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Thailand's prime minister said he will send representatives to hold talks with protesters who have been calling for him to step down, but his antagonists want to meet with him personally.
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has so far held firm against demands from the so-called Red Shirt movement that he dissolve Parliament and call new elections, though he has said he is willing to consider the idea.
The Red Shirts, formally known as the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, have been protesting for a week in Bangkok, and showed their strength by having as many as 100,000 protesters clog the capital's streets with an all-day winding drive through its major thoroughfares.
Despite tying up traffic, they received an enthusiastic reception from unexpectedly large crowds of onlookers.
The mood soured when grenades were tossed at two government-linked targets. At least one person was wounded at the site of a small explosion near the Defense Ministry, but there was no major dama ...
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| Posted at 09:17 PM, Mar 21, 2010 |
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General Motors is recalling nearly 60,000 automobiles in South Korea due to potential problems with steering wheels, fuel hoses and seats.
The recall of 58,696 vehicles covers four models manufactured in South Korea, said Kim Byeong-soo, a spokesman for GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co., the country's third-largest automaker.
Recalls in other countries where some vehicles were exported under the Chevrolet and Opel brands will be decided and announced later in accordance with local rules, Kim said. He said China has already announced some recalls, though he did not immediately have details.
A total of 45,957 small SUVs sold in South Korea as the Winstorm and Winstorm Maxx are being recalled due to the possibility that the steering wheel can become separated. The Winstorm is exported as the Chevrolet Captiva, while the Winstorm Maxx is sold overseas as the Opel Antara, Kim said.
A total of 12,604 Lacetti Premiere sedans — sold overseas as the Chevrolet Cruze — are being ...
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| Posted at 09:09 PM, Mar 21, 2010 |
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Politicians, diplomats and thousands of supporters lined up for hours at a public stadium Sunday in Nepal's capital to pay respect to Girija Prasad Koirala, the former prime minister remembered for leading efforts to bring democracy to the Himalayan nation.
Koirala died Saturday at age 86. His body was taken to the Nepali Congress party headquarters before it arrived at the stadium in Katmandu on a truck covered with flowers and the party's red and white flags.
Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal laid the national flag over the body.
"His contributions and fight for democracy will always be remembered in history. He was the pillar in the battle against autocracy in Nepal," Nepal said.
Ministers, top politicians, officials and diplomats offered bouquets. The supporters numbering thousands lined up for hours to pay their homage.
"I am more sad today than the day I lost my parents. I have always remembered him as a fighter of democracy and he will remain the father of de ...
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| Posted at 02:37 PM, Mar 21, 2010 |
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About 60,000 homes are without power, trees and signs have blown over and boats have been smashed on the rocks after a massive storm blew across the coast of northeastern Australia.
Tropical Cyclone Ului crossed the coast at Airlie Beach as a category three storm early Sunday with winds up to 124 miles (200 kilometers) per hour.
A dozen boats were washed onto the rocks at Airlie Beach, but businesses on the main street escaped any significant damage.
The Bureau of Meteorology said the storm has since been downgraded to category two as it continues inland, dumping heavy rain and still blowing strongly.
Whitsundays Mayor Mike Brunker said the energy company had crews on standby to restore power but that work could not begin until the winds died down.
He said disaster management authorities would meet later in the day to assess the damages.
Resorts along the Great Barrier Reef evacuated earlier in the week in anticipation of the storm. Residents likely to be affected ...
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| Posted at 02:32 PM, Mar 21, 2010 |
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Thousands of protesters — many directing their anger squarely at President Barack Obama — marched through the nation's capital Saturday to urge immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan.
At least eight people, including activist Cindy Sheehan, were arrested by U.S. Park Police at the end of the march, after laying coffins at a fence outside the White House. Friday marked the seventh anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
"Arrest that war criminal!" Sheehan shouted outside the White House before her arrest, referring to Obama.
At a rally before the march, Sheehan asked whether "the honeymoon was over with that war criminal in the White House" — an apparent reference to Obama — prompting moderate applause.
The protesters defied orders to clear the sidewalk on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the White House and park police say they face charges of failure to obey a lawful order.
Activist Ralph Nader told thousands who gather ...
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| Posted at 02:29 PM, Mar 21, 2010 |
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A crimson tide of protesters snaked its way through the Thai capital Saturday, with thousands of cars, trucks and motorbikes tangling up traffic as demonstrators sought to drum up support for ousting a government they call illegitimate.
The festive caravan of as many as 100,000 "Red Shirt" protesters is to be followed up Sunday with the group making a giant painting from their own blood, the latest shock tactic in their weeklong campaign to force Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva to dissolve Parliament and call new elections.
The day's good mood was marred by two small explosions Saturday night that appeared linked to the political battle. At least one person was reported wounded by what police said was a grenade tossed near the Defense Ministry. Damage was minor at the site and at the new office of the country's National Anti-Corruption Commission.
The raucous procession, which wound its way over 40 miles (70 kilometers), was met with curious and often sympathetic cro ...
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| Posted at 02:25 PM, Mar 21, 2010 |
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Tons of sand turned Beijing's sky orange as the strongest sandstorm this year hit northern China, a gritty reminder that the country's expanding deserts have led to a sharp increase in the storms.
The sky glowed Saturday and a thin dusting of sand covered Beijing, causing workers and tourists to muffle their faces in vast Tiananmen Square. The city's weather bureau gave air quality a rare hazardous ranking.
Air quality is "very bad for the health," China's national weather bureau warned. It said people should cover their mouths when outside and keep doors and windows closed.
China's expanding deserts now cover one-third of the country because of overgrazing, deforestation, urban sprawl and drought. The shifting sands have led to a sharp increase in sandstorms — the grit from which can travel as far as the western United States.
The Chinese Academy of Sciences has estimated that the number of sandstorms has jumped six-fold in the past 50 years to two dozen a year ...
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| Posted at 02:19 PM, Mar 21, 2010 |
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State-run newspapers in Myanmar accused critics of the country's new election laws of showing their bias by denouncing one or two aspects of the legislation and ignoring their intent to restore democracy.
The commentary also defended the laws against criticism that they targeted detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is ineligible to run for office under the election rules.
The ruling junta earlier this month enacted five laws that set out the rules for elections expected later this year. No exact date has been set for the polls, which would be the first since 1990. The last election was won by Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party, but the military refused to hand over power.
"Every person who wishes to carry out the democratization process peacefully and in accord with the Constitution sees enactment of the laws as a significant development," said a commentary in the state-run Myanma Ahlin newspaper and sister publications.
But those who disagr ...
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| Posted at 02:15 PM, Mar 21, 2010 |
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Tokyo subway workers observed a moment of silence Saturday to mark the 15th anniversary of a nerve gas attack by a religious cult, Japan's deadliest act of domestic terrorism.
About 20 employees at Kasumigaseki station in Tokyo's government district bowed their heads in silent prayer at 8 a.m., when members of the cult released sarin nerve gas in rush-hour trains on March 20, 1995. The five coordinated attacks killed 13 people and sickened 6,300 others.
Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama joined victims and families in paying his respects, bowing deeply in front of an flower-laden alter.
Transport Minister Seiji Maehara said he would institute more anti-terrorism measures to ensure a secure public transportation system. Tokyo's subway is the world's busiest, carrying some 8.5 million riders a day.
"I pledge to work hard, without letting the memory (of the sarin gas attack) fade," Maehara said.
Before the attack, the Aum Shinrikyo cult had amassed an arsenal of ch ...
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| Posted at 02:13 PM, Mar 21, 2010 |
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Islamic clerics have called on Filipino Muslims not to support former President Joseph Estrada's bid to return to power in elections in May.
The separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front said on its Web site Saturday that the Bangsamoro Supreme Council of Ulama had studied Estrada's actions and policies before and after his election and had issued a fatwa, or religious edict, concluding that "he is really an enemy of Islam."
Estrada was elected president in 1998. The edict said his "all-out war" policy against the separatists in 2000 caused widespread destruction and displacement of up to 1 million Muslims from their communities in the southern Philippines.
Responding to the edict, Estrada's spokeswoman, Margaux Salcedo, said the former president "is a friend of Islam, not an enemy of Muslims."
She said the military operations against the rebels were meant to achieve peace on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao "so that Christians and Muslims could live in peac ...
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| Posted at 02:11 PM, Mar 21, 2010 |
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Cambodia will erect a memorial to nearly 40 foreign and Cambodian journalists who died covering a savage five-year war that ended with the triumph of the Khmer Rouge 35 years ago, a government official said Saturday.
The groundbreaking for the monument will take place at the end of April, the anniversary of the Khmer Rouge victory, as foreign journalists who covered the conflict also gather for a reunion, government spokesman Khieu Kanharith said.
At least 37 journalists were killed or are listed as missing from the 1970-75 war, which pitted the U.S.-backed Lon Nol government against the North Vietnamese-supported Khmer Rouge.
They included reporters, photographers and television cameramen from Japan, France, the United States, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, India, Laos, Australia and Cambodia.
A number of the journalists were captured by the Khmer Rouge and never seen again. When the ultra-communists seized control and began their reign of terror, at least 17 Cambodi ...
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| Posted at 02:05 PM, Mar 21, 2010 |
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Protesters riding thousands of motorcycles and crammed into trucks and cars set off Saturday for a daylong caravan through the streets of the Thai capital, hoping to enlist residents in their "class war" against the government.
They plan to follow up the march with a "blood painting" on Sunday, the latest shock tactic by the so-called "Red Shirts" in their peaceful, weeklong campaign to oust the government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.
City and police officials, fearing massive traffic jams, urged residents to use public transport and either stay at home or at their workplaces until the demonstration ends.
"Please come join us, whatever color you wear, to liberate Thailand from a class society," a protest leader, Jatuporn Prompan, said on Friday evening.
On Saturday, the procession was cheered from the sidewalks by many residents as it passed with red flags and ribbons fluttering and car horns honking. Some motorcyclists plastered their license plates with sti ...
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| Posted at 02:03 PM, Mar 21, 2010 |
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