Mission for peace targets terrorists

Senior members of the Chinese and Russian armed forces Wednesday vowed to jointly fight terrorists and extremists as the nations kicked off a massive joint anti-terror drill.

Mission for peace targets terrorists

Russian soldiers train before a joint military exercise between China and Russia in Taonan, in northeast China's Jilin province, July 21, 2009. [chinadaily.com.cn]Mission for peace targets terrorists

"Terrorist organizations are taking more and more forms, including launching terrorism attacks under the flag of Islam," Chief of General Staff of the Russian armed forces, Nikolai Makarov, told his visiting Chinese counterpart, Chen Bingde, in Khabarovsk, Russia's biggest city in the Far East and the headquarters of its Far East Military Command.

The two generals kicked off the five-day joint anti-terror drill, codenamed Peace Mission - 2009, along with dozens of high-level military leaders from both sides, at strategic talks that marked the start of the exercise.

"The recent events (in Urumqi) show that more and more terrorist, separatist and extremist forces are emerging, and, recently, to that we have to add pirates (in Somalia)," Makarov said.


"I believe the joint task of our two armed forces is to fight such illegal forces," he added.

The riot in Urumqi on July 5 was instigated by terrorist, separatist and extremist forces, the government has said.

The incident claimed the lives of 197 people.

Russia and China are holding the joint exercise to tell the world "the two armed forces have the capability to handle new challenges and protect regional stability and security," Makarov told reporters at a joint press conference after the talks.

Chen said the drill was "a mission for peace which bears far-reaching political significance".

Wang Haiyun, a former Chinese military attache in Russia, said Makarov mentioned Islamic extremists as being one of the main threats to regional security.

"Terrorist, separatist and religious extremist forces are the root of long-term turmoil in the region," Wang said.

Chen took the opportunity Wednesday to repeat China's stance on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

"As neighbors of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), China and Russia have similar strategic interests and security concerns on the peninsula issue," Chen said. "Though the DPRK has recently had a nuclear test, we still insist on denuclearization of the peninsula."

The US and Japan are reinforcing their security efforts and speeding up the implementation of a missile defense system following Pyongyang's missile launches, Chen said.

"That has severely darkened the situation in Northeast Asia," he added.

Chen noted that Peace Mission - 2009 was aimed at terrorism, not nations, dismissing speculation that it was in some way related to the peninsula issue.

Wang Fan, director of the institute of international relations at China Foreign Affairs University, said the ramping-up of US and Japanese security initiatives in the region will add to the challenges.

"Dialogue and mutual trust is more important (than military expansion)," he said.

In the coming days, 2,600 soldiers from China and Russia will take part in a series of drills at a military training base in Horqin Grassland in Baicheng, Jilin province.

Jackson's doctor is target of manslaughter probe Buzz up!

Court records filed today in Houston show that Michael Jackson's personal physician is being investigated for manslaughter in the death of the pop icon, according to news reports.

Yesterday, U.S. drug agents and Los Angeles police investigators searched Conrad Murray’s medical clinic and a public storage unit he rented, seeking “items constituting evidence of the offense of manslaughter that tend to show that Dr. Conrad Murray committed the said criminal offense,” according to the warrant filed in Harris County District Court.

The Los Angeles Times says among the items seized from the storage unit were two computer hard drives, a Medical Board certificate, letters to a former employee, a list of contacts and papers pertaining to his practice. Among those is a “suspension notice Doctor’s Hospital” and “papers regarding incomplete chart Doctor’s Hospital.”

Investigators also seized letters from the Internal Revenue Service, Texas Department of Public Safety controlled substance registration and public records from the Texas controller.

Shanghai encourages aging population to have 2nd baby

SHANGHAI: Eligible couples in the city are for the first time being encouraged to have a second child, as authorities make an effort to tackle the burden of an aging population.

Family planning officials and volunteers will make home visits and slip leaflets under doorways to encourage couples to have a second child if both grew up as only children. Emotional and financial counseling will also be provided, officials said.

Shanghai encourages aging population to have 2nd baby


"We advocate eligible couples to have two kids because it can help reduce the proportion of the aging people and alleviate a workforce shortage in the future," said Xie Lingli, director of the Shanghai Population and Family Planning Commission.

Shanghai, the country's most populous city, has more than 3 million registered residents aged 60 and above, nearly 22 percent of the population. By 2020, the proportion is expected to rise to about 34 percent.

The country's family planning policy has been relaxed in recent years, allowing couples who are the only children in their families to have a second child. Shanghai encourages aging population to have 2nd baby

"The rising number of aging people will put pressure on the younger generation and society. We need to find ways to solve the problem, but it doesn't mean the country's family planning policy will be reversed," Xie stressed.

One salesman was cheered by the new attitude in Shanghai.

"I'm not sure, but such policy really gives us one more option. If family finance permits, I want to have two kids with my wife in the future," said 25-year-old Xiao Wang, who works at a local company. He and his girlfriend are both single children in their families.

However, not all residents are so keen on the idea.

"I don't think we will have a second kid," said 26-year-old Xiao Chen, an office worker. "After all, it is stressful work raising a child."

Cop in Gates arrest says he will not apologize

The Cambridge police officer at the center of the controversy over the arrest of a black Harvard professor says he will not apologize for the incident, the Boston media report.

Henry Louis Gates Jr., was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct at his home near Harvard last week after a neighbor called in a report of a possible break-in. Gates, who was returning from a trip abroad, and his driver, had been trying to force open a front door.

The professor eventually got inside, by using a back door, when police arrived. The police report indicates that a heated exchange occurred although Gates showed his Harvard ID police allege that Gates initially refused to identify himself. In any case, Gates was handcuffed and arrested, although charges were later dropped.

Gates, 58, who charges that the arrest was racially motivated, has demanded that the police officer, Sgt. James Crowley, apologize for the incident. USA TODAY reports that the incident has ignited a long-simmering national debate over racial profiling.

Q1X00080_9 Crowley, in an exclusive interview with the Boston Herald, says he harbors no “ill feelings toward the professor” but will not apologize.

“I just have nothing to apologize for,” he tells the Herald. “It will never happen.”

The Boston Globe reports that Crowley says Gates' arrest was not racially motivated. "I am not a racist," The Globe quotes the officer as saying.

The paper says Crowley had no comment to President Obama's statement last night that the policeman acted "stupidly" in arresting Gates in his own home.

The Globe also reports that a Cambridge police union expressed "full and unqualified support" for Crowley.

Update at 10:20 a.m. ET: Crowley gives a long interview this morning with WEEI, a Boston sport radio station, in which he offers more details about the incident.

Click here to listen to the entire interview.

He tells The Dennis & Callahan Morning Show that Gates refused to answer whether there was someone in the house with him. He also says he asked Gates to step outside for the officer's "own safety."

Crowley tells WEEI that Gates was very upset from the beginning. "It's not just what he said, but how he said it. It was somewhat peculiar."

The police officer says he asked Gates for a driver's license even after seeing his Harvard ID because the university document does not include an address, which would have verified that Gates was, in fact, in his own home.

Crowley says that Gates followed him outside and continued to speak loudly and that the officer twice warned him about possible arrest, the second time while holding a pair of handcuffs.

He tells WEEI that arresting Gates was "something I really didn't want to do."

As for President Obama's comments on the incident, Crowley says it is "disappointing that he waded into what should be a local issue."

Update at 10:52 a.m. ET: The Boston Globe initially offered a link on Monday to the original Cambridge police report, however it was only up for a short time. Click here to view the report. This link has been provided by two conservative websites, the media watchdog group called NewsBusters and View from the Right.

Update at 11:53 a.m. ET: The AP reports that Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, who is black, said he was troubled and upset over the incident. Cambridge Mayor Denise Simmons, who also is black, has said she spoke with Gates and apologized on behalf of the city, the AP reports. An earlier statement from the city called the incident "regrettable and unfortunate."

Update at 12:10 p.m. ET: At one point in the interview with WEEI, Crowley apologizes for not knowing before he got the professor's ID that he was an eminent scholar.

Here is how Crowley put it:

There are so many things in this incident that keep me scratching my head wondering. I apologize, I was not aware who professor Gates was. And when I read the name off the card, it wasn't like I said, 'Oh, wow, that's professor Gates.' I'm still just amazed that somebody of his level of intelligence could stoop to such a level and berate me, accuse me of being a racist, of racial profiling, and speaking about my mother. It's just beyond words.

Update at 12:16 p.m. ET: For more on the White House angle on the story, click here for The Oval.

Update at 12:43 p.m. ET: White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, responding to questions by reporters on Obama's statement, says, "Let me be clear, he was not calling the officer stupid. But at a certain point the situation (in Gates' house) got out of hand." Gibbs says "cooler heads" should have prevailed once it was clear this was not a break-in.

Update at 12:49 p.m. ET: Gibbs says Obama did not regret saying that he thought the Cambridge police had "acted stupidly" but wanted to clarify that he was not calling the arresting officer stupid.
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Update at 4:06 p.m. ET: The Cambridge Police Department will hold a news conference at 5 p.m. ET to talk about the arrest of Gates.

The AP is reporting that the arresting officer is an expert at racial profiling, which he has taught at the police academy for five years. The academy director, Thomas Fleming, says the course teaches about different cultures that officers could encounter in their community "and how you don't want to single people out because of their ethnic background or the culture they come from."

Comedian Bill Cosby reacted to Obama's remark last night, initially saying he was "shocked" but later backing off a bit, The Christian Science Monitor writes.

“I’ve heard about five different reports [on the details of the arrest],” Cosby said on Boston’s WZLX. “If I’m the president of the United States, I don’t care how much pressure people want to put on it about race, I’m keeping my mouth shut. I was shocked to hear the president making this kind of statement.”

Here's what he said later, on Boston’s FOX 25 TV:

“People who have not been there, people who don’t know are beginning to have their own personal feelings, but they weren’t there,” Cosby said.

“Does this include the president?” the FOX reporter asked.

“It includes everybody,” Cosby said. “[But] I would have to take into consideration that he lived in Cambridge for some time so he may know more than he’s saying about situations of that sort.”

Update at 5:53 p.m. ET: In his first statement since the arrest, Cambridge Police Commissioner Robert Haas just said that his department is "deeply pained" by the president's statement that his officers "acted stupidly." He said at a news conference that Crowley's actions were not motivated by racism.

Meet Man-donna: The Chilean transvestite who performs for crowds of 20,000

Thousands of adoring fans line the streets, jostling to catch a glimpse of megastar millionaire Madonna.

But it's not the Material Girl they are looking at, it's male look-a-like Elias Figueroa, a poor boy from Chile who loved the superstar so much he decided to become her.

Elias, 28, became obsessed with Madge from the first moment he heard her music on his parents crackling radio in Santiago.

'I was still a schoolboy,' said Elias. 'I heard "Like a Virgin" and it totally blew me away.

'Madonna was so naughty, so sexy and unorthodox she broke the rules and I wanted to know everything about her.'

Now Elias is a gay lookalike and earns $12,000 a year as a Man-donna impersonator, three times the national salary in Chile, and the equivalent of around £50,000 in the UK.

'I live the life of a superstar,' he said. 'Strangers flock to me, tell me they love me and even try to grab my bum.

'I'm so good at playing Madonna, some people can't tell the difference between me and the real thing they don't even realise I'm a man.'

Elias, who listened to Madonna in secret as a child, became obsessed with the star and memorised her sexy dance moves alone in front of the bathroom mirror.

'I would lock the door, put a towel on my head to look like hair and sing into my toothbrush,' he said.

As Elias grew older he challenged the stifling control of his parents and began to hit the gay party scene in Santiago.

The first time he performed as Madonna to an audience was in 1996 when, at the age of 15, he gave a karaoke style performance at a friend's birthday party.

'My friend's didn't know how much I had been practicing so when they saw me they thought it was totally amazing,' he said.

'I watched every Madonna video I could find and studied every single detail her clothes, hair, make-up, gestures and attitude.'

Two years later, after scouring fancy dress shops and markets for the perfect outfit, Elias unveiled himself as Madonna dressed in a saucy bridal outfit with a veil. 'People were amazed at the transformation,' explains Elias.

'But I wasn't just dressing and singing like her. I had the whole package and took on her entire personality I stopped being shy Elias and became a real diva.'

Desperate to perform to a bigger crowd, Elias took his act to Santiago's clubs and bars and begged to be given a chance to go on stage.

He earned just £12 for his first gig, but was such a hit he was invited back immediately and after two years could charge what he liked.

After going full-time eight years ago he's now performing up to three times a week and earns up to £500 a show more than the average monthly wage in Chile.

Jet-setting Elias performs to up to 20,000 people at packed theatres and open-air stadiums.

'Being Madonna completes me,' he said. 'On stage I am her. I leave Elias behind and become completely confident, sexy and outrageous like her. She has so many roles and personalities in her songs that I get to be each of those.

'I feel sexy like her. She's like a modern Marilyn Monroe. And I love the attention of being on stage.

'The crowd always goes wild and I get lots of compliments. It's a gay man's fantasy to be so glamorous and live this lifestyle like a celebrity.'

He spends the equivalent of £10,000 a year on outfits, wigs and make-up for his act, forking out hundreds on designer dresses.

Maintaining Madonna's sinewy physique isn't easy and, although comfortably wealthy, Elias cannot afford micro biotic dieticians, pilates instructors and personal trainers to help him.

'I must be skinny and fibrous so I have to eat light and healthily,' he said.

'I avoid grease and make sure that I am always burning calories.

'I also have to shave my eyebrows and draw new ones to look more feminine.'

Elias now lives in a plush apartment with his male partner. 'He is not fan of Madonna, but he likes what I do,' said Elias.

'He just sees it as my job but he loves Elias not Madonna.'

Since the real Madonna's first trip to Chile as part of her Sticky and Sweet tour last December his career has taken off even more.

He's such a celebrity he now gets mobbed whenever he walks down the street dressed as his idol.

'I do get harassed sometimes,' he admits. 'But I love the attention and most of the time people congratulate me.

'They even ask if I've had cosmetic surgery to my face and say I've got a pretty body even better than Madonna's.'

Despite the incredible resemblance, Elias has yet to meet his idol.

'That would be a dream come true,' he gushes. 'She's a goddess.'

Striking employees hold demonstration

SRINAGAR, July 23: Work in government and semi-government offices in the state was paralyzed today in view of strike by employees. Demanding the fulfillment of their 'genuine' demands at the earliest, the employees observed a lock-out and stayed away from their duties.
The strike call evoked total response almost all the departments. Even the impact was very much visible in Civil Secretariat, Public Service Commission, Service Selection Board, Competent Authority and Entrance Examination.
Amid a complete strike that paralyzed work in government, semi-government offices and corporations in Jammu, the striking employees held a strong protest demonstration led by Employees Joint Action Committee (EJAC) president, Ram Kumar Sharma and Parvin Kumar at press club Jammu.
Chanting slogans against the government for causing 'delay' in fulfilling demands of the employees, the protestors staged a sit-in for hours. They alleged that the government was intimidating the employees to resort to protests by causing unnecessary delay in fulfilling the demands.
Under the banner of J and K Civil Secretariat Non-Gazetted Employees Union, the employees of all the departments of civil secretariat held a protest demonstration in support of their demands in the lawns of civil secretariat. The striking employees also held protests at Handwara.
Reports said that the employees stayed away from their duties at Ladakh and Kargil and the observed a lock out.
Today's strike was observed in response to the call given by Employees Joint Action Committee (EJAC) and in lieu of decision jointly taken by Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) and Sub Cabinet Committee.
It may be recalled here that the state employees held protests in support of their demands from 11 A M to 1 PM last day.
EJAC and its constituent organizations spearheading the state employees' agitation have strongly reacted to the statement of Finance Minister, Abdul Rahim Rather that the employees strike was unconstitutional and illegitimate.
Chairman EJAC, Abdul Qayoom Wani told Kashmir Times that the employees have been deprived of Drabu and S L Bhat committees' recommendation on sixth pay commission and instead the government has deceived employees by issuing SRO 93, 94 and 95.
"In the SROs, there is no mention of release of arrears in cash since 2006, the five and 10 per cent HRA also remains unchanged and it also does not make a mention of DA instead of COLA. The SROs also does not cover two years extension in retirement age, increase in salaries of employees appointed in 2006 and some other demands," he said adding that employees will be forced to intensify protests, if the government did not consider the demands of employees.
Qayoom Wani said that the Joint Consultation Committee (JCC) will meet before July 30 and the strike programme will start in first week of August.
"The representatives of employees from all three regions including Ladakh, Jammu and Kashmir will meet before July 30 and the protest programme is likely to begin in first week of August," said EJAC chairman.
The demands of employees include, release of pending arrears in favour of employees and pensioners since 2006, increase in the age of retirement by two years, removal of disparity in the salaries of employees appointed in 2006, to equal the HRA to that of central government employees, regularization of all daily wagers, adhoc, contractual workers, casual labours and increase in their salaries besides release of 'state share' in favour of helpers, release of DA in stead of COLA in favour of public sector employees and some other demands.
Reports said that patients and attendants suffered immensely following strike by employees at SMHS and SKIMS hospitals here.
Reports said that employees stayed away from duties and observed a lock out at major district headquarters including Baramulla, Sopore, Kupwara, Anantanag, Shopian, Budgam, Bandipora and Ganderbal.
Meanwhile, All Kashmir Public Health Engineering (PHE) federation has appealed PHE minister to intervene and help in releasing their two months pending salaries and save their families from facing starvation like situation.

Employee electrocuted, protests against CRPF
KT NEWS SRVICE
SRINAGAR, July 23: Protests demonstration were held in Bemina area here after a government employee was electrocuted due to the current in razor wire spread by the CRPF. Police has registered a case.
Fayaz Ahmad Bhat an employee in PHE was electrocuted while he touched the razor wire spread by CRPF 166 Batallion in Bemina outside their camp. As the news spread people took to streets and held protests demonstrations against the CRPF. The people were alleging that CRPF with out reason has spread the razor wire at a long distance from their camps.Police said that a case has been registered and investigations had been taken up.

Tourists love Greece, regardless

FOREIGN tourists remain quite satisfied with what they get from Greece as their holiday destination, in spite of high prices and the worldwide economic recession, according to a survey of visitors’ preferences aired on Flash 96 Radio on July 9.

Eight out of 10 visitors polled said they plan to return to the country for a future vacation, while nine out of 10 would recommend it to friends who have never been to Greece.

Americans, Australians and Germans seem to be the most satisfied, whereas Scandinavians and the French were less so.

“The fact that so many tourists wish to return to Greece after their first visit, and six out of 10 surveyed have already been to Greece before, shows what a strong brand name our country has in the world tourist market,” Tourist Development Minister Kostas Markopoulos said on the radio.

Greek food and entertainment - especially on the islands - received top marks from most respondents, whereas the high prices of the domestic market was the most unpleasant aspect of their stay. The survey comes on the heels of government-released statistics, and largely confirms encouraging signs of resilience by the Greek tourism sector in the face of the financial crisis.

The expected drop in tourist arrivals and revenue in the first half of the year was not as bad as many feared. According to the survey, the sector’s strength appears to be sustained by visitors’ satisfaction with the unique qualities and diversity of their holiday experience in the country. They are therefore inclined to visit Greece for shorter periods and spend less during that time, rather than switch to a cheaper travel destination altogether.

The study was conducted at the end of June by Ammon Ovis Business Development Consultants. Ammon Ovis market analyst Kostas Drosatos said the survey was carried out at the departure lounge of the Athens International Airport, with a standard questionnaire given to a sample of 332 tourists from five continents.

Age differences
The average time spent in Greece was 12 days, with longer stays registered by those who divided their time between Athens and a Greek island (16 days).

Those who confined their visit exclusively to Athens spent on average four fewer days than those who preferred to limit their visit to the islands (seven days as opposed to 11 days, respectively). Age groups and nationality of the visitors seem to play a significant role in determining the length of stay. Those at the opposite ends of the age scale were inclined to spend the longest periods away from home.

The average stay for tourists aged 17 to 25 years, and those aged 56 or older, is 15 days, compared to 11 days for the three intermediate age categories.

Germans stayed longest in the country (14 days on average), followed by Australians with 13 days. By contrast, Americans spent only eight to nine days.

A dissenting view
LIKE MOST tourist surveys before it, the Ammon Ovis study “reinforces old cliches and platitudes about the popularity of Greece as a tourist destination without exploring the potential of its real competitive advantages,” Athens-based travel agent Michalis Tziotis told the Athens News.

“One wonders how much thin air can be blown into the rubric of entertainment, but there’s obviously no room in it for the concept of culture,” he said.

He added that culture is the key ingredient in any serious attempt to attract a fresh wave of high-income tourists to Greece, now that the country has forever lost the advantage of comparatively low prices.

“Why do you think the Turks are suddenly peddling all the Ionian monuments of the Greek cultural heritage in Asia Minor as their own?” he asked. Turkey knows that tourists with expensive tastes and the disposable income to go with it are the ones who also possess a high-level of education and varied cultural interests.

“Instead of drowning the cultural legacy of Hellenism into a catch-all notion of entertainment, we should be doing more for the preservation and promotion of our eternal treasures at home and abroad,” Tziotis said.