the nanyang post

WikiLeaks publishes 'millions' of US intel firm emails

2012-02-28T01:06:00.001+08:00

LONDON, February 27, 2012 (AFP) - WikiLeaks on Monday began publishing a huge tranche of emails from US intelligence firm Stratfor in a move the anti-secrecy website said revealed the "private lies of private spies".

WikiLeaks claims over five million emails from Texas-based Stratfor will uncover "everything from sinister spy tactics to an insider trading scheme with Goldman Sachs" in the coming weeks.

The first batch released Monday suggest that Dow Chemical, the parent company of the firm responsible for the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, paid Stratfor to monitor campaigners for victims of the disaster, WikiLeaks claims.

The whistleblowing website said the first batch also indicates that Coca-Cola paid Stratfor to investigate animal rights group Peta.

A "substantial" proportion of Stratfor's funding comes from state organisations including the US Department of Homeland Security, WikiLeaks said, though it added that it could not yet give exact figures.

WikiLeaks is sifting through the emails, dating from July 2004 to December 2011, with 25 media partners including Rolling Stone magazine and Italy's La Repubblica newspaper, while members of the public can also view the emails.

The emails document "the private lives and private lies of private spies," WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said at a press conference in London.
"Over the last ten years the private intelligence industry has boomed in the United States and other countries.

"But with this growth there has not been a commensurate growth in accountability mechanisms," added Assange, who is currently fighting extradition from Britain to Sweden over sexual assault allegations.

Stratfor, founded in 1996, denounced the theft of the emails as "a deplorable, unfortunate -- and illegal -- breach of privacy".

The emails are widely believed to have been passed to WikiLeaks by hacker group Anonymous, which claimed in December that it had stolen the emails.

But Assange refused to specify how his website had come to possess the messages, saying: "As a matter of policy we don't discuss sourcing or speculate on sources."

The Australian-born former hacker also said the emails contained evidence that Stratfor analysts had monitored WikiLeaks itself, details of which would be revealed in the next few days.

China to water down secret detention law: experts

2012-02-27T20:59:00.001+08:00

BEIJING, February 27, 2012 (AFP) - China's parliament is set to water down controversial changes to a law that would allow secret detentions, people with knowledge of the issue said Monday, following an outcry over the move.

The National People's Congress, opening its annual session next Monday, will remove some planned changes to the Criminal Procedure Law that would have made it legal to lock up suspects in secret locations for six months without charge.

Chen Guangzhong, the influential honorary chairman of the China Legal Society, told AFP he had seen the latest draft of the law, and legislators had deleted some of what critics have dubbed the "disappearance clauses."

These clauses ruled that police did not have to tell family the whereabouts of suspects arrested, detained or under surveillance in national security, terrorism or major graft cases, if such notifications impeded a criminal probe.

The clauses triggered an uproar, with critics saying the changes amounted to legalising human rights violations. Prominent activist Hu Jia compared them to methods used by the former Soviet Union's KGB secret police.

The practice of so-called "enforced disappearances" already exists in China, but the amendments would have given it extra legal clout.

Rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, for instance, was taken away in 2010 and was held largely incommunicado for nearly 20 months. Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo also suffered from these "disappearances."

But Chen told AFP the latest draft of the law -- to be voted on during the NPC's session -- now rules that police inform family members of the whereabouts of suspects arrested or placed under residential surveillance within 24 hours.

"This is a new breakthrough in the amendment and is an added safeguard for human rights. The draft should now have no problem in passing -- there is an over 90 percent chance it will pass," he told AFP.

But he cautioned that in the case of criminal detentions -- legally different to arrests -- police have been given a longer period of 37 days to inform families, if such a notification impedes their investigation.

Nicholas Bequelin, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, told AFP "numerous (China-based) diplomatic sources" also told him Chinese officials had informed them the clauses would be removed.

"But I am quite skeptical about this mainly because they have refused to publish the draft amendment. The fact they are not disclosing the draft is an indication that it is still not settled," he said.

Calls to the NPC's press office went unanswered.

Taiwan denies Singapore cutting military ties

2012-02-27T19:38:00.001+08:00

TAIPEI, February 27, 2012 (AFP) - Taiwan denied reports Monday that Singapore is suspending its long-standing military cooperation with the island after news of a rare visit by Taiwan's defence minister to the city state was made public.

The Taipei-based United Daily News reported Monday that Singapore, which recognises Beijing rather than Taipei, was unhappy at the media exposure of Kao Hua-chu's visit to Singapore in mid-February.

It said a Singaporean colonel acting on his government's behalf had delivered a protest letter to Kao last week, claiming publicity surrounding the visit violated the tacit understanding the trip would be kept secret.

"The report is absolutely not true," Taiwan's defence ministry said in a statement, adding that Taiwan treasures its friendship with Singapore and would like to increase exchanges between the two sides.

However, the ministry admitted "there will be an adjustment of some activities due to the needs of the two sides", suggesting ties between Taipei and Singapore may have been dented.

Defence ministry spokesman David Lo declined to elaborate, but a source close to the ministry confirmed that the scheduled visit to Singapore late this month by a Taiwanese army general has been scrapped.

Taiwan does not have formal diplomatic ties with Singapore but has provided training venues for Singapore's artillery, armoured vehicles and infantry units under a programme of military cooperation known as Operation Hsing Kuang or Starlight.

Taiwan's close ties with Singapore stretch back to the 1960s when it sent air force and naval officers to the city state during its early years of independence.

However, Singapore, like most countries, officially recognises China and is said to be keen on keeping its military exchanges with Taiwan as low-profile as possible.

In the past, top Singaporean officials' visits to Taiwan triggered strong protests from China.

China still claims Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting unification, by force if necessary, although ties have improved markedly since Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government came to power in 2008.

China's Huawei touts 'world's fastest smartphone'

2012-02-27T12:24:00.001+08:00

BARCELONA, February 26, 2012 (AFP) - Chinese telecoms giant Huawei on Sunday launched what it touted as the "world's fastest smartphone", in its bid to squeeze into a market currently dominated by Apple and Samsung.

"We are proud to ... introduce a world first at the 2012 Mobile World Congress with the Ascend D quad, the fastest smartphone," said Richard Yu, Huawei Device chairman, on the eve of the industry's biggest fair in Barcelona.

The phone, which will be available from April, boasts a quad core processor, double that of smartphones which are using dual core at the moment, making them at least twice as rapid.

"We've listened to people's top demands from smartphones: speed, long battery life, high quality visual and audio capabilities and a compact lightweight handset," said Yu, saying that the phone meets these requirements.

The phone's battery, for instance, lasts some 30 percent longer than the industry average, it said.

It also comes with a technology cancelling out background noise on voicecalls and boasts a surround sound system, said the group.

Huawei was unable to give a retail price for the phone but Yu said it would be "15 percent more competitive than others of the same class".

Other vendors, including Finnish giant Nokia, are expected to roll out this year's offerings during the fair, which gathers thousands of executives from the industry this year.

Huawei, founded over two decades ago by former People's Liberation Army engineer Ren Zhengfei, is at the forefront of efforts by Chinese firms to shift from being the world's workshop to becoming creators of genuine global brands.

Asian mobile giants go ultra fast in race for smartphone pie - 2ndlead

2012-02-27T12:22:00.001+08:00

BARCELONA, February 26, 2012 (AFP) - Asian mobile telecom giants Huawei and LG on Sunday launched a new generation of ultra rapid smartphones, in a race to catch up with market leaders Apple and Samsung.

China's Huawei touted its new Ascend D as the "world's fastest smartphone", as it boasts a quad core processor, double that of other smartphones which are using dual core at the moment, making them at least twice as rapid.

The new handset marks a major push by the Chinese maker to market its brand in the high-end smartphone market.

Previously better known for devices targetting the low-end market, the group is now in the process of transforming its target market.

"The advent of the smartphone has changed the industry significantly. Five years ago, if you say that you're using an Apple phone, that's hard to imagine," Huawei Device's chief marketing officer Shao Yang told AFP.

"Two years ago, Samsung phones were not as successful as they are now. But through its Galaxy series, it has satisfied consumers' demand," he said.

He noted that while the regular mobile phone's market had been fully exploited, there was a large market opportunity for the smartphone.
"With the transformation of the smartphone market, we see an opportunity," he said.

World wide smartphone sales grew 53.5 percent in 2011, and made up 34 percent of all mobile handsets sold in the year, said Informa Telecoms and Media research agency.

It estimated that over a billion people would own a smartphone by 2013.

LG, the world's third biggest mobile phone maker, also sought to get a firmer grip on the smartphone market with a new quad core phone, the Optimus 4xHD.

But beyond a speedy phone, the South Korean giant also previewed a "tabletphone".

With a touch screen of five inches, the Optimus Vu is sized as "a product that is in between" a phone and a tablet", said Daniel Hernandez, the group's marketing director for Europe.

The phone, which is now available in the home Korean market, will arrive in Europe in the last three months of 2012, he added.

LG is not the first to move towards bigger smartphone screens. Fellow South Korean Samsung in October launched the Galaxy Note, which also has the same intermediate format.

"We think there is a market, because it's a product that replaces the tablet and the smartphone at the same time," said Hernandez.

WikiLeaks publishes 'millions' of Stratfor emails

2012-02-27T12:21:00.001+08:00

LONDON, February 27, 2012 (AFP) - Whistleblowing website WikiLeaks on Monday began publishing more than five million confidential emails from US-based intelligence firm Stratfor, the anti-secrecy group said.

The messages, which date from between July 2004 and December 2011, will reveal Stratfor's "web of informers, pay-off structure, payment-laundering techniques and psychological methods," claimed a WikiLeaks press release.

"The material shows how a private intelligence agency works, and how they target individuals for their corporate and government clients," added the press release.

The online organisation claims to have proof of the firm's confidential links to large corporations, such as Bhopal's Dow Chemical Co. and Lockheed Martin and government agencies, including the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Marines and the US Defense Intelligence Agency.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is currently in Britain fighting extradition to Sweden where he is wanted for questioning on rape and sexual assault allegations, and WikiLeaks has long expressed concern that if he is sent to Sweden, Stockholm would quickly send him on to the United States.

Washington is eager to lay hands on the founder after the organisation's publication of hundreds of thousands of classified US diplomatic files.

WikiLeaks promises that the latest leak will highlight Stratfor's attempts to "subvert" the website and expose the US's attempts to "attack" Assange.

Stratfor, which was founded by George Friedman in 1996, describes itself as "a subscription-based provider of geopolitical analysis."

"Unlike traditional news outlets, Stratfor uses a unique, intelligence-based approach to gathering information via rigorous open-source monitoring and a global network of human sources," according to the Texas-based firm's website.

The company promises subscribers will "gain a thorough understanding of international affairs, including what's happening, why it's happening, and what will happen next."

WikiLeaks predicts that the significance of the emails will only become clear over the next few weeks as its 25 media partners and the public sift through the raft of messages.

Its media partners include Rolling Stone magazine, The Hindu newspaper and Italy's La Repubblica.

The group claims to have found evidence that Stratfor gave a complimentary membership to Pakistan general Hamid Gul, former head of Pakistan's ISI intelligence service, who, according to US diplomatic cables, planned an IED attack against international forces in Afghanistan in 2006.

The group also alleges it has proof that Stratfor monitored and analysed the online activities of activists seeking redress for the 1984 Dow Chemical/Union Carbide gas disaster in Bhopal, India.

Bradley Manning, the man suspected of turning over a massive cache of classified US documents to the secret-spilling site, on Thursday declined to enter a plea at his arraignment.

Manning, a 24-year-old US Army private, is charged with 22 counts in connection with one of the biggest intelligence breaches in US history.

WikiLeaks was due to hold a press conference at London's Frontline Club later on Monday.

Internet: Russia's new anti-Putin weapon

2012-02-27T12:19:00.003+08:00

MOSCOW, February 27, 2012 (AFP) - Russia's new Internet-savvy opposition is going online to protest and monitor the presidential elections on March 4, bringing its iPhones and Twitter into the fray against Vladimir Putin.

As jokes and spoof videos about Putin, expected to win back the presidency in Sunday's polls, spread like wildfire on social networking sites and YouTube, opposition activists are using the Internet to promote their cause.

After a slow start, Internet use has sky-rocketed in Russia in recent years and last year the country overtook Germany as having Europe's largest number of Internet users, a development the opposition have not hesitated to exploit.

This week a Moscow-based programme developer, Alexei Chistyakov, 29, presented a new iPhone app to allow election monitors at polling stations to instantly report violations.

It will link up to a call centre organised jointly by Yabloko liberal party and the League of Voters, an umbrella group of celebrities and bloggers who are using their clout to rally election observers.

"It's an easy way to report violations," Chistyakov said of the free app, which he designed and developed with a French company, fearing repercussions for the Russian company where he works.

The elections "are already unfair, let's start with that," he said. "We are doing all this so that people on the outside also acknowledge they are unfair."

Activist Ilya Yashin, 28, of the Solidarity movement said he feels equally at home with the audience of his blogs as when yelling out speeches at the mass rallies for fair elections.

"I feel comfortable with the Internet audience and with people who have never used the Internet. I feel that's my advantage, I was never just an offline politician or just online," he said.

Putin, who has slammed the Internet as "50% pornography", has barely entered the Internet battle. But worryingly for the Russian strongman, that's hardly representative of Russians today.

Forty-four percent use the Internet as one of their main news sources, a December poll by the independent Levada centre found, although state-dominated television news remains stronger, with 78 percent watching.

"Obviously there is a trend for the growing influence of the Internet, but of course the Internet cannot compete with television. The status quo remains that public opinion is shaped by television," said Yashin.

Aiming to change that are Internet sites such as Ridus.ru, a "citizens' news" service founded last autumn where anyone can submit a story and which covers the opposition rallies in detail.

"I think the Internet will become the main source of information for people who are interested in news. At the moment, it's television, but that's changing," said Timofei Vasilyev, a staff journalist at Ridus.

"Fewer and fewer people believe in the television. More and more people believe in the Internet."

The founder of Russia's largest social networking site, Vkontakte, Pavel Durov, ran an online poll ahead of December's parliamentary elections. Out of more than 4 million votes, only 21 percent were for ruling party United Russia.

Putin's campaign manager, film director Stanislav Govorukhin, recently called the Internet a "rubbish dump."

In a possible own goal, the campaign recently posted online television ads with celebrity endorsements of Putin.

The result -- bloggers and journalists pored over them and concluded a popular actress looked as if she could have been coerced into appearing to protect her children's charity.

And popular television and radio host Ksenia Sobchak went on to score far better online with a spoof video in which she demurely backed Putin, only for the camera to cut away to reveal guns pointed to her head.

Yashin was scornful of Putin's team's attempts to win hearts and minds on the Internet.

"I think it looks pretty ridiculous. They make quite a mess of it. We're not afraid of competition on the Internet," he said.

Tsunami towns at crossroads, despite clean-up

2012-02-27T12:19:00.001+08:00

OTSUCHI, February 27, 2012 (AFP) - The boat that was dumped on the roof of Otsuchi's two-storey hotel has gone, and much of the rubble that littered this fishing port has been cleared. But the town lies paralysed, unable to rebuild and unwilling to abandon.

Up and down Japan's tsunami-ravaged coastline, roads have been repaired and are now busy with cars taking people back to the prefabricated units they have learned to call home in the last year.

Devastated communities are gradually limping back to life, emerging from the ghostliness as new street lamps illuminate the night, lighting the way to clusters of small restaurants, shops and drug stores that have sprung up.

In towns like Ofunato, the crumpled houses that lay strewn across the road and the battered shells of cars that littered the pavements are gone. Telegraph poles have been righted and the detritus of daily life has been cleared.

Further south, the twisted rail tracks of Tagajo have been re-laid and services have restarted, linking this small town with its neighbours along the coast.

In Ishinomaki, a bridge that dammed the river with chunks of splintered houses is re-open to traffic.

Some areas look almost normal; the newly-laid tarmac with its freshly painted markings directs traffic towards brand new signals, where gleaming signs give directions.

But the signs point to places that are there in name only.

The streets of tightly packed houses in places like Rikuzentakata were reduced to matchwood by the ferocious waves. For months afterwards, fields of debris stretched where children had once played.

Now, for the most part, these spaces are clear.

Large areas have been razed to reveal the dusty ground, pockmarked by traced outlines of houses, or gridded by the car park of what was once a supermarket.

Here and there lie giant piles of debris, sorted by type. In other places a half-wrecked house stands sentinel, its owners untraceable and no one prepared to sign the order to pull it down.

But the people who once lived in these towns are still wondering: what next?

Some say the risk is too great and rebuilding towns that were in any case dying is not worth it.

They say the crumbling economies that can no longer provide jobs for young people -- of whom there are fewer and fewer -- were killing these small settlements anyway.

Maybe these places should pass into history, swallowed up by larger settlements built further inland.

But others are desperate to have their villages and towns back, unprepared to surrender their birthplaces to the power of nature.
In Otsuchi, memories of the horror of March 11, 2011 are still fresh.

"When I fall asleep, I flash back to what I saw -- a lot of people were sinking into the waves one after another," said Shigeru Yamazaki, 63, who lost his wife and mother in the tragedy.

"But I won't abandon the place I was born and raised," said Yamazaki, who has reopened his clothing store at a prefabricated shopping mall, thrown up in a tsunami-hit schoolyard.

"I don't want to see the name of Otsuchi disappear," said Yamazaki. "We have to make it a place where young people can live."
Shimako Kariya, 78, says she is determined to spend the rest of her life here.

"My kids are telling me, 'Let's move, grandma,' but I told them, 'You can get out of here. I will hang in.' I just can't run away."

Otsuchi town mayor Yutaka Ikarigawa understands the feelings of those who want to rebuild at any cost, but says there have to be jobs if younger people are to stay.

The town, 450 kilometres (280 miles) from Tokyo, lost its main source of employment and income in January when the local fishing cooperative went bust, owing 1.1 billion yen ($14 million).

The tsunami claimed around 1,300 lives in Otsuchi. An exodus over the last 12 months has seen the town's population shrink by 17 percent as younger people leave in search of work.

Even before tragedy struck, around a third of those living in this once serene port were aged over 65. It is greying Japan in miniature.

"It's as if we are bleeding," mayor Ikarigawa told AFP. "We've got to stop this population outflow, no matter what.

"We are racing against time because a delay in reconstruction will lead to the secondary tragedy" of depopulation, he said.
"We are at a crossroads that will determine whether or not the town can survive."

For some, the way ahead is clear.

Yuki Tanaka says it is the stumbling local economy that will drive her away.

"We have to leave Otsuchi if my husband can't sign a new contract with his company this spring," she said.

"A hometown is important, but we have to consider our children and family first."

For those on the cusp of adulthood, there is no choice.

Riho Nagaoka will leave Otsuchi when she graduates from high school in late March.

"There is nothing to do here -- no place to work, no place to play," said the 18-year-old as she stood by the abandoned railway tracks that have not seen a train for almost a year.

"My hometown is my hometown, but it is not a place to live anymore," she said quietly.

"I don't think I will be able to make my dreams come true here."

Print, online ad revenue fall at Washington Post

2012-02-25T01:24:00.001+08:00

WASHINGTON, February 24, 2012 (AFP) - The Washington Post Co. reported a lower fourth-quarter net profit Friday on weakness at its education division and declining print and online advertising revenue at its flagship newspaper.

The Post Co., which owns the Kaplan chain of schools and television outlets in addition to The Washington Post, reported a net profit of $61.7 million, or $8.03 per share, compared to $79 million, or $9.42 per share, a year ago.

Revenue declined 10 percent to $1.1 billion in the fourth-quarter.

For the year, the Post Co. reported a net profit of $116.2 million, down from $277.2 million the previous year. Revenue declined 10 percent in 2011 to $4.21 billion.

Education division revenue declined 14 percent in the fourth quarter to $597.7 million.

Television broadcasting division revenue was down 14 percent to $88.3 million, while cable television revenue fell to $190.8 million from $191.3 million a year earlier.

At the Post Co.'s newspaper publishing division, revenue fell four percent in the fourth quarter to $181 million while operating income declined to $7.4 million from $19.9 million a year ago.

The fourth-quarter results included a $2.4 million charge at the newspaper publishing division for withdrawal from a pension plan.

For the year, revenue declined five percent at the newspaper publishing division to $648 million.

Print advertising revenue was down 11 percent for the year at $264.5 million and online advertising revenue for WashingtonPost.com and Slate.com fell eight percent to $105.8 million.

Print advertising revenue dropped six percent in the fourth quarter to $77.1 million and online advertising revenue declined 12 percent to $31.5 million.

Daily circulation for The Washington Post fell 6.3 percent in 2011 while Sunday circulation was down four percent. Average daily circulation for the Post was 516,200 for 2011 and average Sunday circulation was 732,300.

Like other US newspapers, the Post has been grappling with declining print advertising revenue and circulation and the migration of readers to free news online.

Earlier this month, citing the difficult economic climate for the newspaper industry, the Post announced a voluntary buyout for some newsroom staff, the fifth buyout offer at the newspaper in recent years.

Post Co. shares were up 1.27 percent at $393.73 in early trading on Wall Street.

Singapore's GIC buys 5% of US grain firm Bunge

2012-02-25T01:10:00.001+08:00

SINGAPORE, February 24, 2012 (AFP) - The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) has acquired a 5.0 percent stake in multinational grain producer Bunge, the US-based company said.

In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Bunge said the city-state's sovereign wealth fund had acquired 7.31 million of its shares.

The filing did not give a value for the acquisition but Dow Jones Newswires said it was worth $495.5 million, based on the closing price of Bunge shares in New York on Thursday.

The US SEC filing was dated February 13 but posted on the company's website on Thursday.

A GIC spokeswoman confirmed the acquisition but would not give details.

GIC, one of two state investment vehicles of the Singapore government, says on its website that it manages a portfolio worth over $100 billion ranging from equities to real estate and natural resources in more than 40 countries.

Like other funds, GIC has been raising its investments in natural resources which stood at 3.0 percent as of end March 2011, according to Dow Jones.

GIC last year agreed to purchase $400 million worth of shares in Glencore International's initial public offering, making it the second-biggest investor in the IPO of the Swiss commodity trading giant.

GIC also raised its stake in blue-chip oil producer China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. or Sinopec, to 5.0 percent.

Singapore is a tiny but affluent Southeast Asian nation without any natural resources and its trade-dependent economy is vulnerable to volatility in the global markets, but it has a diversified portfolio of overseas investments.

Freed Myanmar blogger pushes 'people's voice'

2012-02-24T12:41:00.001+08:00

YANGON, February 24, 2012 (AFP) - Aside from an emotional reunion with family and friends, Myanmar blogger Nay Phone Latt knew exactly what he wanted to do after his release from prison: get back online.

It was a bold move, given that his Internet activities landed him a two-decade jail term back in 2008 under the former military regime.

"There are so many friends online who supported me via my blog," said the 32-year-old, a few weeks into his newfound freedom. "So what I wanted to do when I was released was to go online and post a new post."

He made his name through political commentary and poetry on his blog, which he set up to avoid strict press censorship and which soon became an important source of news on isolated Myanmar for the outside world.

He was among activists rounded up for their links to the "Saffron Revolution" monk-led protests against the junta in 2007, and believes he was punished for both his blogging and support for opponents of the generals.

His sentence was later reduced to 12 years and cut short in January, when the new government released hundreds of political prisoners -- one of a series of reforms sweeping the country.

"To frighten the other bloggers and other IT-related youth, they sentenced me to so many years," he told AFP, in English, over a cup of coffee in his hometown of Yangon, which is dotted with popular Internet cafes.

While detained in his own country, Nay Phone Latt was feted from abroad, winning the PEN/Barbara Goldsmith Freedom to Write Award in New York for showing the "strength of the creative spirit" in the face of repression.

Specific accusations against him included storing caricatures of the junta chief, found in his email inbox, and giving out CDs of performances by a satirical entertainment troupe.

"I don't know what crime I have committed, I really don't know that," said Nay Phone Latt, who also owned and ran two cyber cafes before his arrest.

The authorities, he added, hated bloggers and "did not understand the Internet and technology".

The years he spent in jail were a critical time for Myanmar, after almost half a century of draconian army rule.

In late 2010 the country held its first election in 20 years, widely criticised by the West as neither free nor fair, and early last year the junta dissolved itself and handed power to a new government.

It was dubbed as a transfer to civilian rule, yet Myanmar's parliament is dominated by the military and its allies and the new president, Thein Sein, was formerly a general and prime minister in the junta.

So few were expecting the impressive series of reforms that he has ushered in over the past year.

Along with the mass release of political prisoners such as Nay Phone Latt, the regime has made progress towards peace with ethnic minority rebels, and the opposition party of Aung San Suu Kyi has been allowed back into the mainstream.

"I don't think that they will turn back again," said the blogger.

"They cannot change their uniform to the military so easily, so they want to go on, but this progress can slow and stop. This all depends on all of the people in our country".

A former member of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, the blogger is glad to see the party's figurehead, detained herself for much of the past 23 years, running for office in by-elections in April.

"We need to amend so many nonsense laws and we also need to amend the constitution, so Daw Aung San Suu Kyi intends to do that," he said, using a term of respect to refer to the Nobel laureate.

Nay Phone Latt is especially keen to see reform of Myanmar's legislation on Internet use, the Electronic Act, which has been described by media watchdog Reporters Without Borders as "one of the most liberticidal laws in the world".

He has no plans to become a politician himself, but neither does he intend to keep quiet as he tastes his new freedom, despite his ordeal behind bars.

His plans include furthering IT education in rural Myanmar, where many are still without access to the Internet, and publishing a book of "so many articles, letters and short stories and poems I have written in the prison".

The recent political changes are being felt online. Internet connections are often still painfully slow, but websites of the opposition and exiled media groups that the government once tried to block are now freely available.

"There's no more ban on the political websites," Ye Htut, director general of Myanmar's Ministry of Information, told AFP.

For Myanmar's reform to keep momentum, citizens must keep on speaking out -- "now they are listening to the people's voice", said Nay Phone Latt.

"They have got to give freedom of expression, so we need not be afraid of anything," he said. "We have to say loudly and we have to say freely and we have to say bravely".

Lebedev: Press baron, war reporter, Russia critic

2012-02-24T12:40:00.003+08:00

MOGADISHU, February 24, 2012 (AFP) - Among the war reporters covering the brutal conflict in Somalia, one stands out: under his bulletproof vest, Evgeny Lebedev is also a British press baron and son of a Russian billionaire.

"I just felt that I wanted to understand and see for myself," said 31-year-old Lebedev, owner of Britain's The Independent newspaper and the London Evening Standard, as he stared out at the Indian Ocean between military sandbags.

Somalia's anarchic capital Mogadishu is not for the faint-hearted: the once elegant city has been left in ruins by two decades of bloody violence, and Al-Qaeda allied Shehab insurgents regularly launch guerrilla attacks.

The rattle of gunfire and the heavier crump of larger artillery are a near daily occurrence in Mogadishu, often dubbed the world's most dangerous capital.

Foreign correspondents -- like aid workers and Western officials -- must travel the pot-holed streets in armour-plated vehicles, or be flanked by gun-toting guards to deter Islamist insurgent attacks.

But Lebedev -- son of Russian banking tycoon and former KGB officer Alexander Lebedev -- is no stranger to tough reporting environments.

Before Mogadishu, where he spent two days reporting stories for his newspaper under the protection of heavily armed African Union troops, Lebedev already reported in Afghanistan, spending time with President Hamid Karzai in September.

After that he toured the Palestinian territories in December with Ismail Haniya, the Hamas prime minister in the Gaza Strip.

Dressed in dark glasses, hat and grey Converse trainers, the youthful black-bearded newspaper proprietor is a special foreign correspondent for The Independent.

"You need to be aware of what is happening in the world, and help draw attention to places that need such an attention, especially when real progress is happening," Lebedev said, admitting a preference for conflict areas.

And Somalia, despite its dangers and daily violence, is slowly making progress: African Union troops forced Shehab fighters from positions last year, and continue to battle rebel positions on the edge of the city.

'I wanted to understand and see for myself'

Lebedev's arrival was preceded by a security reconnaissance team, investigating just how strong the heavily armoured personnel carriers used to transport troops -- and journalists -- were to guerrilla attack.

Clearly used to being obeyed, Lebedev received the top VIP reception that Mogadishu can offer -- a shipping container behind sandbagged walls that serves as a basic hotel, with plates of simple pasta on the menu.

Close by, two security guards maintain a constant watch.

With Lebedev travelled renowned British photographer John Shand Kydd, stepbrother of the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

Lebedev's father Alexander co-owns liberal Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, a publication proud of its fierce independence, including carrying reports in Chechnya by the late opposition journalist Anna Politkovskaya.

When Politkovskaya was murdered in 2006 -- an unsolved killing -- Alexander offered a million dollars for information on the identity of the killers.

Like his father, Evgeny Lebedev does not hide his contempt for other Russian oligarchs.

"Russia is a very rich country in bright, intelligent, creative people of all sorts," he said. "Unfortunately this country has given an image of itself of a stereotype of ruthless, overpowered, very vulgar nouveau riche businessmen."

But he himself may reflect a new generation of the Russian elite.

Educated both in Moscow and London -- where he studied history -- and as comfortable in English as in Russian, he notes he has been "very privileged to have had exposure to both Russian and British culture".

And Lebedev, lacking nothing materially in his life, admits a certain fascination for the Somalis surviving in their impoverished nation.

Decades of war and lawlessness have devastated the Horn of Africa country, leaving it with no basic infrastructure, its people in deep poverty and a humanitarian crisis the United Nations describes as the worst in the world.

"Somalis are very bright and entrepreneurial people who have been in a situation of constant war, deprived of all that they are taking for granted in the West," Lebedev said.

Japan investment firm probed over huge pension loss

2012-02-24T12:40:00.001+08:00

TOKYO, February 24, 2012 (AFP) - Japan's financial watchdog on Friday froze an investment firm's operations after investigators said it lost most of the $2.3 billion in pension funds it manages amid a report it may have hidden the losses for years.

The head of the Financial Services Agency (FSA), Shozaburo Jimi, has suspended AIJ Investment Advisors for a month as it carries out a probe into one of the biggest cases of its kind in the country.

"The FSA, together with the labour ministry, will take every possible step to prevent this kind of incident from happening again," he said, adding the agency would probe all 263 of Japan's investment management firms as soon as possible.

It comes as Japanese camera giant Olympus is embroiled in a massive scandal, with Tokyo prosecutors investigating the role of senior management in falsifying financial statements to cover up $1.7 billion in investment losses.

Olympus's former president, vice president and auditor were among the executives arrested earlier this month for their alleged role in the scheme.

Friday's announcement followed a report in the Nikkei business daily that AIJ -- which had a reputation as one of the few asset managers to deliver positive annual returns -- had lost most of the 183 billion yen ($2.3 billion) in pension fund contributions that it held.

The company may have lied to clients for years about reaping cumulative returns of up to 240 percent since it started management in the early 2000s, the Nikkei said.

It was not known whether the money was lost due to market turbulence or because it diverted them for other purposes.

In footage shown on national broadcaster NHK Sei Takahashi, a lawyer representing AIJ, said: "We have nothing to disclose at the moment as we are under investigation.

"We will offer a thorough explanation once we are able to talk about this," he said.

A company report submitted to the FSA says it had 120 clients and managed 183.2 billion yen of assets by December 2010.

Calls to the investment firm by AFP went unanswered on Friday morning.

The company mostly controls group pension plans for small and midsize businesses in industries such as trucking, construction, electrical work and plumbing, the Nikkei said.

They also include a handful of big-name firms, including technology firms Advantest and Yaskawa Electric.

However, Yaskawa Electric said the scandal's impact on its pension scheme would be "very small" as less than two percent of its corporate pension fund was in the hands of AIJ.

Advantest, a major producer of semiconductor-manufacturing devices, declined to comment on the business suspension.

Japanese art shifts in response to tsunami disaster

2012-02-24T12:38:00.001+08:00

TOKYO, February 24, 2012 (AFP) - In the year since Japan's northeast coast was torn apart by a massive quake-tsunami and ensuing nuclear crisis, artists have searched for new ways to come to terms with the disaster.

The so-called "Post-3/11" movement has taken its inspiration from images of tsunami-ravaged townships and grief-stricken victims in the aftermath of the the worst tragedy to hit the nation since World War II.

From activist performance art to the creation of a memorial, artists have found new ways to either make a statement against nuclear power or simply remember the thousands who perished.

"Practically every exhibition and art event held after the... earthquake has implicitly or explicitly responded to these life changing events," says Emily Wakeling, a curator and art researcher working in Tokyo.

"The majority of artists' responses have been emotional," she says.

For 27-year-old installation artist Tsubasa Kato, a trip to Fukushima for volunteer work to clear up the mountains of rubble provided him with the inspiration to leave a lasting memorial.

Kato recently completed a three-storey lighthouse built from the collected ruins of houses destroyed by the tsunami, with the help of 300 local residents whose lives were wrenched apart by the disaster.

While his usual approach with large works is to drop them into place, ensuring a noisy landing, he decided his Fukushima work should be lifted quietly, as a mark of respect.

He was initially reluctant to become involved creatively, but his experiences working alongside the locals soon changed that, he said.

"In Fukushima, they were pulling buildings down, clearing the ruins. Yet there I was, with the opportunity to build something new for the community," he told AFP in a Tokyo gallery.

He says the optimism of the thousand or so who gathered to watch the lighthouse pulled upright was palpable.

"Japanese people have a shared culture of rallying together after natural disasters, and the project was a way audiences and victims could communicate on an emotional level," he said.

Manga artist Moeko Fujii, 25, says the disaster means she and her colleagues have had to change the way they go about their work.

"As artists we've had to rethink how we would present such a terrible story, and whether it was necessary to do so," she says.

"Manga is so familiar and can be read by people of all ages, it's a good way to understand others' earthquake experiences," she said.

However, while many of the artistic responses have been emotional, six-member art collective ChimPom have taken a more confrontational approach, using public anger at the country's reliance on nuclear energy.

The group has produced a video called "Real Times" in which they travel into the middle of the exclusion zone around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi and hoist a white flag above the ruins of the plant.

They paint it with the red sun of Japan's national flag, before transforming it into the warning symbol for radioactive material.

In a separate project, they added a panel to a mural by Taro Okamoto in Tokyo's fashionable Shibuya district that depicts the fallout from the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs.

Aping the the style of Okamoto's original, the ChimPom addition shows the smoking Daiichi nuclear plant.

Although the panel -- for which they did not have permission -- was swiftly removed, group leader Ryuta Ushiro insists it contributed to "renewing the history" of Japan and nuclear energy.

Ushiro rejects some Post 3/11 artists' view that there is a distinction between emotional and political responses to the disaster.

"When you try to create something, sharing one experience together, the action inevitably takes on a political aspect," he said.

"The issue is not really whether it is political or not, but whether it was made with the intention of communicating with other people."

A Japanese language news report on Kato's lighthouse project can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdyGJKo1qUg

ChinPom videos can be viewed at:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/the-atomic-artists/chimpom-art/
str-hg/dan/jah

Murdoch slashes price for new Sunday tabloid

2012-02-24T10:56:00.001+08:00

LONDON, February 23, 2012 (AFP) - Rupert Murdoch on Thursday fired the opening shot in his battle to reclaim Britain's Sunday newspaper market by announcing his newly launched publication would be half the price of his previous title.

The 80-year-old tycoon took to microblogging website Twitter to reveal: "Regular Sunday price for The Sun only 50p -- and Saturday's Sun going down to 50p too! Great news for readers and the economy."

Murdoch's News of the World -- the Sunday tabloid which shut seven months ago over the phone-hacking scandal -- cost one pound ($1.57, 1.18 euros), the same cover price as rivals the Sunday Mirror and The People.

The 50 percent price cut announced for The Sun on Sunday, which will hit the stands this weekend, signals the Australian-born businessman's hunger to once again own the top-selling Sunday newspaper.

The News of the World dominated the country's Sunday market with sales averaging 2.67 million when Murdoch took the decision to close it in July last year.

Publisher News International said the US-based mogul would be in London to oversee the launch this Sunday and confirmed that the editor of the weekday paper, Dominic Mohan, would also edit the Sun on Sunday.

Murdoch flew in to Britain last week to announce the creation of the new paper and to promise demoralised staff he would stand by them despite the arrest of senior Sun journalists over bribery allegations.

Microsoft founder urges digital revolution against hunger

2012-02-24T00:39:00.001+08:00

ROME, February 23, 2012 (AFP) - Microsoft founder Bill Gates on Thursday called for a "digital revolution" to alleviate world hunger by increasing agricultural productivity through satellites and genetically-engineered seed varieties.

"We have to think hard about how to start taking advantage of the digital revolution that is driving innovation including in farming," the US billionaire philanthropist said in a speech at the UN rural poverty agency IFAD in Rome.

"If you care about the poorest, you care about agriculture. We believe that it's possible for small farmers to double and in some cases even triple their yields in the next 20 years while preserving the land," Gates said.

He gave as one example of innovation the genetic sequencing that allows cassava farmers in Africa to predict how individual seedlings will perform, shortening the time it takes to develop a new variety from 10 years to two.

Another key development is the use of satellite technology developed by defence departments to document data about individual fields, as well as information videos of farmers discussing best practices to help others.

"If we don't do this, we'll have a digital divide in agriculture," he said.

Gates also defended the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the developing world and large-scale farm land investments by foreign states in the developing world -- both highly controversial issues in the aid community.

"You should go out and talk to people growing rice and say do they mind that it was created in a laboratory when their child has enough to eat?" he told reporters at a small media roundtable after his speech.

"The change in the way mankind lives over the last several hundred years is based on adoption of innovative practices and we simply haven't done enough for those in the greatest need to bring these things," he said.

On the issue of land investments that are referred to by their critics as "land grabbing", he said: "It's not actually possible to grab the land. People don't put it on boats and take it back to the Middle East.

"If we could have clear guidelines there could be more land deals and overall it could be very beneficial... The truth is the person who is most at risk on a land deal is the person who is putting the money in."

Gates also unveiled $200 million (150 million euros) in new grants from his foundation to finance research on a new type of drought-resistant maize, a vaccine to help livestock farmers and a project for training farmers.

"Investments in agriculture are the best weapons against hunger and poverty," he said, adding that his charitable foundation had committed $2.0 billion for farmers and was working on seven crops and one livestock vaccine.

Gates called for a new system of "public scorecards" for developing countries and UN food agencies that would measure things like agricultural productivity, the ability to feed families and farmer education systems.

"It's something that can be pulled together over the next year," he said.

"When I meet with an African leader, I'd love to have that report card. I have a report card for health.... Without the scorecards, the donors tend to fund fad-oriented, short-term things," he told reporters.

The technology pioneer also criticised the work of the UN food agencies in Rome: the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Fund for Agriculture and Development (IFAD).

He said the current food and farming aid system was "outdated and somewhat inefficient" with a lot of "duplication."

For these organisations to go digital will take "a lot of time," he said.

Asked about the need for wider reforms of capitalism to help the poor, he said: "How do you get rid of its excesses, including the finance people who are paid these huge salaries, without hurting the beneficial things?"

He added: "I wish those Wall Street traders would have gone... and worked on maize and used their mathematical models to look at phenotype versus genotype.

"It's clearly imperfect but it's the best system we have."

Singapore PM's brother seeks removal of online post

2012-02-23T22:19:00.001+08:00

SINGAPORE, February 23, 2012 (AFP) - The Singapore prime minister's brother has demanded a political website to remove an allegedly defamatory online comment but the portal said Thursday it would put up a legal challenge.

Temasek Review Emeritus (TRE) said Lee Hsien Yang, the younger brother of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, had sent a "lawyer's letter" asking that the comment be deleted.

News reports said the younger Lee's lawyers are also asking for a written apology among other demands.

The move by the younger Lee -- the chairman of beverage firm Fraser and Neave -- came just days after Premier Lee demanded TRE to apologise for a post that alleged nepotism in the appointment of the premier's wife as head of a state investment company.

TRE removed the post, and apologised to prime minister Lee on Wednesday.

But the website's editorial team said the circumstances involving the younger Lee were different from that of the prime minister's, and the editors have sought legal advice from human rights lawyer M. Ravi.

In Premier Lee's case, TRE admitted it "made a serious error by allowing a defamatory article submitted by a contributor to be published", the editors said.

But in the younger Lee's case, the comment was left by a reader in reaction to an article published on the website late last month.

"When a complaint is received by TRE about a comment, TRE will normally comply and delete it," the website's editors said in a statement.

"However, Mr Lee Hsien Yang is making more demands than the normal demand of simply removing the offending comment. Acceding to all the demands of Mr Lee Hsien Yang will seriously make running TRE site difficult in future," it added.

"Hence, we are seeking legal counsel this time."

TRE did not say what the additional demands were, but news reports said they included publishing the particulars of the reader who wrote the comment and details about another website in which it had been cached.

Online political websites like the TRE have gained popularity as alternative news and opinion sources in Singapore, where the mainstream media is perceived to be pro-government.

Ravi told AFP he would write a reply after studying the demands, but noted that readers' reactions to articles are common online, including in websites like Yahoo!.

International human rights groups have regularly criticised Singapore leaders including premier Lee and his father Lee Kuan Yew -- the city-state's founding prime minister -- for using financially ruinous libel suits to silence critics and political opponents.

Singapore leaders however have countered that the lawsuits are necessary to protect their reputation.

Milan lags behind in fashion's Internet revolution

2012-02-23T17:30:00.001+08:00

MILAN, February 23, 2012 (AFP) - With social network sites and smartphone apps making rapid inroads into the fashion world, observers say Italy risks falling behind even as its luxury brands feel the pain from the economic crisis.

"Milan is always really ahead of everyone in fashion but behind everyone in technology," fashion blogger Olga Rink said outside the Gucci show during Milan Fashion Week, as she took pictures of leggy models in goth-style outfits.

"I'm sure they will catch up eventually, but this isn't New York. Milan is slow, graceful. People here take their time," she said.

One of the must-have iPhone applications at the New York and London shows -- Fashion GPS Radar -- is only just starting up in Milan.

The app allows users to register for events and check in with a personal barcode and already has around 6,500 members.

"In Italy, they all prefer paper invitations," said Jennifer Jann, director of global marketing at the New York-based firm.

Salvo Testa, a professor in fashion management at Milan's Bocconi University, said Italy's top brands were catching up.

"They may have been slow to realise it, but social networks and blogs are now the biggest area of investment," Testa told AFP.

"Videos are being increasingly used to create a strong emotional link with the brand in a more viral and cheaper way than standard advertising."

In a nod to progressively high-tech generations, Prada this month released a clip called "Folding In Love" simulating a videogame in which a pair of sunglasses races through different galaxies before finding its soulmate.

And in a bizarre homage to the passion Miuccia Prada's creations can evoke in women, Miu Miu released a short film entitled "The Woman Dress", in which an unnerving Sapphic ritual transforms a drowned woman into a blood-red dress.

The high-fashion world has embraced the Internet and hundreds of thousands of fans of the biggest names in the business can now book front-row seats for catwalks online and order the latest outfits long before they reach the shops.

"The revolution has made it to the heart of the industry, brands now see the Internet as a powerful way to reach millions and build a loyal 'one-to-one' following," said Testa.

Online videos take viewers into the backstage world of the catwalks, while celebrities are captured wearing the latest creations and fans on Facebook are offered exclusive deals on designer perfumes or the soundtracks from shows.

"The models are in fittings. The invites sent. There's just one last thing to do. Take your virtual seat," Gucci told its 300,000 Twitter followers and six million Facebook fans before its show on Wednesday.

As brands increase their profile on social networks and chat forums, exploiting the "Internet word of mouth" phenomenon in expanding markets such as China, fashion fiends post photographs of their favourite pieces on blogs.

On up-and-coming websites such as Pinterest, bloggers build up dedicated followers of the latest fads, seeking to decide what to purchase where.

In a report on digital luxury last November, Italy's trade association Altagamma said blogs and social media are now setting trends more than fashion critics, with 50 percent of consumers using them for advice before buying.

Those wanting to get their hands on cutting-edge designs head to luxury fashion websites such as Net-a-Porter, mywardrobe.com and Gilt, which has flash sales offering 50 to 70 percent off high-end brands exclusively for members.

"Sales for luxury are growing through businesses like Net-a-Porter which offer luxury services. But to succeed in e-commerce they have to offer a little bit more," said Isabel Cavill, luxury expert with Planet Retail research group.

Moda Operandi, an online service founded by a former Gilt executive and a Vogue editor, allows members to purchase pieces from catwalk collections before they hit the shops and a year after its launch is now opening up to the public.

Testa said: "Fashion and luxury have finally left the 'Hall of Fame' of catwalks, celebrities and top journalists to build up relationships with real consumers."

China's Xi pleases crowd, gives little away on tour

2012-02-23T13:50:00.001+08:00

BEIJING, February 23, 2012 (AFP) - Xi Jinping returned to Beijing on Thursday after a high-profile foreign tour that analysts say put a more human face on China's leader-in-waiting, but gave away little about his politics.

Xi, who is all but certain to be China's next president, attended a basketball game, cracked jokes and showed off his skills on the Gaelic football field during his visit to the United States, Ireland and Turkey.

The 10-day trip -- Vice President Xi's most high-profile role yet on the diplomatic stage -- was seen as an attempt to show a gentler side of China's leaders before a generational handover of power that starts later this year.

China's Internet population has exploded since current President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao came to power nine years ago, and the next succession will take place under unprecedented scrutiny.

So far, Xi's reviews have been largely positive, both at home and abroad.

His host in the United States, Vice President Joe Biden, said the visit would "build a stronger relationship that benefits both our nations and our people."

In China, people took to weibos -- microblogs similar to Twitter -- to praise Xi's man-of-the-people approach, which was in stark contrast to the often stiff bearing of President Hu.

"Isn't it good," posted one under the name Linyunkezhan. "Leaders are humans, they shouldn't think that they are gods, or behave like them in public."

Another blogger, using the name Yiqishuoshuohua, described Xi as "easy, relaxed, and close to the people" -- an approach some attributed to his years spent toiling in the countryside during the Cultural Revolution.

But there was also scepticism about the carefully stage-managed visit, with many bloggers questioning whether Xi's down-to-earth manner was a genuine new approach or mere "hype" ahead of a leadership handover that starts this year.

"On a personal level, the trip was a success. It showed him to be quite spontaneous, he talked about his personal life and his love of movies," said Zheng Yongnian, politics professor at the National University of Singapore.

"He is quite popular with the people -- Chinese society is more open now, people don't always want to see leaders with a serious face.

"But when Hu and Wen came to power they also were popular. Popularity is not fixed," he added, referring to the outgoing president and prime minister, who have failed to enact the reforms that many hoped for when they came to power.

Zheng said Xi's family background -- his father was Xi Zhongxun, a communist revolutionary who fought alongside Mao Zedong -- and close military ties had given him a confidence in public that Hu has sometimes appeared to lack.

"He struck a good balance (in the United States). He defended China's position, but also came across as quite honest, for example on human rights, saying that China could do better," Zheng added.

Xi has received prominent coverage in China's state-run media, with large chunks of the main evening news bulletin given over to showing the vice-president's trip.

But political analyst Russell Leigh Moses said the coverage had followed the strict hierarchy of Chinese politics, with Xi playing second fiddle to the current leadership.

"The public at large is looking to be educated (about China's new leader), but it's not much more than that," he said.

"A lot of the presentation is to satisfy public curiosity, but how it plays in the party media is more important. There, the coverage has been positive but restrained."

Xi, 58, has been the clear front-runner to take over from Hu since his promotion to vice-chairman of China's Central Military Commission in 2010.

If, as expected, he is named general secretary of China's ruling Communist Party when Hu steps down from that role later this year, he will take over as president -- a role that is traditionally held for a decade -- in 2013.

He is likely to face considerable challenges as China's rapid economic growth slows, raising the spectre of rising social unrest.

Like many senior Chinese officials, Xi has until recently had a relatively low profile, known more for his marriage to the well-known singer Peng Liyuan than for his political achievements.

Peng, who did not accompany Xi on his visit, has made few public appearances in recent months, possibly to avoid overshadowing her husband as he steps into the spotlight.

As an exercise in raising Xi's profile both at home and abroad, Zhu Feng, international relations professor at Peking University, judged his foreign tour to have been a success.

"He is recognised by American media, they know what kind of person he is, and that he is relatively relaxed in front of the media," said Zhu.

"He has managed to penetrate into the American public consciousness."

White House unveils 'one click' online privacy plan

2012-02-23T13:34:00.001+08:00

WASHINGTON, February 23, 2012 (AFP) - The White House unveiled an online privacy proposal Thursday intended to allow Web users to easily opt out of being tracked on the Internet.

The "Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights" has received the backing of leading Internet companies and online advertising networks and would involve a simple "one click" setting on a Web browser, the White House said.

"American consumers can't wait any longer for clear rules of the road that ensure their personal information is safe online," President Barack Obama said in a statement.

"As the Internet evolves, consumer trust is essential for the continued growth of the digital economy.

"That's why an online privacy Bill of Rights is so important," Obama said. "For businesses to succeed online, consumers must feel secure.

"By following this blueprint, companies, consumer advocates and policymakers can help protect consumers and ensure the Internet remains a platform for innovation and economic growth," he said.

The White House said Internet firms and ad networks were committing to incorporate "Do Not Track" technology in most major Web browsers to make it easier for users to control online tracking.

"Companies that represent the delivery of nearly 90 percent of online behavioral advertisements, including Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft, and AOL have agreed to comply when consumers choose to control online tracking," it said.

The Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights comes on the heels of a number of privacy controversies involving some of the biggest actors on the Web, including Facebook and Google.

It has received the backing of the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA), a consortium of Internet, media and marketing trade associations and companies.

"Consumers will have a simple and clear mechanism in their browser to exercise choice," DAA counsel Stuart Ingis said.

"If a consumer elects not to have data collected on them under the principles laid out then that will be honored uniformally across all companies."

Ingis said the DAA will work with browser providers "to develop consistent language across browsers regarding this technology to make choice simple and clear."

White House deputy chief technology officer Daniel Weitzner said the "Do Not Track" option would be a "very easy, one click" setting on a Web browser.

Federal Trade Commission chairman Jon Leibowitz said companies that make a commitment to "Do Not Track" would be subject to Federal Trade Commission enforcement.

"It's great to see that companies are stepping up to our challenge to protect privacy so consumers have greater choice and control over how they are tracked online," Leibowitz said.

"The fact that they're going to honor the Web browser's choice of what we call a 'Do Not Track' header is simply going to give consumers more privacy options and that is critically important," he said.

The White House said the Commerce Department will begin holding talks with companies, privacy and consumer advocates, academics and others to develop privacy policies and practices based on the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights.

"We will be working with Congress to implement this through legislation," Commerce Secretary John Bryson said. "But we're moving forward regardless."

The Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights calls for giving consumers control over what personal data organizations collect from them and how they use it, clear privacy practices and secure and responsible handling of their data.

Consumers should also have a right to access and correct personal data and be able to expect that any information they provide will be used in ways that are consistent with the context in which they provided the data.

Beatles hits become mobile phone ringtones

2012-02-23T11:38:00.001+08:00

SAN FRANCISCO, February 23, 2012 (AFP) - Hits from The Beatles have finally joined the chorus of ringtones available for mobile phones.

Catchy 30-second snippets from more than two dozen of the famed 1960s British rock band's top tunes are available exclusive at Apple's online iTunes shop, a message Wednesday at official website thebeatles.com.

"Fans around the world can, for the first time, purchase ringtones for the Beatles' 27 UK and US #1 hits, exclusively on iTunes," the message announced.

"You can even assign your favourite tracks to your favourite people," it continued.

The ringtones were priced at $1.29 each and could be downloaded for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch devices. The list of Beatles songs included "Can't Buy Me Love" and "Let It Be."

The Beatles arrived on iTunes in November of 2010 after what late Apple's Steve Jobs described at the time as "a long and winding road."

A decade had been spent getting the music of "Fab Four" -- Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr -- released in digital form for Apple's wildly popular mobile devices.

The vast catalog of Beatles hits had been held back for years from Internet download sites amid legal squabbles, although their songs have long circulated as unlicensed downloads available from unlicensed peer-to-peer networks.

US attorneys general pressure Google on privacy

2012-02-23T11:37:00.001+08:00

SAN FRANCISCO, February 23, 2012 (AFP) - Attorneys general from across the United States urged Google on Wednesday to put the brakes on plans for a major change to its privacy policy.

The National Association of Attorneys General sent a letter to Google chief executive Larry Page arguing that the new policy "appears to invade consumer privacy" by sharing personal information between services that people rely on.

Google announced the change to its terms of service in January, explaining that it will essentially "treat you as a single user across all our products" when it comes to use patterns tracked for targeting services, content or ads.

"Google's new privacy policy is troubling for a number of reasons," read the letter signed by attorneys general representing more than three dozen US states and territories.

"On a fundamental level, the policy appears to invade consumer privacy by automatically sharing personal information consumers input into one Google product with all Google products."

The Electronic Privacy Information Center two weeks ago asked a federal court to block Google from implementing the change on March 1 as planned and to direct the Federal Trade Commission to intervene.

The updated policy will make Google privacy practices easier to understand, and it reflects a desire to create a "seamless experience for our signed-in users," Google said Wednesday in response to an AFP inquiry.

"We've undertaken the most extensive notification effort in Google's history, and we're continuing to offer choice and control over how people use our services," said a spokesman for the California-based company.

"Of course we are happy to discuss this approach with regulators globally."

People may have reasons to keep information such as Gmail use separate from Web surfing habits noticed by Google's search engine or Chrome browser software, the attorneys general maintained.

The letter was sent on the same day that California attorney general Kamala Harris announced an agreement with Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Hewlett-Packard and BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion to strengthen the privacy of people who use "apps" on smartphones or tablet computers.

The companies agreed to require applications made for mobile devices on their competing technology platforms to provide privacy policies if mini-programs collect personal information, according to Harris.

""This agreement strengthens the privacy protections of...millions of people around the globe who use mobile apps," Harris said.

"By ensuring that mobile apps have privacy policies, we create more transparency and give mobile users more informed control over who accesses their personal information and how it is used."

Microsoft files EC complaint against Motorola Mobility

2012-02-23T00:49:00.001+08:00

WASHINGTON, February 22, 2012 (AFP) - Microsoft filed a complaint against Motorola Mobility with the European Commission on Wednesday, accusing it of seeking to block sales of Windows personal computers, Xbox game consoles and other products.

"In legal proceedings on both sides of the Atlantic, Motorola is demanding that Microsoft take its products off the market, or else remove their standards-based ability to play video and connect wirelessly," Microsoft deputy general counsel Dave Heiner said in a blog post.

"The only basis for these actions is that these products implement industry standards, on which Motorola claims patents," Heiner said.

"Motorola is on a path to use standard essential patents to kill video on the Web, and Google as its new owner doesn't seem to be willing to change course," he said.

US and European regulators gave the green light last week to Google's $12.5 billion acquisition of Motorola Mobility and its trove of 17,000 patents.

Heiner said Motorola Mobility was violating a promise to make patents available on "fair and reasonable terms."

"Unfortunately, Motorola has refused to make its patents available at anything remotely close to a reasonable price," he said.

Afghan journalist beheaded: official

2012-02-23T00:48:00.003+08:00

KHOST, February 22, 2012 (AFP) - An Afghan radio reporter was beheaded in the insurgency-plagued southeastern province of Paktika after being lured to a meeting by unidentified men, an official said Wednesday.

The body of Samid Khan Bahadarzai, 25, who worked for a local radio station in the town of Urgun, was found Tuesday night near his home just hours after he received the call.

"We are investigating to find out who is behind this brutal beheading, but he was killed after receiving a call by someone asking him out," provincial police chief Dawlat Khan Zadran told AFP.

Journalists have in the past been targeted by Taliban insurgents who objected to their reporting, but a Taliban spokesman told the Afghan Islamic Press news agency that it was not responsible for Bahadarzai's death.

"Mujahideen never kill journalists," said Zabiullah Mujahid. "The Taliban can resolve matters with the journalists by talking to them directly."

In 2007, Afghan reporter and interpreter Ajmal Naqshbandi was beheaded after being left behind when an Italian journalist hostage was freed by the Taliban.

Intense US questions early on over Fukushima

2012-02-23T00:48:00.001+08:00

WASHINGTON, February 22, 2012 (AFP) - US officials voiced concern about a lack of information after Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster and issued a controversial warning not to go near the plant after intense discussions, transcripts showed.

Transcripts of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, released ahead of the one-year anniversary of the crisis, showed that US officials at times relied on information from the media as Japan initially declined assistance.

"We're getting various information from various sources, most of which is either conflicting or supporting the little bit of information that we actually have," Martin Virgilio, a senior official in charge of nuclear safety, said in one transcript shortly after the March 11 tsunami smashed into Fukushima.

Nuclear officials debated at length over a decision to urge Americans to stay out of the 50-mile (80-kilometer) radius around the Fukushima Daiichi plant, a wider no-go zone than that put in place by Japanese authorities.

"If this happened in the US, we would go out to 50 miles. That would be our evacuation recommendation," Bill Borchardt, the commission's executive director for operations, said in the transcripts.

The transcripts showed that the commission considered a larger evacuation if the situation deteriorated or the wind changed direction. Several European countries issued dire warnings and urged residents to leave Tokyo.

The no-go zone advice came as Nuclear Regulatory Commission's chairman, Gregory Jaczko, told a congressional committee on March 16 that Reactor No. Four's pool for spent fuel had dried, meaning its ability to keep cool was severely diminished and radiation would spike.

That assessment turned out to be inaccurate. The transcripts showed Jaczko had discussed the spent fuel pool with aides, knowing that he would be asked the question during his appearance on Capitol Hill.

"I'm going to say (the assessment) is from a team that is in Japan that is embedded that is working closely with the Japanese utility and the Japanese regulatory agency, is that correct?" Jaczko asked.

Senior officials replied in the affirmative, although one staff member -- apparently speaking when Jaczko was no longer on the conference call -- disputed the assessment.

Last year's earthquake set off a tsunami that left more than 19,000 people dead in Japan's worst post-World War II disaster. While the disaster crippled the Fukushima plant, the nuclear crisis has not directly claimed lives.