’s long-ruling prime minister, Hun Sen, for more than 20 years.

Đạo Thiên Chúa và Chủ nghĩa thực dân tại Việt Nam – Phần II: Chương Bốn: Những khó khăn trong việc áp dụng điều 9

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 ĐPNN – 12/06/2010 19:34:00TS Cao Huy Thuần
image

Luận án Tiến Sĩ Quốc Gia Khoa Học Chính Trị Đại Học Paris.

Trong khi điều 2 của hiệp ước 1862 chỉ nêu lên nguyên tắc tự do theo đạo Thiên Chúa mà không buộc chính phủ Việt nam có nghĩa vụ cụ thể nào đối với công dân theo đạo , thì điều 9 hiệp ước 1874 , công nhận cho những người này một mức độ độc lập đối với luật pháp xứ sở, đã làm nguy hại trầm trọng uy quyền vua Tự Đức và đe dọa ngay cả nền tảng của truyền thống quân chủ của Vương quốc . Tiếp tục đọc “Đạo Thiên Chúa và Chủ nghĩa thực dân tại Việt Nam – Phần II: Chương Bốn: Những khó khăn trong việc áp dụng điều 9” →

Trump và Tập: chiến tranh thương mại?

~ Phạm Thu Hương ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Vũ Quang Việt Thứ Năm,  9/2/2017, 23:10 (GMT+7)

(TBKTSG) – Tổng thống Mỹ Donald Trump đã ký sắc lệnh quyết định rút Mỹ khỏi Hiệp định Đối tác xuyên Thái Bình Dương (TPP), thảo luận lại Hiệp định Thương mại tự do bắc Mỹ (Nafta), xác định từng vi phạm hiệp định thương mại với từng nước để có biện pháp thích hợp.  Còn với Trung Quốc (TQ), Trump tuyên bố đó là nước thao túng hối suất, trợ cấp hàng hóa, ăn cắp công nghệ  và hứa hẹn sẽ  cứng rắn với TQ, sẽ làm “nước Mỹ vĩ đại trở lại”.  TQ dưới sự lãnh đạo của Tập Cận Bình đang làm gì và Trump có thể đối sách như thế nào? Tiếp tục đọc “Trump và Tập: chiến tranh thương mại?” →