Iran detects, contains Israeli 'spy virus'

TEHRAN - Iranian cyber experts have detected and contained a complicated Israeli spy virus, the Kayhan daily reported on Thursday. A computer virus which is known as "Flame" has targeted Iran's oil industry, the report said, adding that, however, Iranian experts have been able to detect and contain it. The head of Information Technology Organization of Iran said Wednesday that the country's experts had managed to produce anti- virus software that could spot and remove the newly detected computer virus "Flame," the Press TV reported. Ali Hakim Javadi said that the indigenous anti-virus software had been capable of detecting the virus and cleaning up the infected computers, said the report. He said that the malware was different from other viruses and was more destructive than Stuxnet. Internet security service provider Kaspersky on Monday announced the discovery of a serious cyber threat. The malicious program "Flame," is being used as a cyber weapon attacking several countries, according to the company. Iran is among the countries that have been affected. Flame "is designed to carry out cyber espionage. It can steal valuable information, including but not limited to computer display contents, information about targeted systems, stored files, contact data and even audio conversations," according to a press release from Kaspersky. "The complexity and functionality of the newly discovered malicious program exceed those of all other cyber menaces known to date." In the statement, Kaspersky said that "Flame" shared some features with Stuxnet, like same printer vulnerability and USB infection method. Commenting on a just-revealed virus that has targeted computers in Iran, Israeli Vice Prime Minister Moshe Ya'alon said on Tuesday that his country is capable of employing cyber warfare means against Iran. "Anyone who sees the Iranian threat as a significant threat -- it's reasonable (to assume) that he will take various steps, including these, to harm it," Ya'alon said, according to the Ha' aretz daily. "Israel was blessed as being a country rich with high-tech, these tools that we take pride in open up all kinds of opportunities for us," he said. On April 24, an Iranian oil official said the country's experts had contained cyber attacks against the country's Oil Ministry. Hamdollah Mohammadnejad, deputy minister in engineering affairs, said "Recently, few number of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) servers were attacked by a malware, but the cyber security experts of oil industry contained it immediately." To protect the penetration of this malware to other computers connected to these servers, they were temporarily disconnected, said Mohammadnejad. All the operational units of the oil industry were performing and the experts were busy detecting and identifying the cause of the problem, the official said. On April 23, the semi-official ISNA news agency said that the virus was identified as "Viper," which had also targeted some other Iranian industrial websites. In October 2010, Iranian Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi announced that Iran had detected and thwarted a virus aimed at infecting the country's nuclear plant system. Iran said the computer worm, Stuxnet, had infected 30,000 IP addresses in Iran, including the personal computers of the staff at the country's first nuclear power plant, Bushehr. Tehran also claimed that Israel and conglomerate Siemens were behind the infection of its industrial sites. Source: ChinaDaily

China's all-woman air force squadron

These female fighter pilots are among some 328 female pilots recently recruited and trained by China's People's Liberation Army Air Force. They don't just fly normal air force missions, they also take part in disaster relief flights, research-oriented trial flights and afforestation. They have also flown in China's national day parade. Source: AsiaOne

North Korea's own "Girls' Generation" to boost army's morale

A North Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported that the North Korean army has a "girl troupe" to boost morale with song and dance. Koreabang picked up the report and posted it together with pictures and readers' comments. Netizens claimed that the article was pro-North Korea and that the troupe was nowhere in comparison with Girls' Generation. Another report said that North Korean soldiers prefered meat and alcohol rations to the entertainment from the troupe. This is a completely different reaction to the joy and excitement their counterparts in the South felt when Girls' Generation dropped by for a surprise visit. Source: AsiaOne The North Korean troupe is divided into two groups: "regular" and "special". The plainly dressed "regular" troupe performs for the army, while the better-looking "special" troupe performs for international events and guests.

Artist flushes out future wife

A worker puts roses into toilet seats hanging on a wall in Foshan, South China's Guangdong province, March 24, 2012. The wall, named "toilet waterfall", was created by Wei Hua, a ceramist and professor with Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. Wei said he made the wall as a gift for his future wife with 6,000 roses in the toilets. Source: ChinaDaily

Japan builds see-through public loo

A transparent restroom has been built in Ichihara, a city in Chiba Prefecture of Japan, local media reported. The outdoor restroom covers about 200 square meters and has a toilet standing inside a glass structure. Flowers and trees have been placed outside the room to offer a nice view for people using it. However, people do not have to feel embarrassed about using the toilet, as the surrounding glass will turn fuzzy after a person steps into the room, as the power is connected by sensors on the floor. According to the designer, the toilet is aimed at calling for the habit of hygienic use of public toilets, as the glass will become clear again after people leave the room, exposing the state of the inside to the public. The public toilet cost local government about $122,000. Source: ChinaDaily

Shahrukh Khan in no mood to apologise to the Mumbai Cricket Association

The Don 2 actor hasn’t softened his stand on the MCA issue and refuses to issue an apology Shahrukh Khan’s recent brawl at Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium earned him a five-year ban, barring him from stepping into the stadium premises. The infamous incident made front page headlines, and a lot of noise was made by the Mumbai Cricket Association officials and the media. The victory of SRK’s team Kolkata Knight Riders gave him a chance to make up for the damage he had caused to his reputation. He took the chance to apologise to his fans and the people who looked up to him as a role model, but didn’t say sorry to the MCA. Shahrukh is a self-proclaimed “demented Pathan” and what he did at the stadium, though extreme for a public figure, was only in defence of his daughter and her friends. We understand that he is upset with the MCA authorities and is probably expecting an apology from them! At a press conference held yesterday, he said, “I don’t want to get into this whole thing, whether I am going to apologise to the (Mumbai Cricket) Association or not.” He further added, “If I am walking from here and if you say something which I don’t like… I think fortunately or unfortunately, I am in a position where I should just be more thick-skinned and quiet, and say, you know what, if I get into this position right now, it will be bad for my family, children, my audience.” Wethinks he is no mood to forgive and forget, but we hope that this incident has brought a sense of responsibility to the King Khan. Source: BollywoodLife

Syrian refugees draining water-poor Jordan dry

AMMAN - Tens of thousands of Syrian refugees who have fled from carnage and violence at home to neighbouring Jordan are draining the desert kingdom's meager water resources, officials and experts say. It is a new challenge for Jordan, one of the world's 10 driest countries, where desert covers 92 per cent of its territory and the population of 6.7 million is growing by 3.5 per cent a year. The tiny Arab country has given refuge to waves of Palestinian and Iraqi refugees because of regional conflicts over the past decades, and now the kingdom is hosting up to 120,000 Syrians. "The majority of Syrian refugees are concentrated in the northern cities of Mafraq, Irbid, Ramtha, Jerash and Ajlun. All of these areas already suffer from water shortage," Fayez Bataineh, secretary general of the Water Authority, told AFP. "They add pressure to our limited water resources, and we need to be extra careful and wisely manage these resources." Years of below-average rainfall have created a shortfall of 500 million cubic metres (17.5 billion cubic feet) a year, and the country forecasts it will need 1.6 billion cubic metres of water a year by 2015. "Each Syrian refugee needs at least 80 litres of fresh water a day, so 9,600 cubic metres per day for 120,000 people. The cost of this subsidised water supply is 13,000 dinar ($18,000) a day, not to mention other related expenses," said Adnan Zubi, assistant secretary general of the Ministry of Water and Irrigation. "It is not the first time that Jordan hosted forced migrants, but our water resources and infrastructure are already overburdened." Struggling to battle a chronic water shortage, Jordan is mulling controversial plans to extract water. It is tapping into a 300,000-year-old aquifer, despite concerns about high levels of radiation, while studying ways to build a canal from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea. "When my family and I fled to Ramtha from Homs several months ago, we could not find enough drinking water," said Abu Eid, who has two sons and four daughters. "Sometimes, I avoided eating in order not to go to the toilet later because there was no water to wash. But we have adapted to the situation." Maher, another Syrian refugee living in the border town of Ramtha, said he needs to buy water every day. "We have water shortages all the time. I shower once every 10 days," he added. But Basma, a 25-year-old Syrian refugee woman in Irbid, disagreed. "I did not face any water problems in Jordan. I think the Jordanians are doing what they can to help us and things are fine thank God," she told AFP. According to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), more than 20,000 Syrian refugees are registered in Jordan. Aoife McDonnell of UNHCR Jordan told AFP that the UN organisation is aware that "hosting such large numbers of 'guests' ... severely strains already scarce resources, particularly in relation to water availability and consumption, waste management, sewage systems, energy, health and education." Jordan provides free medical services to UN-registered refugees, while more than 5,500 Syrian students have enrolled in public schools. "This reliance on local services and infrastructure also brings increasing pressure on the already vulnerable host populations of Jordan, as it is coupled with major water scarcity in the region, rising temperatures and a resulting negative impact on food production," McDonnell said, urging international support for the kingdom. Jordan's average annual water consumption stands at around 900 million cubic metres, but more than 60 per cent of this water goes to agriculture, which contributes 3.6 per cent to gross domestic product, according to official figures. "The Syrians came from water-rich areas to almost parched parts in Jordan," said Abdelrahman Sultan of the Jordanian-Israeli-Palestinian non-governmental group Friends of the Earth Middle East. "They consume water here the same way they used to consume water in their country." The Ministry of Environment said demand for water is expected to increase. "This requires better infrastructure in order to ensure a healthier environment for the refugees, a project that would cost a lot," Ahmad Qatarneh, the ministry's secretary general, told AFP. The government says it is still difficult to determine the cost of hosting Syrians in Jordan. "It goes without saying that it is high, but we cannot say for sure at the moment because Syrians are still fleeing to Jordan," said government spokesman Samih Maayatah. More than 13,000 people have been killed, most of them civilians, since the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's regime erupted in March last year, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. "We did not wonder whether we would get enough water or not in Jordan. We just ran for our lives," said Abu Eid. Source: AsiaOne

'60s celebrity icons still rocking today

LOS ANGELES - The Beach Boys release their first album of new songs in years next week to mark their 50th birthday - joining an elite band of icons celebrating half a century of music that still rocks the world. In the same year the California group first surfed into the charts - 1962 - Bob Dylan was strumming his way into pop culture history, while the Beatles and the Rolling Stones led a revolution on the other side of the Atlantic. Why the sudden early 60s creative explosion? One answer: as post-war baby boomers came of age in a world of growing wealth, they fervently embraced the freedoms - cultural, financial and sexual - offered by the new decade. "They were just old enough to be the first people from the white working class in the first world to grow up in relative affluence and education," professor Toby Miller of the University of California, Riverside, told AFP. "They were white boys who had an interest in black music that transcended color lines, and there were record companies and TV companies and promoters that had identified these emergent market niches for their eventual audiences." Of the burst of history-making music icons who emerged in 1962, arguably the biggest were the Beatles, who exploded on the world stage as the "Fab Four" from their native Liverpool, via an intense apprenticeship in Hamburg, Germany. Their first single, "Love Me Do," came out that year, triggering a tsunami-like wave of Beatlemania which swept across the Atlantic at the head of a British musical invasion of the United States. While they split up as the 1960s ended, and only two members are still alive, their songs influenced generations of musicians and they remain among the most popular tunes of all time. The grittier and more openly sexual Rolling Stones meanwhile strutted onto the emerging London scene led by flamboyant frontman Mick Jagger, before joining the British musical assault on America in the mid-1960s. Their five-decade career has included legendary ups and downs, and changes of personnel, but they remain together, even if Jagger seems to have stymied a 50th anniversary reunion tour hinted at by guitarist Keith Richards. In the United States, 1962 saw the flowering of two musical icons: the Beach Boys on the West Coast, and Dylan on the East. The Beach Boys, whose first album of new songs for 16 years - "That's Why God Made the Radio" - is released on June 5 in the United States, actually formed in 1961, but first signed with Capitol Records the following year. Over the next two decades they produced a string of era-defining hits including "Good Vibrations," and "California Girls," as well as the ground-breaking 1966 album "Pet Sounds," But drugs, mental health problems and infighting plagued the quintet, and for years their output was sporadic - before last year's "Smile," a collection of music recorded in the mid-60s, and the announcement of their 50th anniversary reunion. Dylan has also had his problems over the years, outraging early fans by going electric, alienating others by finding religion, before embarking on his infamous Never Ending Tour, still on the road aged 71. His standing in the US cultural pantheon was cemented this week when President Barack Obama awarded him America's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in a White House ceremony. Professor Robert Thompson of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at Syracuse University in New York said the pop explosion 50 years ago was ignited by the sheer rush of post-war change, from rising affluence to women's rights movements, and Vietnam to the Cold War and the space age. "After World War II it is like a whole new universe ... and sitting right on top of that of course was a big baby boom. All these kids who started being born in 1946... if you do the math, by 1962 they're 16 year olds. "When you listen to the Beach Boys you can almost hear the fact that this is the new soundtrack for the emerging... generation. And I think you could say that too about the Stones, and the Beatles, every one of these," he added. Thompson said that similar "bursts" of popular culture were provoked by other major developments, citing the dawn of MTV in 1981 for the explosion of global stars including Madonna and Michael Jackson. But the prospect of another such major wave is hindered by the fragmentation of what people listen to: while everyone watched the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show, nowadays they have almost infinite choices on TV and online. "The 1960s were at the peak of this kind of consensus culture... and that is no longer the case. Even among say my students, 18-21 years, I can barely find a single song that every one of them has on their iPod," he said. "We're talking about the 50th anniversary of groups that everybody not only heard but heard a lot of - even if they were trying to avoid it - and that's not so much the case. "The culture in 2012, 50 years later, is so fundamentally fragmented... that those kinds of groups that everybody hears may come along a lot less frequently." Source: AsiaOne

Woman burned to death was twice divorced

SINGAPORE - Her father died when she was barely a year old. When she was four years old, her mother left her in the care of her grand-aunt and relocated to Taiwan. Even though Ms Mary Yoong Mei Ling, 43, kept in touch with her mother, she was never close to her. Last Friday, Ms Yoong was allegedly murdered in her aunt's flat at Block 206B, Compassvale Lane. She died from serious burn injuries at the Singapore General Hospital (SGH) that night, after the flat that she was in was set on fire. A 44-year-old suspect, Lim Ghim Peow, was charged the following day with murder. Ms Yoong's mother was told of the gruesome death that night. She broke down and wept over the phone, one of Ms Yoong's uncles, Mr Joseph Hsu, 44, told The New Paper. But Ms Yoong's mother did not make it to her wake or the final funeral service held at Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, on Tuesday afternoon. About 50 relatives and friends were there to send Ms Yoong off on her last journey, from Upper Serangoon Road to Mandai Crematorium. Many wore purple. "It's her favourite colour," one relative told this reporter. They held stalks of purple flowers in their hands, as they fought back their tears and bade Ms Yoong farewell. Kind and forgiving One of her friends was overheard telling another: "She is such a kind and forgiving person. That's how I will remember her." In an eulogy delivered by Mr Hsu, Ms Yoong was described as a forgiving and generous person. "She did not have very much, but she was always willing to give everything that she had," said Mr Hsu, who grew up with Ms Yoong in Hougang estate. Mr Hsu, who is an engineer, was Ms Yoong's playmate and confidant. His mother had a hand in helping to raise Ms Yoong, even though she was not the official guardian. "Abandoned by her mother at a young age, all she wanted was a family to call her own," Mr Hsu said. "She never had big dreams of becoming a TV star or a film actress. She was a simple woman with a simple dream. She just wanted her own family. But she wasn't that lucky when it came to love." Ms Yoong married twice, first in 1990 when she turned 21, and the second time in 2001. Both marriages ended in divorce. Mr Hsu cannot remember how long Ms Yoong's marriages lasted or what caused them to fail. But she remained friends with her ex-husbands, even though she did not have any children with them, revealed Mr Hsu. He added that both of Ms Yoong's ex-husbands turned up at her wake on Sunday to pay their last respects to her. "Mary got along well with people from all social levels and her loyalty and sincerity towards her friends had earned her many valuable friendships over the years," Mr Hsu told TNP. "She had always been close to her relatives and never failed to turn up at family gatherings during special occasions like Chinese New Year and birthday celebrations. "She was very filial to the elderly folks and doted on her many nieces and nephews. "She loved children, but did not have any of her own." He added: "She was always the one to fetch my mother and aunt in our family car to wherever they wanted to go. "She would take them to their medical appointments and help them with their errands. She was grateful to them for taking care of her when she was young." Mr Hsu said that Ms Yoong led a nomadic life after her two divorces, moving from one relative's home to another. "Mary had to learn to be independent at a young age," said Mr Hsu. "It was a blessing that she was very hardworking and street-smart, even though she stopped schooling after completing her secondary education." "She had tried her hand at various jobs, like sales, waitressing and even compering, as she was bilingual. "Her last job was helping out at an old folks' association, which she quit last year." Three weeks ago, Ms Yoong, a Singaporean, had dinner with Mr Hsu before she left for Johor Baru to visit her friends and relatives. By-election She had returned last Wednesday, as she wanted to vote in the Hougang by-election on Saturday, said Mr Hsu. Mr Hsu, who saw Ms Yoong before she took her last breath at the intensive care unit of SGH, said: "I believe she is in a better place now. "As I wiped her tears away that night, I could sense that she was at peace." Source: AsiaOne

Leonardo DiCaprio was almost in Baywatch

Leonardo DiCaprio was almost cast in 'Baywatch'. The 'Romeo + Juliet' star was in line to play the role of Hobie - son of central character Mitch Buchannon - in the hugely popular 90s Californian lifeguard series, but show star and producer David Hasselhoff thinks it was better for his career not to have won the part. David - who played Mitch and co-produced the show- said: "Yeah, it was true! You know what, it was the best thing to happen to Leonardo DiCaprio. "I saw Leonardo and I said, 'You know what, that was the best thing that ever happened to you! "You would have never gotten 'Titanic' and have been this big star." Joking about the actor who did get the role he added: "You'd be like Jeremy Jackson and David Hasselhoff, looking for work.' Ha!" Although David jokes, Leonardo is now one of the most recognisable film stars in the world, while Jeremy has dealt with drug problems, which he partly has attributed to the show - at one time the most widely watched TV programme on the planet - and appeared in 'Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew' in 2011. David has continued to have a successful career as a TV personality and reality TV judge on 'America's Got Talent' and 'Britain's Got Talent'. Other stars to go on to successful careers after appearing in 'Baywatch' include Carmen Electra and Pamela Anderson. Source: ChinaDaily

Seoul holds N. Korean spy posing as refugee: Official

SEOUL - South Korea has arrested a female North Korean spy who posed as a refugee from the communist state, an intelligence official said Friday. The official, talking to AFP on condition of anonymity, gave no other details of the case. JoongAng Ilbo newspaper said the woman's identity was uncovered during routine questioning after her arrival. It said Lee Kyung-Ae, 46, was a member of the North's military intelligence command and entered the South late last year via China and Thailand. The paper said she is suspected of laundering counterfeit yuan worth up to S$1.2 million during her stay in China. It said Lee is also suspected of luring a former refugee - a US citizen identified only as Park - to China so that she could investigate his activities and his suspected links to the US Central Intelligence Agency. North and South Korea have remained technically at war since their 1950-1953 conflict ended only in an armistice, and the South frequently reports the arrests of alleged North Korean spies. Many enter the South pretending to be refugees and all new arrivals undergo screening to weed out North Korean agents. In one of the most famous cases in 2008, a 35-year-old woman who arrived posing as a refugee and used sex to secure military secrets was jailed for five years. In April a North Korean agent who tried to murder an outspoken anti-Pyongyang activist in Seoul with a poison-tipped weapon was jailed for four years. Seoul's official data show more than 4,500 spies for the North have been exposed since the peninsula was first divided in 1948. Source: AsiaOne

Marilyn Monroe Hologram: Late Actress Is Among Celebrities Who May Be Digitally Resurrected

The hologram trend continues to trudge along, with each week bringing news of plans for another late celebrity's digital resurrection. This week: Marilyn Monroe. THR reports Monroe (who would have turned 86 Friday) is the center of an upcoming show with the working title "Virtual Marilyn Live -- A Musical Celebration of the Birth of the Pop Icon" (hopefully that will change). She's not the only one: Usher will dance with fan holograms during his upcoming June 11th concert, which will be streamed live on YouTube. That event is part of a series which pairs musicians with luminaries in film (the most recent, and notable, of these performances was the Gary Oldman-directed Jack White concert). Other names being floated (by THR) for hologram consideration include Jimmy Stewart, Marlon Brando and Haank Aaron (why not!). Of course, the landmark hologram performance came in the form of a bright (and tall) Tupac Shakur, who digitally stunted all over the Coachella stage he shared with Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre. As with most things in the entertainment industry, the holograms are a big business. Potential earnings for the estates of dead celebrities could bolster holdings that already run quite deep. Forbes reports Michael Jackson's estate raked in $170 million and Elvis Presley's brought in $55 million. Monroe dialed up a still-impressive $27 million. Of course, where there is money, there are lawyers. THR reports that the Monroe event "could signal the type of legal fights to come," as the company owning copyrights pertaining to the actress and singer is not working with the company creating the hologram (though a representative says the companies will probably eventually collaborate). So what say you, readers? Are you eager for a projected version of the Hollywood icon, or are you already growing wary of seeing dead celebrities prance around? Source: HuffPost

Madonna Tour: Singer Launches 'MDNA' Journey With Show In Tel Aviv, Israel

ERUSALEM -- Pop music star Madonna treated tens of thousands of ecstatic fans in Israel to the inaugural show of her "MDNA" world tour on Thursday, performing in a country where she has long claimed a special bond. The "Material Girl," a devotee of a form of Jewish mysticism known as Kabbalah, danced, bumped, grinded and vogued in flashy costumes to a raucous crowd at Ramat Gan stadium near Tel Aviv. Madonna emerged on stage in a confessional, breaking through its glass window using a rifle, which she then aimed at the audience. She wore a skin-tight black outfit to sing her first song, "Girl Gone Wild," accompanied by dancers dressed as monks. She went on to sing "Give Me All Your Luvin'" and a mash-up of the classic "Express Yourself" and Lady Gaga's "Born This Way," dressed as a marching band conductor. While some artists have opted to boycott Israel because of its policies toward Palestinians, the 53-year-old Madonna's ties to the Jewish state have only strengthened in the last few years. She has made personal pilgrimages in 2004 and 2007 along with other Kabbalah devotees. She wrapped up her 2008-2009 "Sticky and Sweet" tour with two shows in the Holy Land, her first in 16 years. During that show, she wrapped herself in an Israeli flag and called Israel the "energy center of the world." Madonna, who is not Jewish, has been dabbling in Kabbalah for more than a decade and has taken on a Hebrew name, Esther. On previous trips to Israel she went to the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem, the holiest site where Jews can pray, and visited the grave of a revered Jewish sage. Her passion for Kabbalah has sparked criticism in Israel, where some rabbis chide her for venturing into religious study usually reserved for those with a strong background in Jewish law. She landed in Israel last week, arriving with her children, her boyfriend, Brahim Zaibat and a 70-person entourage. She spent the days leading up to the performance rehearsing for the glitzy show and visiting Kabbalah centers. Her spiritual serenity may have been challenged by Israel's aggressive paparazzi, who have been camped outside her beachfront hotel and near the stadium where she is performing. Video of her rehearsals has leaked onto the Internet, and photos of Madonna and her children have appeared in Israel's newspapers almost daily since she arrived. For years, violence kept musicians away from Israeli stages. Now, with the ebb of the Palestinian uprising over the last decade, performers planning concerts have faced pressure from activists to cancel their appearances in Israel as political punishment. A number of artists have heeded the call, while others like Madonna, Paul McCartney and Leonard Cohen have performed to gracious fans in recent years. After Tel Aviv, the "MDNA" tour moves on to Abu Dhabi and includes stops in Istanbul, Buenos Aires and Cleveland, Ohio. Her last tour grossed more than $400 million. Source:HuffPost

'Napalm Girl Photo' From Vietnam War Turns 40

RANG BANG, Vietnam — In the picture, the girl will always be 9 years old and wailing "Too hot! Too hot!" as she runs down the road away from her burning Vietnamese village. She will always be naked after blobs of sticky napalm melted through her clothes and layers of skin like jellied lava. She will always be a victim without a name. It only took a second for Associated Press photographer Huynh Cong "Nick" Ut to snap the iconic black-and-white image 40 years ago. It communicated the horrors of the Vietnam War in a way words could never describe, helping to end one of America's darkest eras. But beneath the photo lies a lesser-known story. It's the tale of a dying child brought together by chance with a young photographer. A moment captured in the chaos of war that would serve as both her savior and her curse on a journey to understand life's plan for her. "I really wanted to escape from that little girl," says Kim Phuc, now 49. "But it seems to me that the picture didn't let me go." ____ It was June 8, 1972, when Phuc heard the soldier's scream: "We have to run out of this place! They will bomb here, and we will be dead!" Seconds later, she saw the tails of yellow and purple smoke bombs curling around the Cao Dai temple where her family had sheltered for three days, as north and south Vietnamese forces fought for control of their village. The little girl heard a roar overhead and twisted her neck to look up. As the South Vietnamese Skyraider plane grew fatter and louder, it swooped down toward her, dropping canisters like tumbling eggs flipping end over end. "Ba-boom! Ba-boom!" The ground rocked. Then the heat of a hundred furnaces exploded as orange flames spit in all directions. Fire danced up Phuc's left arm. The threads of her cotton clothes evaporated on contact. Trees became angry torches. Searing pain bit through skin and muscle. "I will be ugly, and I'm not normal anymore," she thought, as her right hand brushed furiously across her blistering arm. "People will see me in a different way." In shock, she sprinted down Highway 1 behind her older brother. She didn't see the foreign journalists gathered as she ran toward them, screaming. Then, she lost consciousness. Ut, the 21-year-old Vietnamese photographer who took the picture, drove Phuc to a small hospital. There, he was told the child was too far gone to help. But he flashed his American press badge, demanded that doctors treat the girl and left assured that she would not be forgotten. "I cried when I saw her running," said Ut, whose older brother was killed on assignment with the AP in the southern Mekong Delta. "If I don't help her – if something happened and she died – I think I'd kill myself after that." Back at the office in what was then U.S.-backed Saigon, he developed his film. When the image of the naked little girl emerged, everyone feared it would be rejected because of the news agency's strict policy against nudity. But veteran Vietnam photo editor Horst Faas took one look and knew it was a shot made to break the rules. He argued the photo's news value far outweighed any other concerns, and he won. A couple of days after the image shocked the world, another journalist found out the little girl had somehow survived the attack. Christopher Wain, a correspondent for the British Independent Television Network who had given Phuc water from his canteen and drizzled it down her burning back at the scene, fought to have her transferred to the American-run Barsky unit. It was the only facility in Saigon equipped to deal with her severe injuries. "I had no idea where I was or what happened to me," she said. "I woke up and I was in the hospital with so much pain, and then the nurses were around me. I woke up with a terrible fear." Thirty percent of Phuc's tiny body was scorched raw by third-degree burns, though her face somehow remained untouched. Over time, her melted flesh began to heal. "Every morning at 8 o'clock, the nurses put me in the burn bath to cut all my dead skin off," she said. "I just cried and when I could not stand it any longer, I just passed out." After multiple skin grafts and surgeries, Phuc was finally allowed to leave, 13 months after the bombing. She had seen Ut's photo, which by then had won the Pulitzer Prize, but she was still unaware of its reach and power. She just wanted to go home and be a child again. ___ For a while, life did go somewhat back to normal. The photo was famous, but Phuc largely remained unknown except to those living in her tiny village near the Cambodian border. Ut and a few other journalists sometimes visited her, but that stopped after northern communist forces seized control of South Vietnam on April 30, 1975, ending the war. Life under the new regime became tough. Medical treatment and painkillers were expensive and hard to find for the teenager, who still suffered extreme headaches and pain. She worked hard and was accepted into medical school to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor. But all that ended once the new communist leaders realized the propaganda value of the `napalm girl' in the photo. She was forced to quit college and return to her home province, where she was trotted out to meet foreign journalists. The visits were monitored and controlled, her words scripted. She smiled and played her role, but the rage inside began to build and consume her. "I wanted to escape that picture," she said. "I got burned by napalm, and I became a victim of war ... but growing up then, I became another kind of victim." She turned to Cao Dai, her Vietnamese religion, for answers. But they didn't come. "My heart was exactly like a black coffee cup," she said. "I wished I died in that attack with my cousin, with my south Vietnamese soldiers. I wish I died at that time so I won't suffer like that anymore ... it was so hard for me to carry all that burden with that hatred, with that anger and bitterness." One day, while visiting a library, Phuc found a Bible. For the first time, she started believing her life had a plan. Then suddenly, once again, the photo that had given her unwanted fame brought opportunity. She traveled to West Germany in 1982 for medical care with the help of a foreign journalist. Later, Vietnam's prime minister, also touched by her story, made arrangements for her to study in Cuba. She was finally free from the minders and reporters hounding her at home, but her life was far from normal. Ut, then working at the AP in Los Angeles, traveled to meet her in 1989, but they never had a moment alone. There was no way for him to know she desperately wanted his help again. "I knew in my dream that one day Uncle Ut could help me to have freedom," said Phuc, referring to him by an affectionate Vietnamese term. "But I was in Cuba. I was really disappointed because I couldn't contact with him. I couldn't do anything." ___ While at school, Phuc met a young Vietnamese man. She had never believed anyone would ever want her because of the ugly patchwork of scars that banded across her back and pitted her arm, but Bui Huy Toan seemed to love her more because of them. The two decided to marry in 1992 and honeymoon in Moscow. On the flight back to Cuba, the newlyweds defected during a refueling stop in Canada. She was free. Phuc contacted Ut to share the news, and he encouraged her to tell her story to the world. But she was done giving interviews and posing for photos. "I have a husband and a new life and want to be normal like everyone else," she said. The media eventually found Phuc living near Toronto, and she decided she needed to take control of her story. A book was written in 1999 and a documentary came out, at last the way she wanted it told. She was asked to become a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador to help victims of war. She and Ut have since reunited many times to tell their story, even traveling to London to meet the Queen. "Today, I'm so happy I helped Kim," said Ut, who still works for AP and recently returned to Trang Bang village. "I call her my daughter." After four decades, Phuc, now a mother of two sons, can finally look at the picture of herself running naked and understand why it remains so powerful. It had saved her, tested her and ultimately freed her. "Most of the people, they know my picture but there's very few that know about my life," she said. "I'm so thankful that ... I can accept the picture as a powerful gift. Then it is my choice. Then I can work with it for peace." Source: HuffPost

Black Hat Lama in Manila for teachings

Tibet's Black Hat Lama-a Buddhist teacher incarnate older than the Dalai Lama-will arrive Friday in Manila for a series of prayers as well as empowerment and dharma or Buddhist teachings. It will be the second visit to the Philippines of His Holiness Gyalwa Karmapa Trinley Thaye Dorje, believed to be the 17th reincarnation of the Gyalwa Karmapa since the 12th century. The Buddhist spiritual leader is expected to arrive onboard Malaysian Airlines flight MH704 from Kuala Lumpur, where he had just completed a series of teachings. He is staying in the country until June 8. The Karmapa Lama is the venerated head of the Karma Kagyu, one of the four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism known as the oral or perfection school. It is focused on the yogic transmission of the dharma. Known as the holders of the Black Crown or the Black Hat, Karmapa Lamas are from the most ancient lineage of Tibetan Buddhism's religious figures, two centuries ahead of the Dalai Lama lineage. Uplifting the consciousness and empowering the lives of Filipinos were the main thrusts of the dharma teachings imparted to the Filipino people by the Karmapa Lama during his November 2006 visit. This time, he will be holding another series of empowerment and dharma teachings with valuable techniques on "Transformation For Happiness" at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay CIty, according to the Philippine Nedo Kagyu Bodhi Dharma Foundation. Source: Asiaone

'Spy' contacted defence firms

JAPAN - A Chinese diplomat allegedly engaged in espionage contacted officials at several defence companies while he was in Japan, according to investigative sources. Police suspect Li Chunguang tried to fraudulently obtain information related to military technology. They plan to question people contacted by Li. The 45-year-old first secretary at the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo is also believed to have seen the contents of confidential Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry documents. The Metropolitan Police Department Public Security Bureau believes Li was engaged in espionage. The MPD plans to send papers on him to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office on suspicion of violating the Alien Registration Law and making false entries on notarized documents and using them. According to investigative sources, Li met with officials at several defence firms and officials of organizations engaged in researching state-of-the-art technology in Tokyo and other locations without disclosing that he was attached to an intelligence division of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA). Some company officials were invited to the Chinese Embassy, the sources said, invitations the police believe were made by Li. It is believed that Chinese spies invite their targets to the embassy or on sightseeing trips to China on the pretext of deepening their friendship to escape the notice of counterintelligence authorities. Chinese agents belonging to the PLA's General Staff mainly conduct espionage to collect military information. They target officials of the Defence Ministry, members of the Self-Defence Forces and defence company officials. It has been learned recently that these agents approached researchers in the United States and obtained military information. Police authorities suspect Li was instructed to gain military information by the second division of the PLA's General Staff, to which he had been attached. In early 2008, Li fraudulently used his alien registration card, which he obtained when he was a researcher at the University of Tokyo, to open a bank account, though diplomats are issued special identification cards. Li is also suspected of renewing the alien registration card in April 2008 by submitting false documents to a ward office in Tokyo showing him still working as a researcher at the university. Using the bank account, he allegedly profited from commercial activities. The Vienna Convention prohibits diplomats from engaging in such activities. Alien registration cards are issued to foreign residents and carry such information as their name and residency status. Under the Alien Registration Law, foreign residents must apply for the card at their relevant municipal government within 90 days of entering Japan and must present the card if asked by police. Meanwhile in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin on Wednesday confirmed the name of a diplomat suspected of spying as Li Chunguang. He also denied allegations that Li was engaged in espionage. It is the first time the Chinese ministry issued an official statement on the matter since it came to light this week. On the same day, Chinese Embassy spokesman Yang Yu denied allegations that Li worked for the PLA's intelligence division. Li is also suspected of making personal profits through commercial activities by using a fraudulently obtained alien registration card. Concerning this allegation, Yang said China has strict laws and restrictions on diplomats' activities so the matter needs to be investigated. Source: Asiaone

Over half of S'pore Grand Prix general tickets sold

OVER 50 per cent of the general tickets for the 2012 Singapore Grand Prix have been sold, while take-up of corporate hospitality has been "strong", according to race promoter Singapore GP (SGP). "Ticket sales have been brisk, thanks largely to a fantastic F1 season. With six different winners from the six races to date, it is anybody's game which will surely make for an exciting spectacle on our circuit come September," said Michael Roche, SGP executive director. Some 65,000 general admission tickets - excluding single-day tickets - and 10,000 corporate hospitality tickets have been released for sale. Corporate tickets that are proving popular include the Paddock Club, the Green Room as well as the Sky Suites, the race organiser said, without revealing numbers. Its corporate hospitality suites have seen enhancements to layout, decor and menu, which are helping to fuel demand. Singapore is in the final lap of its five-year contract as a host venue for the sport. It is currently in talks with the Formula One Administration (FOA) on a possible renewal, though if the nation does not extend its contract, it still would have to serve out a two-year notice period starting 2013. This comes as F1 is seeking a listing on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) in an IPO that could raise up to US$3 billion. However, F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone recently indicated in a media interview that the IPO could be postponed due to market volatility, citing the recent performance of Facebook post-IPO. UBS, one of the joint global coordinators for the IPO, expects F1's revenue to jump from US$1.52 billion in 2011 to US$2.37 billion in 2016, on the back of a growing calendar of venues coupled with higher advertising and sponsorship sales, Reuters reported citing a research note. F1's ebitda is reportedly expected to increase 7.6 per cent a year over the same period. Separately, SGP also announced that singer-songwriter Noel Gallagher, formerly of rock band Oasis, is joining the list of artistes performing over the Grand Prix weekend, a line-up which includes Jay Chou, Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Bananarama, Pretenders and The Proclaimers. He is scheduled to perform on the Padang stage on Sept 22 and at the Village Stage before the Formula One race on Sept 23. Source: Asiaone

McDonald's to end pork gestation crate use by 2022

CHICAGO - McDonald's USA said Thursday that by 2022 it will only buy pork from farmers and other sources that do not use gestation stalls for housing their pregnant sows. In the shorter term, the Oak Brook, Illinois-based fast-food giant said that it would work with producers and suppliers to develop traceability systems to prove that the meat it buys are not from farms that use such structures. The company also said that, by 2017, it would seek to source pork for its U.S. business from producers that are also working to phase out such gestation stalls. McDonald's, the top U.S. hamburger chain by sales, vowed in February to work with its U.S. pork suppliers to phase out the use of gestation crates, which confine animals during the breeding and post-birth process. The policy shift will apply only to the company's U.S. business, company officials said. The 10-year plan comes amid an increasingly fierce battle over on-farm practices between farmers and agribusiness on one side and food safety groups and animal-rights organizations on the other. The Humane Society of the United States, a leading critic of the use of gestation stalls, said Thursday that McDonald's announcement marked the latest victory for animal-rights groups. "We wish the company planned to get rid of these crates tomorrow, but we understand the logistical challenges involved in making such significant improvements," said Paul Shapiro, vice president of farm animal protection for the Humane Society. Everett Forkner, president of the National Pork Board, said the plan would place significant economic pressure on smaller hog operators who don't have access to capital, and may not be able to afford the cost of overhauling barns. "The additional expenses on farmers forced to make this conversion could increase the risk of them having to leave the business," said Forkner, who also farms in Richards, Missouri. Gestation crates are typically metal enclosures, about 7 feet long and 2 feet wide, in which a breeding sow is housed for much of her adult life. Pork producers say these enclosures are necessary to protect young piglets from being crushed by larger animals, and to keep sows from fighting as they often will when housed together in larger pens. "I know on my own farm I moved from open pens to stalls many years ago because too many sows were being injured or denied feed," Forkner said. "When sows are thrown together they can become very aggressive. Dominant sows physically attack the others, bite them and steal their food." Animal rights groups say that such stalls constitute inhumane treatment of the animals. Other companies have either followed suit with their own plans or are vowing similar changes in regards to how they source their meats. Wendy's Co, the No. 2 hamburger chain in the United States, made a similar announcement in March. And pork producers Smithfield Foods Inc and Hormel Foods Corp have said they, too, are phasing out the use of gestation crates in company-owned facilities. McDonald's said it will take years to shift such production practices in the agricultural industry, in order to ensure that there is enough swine being raised in open-housing in order to meet the volume of pork products that it purchases. "There are not enough sows housed in non-gestation crates right now. It's between 6- and 10 per cent," said Bob Langert, vice president of sustainability for McDonald's. "It can't supply our needs." Source: Asiaone

Confucius visas resolved for Chinese educators

When Fang Maotian entered the meeting room at the State Department on May 24, he was surprised and overwhelmed by the size of the United States' team. Led by Robin J. Lerner, deputy assistant secretary for private sector exchange at the State Department, there were more than a dozen US officials waiting for urgent consultations with Fang, minister counselor for education affairs at the Chinese Embassy in the US, and his two colleagues. With tension mounting over a confusing visa directive concerning Chinese language teachers in the US, the two sides had quickly reached out for dialogue and successfully found a solution within a couple of days to avoid any further misunderstanding. On May 17, without consulting the Chinese side, Lerner signed a controversial visa policy directive and sent it to US universities that sponsor Confucius Institutes, through which the Chinese government promotes Chinese language and culture overseas. The document stated that any faculty member who, through a college's J-1 exchange program, teaches students of elementary or secondary school age, is violating visa rules. It also stated that the educator must return to China by June 30 to reapply for an appropriate program. If enacted, at least 51 Chinese teachers would have been forced to leave the US. About 600 currently work there, according to the Confucius Institute Headquarters, more commonly known as Hanban. The directive also demanded that the institutes were required to obtain US accreditation to continue accepting foreign scholars and professors as teachers. It was the first time that such a requirement had been raised since the non-profit organizations began operating in 2005. Most of the people working for the 81 institutes across the US were shocked and confused by such sudden and strict orders from Washington. Over the following two days, phone calls and e-mails flooded into the State Department and the Chinese embassy, making inquiries. On May 20, Xu Lin, the head of Hanban, wrote a letter to her US university partners and said she hoped that the project would not be affected or halted by the directive. The Chronicle of Higher Education, a Washington-based news service, first picked up the news and said if the institutes' teaching activities were curtailed by the new policy, there would be some impact on US-China relations. Faced with the growing attention back home, Fang and his colleagues decided to find out the real reasons as soon as possible. To show her seriousness about the issue, Lerner brought her whole team to meet the Chinese officials. Through "candid" talk over the issue, the Chinese side expressed their grave concerns and raised their doubts; US officials clarified their intentions and admitted their errors in drafting the document. Within 24 hours of this consultation, a revised policy directive was sent out on May 25 to clear up the mess. As a result, no Chinese teacher will be forced to leave the country and no accreditation is required for the institutes. Before the new document came out, the US side gave Fang a preview copy for comment. Source: ChinaDaily