Prince Harry appoints private secretary

PRINCE Harry has appointed a former army officer to be his first dedicated private secretary.

Edward Lane Fox, who served in the prince's regiment, the Household Cavalry's Blues and Royals, before moving into public relations, will take up the post by June.

The move completes a reorganisation of Harry and his brother William's household which began last year, and reflects their growing status within the monarchy, which will become more prominent in coming years.

Lane Fox, who is a distant relative of Martha Lane Fox, co-founder of travel website lastminute.com, has met Harry a number of times through their military connections.

But the pair would have spent some time together when the prince joined a group from the Household Cavalry, which included the new private secretary, on an expedition in southern Africa.

Lane Fox left the Army in 2006 as squadron second-in-command, with the rank of captain.

He now works as a senior associate with global financial communications firm RLM Finsbury and before that was employed as chief of staff for Roland Rudd, the firm's founder.

The former captain replaces Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, who acted as Harry's personal aide for about eight months following the royal household reorganisation.

23.44 | 0 komentar | Read More

Clinton to pen 'ultimate book' on world

HILLARY Clinton, whose every move is being scrutinised for signs she might make a 2016 presidential run, has announced she's penning a book outlining her views on the United States' role in the world.

The ex-secretary of state's first book since leaving office will be published by Simon & Schuster next year, midway through President Barack Obama's final term, the publisher said on Thursday.

"This will be the ultimate book for people who are interested in world affairs and America's place in the world today," said Jonathan Karp, publisher of Simon & Schuster Publishing Group, and who is set to edit the work himself.

No title was announced, nor details of how much former president Bill Clinton's wife would be paid.

The publisher's CEO Carolyn Reidy said Hillary Clinton would "bring readers worldwide her unique insights into the most dramatic events and critically important issues of our time."

Topics covered will include the killing of Osama bin Laden, the US pullouts from Iraq and Afghanistan, the Arab Spring revolts, and the rise of China. Broad issues including the role of women and girls, climate change, and human rights will also be addressed, the publisher said in a statement.

"And she will share her views as to what it takes for the United States to secure and sustain prosperity and global leadership. Throughout, Secretary Clinton will offer vivid personal anecdotes and memories of her collaboration with President Obama and his National Security team, as well as her engagement with leaders around the world," the statement said.

Clinton has stayed coy about her plans in 2016, but she is seen as a clear frontrunner this time, having lost the Democratic nomination in 2008 to Obama, who went on to become America's first black president.

Polls show that Clinton, who would be 69 in 2016, has strong support among Democrats should she bid to become the first woman elected to the White House.

23.44 | 0 komentar | Read More

Londoners bemused by snow in April

DO snow showers bring May flowers?

Londoners had to wonder on Thursday after looking at the calendar and looking out the window.

Snow flurries swirled through the British capital, failing to stick but giving residents the sense that winter temperatures would somehow never end.

Britain has just endured its coldest March in more 50 years - and the trial is not over yet.

Richard Wilford, head of hardy plants at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, is among the many wishing for warmth.

He says the consistency of the cold - London hasn't had a warm spell since Christmas - is worrisome. Although some of the tougher plants are flowering now, many will just abort once they open, he said.

In other words, spring will come - but it might be short.

23.44 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pakistan acquits Christian on death row

A PAKISTANI court has acquitted a Christian man who was sentenced to death for blasphemy six years ago in the country's second largest city, lawyers say.

Younis Masih, 34, a labourer, was arrested in September 2005 in the low-income Qenchi Amar Siddhu neighbourhood of Lahore after local residents accused him of interrupting a gathering of Sufi singing to make blasphemous remarks.

Masih's lawyer, Naeem Shakir, said his client was sentenced to death in May 2007 and fined 100,000 rupees ($A960), but appealed to the high court in Lahore.

"The high court on Wednesday decided to overturn the death sentence and ordered that Masih be acquitted," Shakir told AFP.

"I argued the case in February and put to the court that there is no direct evidence against Younis Masih and that the case was based on hearsay," he said.

Blasphemy is a very sensitive issue in Pakistan, where 97 per cent of the 180 million population are Muslims, and even unproven allegations can spark a violent public backlash.

Rights campaigners argue the blasphemy laws, for which the maximum penalty is death, are often abused to settle personal scores and should be reformed.

Shakir said his client would be freed "in a couple of days" after he obtained a written copy of the decision and a detailed judgement.

The deputy prosecutor general confirmed the acquittal.

Last month, more than 3000 furious Muslims rampaged through the Joseph Colony area of Lahore, looting property and burning buildings after a Christian was accused of blasphemy.

Surrounding Punjab province was also the scene of one of the worst outbreaks of anti-Christian violence when a mob burned 77 houses and killed seven people in the town of Gojra in 2009 after rumours that a Koran had been desecrated.

23.44 | 0 komentar | Read More

Four million displaced inside Syria: UN

THE UN is hiking its estimates of people trapped in Syria after fleeing their homes, saying some four million are now displaced inside the country and in dire need of international help.

The figure, due to be officially released in the coming days, is a dramatic increase on earlier estimates of some 2.5 million displaced put forward by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees for the period from January to June.

It also adds to the 1.2 million refugees who have fled to neighbouring countries - meaning almost a quarter of the nation's population of around 22.5 million has now been forced to flee the two-year conflict.

UNHCR regional public information officer Reem Alsalem acknowledged the initial figures laid out in the Syria humanitarian assistance plan earlier this year "no longer reflect the quickly evolving situation".

"The UN and its partners are currently in the process of revising the planning figures, scenarios and response mechanisms from now until the end of the year," she told AFP in an email.

Of the number of internally displaced people inside the Syria "it would be safe to say that they are around four million", she added.

Aid workers have struggled to reach those in most need, braving dangerous situations to get shelter, food and help to those fleeing the fighting.

But the crisis is also stretching resources as the United Nations, aid agencies and donors - the biggest of which so far is the United States - scramble to keep up with the flow of frightened families.

Health services, bakeries, schools, vital components of normal life are teetering or have shut down, leaving a population in distress.

"What we're seeing now ... is that now it is not just violence that is driving flight," Deputy Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees and Migration Kelly Clements said.

"It is also just a decline in livelihoods, a decline in the economic means for families to be able to support themselves, it's disruption to services, it's kids not being able to go to school, it's water systems that have been either cut off or somehow affected."

23.44 | 0 komentar | Read More

China reports fifth H7N9 bird flu death

A NEW strain of bird flu has claimed two more lives in China's business capital of Shanghai, taking the total number of human deaths attributed to the H7N9 virus to five, state media says.

Four of the deaths have occurred in the commercial hub, while the other was reported in the neighbouring province of Zhejiang on Wednesday.

Chinese authorities are trying to determine how exactly the new variety of bird flu infects people, but say there is no evidence yet of human-to-human transmission.

The number of confirmed cases stands at 14, including six from Shanghai, according to the official Xinhua news agency, which cited health authorities.

The first two deaths occurred in February but were not reported by authorities until late March. Officials said the delay in announcing the results was because it took time to determine the cause of the illnesses.

A 48-year-old poultry transporter was among the latest two reported dead on Thursday while the identity of the other person was not released. Both were said to have died a day earlier.

Authorities said none of the eight people whom the 48-year-old had close contact with had shown signs of infection.

The World Health Organisation on Wednesday ruled out the possibility of a pandemic because the sub-type is not thought to be transmitted from human to human, unlike the more common H5N1 strain.

But health experts have emphasised the need to quickly identify the source of the virus and its mode of transmission to reduce human exposure.

China's Ministry of Agriculture said on Thursday the virus has been detected in pigeon samples collected at a marketplace in Shanghai, according to a Xinhua report, which did not define the nature of the samples.

The more common strain of bird flu, H5N1, killed more than 360 people globally from 2003 until March 12 this year, according to the WHO.

23.44 | 0 komentar | Read More

Indon admits special forces shot prisoners

THE Indonesian army has admitted its special forces stormed a jail and shot dead four prisoners awaiting trial accused of killing their superior officer.

Nine members of the Special Forces Command confessed to carrying out the revenge killings shortly after midnight on March 23 at a central Java jail, said Brigadier General Unggul Yudhoyono, who led an investigation into the killings.

The prisoners were accused of beating and stabbing to death the soldiers' superior officer, Heru Santoso, at a nightclub in Yogyakarta, central Java, several days earlier as he reportedly tried to break up a fight.

Rights groups hailed the admission of guilt on Thursday, as the army has rarely made such confessions despite being regularly accused of the killing and abuse of civilians, particularly in restive eastern Papua.

The military probe "deserves applause but also comes as a surprise because in the history of the military such findings are rare", said the head of the Setara Institute of Peace and Democracy, Hendardi, who goes by one name.

However, Yudhoyono also stressed the attack in Sleman district was spontaneous and to defend the "dignity of the forces after hearing of the sadistic killing by thugs in Yogyakarta" of Santoso.

He also said: "The perpetrators have gallantly admitted their deed on the first day of our investigation." Two of the soldiers' colleagues tried to stop them from carrying out the attack, he said.

Yudhoyono gave details of the mens' confessions as he announced the results of a preliminary investigation. He said a full probe would now be held and the soldiers would face a military court.

The army had insisted on conducting an internal investigation despite requests from the national human rights commission that it be allowed to probe the killings.

Indonesia's special forces were frequently accused of killing civilians in Papua, East Timor and Aceh under the rule of authoritarian former president Suharto, who stepped down in 1998.

23.44 | 0 komentar | Read More