National Briefing | Plains

Oklahoma: Ultrasound Law Struck Down

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: March 29, 2012

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District Judge Bryan Dixon on Wednesday struck down the state's law requiring women seeking abortions to have an ultrasound image placed in front of them and to listen to a detailed description of the fetus before the procedure. Judge Dixon the statute cannot be enforced because it addresses only patients and people dealing with abortions without addressing other medical care.

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Soldiers Oust Mali President, Seize Control

Malian soldiers angered over the government"s mishandling of the two-month-old Tuareg rebellion in the North say they have overthrown President Amadou Toumani Toure - just weeks before the election that would have marked an end to his mandate.  The president"s location is unknown.  Frustration had long been brewing in the military in what had been one of the region"s few stable democracies.

Residents told VOA that sporadic gunfire continued in Bamako Thursday just hours after renegade soldiers - calling themselves the National Committee for the Restoration of Democracy and State - or CNRDR, seized control of the state.

Appearing on state TV early Thursday, the CNRDR spokesman, Amadou Konare, says the armed forces decided to put an end to the "incompetent regime" of President Amadou Toumani Toure.  He says the constitution is suspended until further notice and all government institutions have been dissolved.  He says an inclusive government will be created after consultation with the nation's representatives.

Stirrings of the coup began Wednesday morning with a mutiny by soldiers at a military camp near the capital and then spread to a military base in Gao, in the northeast.

Complaints

Soldiers say they lack adequate weapons, ammunition and food as they confront Tuareg separatists in the north of the country.  Since the rebellion began in January, numerous Malian soldiers have died or been captured, though the government has not released exact numbers.

The situation quickly spiralled Wednesday evening as soldiers stormed the state radio and television stations in Bamako and attacked the presidential palace with heavy weapons.

A number of government ministers have been arrested.

The soldiers have set up checkpoints around the capital, imposed a curfew and closed the country's land and air borders.

On state television, coup spokesman, Konare, said the CNRDR's objective is under no circumstances the seizure of power.  He says they promise to hand power back to a democratically elected president as soon as the country is reunified and its integrity no longer threatened.

Mali was set to hold a presidential election on April 29.  President Toure, a former army officer and coup leader himself, was not seeking another term.  He has served his legal limit of two mandates.

It is not clear how pre-meditated the events of the last 24 hours were; however, frustration has long been brewing in the chronically under-resourced military.

Rumors

West Africa Director for the International Crisis Group, Gilles Yabi, says that frustration has been increasingly apparent since January as the military suffered defeats by the Tuaregs in the north.  However, he says there were rumors of a coup even before the Tuareg rebellion began.

In February, the widows and families of soldiers killed in the north took to the streets to protest government mismanagement of the rebellion.

The renewal of conflict in the north marked the collapse of a 2007 amnesty agreement.  The rebels include former pro-Gadhafi fighters who have returned to Mali with arms acquired from the conflict in Libya.  They are demanding the creation of an independent, Islamic state in the country's northern deserts, the ancestral homeland to tribes of nomadic Tuareg traders.

The United Nations Refugee Agency says fighting has displaced more than 180,000 Malians since January.

West Africa is no stranger to military coups.  Mali is sandwiched between two countries, Mauritania and Niger, that have both, in the past four years, seen soldiers oust elected leaders, rewrite constitutions and organize fresh elections.  Mali, however, was considered an exception.

Yabi says in Mali there were concerns that the government would try to push back or cancel the elections because of the insecurity in the north.  He says the coup is unfortunate, as Mali has a strong tradition of political dialogue and likely could have arrived at a peaceful solution to both the grievances of the army in the north and the election.

Mixed response

The coup has sparked a mixed response from Malians.

Boubacar Ibrahim says the population shares the military's frustration but was not ready for an overthrow of the government.  He says given more time, the government could have found a solution to the military's grievances.  He says the suspension of the constitution and the curfew are worrying for the future of the democracy.

Others, however, see the coup as a necessary evil.

President of the Women's Movement for the Protection of Peace and National Unity, Mariam Djibrilla Maiga, says many people tried to get President Toure to take the rebellion more seriously.  She says he wouldn't, so he had to be pushed aside.  She says the government's handling of the situation was disastrous.  She says the Tuaregs are better armed than the soldiers, and the army was humiliated.  She says this coup was necessary to preserve national unity.

However, she and others say they hope the military will soon return power to civilians.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the head of the African Union commission, Jean Ping, both expressed concern in the early hours of the coup and called for grievances to be resolved in a peaceful and democratic manner.

Theo www.voanews.com

Tibetan Man Sets Himself on Fire in Protest Over China

A Tibetan man has set himself on fire in eastern Tibet, in the latest gesture of defiance used by Tibetans to protest Chinese government policies.

Witnesses told VOA Tibetan Service that 44-year-old Sonam Dhargyal set himself on fire early Saturday in the Rebkong region of Tibet. The incident follows another self-immolation protest earlier in the week by a monk in southwestern China's Sichuan province, where many Tibetans live.

March has long been a tense time for China and its Tibetan areas, as the month marks key anniversaries in the Tibetan struggle for more freedom.

The last year has been especially problematic for Chinese authorities, as dozens of monks, nuns and ordinary people have set themselves on fire in protest. More than half of those self-immolations have occurred since January, despite beefed up security in parts of China where there are large Tibetan populations.

China blames overseas groups and Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, for inciting separatism. It has also portrayed those who have set themselves on fire as outcasts and criminals.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP.

Theo www.voanews.com

US Soldier Accused of Afghan Massacre in US Prison

An American soldier who allegedly killed 16 Afghan civilians during a shooting spree in southern Kandahar province last Sunday has arrived at a military base in the central U.S. state of Kansas.

Photo: AP

A white van, believed to be transporting Staff Sgt. Robert Bales, leaves Kansas City International Airport Friday, March 16, 2012, in Kansas City, Mo.

The suspect, identified as 38-year-old U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales, was flown to Kansas from Kuwait where he was transferred in the days after the attack.  He is being held in a private cell at the military's only maximum security prison at Fort Leavenworth.

Bales has not yet been charged and no details have been released on a trial.  U.S. officials have promised a thorough investigation into the incident, but Afghans have called for him to be tried in Afghanistan.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has accused the United States of failing to cooperate with his delegation in the probe.  On Friday, he met with tribal elders and family members of those killed.  He said civilian casualties have been going on "for too long" and that such "behavior can no longer be tolerated."

Bales' civilian lawyer John Henry Browne said his client was likely suffering from stress after witnessing one of his fellow soldiers get his leg blown off a day before Sunday's massacre.

Browne said Bales was also not happy about being assigned a fourth tour of duty in a war zone.  Bales - a married father of two - had served three tours in Iraq where he suffered a head injury and lost part of his foot.

Bales' family has been moved to a military base near Seattle, in the northwestern U.S. state of Washington, for security reasons.  Browne said that, according to family members, the staff sergeant never had any animosity towards Muslims and described him as mild-mannered.

Theo www.voanews.com

As Cars Are Kept Longer, 200,000 Is New 100,000

HOW far can a modern car really go? Given the increasing age of vehicles on American roads, we may be on the verge of finding out.

Jacob Silberberg for The New York Times

LIVE LONG AND PROSPER Mark Webber sells Porsches for a living, but his commuting car is a 1990 Volvo 740 that has been driven more than 300,000 miles.

By DEXTER FORD

Published: March 16, 2012

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Jacob Silberberg for The New York Times

As a stubborn recession made drivers wary of new purchases for several years, the average age of vehicles on the road in the United States stretched to a record 11.1 years in 2011, according to the research firm R. L. Polk, which tracks vehicle sales and registrations.

Multiply that number of years by the annual miles driven — the E.P.A. uses 15,000 for the cost calculation on fuel economy labels — and it becomes evident that one pearl of conventional wisdom has become outdated.

In the 1960s and '70s, when odometers typically registered no more than 99,999 miles before returning to all zeros, the idea of keeping a car for more than 100,000 miles was the automotive equivalent of driving on thin ice. You could try it, but you'd better be prepared to swim.

But today, as more owners drive their vehicles farther, some are learning that the imagined limits of vehicular endurance may not be real limits at all. Several factors have aligned to make pushing a car farther much more realistic.

Cars that have survived for a million miles or more have been widely documented, of course, but those tend to be exceptional cases. What's different, and far more common, today are the online classified ads offering secondhand Hondas, Toyotas and Volvos with 150,000 or 200,000 miles — or more — not as parts donors but as vehicles with some useful life left.

One driver who has firsthand experience with this new paradigm of durability is Mark Webber, a 57-year-old Porsche salesman.

Mr. Webber has a full grasp of powerful new sports cars — in January he was in Southern California for sales training and track time with the 2013 Porsche 911 — but for his 35-mile commute to Herb Chambers Porsche in Boston, from Scituate, Mass., he drives a 1990 Volvo 740 with over 300,000 miles.

"I just can't see the point of spending a lot of money driving a newer, racier car every day in city traffic when my old Volvo just wants to keep on going," Mr. Webber said. "I guess you could say I'm just a New England tightwad."

In Mr. Webber's case, the enabler of his thrift may be global competition — and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Customer satisfaction surveys show cars having fewer and fewer problems with each passing year. Much of this improvement is a result of intense global competition — a carmaker simply can't allow its products to leak oil, break down or wear out prematurely.

But another, less obvious factor has been the government-mandated push for lower emissions.

"The California Air Resources Board and the E.P.A. have been very focused on making sure that catalytic converters perform within 96 percent of their original capability at 100,000 miles," said Jagadish Sorab, technical leader for engine design at Ford Motor. "Because of this, we needed to reduce the amount of oil being used by the engine to reduce the oil reaching the catalysts.

"Fifteen years ago, piston rings would show perhaps 50 microns of wear over the useful life of a vehicle," Mr. Sorab said, referring to the engine part responsible for sealing combustion in the cylinder. "Today, it is less than 10 microns. As a benchmark, a human hair is 200 microns thick.

"Materials are much better," Mr. Sorab continued. "We can use very durable, diamondlike carbon finishes to prevent wear. We have tested our newest breed of EcoBoost engines, in our F-150 pickup, for 250,000 miles. When we tear the engines down, we cannot see any evidence of wear."

Dr. George Akerlof, who shared the 2001 Nobel Memorial Prize in economic science with Michael Spence and Joseph Stiglitz, may have predicted this trend of owners keeping cars longer.

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Karzai Urges NATO Withdrawal From Afghan Villages

Afghan President Hamid Karzai is calling for NATO forces to pull back from Afghan villages and relocate to their bases following the killing of 16 civilians in southern Afghanistan earlier this week, allegedly by a U.S. soldier.

Photo: Reuters

Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai (R) meets with U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta in Kabul, March 15, 2012.

Karzai's statement Thursday came as the Taliban announced it was suspending peace talks with the United States until "the Americans clarify their stance on the issues," including a prisoner swap. The U.S. reportedly was holding preliminary talks in Qatar with the insurgent group to find a political settlement to the decade-long war, as international troops begin leaving Afghanistan.

Karzai told visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta that the Afghan government wants to take full control of the country's security in 2013 rather than 2014, as planned. During Thursday's talks in Kabul, he told Panetta, "Afghanistan is ready to take over all security responsibilities now."

The Afghan leader also demanded NATO pull out of Afghanistan's rural areas following Sunday's alleged massacre of 16 Afghan civilians, including children, by a U.S. soldier in Kandahar province. The soldier later surrendered.

A U.S. defense official later downplayed Karzai's call for NATO's withdrawal from village outposts, saying "right now, there's no reason to think that schedule should change and President Karzai did not ask for any change in the current schedule."

Karzai also told Panetta that everything must be done to prevent incidents such as the shooting spree in the future. The U.S. defense secretary said he promised the Afghan president that the gunman would be brought to justice.

The U.S. staff sergeant, who has not yet been named or charged, was flown out of Afghanistan to Kuwait late Wednesday. U.S. Lieutenant General Curtis Scaparotti, the deputy commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said the suspect was moved to ensure "both proper pre-trial confinement and access to legal services."

A Pentagon spokesman, Navy Captain John Kirby, said the transfer did not necessarily mean the suspect's trial would not be held in Afghanistan, as many Afghans have demanded.

In the southern city of Qalat, protesters chanted anti-American slogans Thursday, calling for justice and a public trial in Afghanistan for the accused U.S. soldier.

The U.S. defense secretary arrived in Afghanistan on Wednesday, just three days after the killings.

After talks with Karzai on Thursday, Panetta said he was confident that the United States and Afghanistan will reach a deal on the long-term U.S. presence in the country after international combat troops leave Afghanistan in 2014.

Panetta told reporters he was optimistic that the two governments will reach an agreement on the issue of night raids, a major obstacle in the proposed U.S.-Afghan strategic deal. Karzai wants an end to such coalition operations, which he says cause civilian casualties.

Separately, Afghan officials say at least 10 women and children were killed Thursday when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in the southern province of Uruzgan.

Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

Theo www.voanews.com

Worker Who Hid Lottery Win Must Share $38.5 Million Prize

Victor J. Blue for The New York Times

A jury ordered Americo Lopes to share a Mega Millions jackpot with five co-workers: from left, Candido Silva Sr., Jose Sousa, Daniel Esteves, Carlos Fernandes, and Candido Silva Jr.

By JAMES BARRON and TIM STELLOH

Published: March 14, 2012

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There were some dark twists in the plot line, inevitable, perhaps, when friends fight over $38.5 million in lottery winnings.

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• So You Won $38.5 Million? Not So Fast, Co-Workers Say (March 8, 2012)

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Americo Lopes initially told no one that he had won a jackpot of $38.5 million.

The friends, construction workers from New Jersey, said they had pooled their money for lottery tickets for years. Five of them relied on a member of their little group, Americo Lopes, to buy the tickets. In November 2009, he collected their money and bought a Mega Millions ticket that won, but he told no one except lottery officials. He cashed in the ticket as if it were his alone.

The lottery deducted taxes and sent Mr. Lopes a check for $17,433,966. He quit his job, saying he needed foot surgery.

"We believed him," said one of the others, Candido Silva Jr. — until several months later, when Mr. Lopes told another man in the group that he had won the lottery a week after he had stopped working. As word of his luck spread, yet another man checked a Web site and discovered when Mr. Lopes had won.

On Wednesday, a jury in Union County ordered Mr. Lopes to share the winnings with the five former co-workers.

Mr. Lopes (pronounced LOHPS) did not sound happy; The Star-Ledger of Newark quoted him as saying, in Portuguese, "They robbed me."

The case was based largely on circumstantial and, at times, emotional evidence. If this trial suggested some similarity to " It Could Happen to You, " a movie loosely based on a real-life lottery winner's generous tip to a waitress, the proceedings proved otherwise: There was testimony of greed, lies and betrayed friendship.

"We trusted him," Jose Sousa, 46, said on Wednesday. "He cheated us." Of the jury's decision, he said: "We proved that we're not lying. This is the most important thing."

Mr. Lopes's lawyer, Michael D. Mezzacca, did not return calls for comment on Wednesday. During the trial, he said that the lack of written records cast doubt on the co-workers' allegations. He said that because the group did not document who had bought what, no one could say with certainty who had actually paid for the winning ticket.

Mr. Lopes, 52, maintained during the trial that he had bought the winning ticket on his own, separate from any tickets he had gotten for the group. He said he often bought tickets for the group and for himself at the same time.

Mr. Lopes's wife, Margarida, testified that Mr. Lopes finally called one of the men in the group in March 2010 and let the word out about winning. She said the man, Daniel Esteves, had cried on hearing the news.

Another worker, Candido Silva Sr., 61, cried on the witness stand. His son, Mr. Silva Jr., 36, said the case had been stressful, but the verdict was what he and the others had expected.

"If you have a clear conscience, you have nothing to worry about," Mr. Silva Jr. said as he and his co-workers finished a celebratory meal in Elizabeth, N.J.

The five said they had known Mr. Lopes for years and considered themselves close friends of his. Mr. Silva Sr. said that in 2008 — long before the uproar over the ticket — he helped fix up a house Mr. Lopes had bought. He said they worked on the driveway together. And the sidewalk. And the basement. Mr. Silva Sr. said, as he did in court, that he had looked on Mr. Lopes as a son.

Mr. Sousa said they were all so close that Mr. Lopes attended his daughter's christening five years ago. He said he was still upset that Mr. Lopes testified that the six men had not been friends.

The money was frozen shortly after the men filed suit in 2010. For now, the men said, they were not planning any major lifestyle changes. They said they would take two weeks off for vacation, but would probably return to the highway construction crew that had once included Mr. Lopes.

As it happened, their winning ticket was not the only one drawn for the jackpot, $77 million; another ticket-buyer, identified as Lourdes Salinas of South San Francisco, had the identical numbers for the Nov. 10, 2009, drawing. Her part of the prize was not affected by the jury's decision in New Jersey.

The verdict did not surprise people at the convenience store in Union, N.J., where Mr. Lopes bought the ticket. One customer at the store, a BuyRite in 2009 that is now the Magie Mart Food Store and Deli, said it had reinforced his approach:

"I play by myself because I don't trust people," said the man, who would give his name only as Sean, explaining that he regularly played the New Jersey Pick 3 and Pick 6 games as well as Mega Millions. "Am I shocked he tried to keep the money for himself? No. It's human nature."

Eric Kahn, a lawyer for Mr. Lopes's former colleagues, said some details had to be worked out, like how much each man would receive and how much each might owe in taxes.

"The lottery paid him," Mr. Kahn said, referring to Mr. Lopes, "and the lottery withheld a chunk of taxes."

"We've got to work on the taxes," he said.

Theo www.nytimes.com

Currents | Lighting

Puzzle Solved, and a Lamp Is Born

By TIM McKEOUGH

Published: March 14, 2012

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Doug Rosa

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The N1R table lamp by David Nosanchuk, a New York designer, started as an experiment in two-dimensional shapes. "I was interested in using lines and drawings to generate a series of horizontal and vertical plates that would come together and create this 3D puzzle," Mr. Nosanchuk said.

The digitally fabricated components are laser-cut from a flat sheet of frosted acrylic according to Mr. Nosanchuk's AutoCAD files, and then assembled around a frosted glass tube with a three-watt LED at its center.

The $3,500 lamp is currently on view at the South Street Seaport Museum, as part

of the "Made in New York" exhibition. Mr. Nosanchuk also produces other light fixtures, including sconces and chandeliers, using the same system. Information: (212) 481-8144 or nosanchuk.com .

Theo www.nytimes.com

Childrens Events

When Robert Fish's young boys saw televised images of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan last year, they immediately felt sorry for the children of Tohoku, the devastated region. His son Avi, then 6, said, "They must really want a teddy bear."

By LAUREL GRAEBER

Published: March 8, 2012

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'A DAY OF REFLECTION'

Breaking news about the arts, coverage of live events, critical reviews, multimedia and more.

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A sortable calendar of noteworthy cultural events in the New York region, selected by Times critics.

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On Sunday, Japan Society, where Mr. Fish is director of education, will offer small visitors a real chance to give something to the children of Tohoku. Not teddy bears, exactly, but dolls, messages and art.

They're included in "A Day of Reflection," part of Japan Society's monthlong initiative "One Year Later: Commemorating the One-Year Anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake & Tsunami." Taking place exactly a year after the events — March 11 — the day will offer opportunities to honor the lives lost and the rebuilding since.

"We wanted to show that there was a tragedy," Mr. Fish said about the youth activities, "but we also wanted to show children in the region being strong and starting to recover, and give New York children a chance to respond."

Japan Society will display artwork from two cities: 93 drawings by preschoolers in Soma, who made images reflecting joy, and 80 photographs of work by elementary school students in Ishinomaki, above, who turned actual debris into toys and sculptures. Young visitors can write messages or make their own art in response.

HappyDoll , a nonprofit that makes plain cloth dolls to be decorated by children for children, will donate its products for visitors to embellish. "We can always help them if they want to try a little Japanese," Mr. Fish said. A K Akemi Kakihara, a Japanese pop singer, will lead a singalong.

The day will also feature documentaries; comments by Shigeyuki Hiroki, the consul general of Japan in New York; a moment of silence at 2:46 p.m. (the time of the earthquake in Japan); and "Memory: Things We Should Never Forget," an exhibition of news photographs. None are graphic, Mr. Fish said. One evokes the deaths of young students in subtle but heartbreaking imagery: row after row of abandoned backpacks.

Mr. Fish emphasized that he did not want children to leave feeling helpless. "The worst thing you can say to a child is 'There's nothing you can do,' " he said. "That's a terrible lesson. We want to show that there is something Americans can do."

(11 a.m. to 8 p.m., 333 East 47th Street, Manhattan. Full schedule, japansociety.org . Registration for HappyDoll project, 1 to 2:30 p.m., is suggested: 212-715-1275 or via e-mail to jseducation@japansociety.org . Free, except for two of the films: $7; $5 for students, 65+ and members. )

For Children

'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer' (Friday through Sunday) A murder plot, first love and, of course, the famous fence-painting scene unfold onstage in this adaptation of Mark Twain's novel, written by Laura Eason. The production, closing this weekend at the New Victory Theater, has original music and a cast of adult actors playing Tom, Huck, Becky and the gang. Friday at 7 p.m.; Saturday at 2 and 7 p.m.; Sunday at noon and 5 p.m., 209 West 42nd Street, Manhattan, (646) 223-3010, newvictory.org; $14 to $38; $9 to $25 for members.

'Aesop's Fables' (Friday, Monday and Thursday) "What goes around comes around," the triumphant Wolf sneers at the Fox. That describes not only the moral of a fable, but also the action at Circle in the Square Theater, where animals run up and down the stairs and through the aisles in this revival of Michael Milligan and Joziah Longo's musical adaptation. A Theodore Mann production presented by the Alumni Ensemble of the theater's school, this inventive show for ages 5 and older uses elaborate masks to bring Aesop's characters (and four fables) to life. (Through Mar. 16) At 10:30 a.m., 1633 Broadway, at 50th Street, (212) 307-0388, circlesquare.org; $5. Reservations are required via phone or an e-mail to admissions@circlesquare.org.

'Alice in Wonderland' (Saturday and Sunday) Animals don't usually go to church, but St. Michael's will make an exception for the White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat, the Dormouse and a few others this weekend. St. Michael's Music & Arts, its performance division, is presenting "Alice in Wonderland," Robert Chauls's opera for families. Kathleen Cantrell, a lyric soprano, will portray Alice, but most of the roles will be played by young people in the St. Michael's choirs and students from nearby schools. Saturday at 5 p.m.; Sunday at 2 p.m.; St. Michael's Church, 225 West 99th Street, Manhattan, (212) 222-2700, saintmichaelschurch.org/alice-in-wonderland; $30; $15 for students and 65+; $10 for ages 10 and under; $50 for priority seating.

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This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: March 10, 2012

A Spare Times for Children entry in some editions Friday about "A Day of Reflection" scheduled for Sunday at the Japan Society in Manhattan, using information from the society, misstated the number of photographs of work by elementary school students that will be on display. It is 80, not 54.

Theo www.nytimes.com

Editorial

Hope for a Good Transportation Bill

Published: March 14, 2012

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Against heavy odds, Congress may yet produce a decent national transportation bill that would make needed investments in roads, bridges and mass transit without undermining environmental protections or providing handouts to big polluters.

Related in Opinion

Gail Collins: The Senate Overachieves (March 15, 2012)

The Senate gave hope of a such an outcome when it approved on Wednesday a two-year reauthorization bill that would funnel $109 billion to states and communities for mass transit and bridge-and-road projects, many of which have been deferred for years. The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, mustered enough votes to defeat several destructive amendments while approving a very good one.

The bad amendments, all from Republicans, would have: undercut Clean Air Act protections against mercury and other toxic pollutants from industrial boilers; opened up all of America's outer continental shelf, as well as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge , to oil drilling; and overturned President Obama's wise decision to delay the environmentally risky Keystone XL oil pipeline.

The good amendment — a victory for conservation that drew substantial Republican support — would dedicate 80 percent of the penalties paid by BP for the gulf oil spill to environmental restoration in the Gulf of Mexico. It would also authorize $700 million a year for two years for the Land and Water Conservation Fund , the open space program that Congress has shortchanged for years.

Getting the House to move in a similar direction will be harder. Its transportation bill — a five-year, $260 billion measure — has gone nowhere, which is just as well. The bill would have eliminated guaranteed public financing for mass transit and relied on highly speculative revenue from oil and gas drilling.

Speaker John Boehner said last week that he was ready to take up the Senate measure, or something close to it. That could be a tactic to spur his colleagues to devise their own alternative. But accepting the Senate bill would be exactly the right thing to do.

Theo www.nytimes.com

Military plays crucial defence role President

HA NOI — The military was always the primary force to defend the country's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity on land, sea and in the air, affirmed President Truong Tan Sang in Ha Noi yesterday.

The military also served as the main body in efforts to cope with natural disasters, rescue efforts and providing assistance to stabilise life and production, the President affirmed at his working session with the Defence Ministry's leaders on the implementation of future military and defence tasks.

The military had taken an active role in socio-economic development and poverty reduction programmes, development of socio-political grassroots establishments and the new cultural lifestyle, particularly in remote areas, he added.

Emphasising the rapidly changing and complicated global political and security situation, President Sang noted that the country's socio-economic situation faced difficulties and challenges, especially in terms of impacts from the global financial crises and economic turndown, natural disasters and diseases, and hostile forces inside and outside the country that continued to implement destructive activities and plot unrest.

The need to maintain independence, sovereignty, peace and stability for the country's socio-economic development meant there would be new requirements for the national defence and security task, he said.

The President agreed with the Ministry's operational programmes and solutions for this year, and urged it to pursue the goal of combining national independence and socialism, consider maintaining peace and stability for national development as its highest interest, and continue building the people's armed forces in a strong, comprehensive, regular, skillful and modern manner. — VNS

Theo en.baomoi.com

Restoring a Trove at Howard

WASHINGTON — "Antiquated." "Depleted." "Grossly underunded."

Andrew Councill for The New York Times

Howard Dodson, the director of the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University, in the center's reading room.

By FELICIA R. LEE

Published: March 14, 2012

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Andrew Councill for The New York Times

An 1863 issue of Douglass' Monthly, part of the collection at Moorland-Spingarn Research Center.

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Andrew Councill for The New York Times

A Civil War recruiting poster.

Those were just a few of the harsh words Howard Dodson , the recently retired chief of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York, used to describe Howard University's library system in a December 2011 consultant's report.

Administrative inattention, draconian budget cuts and leadership gaps had also tarnished a jewel at this elite, historically black university: the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, one of the world's largest collections devoted to the history and culture of people of African descent.

Now it's up to the consultant to fix these problems. Last month the university lured Mr. Dodson out of retirement to become director of its undergraduate and graduate libraries and Moorland-Spingarn.

"There are only two major repositories in the world that document the global black experience and one of them, Moorland-Spingarn, has been in a state of crisis for the last two and a half years," as both Moorland and the library system lacked permanent directors, Mr. Dodson said of his main reason for taking the job. "I was making my own plans for retirement, but the ancestors had other plans for me."

Those ancestors surely inhabit Moorland, which consists of a library and a manuscript division, university archives and the Howard Museum. It has more than 175,000 bound volumes; 100,000 photographs and other graphic items; tens of thousands of journals, periodicals, and newspapers; and nearly 1,000 audio tapes. The papers, diaries and memorabilia of people like Frederick Douglass and the writer and scholar Alain Locke, rare works by the 18th-century poet Phillis Wheatley and the papers of the Congressional Black Caucus are all part of its holdings.

"This is one of the important collections to understand African-American culture writ large," said Lonnie G. Bunch III, the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture . "I am thinking of the early African-American newspapers and the petitions demanding freedom. Through them you understand the struggle of a people and the resilience of a people."

Moorland "now trails behind the Schomburg , though, and has been hidden for the last few years," Mr. Bunch added. "One of the challenges for Howard Dodson and Howard University is to make it clear to people what is there at Moorland-Spingarn and its importance." His museum is scheduled to open here in 2015.

Money is the main reason Moorland and the libraries Mr. Dodson assessed (the main undergraduate and graduate library and the branches for the architecture, business, divinity and social work schools) are in this state, many staff, faculty and students said in recent interviews.

The research center had its genesis in the donation of a private library in 1914. Now at least 60 percent of the collection has been neither sorted nor made accessible. Much is in storage off campus or inadequately preserved. The budget, about $3.5 million in 1994, was cut about 60 percent initially and is now about $800,000, while the staff shrank to about one-fifth of its 1994 size in the same period.

The lack of resources "has affected the work," Joellen El Bashir, the curator of manuscripts at Moorland, said in an interview. "We need a place to store this stuff. Can you feel the temperature? We need room to process and spread out." She estimated that 350 scholars from around the world come to Moorland annually to do research, and that the staff fields 2,000 queries a year.

Mr. Dodson said that for Moorland and the main library group Howard's financing lags badly compared with the other members of the Association of Research Libraries, a group that also includes well-endowed Ivy League institutions. The median investment in members' libraries was $22 million in 2009-10; Howard's investment was $8.3 million, 1 percent of its overall budget. Sidney A. Ribeau, the president of the university since 2008, conceded that there had been "a kind of drift," over the years. "There was not the kind of focused attention one would have liked," he said.

In 2010,  as students, faculty members and alumni sounded an alarm over Moorland's state, the university hosted a  conference with archivists, scholars and librarians from around the country to focus attention on the center. A report with recommendations  to address the problems followed.

Moorland's problems have been "symptomatic of the struggle of the university"  to do much with limited resources, said Greg E. Carr, a conference co-chairman and an associate professor of Africana Studies.

Mr. Ribeau said the university's fiscal woes of the past several years have caused widespread pain, with major deferred maintenance and a big hit to the endowment. But he and the trustees have a goal to increase university financing of the library to 3 percent of the operating budget in the next three to five years, Mr. Ribeau said.

Joseph Reidy, an associate provost, said the administration pursued Mr. Dodson, who was widely praised for his acquisitions and fund-raising prowess during his tenure at the Schomburg from 1984 to 2011, because it felt that Howard's libraries could be restored to their former status.

But even with the promised increases the task will be difficult. In his report Mr. Dodson said it will easily take $20 million of university and other kinds of support "just to start" to fix Howard's problems. His goals include digitizing the collection, more than doubling the professional library staff and reorganizing and upgrading the facilities.

Undeterred, Mr. Dodson preaches patience. It will take three to five years to turn things around, he estimated. The other day he took a visitor on a campus tour that included a stop at the Moorland-Spingarn reading room. It was sunny and elegant, with a fireplace and glass bookcases — and just one person sitting at one of its long wooden tables.

"Come back soon," Mr. Dodson said, his voice full of promise. "This whole place will be a hub of activity."

Theo www.nytimes.com

Vietnam Womens Union re-elects Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa

At the 11th National Women's Congress in Hanoi on March 13, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa was re-elected Chairwoman of Vietnam Women's Union (VWU).

Over 1,000 delegates from across the country also elected a Central Executive Committee of the VWU for the period 2012-2017, which includes 163 members who have made contributions to the various branches during the last term.

The congress also elected the Union Board Committee of 33 members for the period 2012-2017, one Chairwoman and seven Vice Chairwomen.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa, new Chairwoman of VWU (4th, L) and seven Vice Chairwomen. (Photo: SGGP)

Ms Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa, Chairwoman of Vietnam Women's Union, told the media that the congress will review women's movements and activities during its last term period of 2007-2012, as well as its achievements and directions for the next five-year period.

During the past five years, the Women's Union has constantly worked towards renewing its methods and activities to take care of and defend the legitimate rights of women nationwide, said Ms Hoa.

Sharing Ms Hoa's views, Prof. Pham Thi Tran Chau, the oldest representative attending the Congress, said that the role of women should be further enhanced in every aspect of society.

The numbers of women intellectuals have also increased steadily, with an increasing proportion of young women becoming involved in scientific and technological work, she said.

Buddhist nun Thich Dam Hue, Chairwoman of the Buddhist Club in the northern province of Ha Nam, commented that women had fewer opportunities to improve themselves if they were living in poverty and expressed hope that VWU would pay more attention to Buddhist women.

According to Mang Thi Dien, from the Raklay ethnic minority group from the central province of Quang Ngai, there is a large gap between women in rural and urban areas. Women in remote areas have less opportunity to access information, education and training and social security.

Poverty is hindering the development of women, especially in remote areas, islands and mountainous areas, she said.

Speaking at the meeting, which reviewed the work of the women's movement over the past five years; Nguyen Thi Kim Thuy, Vice President of the Vietnam Women's Union said that aside from assuming greater responsibility for building a happy home life, Vietnamese women had made progress in the political arena as well.

She said women had been more active in championing citizen's rights and had been more involved in politics at all levels. Women now make up 24.4 per cent of the National Assembly, while female staff in State agencies at district and central levels account for 31 per cent of all employees, she said.

Meanwhile, women comprised 25 per cent of all entrepreneurs in the country, and had created tens of thousands of jobs.

Thuy said about 39 per cent of women went on to higher education and attained master's degrees and 37 per cent got their PhD's or became professors.

According to Thuy, women still need support when it came to countering traditional prejudices in society.

"The number of women who are holding decision-making and policy-making positions remains low. For example, female leaders on people's committees and people's councils only account to 4 per cent," she said.

.

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Blue-chip gains lead US stocks higher

US stocks closed broadly higher Thursday, helped by solid gains from Procter & Gamble over its cost-cutting plan and blue-chip stalwart IBM.

US stocks closed broadly higher Thursday, helped by solid gains from Procter & Gamble over its cost-cutting plan and blue-chip stalwart IBM.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 46.02 points (0.36 per cent) to 12,984.69.

The broad-market S&P 500 gained 5.80 points (0.43 per cent) to 1,363.46, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite added 23.81 (0.81 per cent) to 2,956.98.

The market opened lower but then gained a footing in positive territory after an hour.

Gregori Volokhine of Meeschaert New York said the market was helped by the government's weekly data on unemployment claims that underlined the continuing improvement in the jobs sector.

"The market continues to draw on the employment situation," he said.

"The day was not rich in news," he added.

P&G led the Dow higher with a 3.1 per cent gain after announcing a sweeping $10 billion cost-cutting program that will include cutting 10 per cent of its workforce, or 5,700 jobs, by the end of 2013.

IBM chipped in with a 1.9 per cent gain.

But Hewlett-Packard limited the gains with its 6.5 per cent loss after reporting late Wednesday a 44 per cent profit fall in its fiscal first quarter.

On the Nasdaq, eBay pushed up 3.9 per cent, Qualcomm 1.5 per cent, and Apple 0.7 per cent.

Dell also rebounded 1.5 per cent after its sharp loss Wednesday following disappointing earnings.

Shares in biotech firm Vivus skyrocketed 77.5 per cent after an advisory panel to the US Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday urged approval of its new obesity drug, Qnexa.

Qnexa would be the first FDA-approved obesity drug in more than a decade.

Bond prices pushed higher. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 1.98 per cent from 2.00 per cent on Wednesday, while the 30-year climbed to 3.12 per cent from 3.14 per cent.

Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Theo en.baomoi.com

HP readying competitor for Amazons cloud computing, plans to launch soon

We"re still waiting to see where HP goes with webOS, but according to the New York Times it will officially launch a cloud computing service that competes with Amazon Web Services in the next couple of months.

We're still waiting to see where HP goes with webOS, but according to the New York Times it will officially launch a cloud computing service that competes with Amazon Web Services in the next couple of months.

HP Senior VP and General Manager Zorawar Singh is quoted saying the currently in beta service projects as an alternative to what Amazon has built with a focus on personalized sales and service and additional tools for third party developers, as well as a system of small data centers around the world.

Throw in analytics based on technology it's obtained by purchasing Vertica and Autonomy, and maybe Meg Whitman's ship has something here, but we'll wait until the next Netflix is running its operations from this cloud before declaring it on the same level.

Theo en.baomoi.com

Mineral survey takes priority in new strategy

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has ratified the country"s mineral resources strategy for 2020 with a vision to 2030.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has ratified the country's mineral resources strategy for 2020 with a vision to 2030.

illustration photo

Under the strategy, investment priority will be given to conducting basic geological surveys on land and at sea to estimate the country's mineral resources.

Exploration and extraction will be closely associated with processing and efficient use of the resources.

The overall objective of the strategy is to combine the sustainable extraction of resources with processing in order to produce products with high economic value.

Vietnam targets to terminate the production of all small mineral processing facilities and technology which causes pollution and results in low economic efficiency by 2020.

It also resolves to export only processed mineral resources of high value after 2020.

Key resources that the country wants to focus on are peat in the Red River Delta; bauxite and laterite in the Central Highlands; rare earth and zinc in the northwestern region, Viet Bac and central region; lithium and gold in the central part and light-coloured granite in the north.

For coal exploration and mining, work will be conducted 300m below the Quang Ninh, Thai Nguyen and Quang Nam coal basins. For mining in the Red River delta, the strategy asks for the best options to ensure negative impacts on socio-economic development are minimised while protecting the environment.

Gold mining will continue to be carried out in existing mines but only advanced technologies will be permitted.

The Prime Minister has adopted an action programme to turn the strategy into reality.

The key objective of the programme is to define tasks for central and local government agencies in their execution of Resolution 02-NQ/TW on the strategic orientation for mining and the mineral resources industry by 2020 with a vision 2030.

Under the programme, popularisation of the Law on Mineral Resources will be conducted; the enforcement and effectiveness of the state management on mineral resources strengthened; mechanisms and policies in the field of mineral resources renewed; and the mineral resources industry developed.

The government has assigned specific tasks to each ministry. By late March 2012, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment must complete a guiding document to implement the Law on Mineral Resources and the decree on tendering the rights to extracting minerals.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has been assigned with the task of completing the organisational structure on State management from central to local governments, including human resources development

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China launches high-speed test train capable of 310 mph, shaped like an ancient sword

According to an old "Simpsons" quote, there"s nary a thing that can outrun a greased Scotsman.

According to an old "Simpsons" quote, there's nary a thing that can outrun a greased Scotsman.

That's no longer the case, as Chinese train manufacturer CSR Corp Ltd. unveiled a 500 km/h (310 mph) high-speed test train over the weekend. The train, which consists of six cars, is shaped to look like an ancient sword, reinforced with carbon fiber, and has a maximum tractive power of 22,800 kilowatts.

Similar (if not identical in terms of proposed speeds) projects currently under construction include the 310 mph maglev train planned by Southwest Jiaotong University, the Tokyo to Osaka bullet train planned for 2045 and the proposed 269 mph maglev train from Anaheim to Las Vegas.

The test unit is part of China's trillion dollar effort effort to build 13,000 km (8,078 miles) of high-speed rail network by 2012, and about 20,000 km (12,427 miles) by 2020. This new launch comes after a series of high-speed train-related troubles throughout 2011 in which the former Railways Ministry chief, Liu Zhijun, was accused of pocketing $122 million and subsequently terminated from his position; this was followed by a July collision between two high-speed trains in Wenzhou, which killed at least 40 people and injured another 210.

Still, the new test train tops out at 310 miles per hour and is shaped like an ancient sword, so past snafus can probably be forgiven.

Theo en.baomoi.com

WB helps Can Tho adapt to climate change

(VOV) - The World Bank, in coordination with Can Tho City, held a seminar on February 8 to devise measures to cope with climate change in the future.

Experts proposed that Can Tho combine environmental observation with protection and sustainable development. They said the city should provide evaluations on changes in environmental quality in key observation areas to meet the requirements of state management on environmental protection, release timely warnings against the danger of environmental pollution and degradation, and build a database on environmental quality for storing, supplying and exchanging information across the country.

The general urban development plan with vision to 2030, including transport development, must take climate change into account, participants proposed.

They said the city should encourage businesses, production units and craft villages to apply environmentally friendly technologies which help reduce pollution and gas emission. It should focus on measures to raise public awareness of climate change and its impact on the economy, society and environment.

In the initial period, they suggested city should help local people stabilise their lives in flood seasons and assist localities with hydrometeorology forecasting to mitigate natural disasters.

Scientists forecast that by the year 2100 climate change will significantly change the natural and socio-economic environment in the Mekong Delta region, including Can Tho. If the city does not actively address this issue, it will be submerged by more than 1m, losing a large amount of agricultural land. Water levels in the Mekong River will drop by 2-4 percent in the dry season and increase by 7-15 percent in the flood season, exacerbating floods and droughts. Declining water resources will seriously affect agricultural production, fishery, transport and public health. Consequently, the living conditions of millions of people will be affected.

Since 1996, floods in Can Tho have killed 123 people, destroyed 365,000 houses, 1,597 schools, and 7,000 km of roads, and submerged 104,000 hectares of crops.

Theo en.baomoi.com

60 folk culture-letters and arts works awarded

PANO - Vietnam Folk Letters and Arts Association, on December 27th, organised a ceremony to present awards to 60 folk culture-letters and arts works in 2011.

PANO - Vietnam Folk Letters and Arts Association, on December 27 th , organised a ceremony to present awards to 60 folk culture-letters and arts works in 2011.

In 2011, the Association received 80 works, including various high quality and specialized ones and 33 works on ethnic groups. Having deeply studied, the Association selected 74 best works for awards consideration.

Some remarkable works include "Folk literature observed in folk cultural code" by Associate Professor cum Doctor Nguyen Thi Bich Ha, "Sli of Nung ethnic group" by Ma The Vinh and "Then musical instrument and folk songs" by Hoang Trieu An and "Buffalo offerings of Cham ethnic group in Ninh Thuan" by Hai Lien.

Also at the ceremony, 9 outstanding artists were titled folk artisans while one group in Lai Chau was presented a certificate of merit.

Mai Nguyen
Photo: Khanh Huyen

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Government eyes casino proposals, policies

The Government would poll relevant agencies on legal mechanisms for gambling before making a final decision on implementation, he added.

HA NOI —

Dam said, in accordance with piloted projects on Phu Quoc Island in southern Kien Giang Province and northern Quang Ninh Province seeking US$4 billion towards a casino, "This is a trend that needs consideration so that it can be managed and operated following market demand."

He said the Government was actively studying other betting models in countries which already had legal gambling activities.

"The Government's point of view is that, policies must be suitable to practical rules and market demand, so as not to affect [local] habits, customs, social order and security," Dam said.

According to the Wall Street Journal, US casino operators view Asia as an important new market as their American operations continue to suffer from the global financial crisis. PriceWaterhouseCoopers expects Asia to represent 43 per cent of the global casino market by 2015, up 14 per cent over 2010.

The online newspaper commented that Viet Nam could be one of several new gambling hubs thanks to its 90-million population and its growing appeal to foreign tourists.

Las Vegas Sands Chief Executive Sheldon Adelson said he was trying to encourage local authorities to allow the company to build integrated casino-and-convention resorts in the country, it wrote.

At an investment promotion conference last month, Quang Ninh Province announced an investment plan focused on a 1,800ha tourism, sport and entertainment complex in its Van Don District, with a $4 billion casino one of its most important proponents. — VNS

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Taekwondo athletes compete in German Open

Vietnam Taekwondo team has arrived in Hamburg, Germany to take part in the German Open tournament on March 3-4.

More than 1,000 athletes from around the world have registered to participate in this year's event.

When they return from Germany, the Vietnam Taekwondo team will fly to China for a one-month training course to prepare for the Asian championships, which will be held in HCM City in May.

Athletes Le Huynh Chau and Chu Hoang Dieu Linh, may also train in France for a short time before leaving for the UK to attend the London Olympics this summer.

Source: VOV

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Feature films vie for Golden Kite Awards

In the Canh Dieu Vang (Golden Kite) Awards this year, feature films have surprised the media with their quality and quantity.

Deputy Standing President of Vietnam Cinematography Association, Nguyen Thi Hong Ngat, said at a press briefing in Hanoi on Mar. 1 that 12 feature films are engaged in strong competition for this year's Golden Kite Awards.

Vietnam Feature Film has two contenders, namely "Mui co chay" (The scent of burnt grass) from director Nguyen Huu Muoi and "Tam hon me" (Mother's soul) directed by Pham Nhue Giang.

The remaining films were produced by private studios, including popular films such as "Hot boy noi loan" (Lost in Paradise ), "Long Ruoi" (The Big Boss), "Ngoi nha trong hem" (House in the alley), "Lenh xoa so" (Eliminating order).

The jury in the feature film category has 13 members headed by director Bui Dinh Hac. The Golden Kite Award is granted for professional works which have a positive effect on audiences and society, said the organising board.
In addition to the 12 feature films, this year's awards competition has attracted 19 TV series, 37 short films, 41 documentaries, 11 cartoons, and ten scientific films.
The awards ceremony will be held at the Friendship Palace in the capital city of Hanoi on March 17, coinciding with Vietnam Cinema Day.

The ceremony will also honour two directors, Bui Dinh Hac and Dang Nhat Minh, for their great contributions to national cinema. "Duong ve que me" (On the road to native village) from director Bui Dinh Hac and "Thuong nho dong que" (Nostalgia for the Countryland) from director Dang Nhat Minh and a selection of documentaries will be screened in 63 cities and provinces.

Audiences in Hanoi will have a chance to obtain free tickets for the film screenings at the Vietnam Cinematography Association's Theatre, the August Theatre and the National Cinema Centre.-VNA

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Danish researchers find new indicator diseases to signal hidden HIV risk

HIV in Europe, a pan-European HIV/AIDS initiative coordinated from Copenhagen, said heterosexuals in Europe are at risk of carrying HIV for so long that they remain undiagnosed until their immune system begins to fail, and they fall ill.

An international study led by the initiative shows that diseases, including herpes zoster and certain forms of cancer, should be on the list of indicators for having HIV, which in turn could prompt health care professionals to suggest an HIV test to their patients.

This could aid in earlier diagnosis and treatment of HIV, which attacks and weakens a patient's immune system, the initiative said, and help improve European response to treatment and care of HIV patients.

"We already have a list of AIDS defining diseases, the vast majority of which indicate a weak immune system. This is a symptom of HIV and should lead to an immediate HIV test," said Prof. Jens Lundgren of Copenhagen University, who co-chairs the HIV in Europe initiative.

"We need to find people living with HIV sooner than is currently the case, but to do so requires that doctors and other healthcare professionals offer tests to people presenting (themselves) with diseases indicative of a hidden and undiagnosed HIV infection earlier in the course of the disease," Lundgren said in a press statement.

Since 2009, the HIV in Europe initiative has investigated eight new diseases to see how often they have proven to be signs of an undiagnosed HIV infection, in a study of 3,588 patients, the statement added.

If these signs were of a sexually transmitted disease, herpes zoster, anal cancer or hepatitis B or C, among others, the network believes health professionals should offer the patient an HIV test.

The network stressed that these indicators do not necessarily mean a patient has HIV, but that the incidence of HIV was greater for the eight indicator diseases.

UNAIDS estimates 2.5 million Europeans, both inside and outside of the EU, are HIV positive, but up to 900,000 are unaware of their status. According to HIV in Europe, half of all people living with HIV are diagnosed very late in course of their chronic HIV infection.

The initiative said it will present results of the study, and discuss the new guidelines for HIV indicators, at an international HIV conference here on March 19-20.

Xinhua

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PM recommends strict punishment for petrol hoarding

The PM has asked the Ministry of Industry and Trade to apply strict punishment to petrol stalls, which cease operations just to wait for prices to increase.

A petrol station owned by Dong Phu Agriculture Collective in Quang Dien District closed with a signboard that reads 'Staff meeting, temporarily suspensed'.

The request was made by Vu Duc Dam, Minister-Chairman of the Office of Government, at a press conference held after the Government's regular meeting-February 2012.

Dam said that the situation had been addressed at the Government's regular meeting, where PM Nguyen Tan Dung asked the ministries of Finance and Industry and Trade to thoroughly follow on directions given them on petrol prices drawn out in Decree No. 84, regarding petrol prices operated under the market mechanism with state management.

According to minister Dam, the PM urged that strict oversight and enforcement be applied to petrol stations that seek to profit by waiting to sell their inventory until the value goes up.

"On Tuesday afternoon Government leaders met with the ministries of Finance and Industry and Trade to find solution to this issue," Dam revealed.

At the press conference, Vu Thi Mai, Deputy Minister of Finance, said that over the last two months, the price for imported petrol has reached its highest level in years, up by 2% to 7%, depending on the type of fuel.

"At present, prices in Vietnam are lower than those of other regional countries," she explained. "This has led to rumours about increases in the near future."

Recently, a number of petrol stations in Thua Thien Hue City have suspended business, waiting for prices to increase so as to make higher profits.

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More Russian tourists bound for Vietnam

Cam Ranh International Airport received four flights from Russia's Far East region with almost 790 passengers aboard on March 2.

Photo: dantri

They went to Nha Trang City in the central province of Khanh Hoa and Phan Thiet in southern Binh Thuan province for holiday.

Hoang Thi Phong Thu, President of the Board of Directors of the company Anh Duong said her firm, in cooperation with Turkish partner Pegas Turistik, started to fly in tourists from nine Far East cities to Khanh Hoa and Binh Thuan in late October 2011.

They have so far brought 27,000 Russian tourists to Vietnam, much more than the previously anticipated 20,000 for the period October 2011-April 30 this year.

The organisers have now decided to develop it into an all year round service instead of ceasing on April 30 as originally planned, after the increasing demand from people in Far East Russia who want to visit Vietnam, said Thu.

They added that from mid-February to date, they have operated 11-12 flights a week, each carrying 180 passengers. Most of the Russian visitors were pleased with their experience and many stayed for 10 days or more, visiting other nearby resorts and popular tourist spots.

Source: VOV

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Used car business seen picking up

HCMC – Auto manufacturers and traders have opened more used car dealerships in anticipation of high market demand.

Used car business seen picking up

By Quoc Hung - The Saigon Times Daily

Guests inspect a used Mercedes car. Seeing high market demand, auto manufacturers and traders have opened more used car dealers hips - Photo: Quoc Hung

HCMC – Auto manufacturers and traders have opened more used car dealerships in anticipation of high market demand.

The used car market is characterized by haphazard development with buyers often placed in a disadvantageous position due to lack of guarantees and warranty. So several companies have entered this market segment in a more professional way by offering vehicle inspection and after-sale services.

Used car dealerships are aware that newly licensed drivers tend to buy old cars as they are afraid of owning new cars due to potential crashes, paying a high price for a brand new car or servicing a loan with a high interest rate.

Automakers consider secondhand-car business a chance of selling new cars as there are many car owners wishing to exchange for brand new models but they do not know how much their own cars cost.

Toyota Motor Vietnam (TMV) will expand its used car business in the country with a series of used car outlets to be established at its dealerships nationwide after the opening in mid-2010 of the Used Car Center at Toyota East Saigon Joint Stock Company.

Nguyen Khoa, director of the used car center, expressed optimism about the future growth of the secondhand car market, especially at a time when new vehicle registration fees are getting higher. Its business has grown 20% since the center's launch, he said.

In his observation, the demand for used cars in HCMC is surging as more youngsters are learning to drive and old vehicles can be immediately put into use without having to wait for the number plate and registration.

Despite forecasts that auto sales in the country this year would continue to dip, Khoa believed the used car segment could edge up an impressive 15-20%.

TMV's used cars can still compete well with cheap cars made by South Korean firms, Khoa said.

Though Mercedes-Benz Vietnam is known as a luxury car maker in Vietnam, it has recently joined the used car segment by launching Mercedes-Benz Auto Service and Trade Center on Vo Van Kiet Boulevard in HCMC's Binh Tan District. The new facility was invested by its dealer Hang Xanh Motors Service Joint Stock Company (Haxaco). This center is the only service facility in the country where used Mercedes-Benz autos are traded.

Earlier, Audi Vietnam and Euro Auto, distributors of BMW, also launched their second-hand car services. Meanwhile, Anycar Vietnam is developing a network of certified pre-owned car outlets selling all locally assembled auto brands.

Auto traders see the used car market full of potentials because there are numerous average-income people in need of secondhand vehicles. However, inspection and warranty services for used cars are still absent, thus vexing buyers.

Those seeking to buy used cars often ask technicians or people with good knowledge of autos for help; otherwise, they may buy malfunctioning vehicles. Therefore, seeing this matter, auto manufacturers and traders are willing to provide car inspection and warranty services to increase their competitiveness.

Used cars supplied by TMV sales agents to the Used Car Center at Toyota East Saigon must be checked and evaluated by Toyota engineers. Vehicles meeting the requirements will be granted quality certificates. Especially, customers are offered after-sale services with qualified warranty and maintenance.

As a pioneer in the used car market, Ford Vietnam said the quality of used vehicles must be tested through an assessment of 162 parts. This way makes it possible for specialists to exactly assess the state of the car and repair it if necessary to ensure the best operating conditions possible before delivery to consumers.

Similarly, a representative of Anycar said used cars would be strictly inspected and granted quality certificates before they were put up for sale. The firm will not sell disqualified vehicles.

Meanwhile, Haxaco of Mercedes-Benz Vietnam provides warranty of one year or 20,000 kilometers for cars that have been in use for up to five years or 100,000 kilometers since their first registrations. Customers will be given vehicle history, engine performance certificate and others.

However, some traders said vehicle inspections might push up prices of used cars. The best selling used cars are those priced from VND400-600 million per unit.

Theo en.baomoi.com

Mekong River reveals huge bounty

The lower reach of the Mekong River has proved fertile waters for an array of giant fish, some of which weigh up to 500 kilos.

Giant catfish

The largest specimen recently caught was a world-record breaking five-metre long, 60 year-old oil catfish weighing up to 500 kilos. It is the biggest freshwater fish species in the world.

A five metre long, 100 kilo skate has also awed Mekong River fishermen.

However, the giant Thai carp is recognised as the king of the river. The giant Thai is the biggest carp species in the world. The Mekong River regularly proves home to 60 to 70 kilo specimens. However, Thai carp have been known to reach two metres in length, weighing in at a huge 300 kilos.

Giant Thai carp

Giant mudfish

Skate in the Mekong River

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