In This Edition

 

U.S. President Barack Obama says the removal of Osama bin Laden proves his strategy is working and he reiterates his pledge to start withdrawing troops from Afghanistan.

 

AEAN leaders gather in Jakarta to discuss regional peace and prosperity during the bloc's annual summit.

 

Indonesian officials say navy police, rescue teams and members of local community are jointly searching the missing victims of the plane crash that may have killed all the 27 people on board.

 

Brazil's Federal Supreme Court legally recognizes homosexual partnerships in a landmark case for gay rights in a country with the world's largest population of Roman Catholics.

 

 

Hot Issue Reports

 

Obama Pledges Troops Withdrawal after the Killing of Bin Laden

U.S. President Barack Obama, basking in higher public approval ratings for the killing of Osama bin Laden, flew to a military base in Kentucky on Friday to thank special forces who carried out the deadly raid and led a rally filled with cheering troops.

 

With his job approval ratings up and even Republican critics congratulating him for the bin Laden operation, Obama paid tribute to the elite military team in a secrecy-shrouded meeting at Fort Campbell five days after announcing the al Qaeda leader was dead.

 

"It was a chance for me to say on behalf of all Americans and people around the world, job well done. Job well done."

Obama said "justice" for Osama bin Laden showed that his strategy was working and he repeated his pledge to start withdrawing troops from Afghanistan.

 

"Our strategy is working, and there's no greater evidence of that than justice finally being delivered to Osama bin Laden...We're moving into a new phase. In the coming months, we'll start transferring responsibility for security to Afghan forces. Starting this summer, we'll begin reducing American forces."

 

Obama's visit, just a day after attending a somber wreath-laying ceremony at Ground Zero of the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York, came as questions were being raised about initial U.S. accounts of the airborne assault on the compound where bin Laden had been hiding.

 

U.S. acknowledgment that bin Laden was unarmed when shot in the head - as well as the sea burial of his body, a rare practice in Islam - has drawn criticism in the Muslim world and Europe, where some warned of a backlash against the West.

 

But most Americans regard the secretive special operations unit that killed bin Laden as national heroes, and Obama came to thank them personally.

 

Bin Laden Supporters Rallie to Condemn the US

Osama bin Laden supporters have rallied in different parts of the world to condemn the United States for killing the al Qaeda leader.

 

In Pakistan, supporters - mostly members of the country's biggest Islamist party Jamaat-e-Islami - have marched through the streets of Peshawar where bin Laden had been hiding.

 

Shabbir Ahmed, the provincial general secretary of Jamaat-e-Islami, says the raid on bin Laden's compound was a violation of Pakistan's sovereignty.

 

"Apart from the statements of America, the statements of the American establishment and the media, they have no other proof. They should provide Pakistan and the world solid proof that Osama was present in Pakistan, in Abbottabad, and that is why they carried out the raid."

 

In India controlled Kashmir, Muslims gathered on the streets raising slogans hailing the contribution of bin Laden to the Muslim community and their cause for independence.

 

Kashmiri separatist leader and senior member of Hurriyat Conference, Shabir Ahmad Shah, called bin Laden a martyr, a symbol of pride, who would live in their hearts forever.

 

"There was a soft corner in Osama's heart regarding Kashmir, he has sacrificed everything for religion and he has proven his concern for Islam by sacrificing his life and wealth. He had a soft corner for Muslims in Afghanistan, Iran and Palestine and could feel their pain."

 

In Indonesia, the most populous Muslim country, scores of men have publicly vowed their readiness to sacrifice their lives to avenge the death of Osama bin Laden in a sign of the al Qaeda leader's popularity among hard-core Islamists.

 

Similar demonstrations and prayer services were also held in Egypt, Turkey and Lebanon as well as Britain.

 

Meanwhile, Al-Qaida has confirmed the death of its leader, Osama bin Laden.

 

ASEAN Summit Ends Its First Day Meeting

The annual Association of South East Asian Nations summit concluded its first-day meeting Saturday with Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva calling for help from other leaders to facilitate talks with Cambodia over a border dispute issue.

 

After informal meetings between the 10-member nations' leaders and civil society organization representatives, Abhisit told the media that only through talks would they be able to solve the border issue.

 

"It is possible to hold talks, but if the talks are about sending a monitoring team from a third country into the disputed area, then it will create a new problem. I thank Indonesia, which played a major role in trying to facilitate our talks. And I would like the other ASEAN members to help persuade Cambodia to see that eventually the problem needs to be solved between Thailand and Cambodia with help and facilitation from other ASEAN members."

 

The Thai and Cambodian foreign ministers met ahead of the summit and agreed on some of the ground rules for sending an Indonesian military observer team to the border. But Cambodia rejected Thailand's request to withdraw troops from the Preah Vihear temple as a precondition.

 

Apart from the Thai-Cambodia border issue, leaders at the first day of the summit also stressed that member countries should work together to achieve regional peace and prosperity.

 

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono stressed the need for member countries to work together to achieve regional peace and prosperity.

 

"We still have to do more to build the ASEAN community. We have to build small-medium scale businesses, develop investment in tourism industries among member countries, raise cooperation with ASEAN partner countries, and put more efforts into people-to-people interaction."

 

The ASEAN bloc says it aims to become a fully integrated economic region in 2015.

 

Small Passenger Plane Crash Claims Scores of Lives in Indonesia

Indonesian officials say navy police, rescue teams and members of local community are jointly searching the missing victims of the plane crash that may have killed all the 27 people on board.

 

The small passenger plane crashed on Saturday as it was about to land in bad weather in Indonesia's eastern province of West Papua.

 

A transportation ministry spokesman said the Chinese-made Xian MA60 twin-turboprop plane, belonging to a state-owned airline, went down just before reaching the Kaimana runway.

 

Herry Bakti is Director General for Air Transport.

 

"The weather was bad, we are still not sure what happened, we only know that the plane crashed into the sea. We are still investigating if the plane intentionally landed at sea, but failed, or if it plunged into the sea."

 

Bakti said 17 bodies had been identified at the hospital so far.

 

The flight originated in Sorong, another town in the province.

 

At the Association of Southeast Asian Nations leaders' summit in Jakarta, Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono requested a minute's silence before the evening banquet to pay respect to the dead.

 

The chief of the National Search and Rescue Agency said the crash was believed to have been caused by bad weather, which limited visibility.

 

The passengers included an infant and two children.

 

Taliban Insurgents Hit Government Targets across Kandahar

Taliban insurgents, including six suicide bombers, hit a series of government targets across Kandahar in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, triggering gunbattles that injured at least 24 people.

 

The attacks started with an explosion near the provincial governor's compound in the heart of the city and several other blasts were later heard in other areas in what appeared to be coordinated attacks.

 

Afghan Intelligence Service spokesman Lutfullah Mashal confirmed the attack.

 

"We can confirm that the governor's house and a number of other government buildings have been attacked by unknown gunmen."

 

Shooting started shortly after midday and the gunfire was still ringing through Kandahar city hours later. Kandahar is a former Taliban stronghold where international and Afghan forces are trying to establish security and a functioning government.

 

The attack came a day after the Taliban issued a statement saying that Osama bin Laden's death would boost the morale of the insurgency.

 

A sense of panic swept Kandahar as the gunbattles erupted. People ran through the streets in search of safety and shopkeepers closed their outlets for fear of looting.

 

Protesters Call for Abolishing All Nuclear Power in Japan

More than a thousand protesters rallied in Tokyo on Saturday calling for the abolition of all nuclear power plants in the country, a day after Prime Minister Naoto Kan asked for an immediate shutdown of the Hamaoka nuclear plant because of worries that a strong earthquake could cause another nuclear crisis.

 

The prime minister said on Friday that Chubu Electric Power Co. should halt all operations at its Hamaoka nuclear plant in central Japan, located 200 kilometers southwest of Tokyo.

 

Protesters on Saturday welcomed Kan's decision - the first time a prime minister has directly requested a nuclear facility be closed. Thirty-two-year-old protester Nona Saito applauded the decision.

 

"Shutting down a nuclear power plant which is in operation and which they've said is safe is a remarkable decision by the prime minister for us who are worrying about nuclear safety."

 

The move to shut down Hamaoka, which is said to be at high risk of a powerful earthquake in coming decades, follows pressure on the government to review Japan's nuclear energy policy after the March 11th quake and tsunami crippled the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

 

The shutdown at Hamaoka raises the risk of power disruptions in the Chubu region, home to Toyota Motor Corp. and other major manufacturers.

 

In nearly two months since the March 11th earthquake and tsunami triggered the world's worst nuclear accident in 25 years, Tokyo has seen plenty of antinuclear protests, mostly in front of the headquarters of TEPCO, which operates the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

 

Hamas Supporters Applaud Fatah-Hamas Reconciliation Agreement

Hundreds of Palestinian Hamas supporters took to the main squares of the West Bank on Friday, in the first public display of support of Hamas in the West Bank, since a bitter split in 2006.

 

In the West Bank city of Ramallah, about 300 people from different affiliations convened in al-Manara Square to shout slogans in favor of reconciliation and waved Hamas flags.

 

Hamas supporter Ahmad Abdel Aziz Mubarak expressed their aspiration.

 

"The message that everyone here wants to send to the Palestinian leadership, is to hurry with applying the unity agreement on the ground and close the road ahead of attempts that would collapse the agreement."

 

On Wednesday, Hamas and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement signed a unity pact in Cairo, Egypt.

 

The unity deal was brokered by Egypt.

 

The agreement seeks to resolve a four-year split in the Palestinian national movement that hindered the quest to achieve statehood in land captured by Israel in a 1967 war.

 

In reaching the deal, the sides had set aside the issue of bridging their policies toward Israel.

 

Unlike Abbas's group which recognises Israel, Islamist Hamas refuses to recognise the Jewish state, and continues with acts of hostility which often results in cross-border violence.

 

Brazil Legalized Homosexual Unions

Brazil's Federal Supreme Court has legally recognized homosexual partnerships in a landmark case for gay rights in a country with the world's largest population of Roman Catholics.

 

Judges at the STF, as the country's top court is known, voted 10 to zero in favor of gay partnerships, setting a legal precedent in Latin America's largest country.

 

STF President Cezar Peluso argued that the Constitution did not explicitly rule out gay partnerships, which were an expression of the right to privacy and equality before the law.

 

"The Supreme Court rejected all preliminary proposals with a unanimous vote and ruled as righteous both actions, also through voting."

 

The decision grants gay couples most of the rights enjoyed by heterosexual partners, including pension benefits, inheritance and, some lawyers say, possibly the right to adopt children. Lower courts had ruled both in favor of and against partnerships, which are not governed by a specific law.

 

Some states had already utilized legal tools to legalize homosexual unions, but the latest ruling expands the recognition by the whole country.

 

Brazil's gay community celebrated the decision, saying it showed the government is willing to defend the rights of citizens regardless of their sexual and race conditions.

 

However, opinions were divided among the 190 million Brazilians, 140 million of which are Roman Catholic.

 

The ruling makes Brazil the second South American nation after Argentina to allow gay partnerships.

 

Brazil Has Launched a Disarmament Campaign

Still in Brazil, the government has launched a nationwide gun control campaign and boosted incentives for voluntary weapons collection.

 

Brazil's Justice Minister Jose Eduardo Cardozo said authorities aim to reduce Brazil's high murder rates and avoid tragedies like Rio's school shooting, which killed 12 children last month.

 

"We will convince people to hand over their weapons. Let's disarm Brazil, let's reduce violence and deaths, so tragedies like Realengo's one and many others that happen every day, would never happen again. I convoke all Brazilians to work for disarmament."

 

The government will pay compensation ranging from 100 to 300 reais, or about 60 to 190 US dollars to people who hand over weapons, with no questions asked.

 

Brazil is the sixth most heavily armed society in the world with an estimate of more than 16 million guns, eight million of which are not registered, according to a survey by non-governmental groups.

 

Kenyan Authority Seized Smuggled Elephant Tusks

Kenyan authorities have seized nearly 1.5 tons of elephant tusks hidden in metal boxes at the East African country's main airport in the capital of Nairobi.

 

Kennedy Onyonyi, senior deputy commissioner at the Kenya Revenue Authority, said the 115 elephant tusks weighing over 1400 kilograms had been coated with pepper, wrapped and sealed in boxes to deceive sniffer dogs and prevent detection.

 

He said the shipment was recorded as coming from an embassy in Kenya that does not actually exist.

 

"This consignment was addressed to someone in Nigeria from what appeared to be an embassy in Kenya, but the address, from our preliminary investigations, doesn't exist."

 

Last Month, Kenyan authorities impounded 96 kg of elephant tusks from an ivory trafficker transporting them through the main airport.

 

The authorities fear these activities would revive the market for ivory and lead to increased poaching.

 

Police say no arrests have been made so far.

 

Poaching has been reduced significantly in East Africa's biggest economy from the 1980's and 1990's when poaching gangs decimated Kenya's elephants and hunted its rhinos to near extinction.

 

The origins of the ivory is not yet known but police are not ruling out that it came from Kenya or neighboring countries.

 

China Daily: New Amendment on Bribery Is Not Enough

 

The latest amendment to China's criminal law code, which came into effect earlier this month, makes it a crime to bribe foreign government or business officials, prescribing the same penalties for similar offenses at home.

 

An editorial in "China Daily" points out that the intent of the amendment was to broaden the government's ability to crack down on corruption beyond its borders as a problem that has become an increasing concern with more domestic firms seeking overseas expansion.

 

The commentary says the amendment aims to ensure fair play and business ethics while punishing those who betray national interests. China is also demonstrating its determination to fight corruption by closing loopholes in existing legislation.

 

At the same time, the amendment has won international acclaim in part because it fulfills an international obligation with tangible support from domestic legislation.

 

But the commentary also argues that the amendment fails to criminalize the flip side of bribery cases in which Chinese officials accept bribes from overseas businesses in the form of commission fees, all-expenses-paid overseas trips, and other deals that are much more difficult to detect.

 

The commentary further notes that China's legislative and judicial bodies have mainly focused on bribe takers. Relevant legislation should also target those who give bribes to root out the causes of corruption. Those found guilty should be penalized to the full extent of the law.