News & Reports 2010-09-05

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New Zealand authorities have declared a state of emergency after a major earthquake hit the country's second biggest city, Christchurch.

A year after a German-ordered air strike on two tankers 2 in Afghanistan that is believed to have killed scores of civilians 3, families in Char 4 Dara are remembering their relatives.

Flood victims in Pakistan return home, only to find a ghost town amid a patch of drying mud.

And a "fragrant 5" new idea from flower rich Ecuador-roses that you can eat-are gaining popularity in restaurants in New York.

Hot Issue Reports

Powerful Earthquake Hits New Zealand

New Zealand authorities have declared a state of emergency after a major earthquake hit the country's second biggest city, Christchurch, early on Saturday.

The 7.1 magnitude earthquake had a depth of 10 kms and stuck the South Island city and a large surrounding area of farms at around 4:35 a.m. local time.

Many local residents were shocked by the powerful tremor 6.

"Oh my gosh. Well, that shake lasted probably over a minute. We've got no power, We've got no water."

"Well, it was very noisy and it moved around a lot. It shook very hard and it seemed to take a heck of a long time to stop."

The quake brought down power lines, ripped up roads and wrecked 7 building facades 8. But authorities reported no deaths.

A formal civil defence state of emergency was imposed to coordinate 9 recovery operations in the city.

Prime Minister John Key, Mayor of Christchurch Bob Parker and Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee have also flown to Christchurch to inspect damage and review the situation.

Prime Minister John Key warns of widespread damage by the quake.

"Early indication are there is quite significant damage to not only just personal and private property, but obviously assets right across the city. And I suspect today will only give us a snapshot of the extend of the damage."

Yet Minister of Civil Defence John Carter stressed the low number of casualties.

"We're extremely lucky that the limited amount of damage to humans that we've actually experienced. Ninety percent of the power will be restored to the city by this evening. The outlying areas probably will take a little longer. We're told that the power has been restored fully 10 to the hospital."

The city's hospital said two men had been admitted with serious injuries, one hit by a falling chimney and the other cut by glass.

The quake was among the 10 strongest recorded in New Zealand, which records around 14,000 earthquakes a year.

German Army Says Financial Support for Victims of Deadly NATO Airstrike in Afghan Over

A year after a German-ordered air strike on two tankers in Afghanistan that is believed to have killed scores of civilians, families in Char Dara are remembering their relatives.

On September 4, 2009, German Colonel Georg Klein ordered the NATO air strike against two tanker 1 trucks that had been seized by Taliban insurgents 11 near Kunduz, fearing they could be used to attack troops.

The attack in the northern Afghan province killed up to 142 people, many of them civilians.

A year on, the Afghan Human Rights Commission in Kunduz Province, who has been investigating the incident for a year, said the only achievement so far was convincing German authorities to help the victims' families.

Germany has paid some 100 Afghan families affected 12 by the strike 5,000 U.S. dollars each in compensation.

Major Stephen Wessel, a German military spokesman in Kunduz, said that the German army had completed its financial support for victims.

"The German army supported financially the victims' relatives we could reach and concerning this, the compensation to the victims' relatives is now over. There are no further intentions of support from the German army's side. Beyond that, there are some further projects to support, but the security situation here in the region doesn't allow for it at the moment."

Last month, the German military said in a statement it had dropped its investigation 13 of Klein, because investigators 14 had found no evidence that Klein's actions constituted a breach 15 of duty.

The deadly air strike sparked public outrage 16 in Germany and led to the resignation of Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung.

Mideast Direct Talks May Be "Last Chance for Peace": Clinton

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has warned that the ongoing 17 peace talks may be "the last chance for a very long time" for the Palestinians and Israelis to achieve peace.

Clinton said time is not on the side of "either Israeli or Palestinian aspirations 18 for security, peace, and a state."

"It's clear to me that the forces of growth and positive energy are in a conflict with the forces of destruction and negativity, and the United States wants to weigh in on the side of leaders and people who see this as maybe the last chance for a very long time to resolve this."

Under the mediation 19 of the United States, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday re-launched direct talks in Washington, ending a 20-month hiatus.

Former UK PM Says He is Proud of N. Ireland Peace Process

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair says the Northern Ireland peace process was one of the few times in politics he has felt proud.

Tony Blair made the remarks in his first live television interview since his memoirs 20, "A Journey," were published.

He said peace could be reached in the Middle East with the same persistence 21.

"And now I do the Middle East peace process with the Israelis and Palestinians, I feel the same way. I feel it can be settled, it's difficult because of the history. You actually can't blame people in a sense for being unreasonable 22. They've been through really hard times and you've just got to carry on going the whole time."

Residents of a Flood-hit Pakistani Village Return to Find a Ghost Town

The worst floods in Pakistan's history have swept away a major portion of the village of Munda in the country's northwest.

More than a month has passed since the floods struck the village. The water has receded 23 and residents are returning, only to find a ghost town amid a patch of drying mud.

About 80 percent of the homeless villagers are now either living in relief camps set up in schools in nearby villages or staying with relatives.

The rest are back in the village, without shelter or food and trying to survive amidst the rubble 24 of what used to be their homes.

Murad Ali is a Munda resident.

"There were at least 100 to 150 houses on this place where we are standing 25. They were all swept away by the water. There was a school over there, which was also washed away. We had many fields here with maize 26 crops; even those are gone. No one has seen that much water here in the past 300 years."

The village, located on the left bank of the River Swat, had vast agricultural land that has now become a part of the riverbed.

Residents complain that no government agency or department personnel have come to provide aid.

Pakistan's government says the floods have destroyed cropland and livestock 27 and displaced millions of people.

The government has estimated damages at 43 billion U.S. dollars, or almost one-quarter of the South Asian nation's 2009 GDP.

USS George Washington to Visit Manila

The nuclear-powered American aircraft carrier, the USS George Washington, docked at the Manila Bay Saturday morning, kicking off a four-day visit which the Philippine military said paves the way for a stronger military relation between the two countries.

Many of the 7,000 sailors on the super-carrier will take part in community relations projects and professional exchanges with their Philippine counterparts.

The ship's commander, Captain David Lausman, says maintaining stability in international waters is of paramount 28 concern.

"The international waters throughout the world belong to everybody, and yet they belong to nobody at the same time. We all share them and to exercise the rights of every country throughout the world to operate peacefully in international waters is a core interest of us. It's a core interest of every country."

The U.S. navy maintains a strong presence in the Western Pacific, with a naval 29 base in Japan and regular visits to ports across the South China Sea.

The USS George Washington is a super-carrier with a flight deck of 12 hectares that can accommodate 80 aircraft.

U.S. Navy ships pay routine port calls in Manila under a Cold War-era mutual 30 defense 31 treaty.

29 Killed as Colombian Authorities and Rebels Clash

Two separate clashes between Colombian authorities and rebels over the past week have left 14 police officers and 15 rebels dead.

In the southern province of Caquetas, 14 police officers were killed while on patrol on Wednesday when rebels from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, ambushed 32 them.

Police officer Leonardo Ortiz, who survived injuries to his head and back, says it has been very hard on him.

"It's very difficult to have lived through this and be telling the tale. It's very unfortunate."

Ortiz said the attack lasted less than ten minutes and took the officers by surprise.

In a separate incident on Friday, Colombian soldiers bombed a National Liberation Army, or ELN, rebel camp in Arauca, killing 33 15 guerrillas.

General Ricardo Vargas said the camp belonged to the eastern division of the ELN and the bombing was the result of a joint 34 air force and army effort.

The ELN is the second-largest rebel army in Colombia, after the FARC, which has approximately 8,000 members.

The FARC has been at war with Colombia's military for almost 50 years. Rebels have dwindled 35 in number but have stepped up their hit-and-run attacks in recent weeks.

Six Jailed in Major Child Sex Abuse Trial in Portugal

A Portuguese 36 court has jailed six people for up to 18 years for sexually abusing children at a state orphanage 37, following a six-year court case that has shocked the nation.

The pedophile ring, which included a well-known television presenter 38, a former diplomat 39 and two doctors, received sentences of between just under six years and 18 years for their participation 40 in the abuse of children living at the Casa Pia state home.

One defendant 41, who had links to a house where some of the abuse took place, was acquitted 42.

After years of being accused of lying and fabricating the stories, one of the 32 victims, Bernardo Texeira, welcomed the outcome.

"They finally agreed we were right, even though we couldn't prove the whole case. I'm mostly satisfied."

The weekly newspaper Expresso broke the story in late 2002, when it reported that a driver at Casa Pia had been abusing children at the institution for years.

The driver, Carlos Silvino, had admitted more than 600 charges of child sexual abuse as well as aggravated 43 rape 44 and procuring 45 minors 46 for wealthy clients. He received the harshest sentence of 18 years.

The others say they are innocent and will appeal.

Chilean Rescuers Speed up Rescue of Trapped Miners

Chilean rescue workers hope to speed up the rescue of 33 trapped miners following the arrival of a new drill at the San Juan mine.

The miners have been stuck in a tunnel 700 meters below the ground for nearly a month after a cave-in.

Family members of the trapped miners watched the new drill being hauled in.

One of them, Maria Segovia Rojo, the aunt of one of the miners, says it has given her renewed hope.

"This drill is going to give us back our family, our brothers, and all the 33 miners who are in there. We are finally thinking about having them back with us."

Rescuers have been sending food, medicine and letters from relatives to the trapped men in narrow plastic tubes sent through a chute the diameter of a grapefruit.

The original drill only managed to drill down 41 meters over three days last week, just 5 percent of the overall target distance and far slower than expected.

The Chilean government originally said the miners would be trapped until Christmas but Health Minister Jaime Manalich says they're now aiming at a late-November release.

NASA Team Advises Chile on Trapped Miners

A team of NASA doctors and engineers is in Chile helping 47 rescuers develop plans for maintaining the health of miners.

Psychologist Al Holland recommends dividing the physical living space, setting a daily schedule and starting an exercise program.

"One of the things that's being recommended is that there be one place, a community area, which is always lighted. And then you have a second area which is always dark for sleep, and then you have a third area which is work, doing the mining, and the shifts can migrate through these geographic 48 locations within the mine and, in that way, regulate the daylight cycle of the shift."

The miners have been trapped in a tunnel some 700 meters underground in a gold and copper 49 mine in Chile's remote north since a cave-in on August 5. But it was not until a week ago that they were found alive.

Rescuers are working to open a rescue shaft 50 to get the workers out. They have drilled down some 40 meters so far, around 5 percent of the overall target distance, and are looking at other options to try and get the men out faster.

Hurricane Earl Downgraded to Tropical Storm

Hurricane Earl was downgraded to a tropical storm as its outer bands of rain soaked the Cape 51 Cod 52 area of Massachusetts in the United States.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Earl has been downgraded to a tropical storm, and is weakening as it swirls 53 up the U.S. eastern seaboard.

The Miami-based hurricane center says the storm, which had been a major hurricane, is now packing sustained winds of 110 kph.

The storm is not forecast to make U.S. landfall, but was passing near Massachusetts' Cape Cod late Friday and was expected to hit the coast of Nova Scotia on Saturday.

The center warned that Earl remained a threat despite no longer being a fearsome category 4 storm on the five-tier Saffir-Simpson scale.

Earlier, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick warned vacationers to think of safety first.

"I am mindful of the fact that this is a holiday weekend, an important one for people who visit or live on the Cape and the small businesses and other businesses there but as I say public safety is first and we will do absolutely everything possible to assess damage as early tomorrow morning as possible and then give the all clear as soon as we can do so wisely."

The U.S. Coast Guard closed all ports in southeastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island until the storm passed.

The U.S. Census 54 Bureau estimated 26 million people in coastal 55 counties from North Carolina to Maine could be feeling Earl's effects by the weekend. No storm has threatened such a broad swath of the U.S. shoreline since Hurricane Bob in 1991.

Ecuador Farmers Turn to Edible 56 Flower Power

Ecuador has long been a major exporter of big-bulbed, colorful flowers known to please to the eye and the nose. Now Ecuadorian farmers are exploring a new idea-roses that you can eat.

Restaurants from New York to Barcelona, looking to attract customers with novelty dishes, have started to serve food containing organic Ecuadorian rose petals 57 grown on farms in the country's Andean highlands.

In the fertile valleys of Ecuador's Pujili region, Roberto Nevado grows organic roses as part of the "going green" trend in business.

His farms ship 20 million stems a year. Edible petals are a tiny part of his business.

Of the three million bushes under cultivation 58, only 100,000 of them are grown without pesticides 59 and meant for eating, for now.

"Until now it's an investment. It's not a profitable thing, but it's an investment. We think there might be a future in that."

Overall, Ecuador exported about 600 million dollars worth of flowers last year. The industry has been growing by 13 percent annually 60 and accounts for 2 percent of the country's gross domestic product.

Edible roses account for only about one percent of Ecuador's flower exports, but growers say this new product is good for the overall industry as the country tries to pull out of the economic doldrums of 2009.

China Daily: Union to be Reformed to Hold Leaders Accountable

The Beijing municipal trade union is to establish a special fund to pay its leaders amid rising concerns over trade unions' role in better protecting workers' rights and interests.

The China Daily says it is hoped the fund will make trade unions more independent in their negotiations 61 with employers, when workers' rights are violated.

Before the 1980s, State-owned enterprises offered welfare packages to take care of almost everything in workers' daily lives and the trade unions were the ones providing the welfare.

Now, different forms of private employers have become an important part of the economy and they are sometimes accused of ignoring or even violating workers' rights when their major concern is to maximize profits. There have been cases of employers firing trade union leaders who have a high profile in campaigning on behalf of workers, while others have even been known to be paid by their employers and side with them during times of dispute.

The Beijing union is now working to have its leaders elected directly by members or to have such leaders sent over by other, higher-level unions.

The China Daily says this will help ensure that they will be paid by their own unions and answerable to their own members, not their employers.

People's Daily: Media's Supervisory Rights Should be Protected

Local authorities are being urged to soften 62 their stance towards the media and to regard journalists as friends, not enemies.

Premier 63 Wen Jiabao recently reiterated 64 the legitimate 65 role of the media in exposing corruption 66, a few days after two reporters with the Qianlong website found themselves wanted by police after making disputed claims about a publicly listed company.

The People's Daily is now calling on the authorities to further safeguard the media's rights and accept that journalists' exposure of misconduct is a public service, too.

Moreover, the article stresses that a transparent 67 government has no need to fear media supervision 68 and exposure.

The newspaper also calls for media organizations and reporters to be given judicial 69 protection if their rights are infringed 70 by the authorities.