Qwickly

The navies of the United States, Australia, India, Japan and Singapore have begun a massive naval exercise, codenamed “Malabar”, in the Bay of Bengal.

Thirty-four ships and submarines from the five countries have joined the six-day exercise, about 100 nautical miles off the Andaman archipelago.

Some analysts say the war games are an attempt by these countries to contain China’s growing power. The participants deny this, but Beijing has expressed its concerns.

China, which has not officially commented on the drill, is known to be unhappy over the event as it is being conducted in the Bay of Bengal for the first time. China has been cultivating naval cooperation with Bangladesh and Myanmar to gain access to the Bay of Bengal. China has also been strengthening military cooperation with Sri Lanka

“This will perhaps be the biggest ever peace-time joint naval exercise in Asia,” Indian navy spokesman Captain Vinay Garg said.

Date: September 3, 2007
Article: Five-nation naval exercise begins
Reference: News Post

Barely three days after the final installment of the “Harry Potter” series “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” hit the international market July 21, the book’s Chinese translations appeared online.

At least three groups of volunteers were found to have translated the book and posted the translations online for free. The most influential group calls itself the International Witches and Wizards Association, and is apparently led by a 15-year-old boy only known by his nickname Wizard Harry.

The work was done meticulously, Chinese blogs quoted sources. Each chapter was proof-read three times before being posted. The translators had little sleep during the three days, and survived on instant noodles.

The local students added notices to internet editions stating that translations were not for commercial use - to avoid the threat of copyright infringement charges.

“We translated the book because we love Harry, and we do not intend to use it for commercial purposes,” the notices said.

About 11 million copies of the novel were sold in the initial 24 hours. But Chinese publishers fear it could lead to counterfeit books, in a country where piracy is rife. The official Chinese print version is due to be published in October.

Date: August 16, 2007
Article: Online translations of “Harry Potter” draw fire
Reference: BBC World News

It’s a crucial day for Dr Mohammed Haneef as his request for a review of the decision to cancel his Australian work visa, will be heard in a Brisbane court today (August 8).

Haneef’s visa was cancelled by the Australian government soon after he obtained bail — a move challenged by his lawyers. His lawyer Stephen Keim has now moved the court in Australia to defend him in this matter.

For doctor Haneef, the outcome of this case is significant as it would decide the future of his career as a doctor. If Haneef does not get this visa it could mean an end of his plans to work abroad.

27 year old Haneef, who trained at a hospital in Liverpool, UK before moving to Australia, was arrested at Brisbane airport on the July 2 on suspicion of terror-related activities.

Haneef was released when the Director of Public Prosecutions withdrew the charge on July 27. Haneef’s passport was returned to him and he left Australia for Bangalore on the July 29.

Date: August 8, 2007
Reference: Times Now

The Mozambique authorities have seized thousands of boxes of counterfeit toothpaste, which they fear may contain a potentially deadly chemical.

The seizures follow a ban on all sales of Colgate Maximum Cavity Protection toothpaste issued last week.

Colgate has denied any link with the products found in the capital, Maputo and around the country.

The boxes are labelled “Made in South Africa” but the true origin of the counterfeit products is not clear.

In June, some Chinese-made toothpaste, which also contained dangerous levels of diethylene glycol (DEG), normally used in anti-freeze and solvents was found in Canada and the US.

The chemical can cause abdominal pains, nausea, vomiting, damage to kidneys and liver and, if ingested in large amounts can be fatal.

But no cases of people falling sick have been reported in Mozambique.

Date: August 6, 2007
Reference: Maputo seizes ‘toxic toothpaste’

China has banned crude and insensitive slogans such as ‘Raise fewer babies but more piggies’ that have stoked rural anger over the country’s strict family planning policy, state media said on Sunday.

Slogans such as ‘One more baby means one more tomb’ have been forbidden, and a list of 190 acceptable slogans were issued by the National Population and Family Planning Commission, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

Such slogans are often found painted on roadside buildings in rural areas.

A generation after being imposed, China’s population control policies continue to engender anger and resentment, especially among the largely rural country’s farmers.

Such anger extends beyond the slogans to the sometimes brutal methods used to enforce the policy, such as heavy fines, seizure of property and forced sterilizations or abortions.

Local authorities themselves face demotions, criticism or the loss of jobs if they fail to hit population targets.

The Chinese government contends the one-child policy has helped prevent at least 300 million births - about the size of the US population - and aided China’s recent, rapid economic development.

Date: August 5, 2007
Article: China bans insensitive one-child slogans
Reference: BBC News

A 70 year old British woman has been convicted of honor killing and her son is found guilty of murder, according to Reuters.

Bachan Athwal, upset about her daughter-in-law’s plans to ask for divorce, plotted her murder along with her son, Sukhdave Singh Athwal.

27 year old Surjit Kaur Athwal was reported missing in December of 1998. She used to work at the Heathrow Airport as a Customs Officer.

Reference: Honor Killing Conviction

US presidential candidate Barack Obama has said he would order military action against al-Qaeda in Pakistan without the consent of Pakistan’s government.

Mr Obama made the comments in a speech outlining his foreign policy positions.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry said any threat to act against al-Qaeda from within its territory should not be used for political point scoring.

Earlier this month, Mr Obama’s chief rival, Hillary Clinton, described him as “naive” on foreign policy.

The attack from Mrs Clinton came after a televised debate between Democrat presidential hopefuls.

During the debate Mr Obama said he would be willing to meet leaders of states such as Cuba, North Korea and Iran without conditions.

Mr Obama also used his foreign policy speech to criticise the Bush administration’s focus on al-Qaeda in Iraq, saying US President George W Bush was “confusing” the mission.

He said Americans were more vulnerable to terrorist attacks than before the 9/11 attacks because of a war in Iraq “that should never have been authorised and should never have been waged”.

Date: August 1, 2007
Reference: BBC News

Scientists unveiled a new weapon in the battle against global warming last week: a 16ft torpedo-shaped probe that will swoop over the atmosphere to measure Earth’s gravity with unprecedented accuracy.

The Gravity and Ocean Circulation Explorer, or Goce, has been dubbed the Ferrari of space probes because of its elegant design and will be launched early next year on a Russian SS-19 missile.

Scientists say its data on Earth’s gravitational field will be vital in understanding how ocean currents react to the heating of our planet over the next few decades.

‘Gravity is the force that drives the circulation of the oceans,’ said Dr Mark Drinkwater, Goce’s project scientist. ‘Until we understand its exact role we cannot predict how the seas - and planet - will behave as the climate gets warmer. That is why Goce is being launched.’

Ocean currents take a third of all the heat that falls on equatorial regions and carries it to higher latitudes. One of the most important is the Gulf Stream, which scientists fear could soon be destroyed or diverted by melting Arctic ice. But they need to know all the gravitational effects that influence the stream’s course across the Atlantic before they can make accurate predictions.

Date: July 29, 2007
Article: ‘Ferrari’ of probes to check Earth gravity
Reference: European Space Agency

More than 650 people have been killed during weeks of flash flooding and landslides triggered by heavy rains, Chinese media reports.

The violent summer downpours have affected 119 million people, destroyed 450,000 homes and nearly eight million hectares of crops, Xinhua said.

Seventeen people were killed across four provinces this weekend alone.

The Red Cross has launched a $7.7m appeal, calling it some of the worst flooding to hit China for a decade.

“There’s an urgent need for rice, clean drinking water, shelter, clothing, medical services and disinfectant,” said Gu Qinghui, of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

“It’s the rural poor who are suffering the most, including many farmers.”

More heavy rain is forecast for the south-west, north-west and north-east parts of China in coming days, according to Xinhua.

Date: July 31, 2007
Article: China rain storms claim 650 lives
Reference: Reuters

JK Rowling has said she is back at work, just days after her final Harry Potter book was published.

In an interview with the USA Today newspaper, the author said she was sad the Harry Potter series had come to an end, but would not stop writing.

“I’m sort of writing two things at the moment,” she said. “One is for children and the other is not for children.”

Eleven million copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows were sold in the first 24 hours of publication.

Rowling, 41, said she expected to drop one of her two new books, which is what happened when she started writing Harry Potter and the Philospher’s Stone in the 1990s.

“The weird thing is that this is exactly the way I started writing Harry,” she said.

“I was writing two things simultaneously for a year before Harry took over. So one will oust the other in due course, and I’ll know that’s my next thing.”

Date: July 27, 2007
Article: Potter author ‘penning two books’
Reference: J.K Rowling Official Website