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Ukraine separatist says to start talks with mediators over detainees

SLAVIANSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - The de facto mayor of the Ukrainian city of Slaviansk said on Sunday mediators from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe who are seeking the release of a group of detained observers had arrived in the city.
The self-proclaimed mayor, Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, told reporters he was heading into talks with the mediators.More Details

US president’s complex and worrying baggage abroad

BARACK Obama is bringing far more to his Far East tour than he could imagine: besides his suits, Air Force One, aides, handlers and minders (the famed Secret Service protection detail), cutting-edge security gadgets and intelligence shield, his nation’s intrusive worldview with its complex and disquieting global effect.

First and foremost: the moment Obama steps out of Air Force One and onto the KLIA tarmac, his already indiscriminately blanket security concerns is immediately a Malaysian anxiety.
   
We are as responsible as to whatever may happen to him as are his doughty security apparatus that brooks no nonsense, not with their kind of threat assessments churned out regularly against the leader of the Free World.
   
Remember, America is where presidents and influential leaders have been assassinated or their lives threatened by too many deadly crackpots, thus the overbearing security paranoia.

Obama in KL: Myanmar warned for its oppression of Muslim minority population

KUALA LUMPUR: U.S. President Barack Obama saidtoday that the rights of Myanmar's minority Muslim population were not being fully protected and warned that the Southeast Asian country would not succeed if Muslims there were oppressed.

 On a visit to Malaysia, Obama praised political reforms under way in once-isolated Myanmar but said the danger of democratization was that it could unleash religious and ethnic conflicts and that such developments could move Myanmar in a bad direction.
 
"You have a Muslim minority (in Myanmar)  that the broader population has historically looked down upon and whose rights are not being fully protected," Obama told a townhall-style meeting of young leaders from across Southeast Asia.
 
"Myanmar won't succeed if the Muslim population is oppressed."
 
 Members of Myanmar's Rohingya Muslim minority have been the victims of attacks and widespread abuse in recent years blamed by human rights groups and other observers on security forces and anti-Muslim mobs in the country's Rakhine state. -- Reuters

national-mosque-imam-s-special-request-to-obama

KUALA LUMPUR: National Mosque imam Tan Sri Syaikh Ismail Muhammad has pleaded to the United States (US) President Barack Obama to end oppression against Muslims worldwide.

 
He took the opportunity to express his wishes to Obama while taking the US President on a 25-minute guided tour of the mosque and the Heroes' Mausoleum, at Jalan Perdana this morning.
 
In response Obama said "pray for me," Ismail told reporters after Obama's visit to the Malaysian iconic monuments here today.
 
"Obama also said that every day when he wakes up he always does his best to put an end to oppression and conflicts affecting communities," he said.
 
Ismail, 70, also expressed his excitement on the historic meeting with Obama, which was his second meeting with a sitting US President.
 
His first meeting was with President Lyndon B.Johnson's in 1966, about 48 years ago when he was 22 years old and a tahfiz student (studying the Quran).    
 
" I never expect I would meet another US President in my lifetime, after almost 50 years," he added.     Ismail was also impressed with Obama's ability to understand the Malay language, in which he sometimes communicated with the US President.
 
Despite Obama's limited vocabulary, the US President frequently replied with "Insya Allah" (God willing) and "terima kasih" (thank you), he said.
 
"It was nice of him, although he could not speak much of the Malay language  but understood what I had said to him," smiled Ismail.
 
Obama's visit to the National Mosque was the first event of his second day state visit to Malaysia, and the visit to the mosque indicates his acceptance of the moderate Islamic practice in the country, where the majority of its 30 million people are Muslims.
 
Obama, who arrived yesterday for a three-day state visit to Malaysia, was accompanied by Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin as minister-in- attendance, and United States Special Envoy to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, Rashad Hussain.
 
After Obama's visit, Ismail held a brief meeting with Rashad which touched on Islamic banking, Muslim entreprenuers development programmes and halal hub

Read more: Obama in KL: National mosque imam's special request to Obama - Latest - New Straits Times http://www.nst.com.my/latest/font-color-red-obama-in-kl-font-national-mosque-imam-s-special-request-to-obama-1.580459#ixzz305a3vrkI

Thai rainmaking technology has good track record

PETALING JAYA: The royal rainmaking technology that will be brought in from Thailand to help relieve Selangor’s water woes has a successful track record in its home country for more than 40 years.
The technology, pioneered and patented by Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej, was first applied in 1969 over the largely drought-hit northeast Thailand, a major agricultural area.
A study by the Mahanakorn University of Technology surveyed rainfall during rainmaking activities at targeted locations in northeast Thailand between August 2006 and April 2009, and compared with data from random areas within 240km of the target area.Details news

230 Girls Kidnapped in Nigeria By Islamic Militants

Obama Calls for Peaceful End to Island Dispute

President Barack Obama said Thursday that he wants to see a dispute between China and Japan over islands in the East China Sea resolved peacefully, while affirming that America's mutual security treaty with Japan applies to the islands.
"Historically they have been administered by Japan and we do not believe that they should be subject to change unilaterally," Obama said at a news conference with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. "What is a consistent part of the alliance is that the treaty covers all territories administered by Japan."
China and Japan have conflicting claims to the remote islands, called Senkaku by Japan and Diaoyu by China. The dispute has badly strained relations between the two Asian powers.http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/obama-opens-country-asia-pacific-trip-tokyo-23435473

The Obama double in Malaysia


SUBANG JAYA: Iman Ishak, 25, is a lawyer who turns heads. His presence is distinct and noticeable. Around him people linger and whisper, until one day a man stood before him and bellowed “BARACK OBAMA!”.
Iman is a dead ringer for the US president.Details here

Firefly flight bound for Kota Baru forced to turn back

PETALING JAYA: A Firefly flight was forced to turn back 15 minutes after departing Penang at 7am, Thursday.
It is being reported that flight FY1002/MH9948, bound for Kota Baru, was experiencing technical problems and was required to return to Penang International Airport.
All passengers on-board the flight are reported to have been moved to a new aircraft.Details coming soon

Israel cancels peace talks meeting after unity deal announced

Islamic Jihad: 5 week waiting period could hinder reconciliation

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- A senior official of Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad said on Wednesday that the five-week period set by parties to form a national unity government had the potential to derail the agreement.

Senior member of Islamic Jihad Khalid al-Batsh warned on his Facebook page that the five-week period could lead to another freeze in the implementation of the reconciliation agreement.

"This period will give a chance for anyone who does not want the achievement of reconciliation to take negative steps and steps that would hinder reconciliation," he said.Details

Saudi women attending foreign meets must speak a second language

RIYADH — The Foreign Ministry has set criteria for Saudi women to participate in conferences abroad. The criteria include having a working knowledge of a second language, Al-Hayat newspaper reported on Wednesday.

"Saudi women wishing to attend academic and cultural conferences outside the country must be equipped with high academic certificates and should have a fair knowledge of a foreign language," the ministry said.

The ministry, which is currently updating its database, has asked all government departments to supply it with enough data about women employees nominated to attend conferences abroad, including copies of their certificates. It said any woman nominated to attend a forum, conference or any other gathering outside the Kingdom must have at least a bachelor’s degree.

A statement from the ministry said: “She must also have participated before in similar gatherings abroad and delivered a speech.

“The nominee should have published research about women affairs and should know a foreign language.”

The ministry also asked government departments to supply it with the research work of women nominees and their publications about issues concerning human rights.

Regarding participation in cultural gatherings, the ministry said Saudi women must have published cultural articles and have effective participation in previous similar meetings, whether in the Kingdom or outside.
Origin news source 

Palestinians in new unity push as Israel talks teeter

GAZA — The Gaza-based Islamist group Hamas and President Mahmoud Abbas's Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) agreed on Wednesday to implement a unity pact, both sides announced in a joint news conference. The announcement came as peace talks with Israel face collapse.

The move envisions forming a unity government within five weeks and holding national elections six months after a vote of confidence by the Palestinian parliament.
Details News 

Taliban negotiator under house arrest in UAE, says Afghanistan

KABUL (Reuters) - A leading Taliban peace negotiator has been placed under house arrest in the United Arab Emirates, officials said on Thursday, dealing a blow to President Hamid Karzai's efforts to jump-start a nascent Afghan peace process before leaving office.http://www.thestar.com.my/News/World/2014/04/17/Taliban-negotiator-under-house-arrest-in-UAE-says-Afghanistan/

Mini-sub completes first full mission in hunt for Malaysian jet

PERTH, Australia, April 17, 2014 (AFP) - A mini-submarine hunting for wreckage of a missing Malaysian airliner has completed its first full mission at the third attempt, officials said Thursday, as seabed data it retrieved was being analysed.
The first two attempts to scan the deep Indian Ocean off western Australia failed to produce any results.http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Regional/2014/04/17/Minisub-completes-first-full-mission-in-hunt-for-Malaysian-jet/

Filipino in Taiwan accused of killing store owner

MANILA, Philippines — A Filipino factory worker in Taiwan was accused of homicide after surveillance video allegedly shows a store owner knocked to death with a hammer.
According to a report by China state-run Central News Agency on Monday, 31-year-old Darwin Gorospe Sarmiento has been handed over by police to prosecutors in Taoyuan County for the alleged killing of Lin Chang-hsing on Friday night.http://www.philstar.com/pinoy-worldwide/2014/04/14/1312615/filipino-taiwan-accused-killing-store-owner

Fading signals add to plane search urgency

Hopes raised by recent detection of signals from the the missing Malaysian Airlines jetliner's black box has started to wither once again amid overpowering fear that the battery of the recorder on board may have died.http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2014/04/fading-signals-add-plane-search-urgency-2014412145315458912.html

Afghanistan's Abdullah leads in vote count

Ex-foreign minister ahead of closest rival Ashraf Ghani in presidential election though run-off vote seems likely.Abdullah Abdullah, a former foreign minister of Afghanistan, is leading his closest rival Ashraf Ghani, a former finance minister, in the presidential election, the country's Independent Election Commission (IEC) has said.http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia/2014/04/abdullah-leads-partial-results-afghan-vote-20144131364627960.html

Pakistan court withdraws attempted murder case against baby

A Pakistani court has withdrawn the case against a nine-month-old baby who was accused of attempted murder alongside 12 members of his family.
Muhammad Musa Khan appeared in court in Lahore for a second time on charges of planning a murder, threatening police and interfering in state affairs.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-26999823

Myanmar dailies in protest against sentencing of journalists

YANGON: Several private newspapers in Myanmar printed black front pages on Friday in protest against the recent arrests and sentencing of journalists, in the latest sign the country’s media climate is worsening.
http://www.dawn.com/news/1099327/myanmar-dailies-in-protest-against-sentencing-of-journalists

Wasim wants Pakistani cricketers put through boot camp

Wasim said Pakistan should forget the panic over their World Twenty20 flop in Bangladesh recently. http://www.dawn.com/news/1098998/wasim-wants-pakistani-cricketers-put-through-boot-camp

Ireland and Scotland to get Test chance as ICC approves play-off

A play-off system that will give Ireland and Scotland the chance to play Test cricket has been approved by the International Cricket Council.
The world governing body said the ICC Test Challenge will take place every four years from 2018.
The winners of the ICC Intercontinental Cup - featuring the top non-Test sides - will play four five-day matches against the lowest-ranked Test team
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/cricket/26973541 
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