Beijing dangerous smog down four percent in 2014: govt

BEIJING, Jan 5, (AFP) - Air pollution in Beijing dropped slightly last year, municipal authorities said, although levels of the most dangerous small particulate matter remained more than three times the internationally recommended limit.

China's cities are often hit by heavy pollution, blamed on coal-burning by power stations and industry, as well as vehicle use, and it has become a major source of discontent with the ruling Communist Party.

According to a notice posted Sunday on the website of the Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau, levels of PM2.5 -- small airborne particles with a diameter small enough to deeply penetrate the lungs -- declined by four percent in 2014 compared with 2013.

The average density for such particles was 85.9 micrograms per cubic metre -- more than triple the World Health Organization's recommended limit of 25 micrograms per cubic metre.

The notoriously smog-clogged capital had 93 days of "excellent air quality" last year, 22 days more than in 2013, the environmental protection bureau said.

There were 45 days of "heavy pollution", down by 13 from 2013, it added.

Public discontent about the environment has grown in China, leading the government to declare a "war on pollution" and vow to cut coal use in some areas.

China's State Council, or Cabinet, said in 2013 that "concentrations of fine particles" in the capital's air would fall by approximately 25 percent from 2012 levels by 2017.

But poor air quality has persisted as officials continue to focus on economic growth, and lax enforcement of environmental regulations remains rife.

In October, thousands of runners battled thick smog during the Beijing Marathon, with photos of mask-clad athletes drawing worldwide attention to the city's dangerously polluted skies. A stage of Tour of Beijing bicycle race was also cut short because of the poor air quality.

In November, authorities enforced a host of anti-pollution measures ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, when Chinese President Xi Jinping hosted leaders from the United States, Russia and Japan among others.

The briefly clear skies were popularly dubbed "APEC blue" by online commentators, mocking their temporary nature.

Xi himself made note of the city's pollution problem at a welcome banquet for leaders and spouses, telling the crowd that "these days the first thing I do in the morning is to check the air quality in Beijing".

As smog levels crept back up, however, authorities abruptly ordered one of China's most popular air pollution-reporting apps to remove independent data provided by the US embassy.

Two bodies retrieved from collapsed building in Nairobi

NAIROBI, Jan 5 : (Xinhua) -- Kenya's rescuers have retrieved two bodies from the rubble in a building, which collapsed late Sunday in a Nairobi residential estate.

Pius Masai with the Kenya National Disaster Operation Center told journalists on Monday that 40 people were rescued alive from the building in Huruma estate, a residential estate located in northeastern Nairobi, adding that several people are still trapped in the debris.

   

"So far we have lost two people, a lady and an infant, who have so far succumbed to injuries. We have rescued 40 people out of which 28 are hospitalized and 12 were treated on site for minor injuries," Masai said.

   

He said the rescue efforts will take time, as the officials coordinating the operation need more heavy equipment to save more lives.

   

"We want to save as many lives as possible. We need some heavy equipment to be able to carry out this rescue efforts effectively. The operation will take some time, but we appeal to the public to remain calm," Masai said.

   

Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) said it has set up an information desk to help in the tracing and recovery for cases of missing families and loved ones.

 

Several people have volunteered at the site to dig in the rubble with their bare hands. RSS

Five arrested in India over Japanese tourist gang rape

            KOLKATA, Jan 04,  (AFP) - Five men have been arrested over the gang rape and extortion of a Japanese tourist held as a sex slave for nearly a month in a basement close to a famous Buddhist shrine in India, officials said Sunday.The 22-year-old's ordeal began in Kolkata, capital of West Bengal state, where she was befriended by three local men shortly after arriving on November 20, one of the city's top police officers told AFP.

The men, one of whom spoke Japanese, first managed to persuade her to withdraw around $1,200 dollars in cash before travelling with her to the holy shrine of Bodh Gaya in the neighbouring state of BiharThere she was then handed over to two brothers who locked her in a secluded underground room and repeatedly raped her for nearly a month.

The case is the latest in a string of high-profile sex attacks that have highlighted the frightening levels of violence against women in the world's second most populous country.The two brothers, who were working as tourist guides, were arrested on Friday and taken to Kolkata where they appeared in court late Saturday. A magistrate ordered that they be remanded in custody until January 9 so the victim can take part in an identification parade.

Kolkata joint police commissioner Pallab Kanti Ghosh said the other three men were being held on suspicion of extorting money from the victim and then handing her over to the alleged rapists.

"We have arrested three people who befriended the victim in Kolkata. They have been charged with common conspiracy and intention to kidnap and rape," the commissioner said."The men managed to extort 76,000 rupees ($1,200) from her and convinced her to travel to Bodh Gaya with them in their car."

- Foreigners under attack -The woman managed to escape from Gaya and reached the Hindu holy city of Varanasi where she met some Japanese tourists who helped her contact the consulate in Kolkata.

Although it was not immediately clear when her ordeal ended, police said she filed the police report in the last week of December."(When) we came to know of the incident... we assisted her in registering the complaint with the police," Japan's consul-general in Kolkata, Kazumi Endo, told AFP.

A police source told AFP that the identification parade of the accused would be carried out in the next week before the victim flies home, but did not give an exact date. India has faced intense scrutiny over its efforts to curb violence against women following the fatal gang rape of a medical student in New Delhi in December 2012, which sparked global outcry.

Sex attacks against women from Western countries, including the US and Britain, have received large scale press coverage with the country's tourism bosses wary of the negative impact of such incidents.Last January, a 51-year-old Danish tourist was robbed and gang raped at knife-point in Delhi in a case that grabbed national and international headlines.

In 2013, a Swiss cyclist holidaying in central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh was robbed and raped by five men, all of whom were later sentenced to life terms. However, crimes against women from Asian countries have received noticeably less attention. This latest case was granted mention only in small news items and was largely ignored by the rolling news networks.

The attack echoes that of a 25-year-old Japanese woman who was gang raped in 2010 while she was on her way to the railway station in Gaya.Annual statistics released on Friday showed that there had been an increase of more than 31 percent in reported rapes in Delhi in the last 12 months.Delhi's police commissioner said the figures did not necessarily indicate that sex attacks were increasing but rather that women were now more willing to make reports. 

Myanmar resumes military parade, mass procession to mark Independence Day

NAY PYI TAW, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar resumed military parade and mass procession Sunday to celebrate the country's Independence Day for the first time in over five decades since the end of 1950s.

Addressing the 67th Independence Day military parade in Nay Pyi Taw,  President U Thein Sein stressed the need to achieve stability and socio-economic development, the two major wishes of the people.

  

   He called for efforts to realize internal peace so that Myanmar people can enjoy the fruit of the reform.He  urged political forces in the country to come together to bring reform process to new level and overcome challenges. He reiterated Myanmar's active, independent and non-aligned foreign policy.

     He called for unity of all nationalities to realize the country 's development goals. "The government is not the only player in all the efforts that have led to success in reform process. Political forces such as parliament, political parties, the armed forces and the entire people, all are important contributors to this context," he said in separate messages to the nation on the occasion.  

     He noted that achievements have been made to some extent in all aspects of ongoing political reform process, citing a new breed of political culture born out of efforts  on national reconciliation and peace talks.The country demonstrated its capability and efficiency by shouldering the responsibility of ASEAN chair and implementing political reform successfully in a short time, winning greater trust from the international community, he said.

     He urged all nationalities to join hands with the government in deterring possible threats to country's security and striving to realize national objectives to turn Myanmar into a modern, developed and democratic country.  Myanmar regained independence from the British colonialists on Jan. 4, 1948. 

Syrian troops foil IS attack in Deir al-Zour province

  DAMASCUS, Jan. 34 (Xinhua) -- Many fighters of the Islamic State (IS) militants were killed Saturday when the Syrian troops foiled their attack against government-controlled areas in the province of Deir al-Zour, the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV reported.

     The IS militants attempted to attack a number of government-controlled towns in the western countryside of Deir al- Zour, but they were foiled by the Syrian troops, said the TV, stopping short of giving a death toll of the killed IS fighters.

     Meanwhile, the oppositional Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said a group of IS infiltrated the government-controlled town of Baghliyeh in western Deir al-Zour through the Euphrates River, adding that the infiltrating group had eventually to withdraw amid reports of losses on both sides.

     The Observatory said clashes raged between the warring sides in the vicinity of the town of Ayash in the western Deir al-Zour and near the Brigade 137 military base  It said the Syrian air force carried out around ten airstrikes against IS in the aforementioned areas and the town of Sfaira.

     The Syrian forces also pounded other areas in the western countryside of Deir al-Zour, while IS shelled the Syrian troops in the Brigade 137, according to the UK-based watchdog group.

     Clashes also erupted Saturday near the town of Jafra, which is close to the contested airbase of Deir al-Zour. IS attempted to storm that facility repeatedly but has so far failed to break in Large swathes of Deir al-Zour have fallen to IS throughout last year and the terrorist group has recently intensified its attacks to strip the government troops of their remaining sway in that oil-rich province on the borders with Iraq. 

Two Filipinos dead, 16 missing in ship sinking: govt

MANILA, Jan 04, (AFP) - Two Filipino sailors have died and 16 others are missing after their cargo ship sank in waters near Vietnam, the Philippine foreign department said Sunday.

The cargo vessel Bulk Jupiter went down on January 2 off the coast of Vung Tau City and so far, only one Filipino crewman has been rescued alive, the department said in a statement, without specifying why the ship sank.

Vietnamese authorities are leading the rescue operations and have recovered two bodies and are still searching for the other 16 crew, the statement said quoting the embassy in Hanoi.About 10 percent of Filipinos work overseas -- with many working on cargo ships -- attracted by the higher salaries than they can earn at home. Their remittances are a major pillar supporting the country's economy.

South Korean suspected of Ebola hospitalized in Berlin

 BERLIN, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- A South Korean health worker suspected of Ebola is admitted on Saturday to Berlin's Charite, one of the largest university hospitals in Europe, said Berlin Senate Department for Health and Social Affairs on Saturday. A member of the South Korean medical team that was in Sierra Leone in action against Ebola has been admitted to the special isolation of the Charite University Medicine Berlin.

   It should first be examined whether the person was infected with Ebola virus.
  The health worker is believed to have been infected by the virus while collecting blood from an Ebola patient.  However, so far, the worker has shown no disease symptoms and is thus not contagious, said Berlin Senate Department for Health and Social Affairs.

   "The medical and nursing staff of our special isolation is specially trained to care for people with highly infectious diseases," said Prof. Ulrich Frei, Medical Director of the Charite.The worker will be monitored at an isolated unit for 21 days, the maximum incubation period of the virus.