Fans Question Suspicious Vote At Thai FCC Election

Fans of Trang FC and Phang Nga FC, two of the six clubs involved in the controversy, want clarification on why the men who voted for them have since stepped away from the clubs' management. 

The election, which saw Worawi Makudi clinch victory over his challenger Virach Chanpanich to retain the post for a fourth consecutive term, was marred by allegations of irregularities. 

It was alleged that outside people were brought in to replace the six clubs' originally-designated representatives, after the poll was delayed from its original date in mid-June.

Things looked more suspicious after Thanya Phovijit, who took part in the poll as Trang's representative, announced a day after voting that he would take a reduced role in managing the team. 

Earthquake Creates Mile Long Rock Wall

A deadly earthquake that struck the Philippines last week created a spectacular rocky wall that stretches for kilometres through farmlands, astounded geologists said Thursday.

Dramatic pictures of the Earth-altering power of the 7.1-magnitide quake have emerged as the government worked to mend the broken central island of Bohol, ground zero of the destruction.

Mayor of Philippine Apologizes Over Deaths

Manila mayor to apologise over Hong Kong deaths

The mayor of the Philippine capital will formally apologise over the deaths of eight Hong Kong tourists in a 2010 hostage crisis, an aide said Wednesday, despite the president insisting none should be given.

Joseph Estrada, a graft-tainted ex-president who was elected mayor of Manila in May, will go to Hong Kong this week to present the apology in the form of a resolution passed by the city council, a city official said.

A formal apology has been one of the long-standing demands by the Hong Kong government over the deaths of the eight tourists in Manila in August 2010 after they were taken hostage by a disgruntled Filipino policeman.

"There is an admission of a bungled operation. The city of Manila is being more candid now," Luch Gempis, secretary of the Manila city council, told AFP.

Philippine authorities have acknowledged that police and other authorities mishandled the hostage situation.

North Korea to Return 6 Detained South Koreans

SEOUL, South Korea October 24, 2013 (AP)

By FOSTER KLUG Associated Press

North Korea plans to allow six detained South Koreans to return home, officials in Seoul said Thursday, an unusual move that accompanied Pyongyang's separate approval of a visit by South Korean lawmakers to a recently restarted factory park both Koreas run in the North.

Pyongyang's Red Cross sent a letter to the South saying the detained South Koreans will cross over the heavily armed border at the so-called truce village of Panmunjom on Friday, according to a short statement from the South's Unification Ministry, which is responsible for cross-border ties.

Moomoo the cat's shooter hands himself in

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  An x-ray of the crossbow bolt that pierced the skull of a cat -Source: Massey University
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  The crossbow bolt that was removed from a cat's head -Source: Massey University

A Wainuiomata teenager has claimed responsibility for shooting a cat through the head with a crossbow bolt.

On Tuesday, Donna Ferari rushed four-year-old Moomoo to a veterinarian clinic after discovering him cowering in bushes with what looked like an arrow through his head.

Massey University vets managed to remove the bolt as it went in above the cat's left eye and out behind his ear but did not touch the brain.

Family mourns NSW water-bomber pilot

The body of a pilot killed during a firefighting operation in NSW has been recovered. Source: AAP

A FIREFIGHTING pilot who died when his waterbombing plane crashed in southern NSW was naturally skilled, respected and professional, his family says.

David Black, 43, died when his Dromader aircraft crashed while fighting a fire at Wirritin in Budawang National Park, 40 kilometres west of Ulladulla, around 10am (AEDT) on Thursday.

Reports say one of the plane's wings fell off before the aircraft plummeted to the ground.

Bushfire claims hit $138m and rising

More than 1000 claims have been made by those who lost property in the NSW bushfires, the ICA says. Source: AAP

DAMAGE from the NSW bushfires has been estimated at $138 million but the Insurance Council (ICA) of Australia expects it to increase as more inspections are conducted.

On Friday morning 1011 claims had been made, ICA CEO Rob Whelan said.

More than 200 homes have been destroyed and more than 100 were damaged in the large fires but more claims are expected as many areas haven't been declared safe and insurance assessors can't enter.

Thailand's Buddhist Supreme Patriarch dies aged 100

Thailand's most senior Buddhist leader, the Supreme Patriarch Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara, has died aged 100.

He passed away on Thursday after suffering a blood infection following recent surgery for an intestinal infection, doctors said.

He had been receiving treatment at Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital in Bangkok since being admitted for an illness more than a decade ago.

Chinese court set to rule on Bo Xilai appeal

Supporters of Mr Bo, in handcuffs, believe he is the victim of a political purge

Continue reading the main story

Bo Xilai scandal

• Will leaders regret Bo's fall?
• Profile: Bo Xilai
• Transparency or theatre?
• Key players

A Chinese court is set to rule on the appeal of disgraced top politician Bo Xilai, the former Chongqing Communist Party leader.

Bo was jailed for life in September on charges of bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power.

He was removed from office in 2012 amid a scandal which saw his wife convicted of a British businessman's murder.

Titanic project to start by year's end

Updated: 2013-10-24 20:36

By Ma Lie ( chinadaily.com.cn)

A project to rebuild the Titanic, the first one in the world to original scale, is set to be started by the end of this year in Daying county, Sichuanprovince, West China Metropolis Daily reported on Wednesday.

As part of the province's 10-billion-yuan ($1.64 billion) tourist investment, the new Titanic will be built to original size; 270 meters long, and 28meters wide.

The project will be carried out by a US company and will commence by the end of this year.

Su Shaojun, head of the investment company for the new Titanic, said that the ship will stay permanently in the county and highlight the originalvessel's luxury.

Titanic sank after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage from Britain to the United States in April 1912 but its hold on the global imaginationremains undiminished.

Mixed marriages in China a labour of love

By Zoe MurphyBBC News

"From the first time I started to love a Chinese man, hiding became part of my life," says American Jocelyn Eickenburg.

She had moved to Shanghai in 2003 to be with her now-husband Jun Yu.

"In the past, students had been expelled for dating or marrying foreigners. We didn't know what would happen if the university administration found out, so we told no-one he was living off-campus with me," she says.

A foreign woman with a Chinese man is a rare pairing.

Cruise missiles on parade in South Korea show

1 October 2013 Last updated at 11:30 BST

South Korea is staging what officials describe as its largest military parade in a decade, as its president warns of a "very grave" threat from North Korea.

Cruise missiles and torpedoes were amongst the weapons displayed in the armed forces day parade, reports said.

US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel also attended the event marking the 65th anniversary of South Korea's armed forces.

Around 11,000 soldiers and 120 aircraft were mobilised for the event.

Japan aims to beam solar energy down from orbit

wired.co.uk -- Oct 03

The Japanese space agency JAXA is developing a revolutionary concept to put "power stations" in orbit to capture sunlight and beam it to Earth.

The country has been looking for new power sources following the devastating earthquake and tsunami in March, 2011, that destroyed much of the north-east of the country and caused a meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant.

Leak traced to overfilling of tank built on slope

NHK -- Oct 03

The operator of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant says the latest leak of radioactive wastewater has been traced to the overfilling of a storage tank built on a slope.

Tokyo Electric Power Company officials apologized at a news conference on Thursday for the leaks that surface on an almost daily basis.

The tank is on the mountain side of the plant's No.4 reactor. The TEPCO officials said the tank was built on ground that slopes toward the ocean, and the leak occurred on the side that faces the sea.

They estimate that 430 liters of wastewater seeped outside the barrier around the tank and say some of this water may have flowed into the sea, about 200 meters away.

Workers had been careful not to fill the tank to the top. But on Wednesday, they put in too much rainwater that had pooled nearby.

Shortly after 8:00 PM on Wednesday, workers found wastewater leaking from the upper part of the tank.

They detected 200,000 becquerels per liter of beta ray-emitting radioactive substances in water pooled inside the barrier around the tank. The safety limit is 30 becquerels per liter.

Bo Xilai found guilty on all charges, sentenced to life in prison

By Steven Jiang, CNN

Beijing (CNN) -- A court in eastern China sentenced Bo Xilai -- the former rising star of the ruling Communist Party who fell from power amid a scandal involving murder, betrayal and financial skullduggery -- to life in prison Sunday.

Bo received the life sentence for bribe-taking, as well as 15 years for embezzlement and seven years for abuse of power.

The sentences, which came shortly after the guilty verdicts, surprised some analysts.

"I'm actually a little bit surprised. I think it's a very strong verdict" compared to some previous cases, said Yuhua Wang, a political science professor at University of Pennsylvania.

"He was a political star before falling from grace. He was ... the son of a revolutionary veteran. His father was Mao's colleague," he added.

Australia's New South Wales State Sets New Limits on Coal-Seam Gas Drilling

 

PERTH, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Australia's New South Wales has implemented new regulations that would keep some areas of the state off limits to new coal-seam gas drilling, potentially affecting the plans of gas developers such as AGL Energy.

Global sugar demand leaves Cambodian farmers landless

Song Kong, a 56-year-old farmer in Cambodia's southern Koh Kong Province, vividly recalls the day in 2006 when a bulldozer arrived and began clearing his paddy field to make room for a sugar plantation. Since then, life has become much worse for him and 456 other families who also lost their land in Sre Ambel District. 

“Before my farmland was taken from me, I was able to save at least US$1,000 every year. Now, I don't have any land, so I rely on fishing in the rice fields and streams,” said Kong, a representative of the community. He earns between US$1.25 and $2.50 per day - not enough for his family of six to live on - so there is nothing left to put aside for a safety cushion, or plan for a better future.

Waters rise in Cambodia after deadly floods kill 

At least 30 people have been killed in floods in Cambodia as heavy monsoon rains have drowned provinces along the Mekong river, raising fears the country is set for a repeat of the 1996 floods, which killed 170 and affected a million people nationwide.

The Mekong has burst its banks in several places, forcing tens of thousands of people to higher ground.

Possible gas find reported in Papua New Guinea

Published: Sept. 27, 2013 at 6:54 AM

WOOLLOOMOOLOO, Australia, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- An apparent onshore natural gas field in Papua New Guinea could possibly give up approximately 400 billion cubic feet of reserves, Horizon Oil announced.

Cambodian opposition rejects Hun Sen election win

Cambodia's opposition on Monday rejected the claim of victory by the ruling party of strongman Prime Minister Hun Sen in weekend elections, alleging widespread irregularities.

"The Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) cannot accept the results of the fifth parliamentary election ... because the CNRP has found a lot of serious irregularities," the party said in a statement.

It called for a committee representing the two main political parties, the National Election Committee, civil organizations and the United Nations to "be urgently established" to investigate complaints.

Cambodian Prime Minister Extends Reign Amid Opposition Boycott of Parliament

By THOMAS FULLER

Published: September 23, 2013

BANGKOK — Cambodia’s long-serving, authoritarian prime minister, Hun Sen, was elected to another five-year term in office on Tuesday despite a deadlock with the opposition, which has refused to attend the National Assembly in protest over alleged electoral cheating.

Mr. Hun Sen was set to be sworn into office later Tuesday by Cambodia’s king, Norodom Sihamoni, officially extending the prime minister’s 28 years in power.

The king has sought in vain to broker an end to the acrimony after Mr. Hun Sen’s foes claimed widespread cheating in the July 28 election and rejected the official results, which left Mr. Hun Sen’s Cambodia People’s Party in the majority, though weakened.

New Zealand 'beefs' up presence in China

The growing appetite for beef in China - which can’t be met by domestic production in the near-term - is good news for New Zealand exporters, according to a new industry report.
In its report, ‘Australia and New Zealand beef up their presence in China’, agricultural banking specialist Rabobank says Chinese beef consumption is expected to continue growing at a faster pace than domestic production, increasing the reliance on imports to satisfy demand.
Report co-author, Rabobank animal proteins analyst Matt Costello warns however, that while the New Zealand beef industry sees long-term growth and potential within the Chinese market, so too do competitors from around the world.

Tony Abbott arrives in Jakarta for talks after asylum seeker tragedy    

 

Prime Minister Tony Abbott stands with his wife Margie and an Indonesian military officer during a wreath laying ceremony at Kalibata Heroes' Cemetery in Jakarta. Source: AFP 

by: Lanai Scarr, Patrick Lion         
September 30, 2013 4:52PM

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has arrived in Jakarta for talks amid tensions over the asylum-seeker issue.
Mr Abbott, who described Indonesia as Australia’s “most important relationship” before departing Sydney, is keen to promote trade, education, defence and aid links.
Travelling with Mr Abbott is his wife, Margie, Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, Trade and Investment Minister Andrew Robb and 20 business leaders.
Mr Abbott is due to hold official talks with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono later on Monday ahead of an official dinner at which he will give a speech.
Earlier, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison defended the government’s response to the distressed asylum seeker vessel that sank with the loss of up to 36 lives
Four more bodies, including those of two children, were found on Monday morning, bringing the toll to 36 dead and authorities say more than 20 people
are missing, feared drowned.