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Saturday, August 14, 2010

Myanmar polls set for November



Myanmar will hold its first general election in two decades on November 7, state media has reported. The polls will be the first since 1990 when the party of Aung San Suu Kyi, the detained pro-democracy leader, won a landslide victory but was not allowed to take power. Western countries fear that the boycott-hit election is a sham to tighten the grip of the military rulers who have ruled the country for the last 50 years. The United States said on Friday that the circumstances that the polls were being held in meant that they could not be "inclusive or credible"."Given the oppressive political environment in Burma, there is not a level playing field for these elections," Philip Crowley, the US state department spokesman, said, using the previous name for Myanmar.

Fires approach Russian nuclear site


A fire is raging dangerously close to Russia's main nuclear research centre in Sarov and has now grown to an area of 1,000 hectares. Thousands of firefighters have been sent to a nature reserve near the facility as officials warned on Friday that the blaze was continuing to spread. Russia's wildfires, which began late last month amid a record heatwave, have so far left more than 50 people dead. "The fire which appeared in the eastern part of the nature reserve two days ago after lightning struck a pine tree has grown in size and now presents a certain danger," Major General Vyacheslav Kormilitsyn, the head of the emergencies ministry for the Mordovia region, said. The national emergencies ministry said that more than 500 fires covering just under 65,000 hectares of land were still ablaze across Russia, down 15,000 hectares from the day earlier.

China to mourn landslide victims


The Chinese government has announced a national day of mourning as millions in the country's west struggle with more rain and the aftermath of mudslides that have killed more than 1,150 people. Flags were to fly at half-mast on Sunday and public entertainment was to be suspended for the day of mourning to express condolences for the mudslide victims, China's State Council said on Saturday. Meanwhile, the official Xinhua news agency quoted officials as saying that torrential rains would continue into Sunday with flash floods, landslides and floating debris posing dangers in Gansu and Sichuan provinces, he heavy rains have affected more than 305 million people and caused $1.7bn in economic losses, according to Xinhua, citing the State Flood Control and Drought Relief Headquarters agency. In mudslide-stricken Zhouqu, a remote mountain town in Gansu province in China's northwest, 588 people were still missing after last weekend's avalanche of mud and rocks, which levelled an area five kilometres long and 300m wide. The official death toll in Zhouqu stood at 1,156 on Friday. Health authorities said survivors of the deadly floods and landslides in Zhouqu faced a grim situation after clinics were damaged and vaccines ruined.

Obama backs 'Ground Zero mosque'


Barack Obama, the US president, has backed a proposed mosque and Islamic community centre near the site of the former World Trade Centre in New York that was destroyed in the September 11 attacks. He said the country's founding principles demanded no less for the project which has sparked debate around the country.
For several weeks, opponents of the plan in New York City have publicly protested against it claiming it is an insult to the memory of nearly 3,000 people who died in the 2001 attacks. Obama gave his support to the mosque during an annual White House dinner marking the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, weighing in on the controversy for the first time.

Cheap, new drinks on sale at Ramazan Bazaars


Shopkeepers are selling unregulated and potentially dangerous soft drinks in various Ramazan Bazaars. Colourful mango, banana and orange juices in two- and five-litre bottles, ranging between Rs50 and Rs100 (Appx. Less 1$) in price, were selling briskly on Friday. One stall sold them under a banner reading: “Asli and sasti Ramazan deals, low price for maximum quantity.” But the labels on the bottles do not mention expiry dates, and some do not even name the manufacturers. None identify the ingredients contained in the juices.Ali Hussain, a general physician, said food colours found in adulterated and spurious soft drinks, juices and bottled water could cause hepatitis, stomach diseases and typhoid, especially in children.

20 million affected by Pakistan floods

Pakistan says 20 million people have been affected by devastating floods, six million more than previously thought, as the United Nations confirmed the first case of cholera in the country. The number of people affected had generally been counted at 14 million until now, and more than 1,600 people have been killed, in Pakistan's worst natural disaster. But amid much public discussion about the effectiveness of the government's handling of the flood disaster, prime minister Yousuf Raza Gilani cited the higher figure of 20 million and stressed the challenge it posed. The United Nations has confirmed at least one case of cholera in flood-ravaged Pakistan, where a second wave of water continues to threaten parts of Sindh province. The cholera case was reported in Mingora, the main town in the northwestern Swat valley, which has seen some of the most extensive damage. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is scheduled to arrive in Pakistan tonight, before meeting officials and touring flood-hit areas tomorrow.