Thursday, June 21, 2007

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In southeast Asia, durian is known as the “king of fruits,” but with its pungent odor, the large, spike-husked fruit receives less-than-royal treatment in many quarters.

A Thai scientist thinks he has found the key to more widespread acceptance of durian, by creating odorless varieties of the fruit. After 20 years of cross-breeding, researcher Songpol Somsri has come up with a durian “that smells as inoffensive as a banana,” according to an article today by The Guardian.

“I’ve got friends from Australia, Europe and Japan who just won’t eat durian because they can’t stand the smell,” Songpol was quoted as saying. “But I’m sure producing those with a mild smell will help us find new markets.”

Despite their popularity, the fruits are banned from the subway system in Singapore. In Bangkok, taxi drivers will often balk at a passenger with durian. The region’s airlines won’t allow them to be brought onboard. Across southeast Asia, a sign that denotes a finer hotel is a placard in the lobby with a red circle and cross through a silhouette of a durian.

Cultivated across all of southeast Asia, the fruit measures about 12 inches (30 centimeters) long and 6 inches (15 centimeters) in diameter, and weighs around 2 to 7 pounds (1 to 3 kilograms). The fruits are green on the outside, and covered with a thick, spike-covered husk. In Malay, the name durian literally means “thorny fruit”.

Inside is a yellow, custard-like flesh that has been described as nutty and sweet, perhaps like a fine French cheese. But because of the smell, which can be overpowering, durian is an acquired taste.

The Guardian quoted a travel writer who described the smell like “pigshit, turpentine and onions, garnished with a gym sock.”

Devotees of the “king of fruits” say a major part of the experience of eating the smelly fruit is the aroma, or fragrance, if you will.

“To anyone who doesn’t like durian, it smells like a bunch of dead cats,” Bob Halliday, a food writer in Bangkok was quoted as saying by The New York Times in April. “But as you get to appreciate durian, the smell is not offensive at all. It’s attractive. It makes you drool like a mastiff.”

Swanzea Banchee, manager of Sunshine Fruit, a major Thai exporter of durian, told National Public Radio (NPR) last month that he thinks an odorless variety of durian would help increase orders from overseas. But, he said he’d never eat one, adding that if a durian doesn’t smell, then it isn’t really a durian.

“I don’t think it’s possible to make a durian that doesn’t smell,” orchardist Somchai Tadchang was quoted as saying by The Times. “Anyway, durians actually smell good,” he told The Times. “Only rotten durians stink.”

But Dr. Songpol, senior agricultural scientist for the Thai government’s Department of Agriculture, has put a lot of time and effort into creating his varieties of odorless durian, called Chanthaburi No. 1 and Chanthaburi No. 2. They were developed at the department’s Horticultural Research Institute in Chanthaburi Province, in eastern Thailand, near the border with Cambodia, about 200 miles (320 kilometers) from Bangkok. Growing up on a durian farm, he has studied them all his life, he said.

The research farm has several thousand durian trees, and Songpol has spent about 20 years crossing more than 90 different varieties to produce Chantaburi No. 1. It started with only one tree, planted 18 years ago, and which produces about a dozen fruit annually, Songpol told NPR.

Songpol has also been working on another variety of durian, without either the smell or the spikes. It’s called Chanthaburi No. 3, he said.

The Thai government is keen to produce and export odor- and spike-free durian, announcing a plan back in April to distribute saplings of the three new varieties to farmers. It’s expected that the odorless durians will hit the market in around three years.

Sunday, June 12, 2005

The government of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is in a severe political crisis. The crisis began after the exposure of a series of scandals which involve the Workers’ Party, the Brazilian ruling party.

In 2002, Celso Daniel, the mayor of Santo André, 10 km (6 miles) away from the São Paulo city, was murdered. Daniel was a member of the ruling Workers’ Party. The mayor’s brother says that Daniel died because he was in disagreement to a supposed bribe conspiracy organized by some Workers’ Party members. The case remains under investigation by police.

In 2004, the former adviser to the government of President Lula, Waldomiro Diniz, was accused of negotiating with “bicheiros” (men who deal with: “Jogo do Bicho”, or illegal gambling) and extorting money for Workers’ Party (PT) electoral campaigns. A supposed victim of extortion released a tape exposing Diniz. The tape’s authenticity has been verified by experts and it was aired by the major Brazilian television stations. A Congressional special commission was proposed by non-government parties so the denunciation could be investigated. The government succeeded in stopping the creation of the commission.

On March 16, the leading Brazilian magazine Veja published a story saying that according to documents of the Brazilian Agency of intelligence (Abin) the Workers’ Party received 5 million dollars to be used by political campaigns of their candidates in 2002 from the Colombian communist armed group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP). Abin said that the documents were not authentic.

Last month, some men, supposedly involved in illicit negotiations with the Brazilian Post Service recorded a video which shows former Post Office Chief, Maurício Marinho, during a supposed bribe negotiation. In the tape, Marinho receives and puts in his pocket R$3,000 (about 1,259 USD) in cash. He insinuates that the scheme is commanded by deputy Roberto Jefferson. The recording was aired by the major Brazilian television stations.

Roberto Jefferson is the president of the government-allied Brazilian Labor Party (PTB). Lula da Silva said in a earlier occasion that he “would give to Jefferson a bank check in blank”, what means that he had high confidence on Jefferson.

Still related to the Post Office case, on June 2, Lídio Duarte, the former president of IRB, a government enterprise, denied allegations that money from some Brazilian government enterprises was going to PTB, Jefferson’s party. An earlier story published by magazine Veja, said that Duarte was a victim of extortion by a representative of PTB. According to Veja, Duarte resigned from the Presidency of IRB, because he had difficulties in continuing to give more money to PTB. Lídio denied this story to the police, and furthermore he said that he never have had an interview with Veja’s journalists.

On June 8, the magazine Veja released for download in its webpage, an audio tape where it can be heard the voice of Lidio Duarte during an alleged interview to Veja. In the tape, Lidio Duarte talks about being under pressure because someone was asking him more contribution in money for PTB. The tape contradicts the Duarte’s testimony to the police and because of that, he became subject of investigation by the authorities. The name of the deputy Roberto Jefferson is cited by Duarte in the alleged recorded interview to Veja.

After the Post Office scandal been exposed, the Brazilian Congress proposed the creation of a Congress’ special commission, so it could be investigated by the Parliament. The government, however, protested against it, arguing that political adversaries were anticipating the dispute to the next election for Brazil’s Presidency. Workers’ Party senator Eduardo Suplicy protested in Senate against his party decision. Because that he was very criticized and he got subject to punishment by the Workers’ Party.

On June 6, Roberto Jefferson told the Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo that the ruling Workers’ Party (PT) has payed Brazilian deputies 30 thousand Brazilian Reals (US 12 thousand) each, every month. The stock markets went down and the U.S. Dollar increased its value in relation to the Brazilian Real. A new Congress’ special commission was proposed by some Brazilian senators, so Jefferson’s allegations could be investigated. The Workers’ Party says that Jefferson’s allegations were untrue and that he had no proofs.

After Jefferson’s denunciation the focus of the scandal moved to the government and the ruling Workers’ Party. Because the government were under pressure, the Workers’ Party changed his earlier decision of stopping the creation of a Congress’ special commission for the Post Office scandal. The proposal for the creation of a Congress’ special commission for the Post Office scandal was approved.

On June 9, there was the first meeting of members of the Congress’ special commission for the Post Office scandal. Because of unsolved disputes between government’s parliamentarians and the other parties representatives, the meeting could not continue. The government’s block argued that it must choose the president and the report for the commission, since the government commission members are the majority. Other parties argue that according to Parliament tradition the government should choose one member for the presidency or report and the opposition should choose the other member.A new meeting was scheduled to the next week, on Tuesday, June 14.

Besides these scandals, the current Social Security Minister, Romero Jucá, is accused of havingoffered seven non-existent farms as guarantee for a financing from the Banco of Amazonia, among other denunciations of misuse of public loans. The current President of Brazilian Central Bank, Henrique Meirelles, is accused of financial fraud among other accusations. Also there is a denunciation of a irregular transference of founds of Central Bank to the construction of a new headquarter for the Workers’ Party.

On June 4, during the so called Curupira operation, the Brazilian Federal Police arrested members of IBAMA, a Brazilian agency for environment. Among other accusations, they are accused of selling irregular licenses for deforestation in Amazon. At least one of the suspects, a Workers’ Party affiliate, is under suspection of have used the money for the political campaign of a Worker’s Party candidate in Mato Grosso.

Besides the commission to investigate the Post Office scandal, another Congress’ special commissions were suggested by non-government members of Brazilian Senate: a commission to investigate the IRB scandal and another one to the investigation of Roberto Jefferson’s allegations. Also, it is expected that the Brazilian Courts rule against the earlier government decision of stopping the creation of a commission for the investigation of the alleged Waldomiro Diniz scandal.

Monday, January 26, 2009

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The Bolivian President, Evo Morales, 49, has claimed victory after voters ratified a new leftist constitution, granting more power to the country’s indigenous majority.

“The indigenous farmers, the most marginalized sector throughout the history of the republic, are now recognized as people with the same rights as any citizen. Here begins the new Bolivia. Here we begin to reach true equality,” Morales told a crowd in front of the flag-draped balcony of Palacio Quemado in La Paz, the administrative capital of Bolivia.

Ratified with about 60 percent support in a referendum on Sunday based on exit polls, the new constitution lets Morales run for re-election later this year and grants him tighter control over the economy. An official vote count of some 3.8 million registered voters who cast their ballots will be announced February 4.

With the new Magna Carta, South America‘s second poorest country after Guyana becomes a leader in the regional “pink tide” of left-wing governments that have ousted traditional elites and challenged American influence. The new constitution’s elements include recognition of 36 distinct Indian “nations”, increasing the autonomy of Bolivia’s nine regions, establishing state control over key natural resources such as gas, and setting limits on land ownership.

Morales has also promised Bolivia’s native groups that the constitution will keep the white “oligarchs” who ruled the country for 183 years from returning to power. The leftist constitution empowers the government to distribute land to indigenous communities and apportion ethnic quotas for state jobs, including congress seats. “After 500 years, we have retaken the Plaza Murillo! Internal colonialism and external colonialism end here too. Sisters and brothers, neo-liberalism ends here too!” said Morales.

Vice-President Álvaro MarceloGarcía Linera, a principal author of the draft constitution, hailed Sunday’s referendum results, saying, “this will be an egalitarian Bolivia, a Bolivia that leaves behind a dark, colonial, racist past.” Linera, however, has acknowledged that the government has provoked deep divisions and faces vehement oppositions from many of the traditional elite, coming from many mixed-race people in the fertile eastern lowlands which rejected the draft charter.

“I am not saying there will be no more conflict, there will be tensions for a while, I say a decade … but we will have built a state on three principles: the economy under state control, equality, and the territorial decentralization of power,” he said. The new constitution was rejected in four opposition-controlled regions: the tropical lowlands of Pando, Santa Cruz, Tarija and Beni, which contain most of Bolivia’s natural gas production and are responsible for most of its agricultural output.

With the split vote, Oscar Ortiz, the president of the opposition-controlled Senate, has voiced concerns that the charter has become a war of ideas. “The result [of the vote] … will show deep divisions between regions and between Bolivians in each region. A confrontation between ideas and visions about how this country will build its common future will continue,” he said ahead of the referendum.

Former president Carlos Mesa has predicted that the constitution is unlikely to pave the way for real social change amid continuing political struggles. “We will have so many legal battles to go through that I fear that last year’s belligerent climate will continue this year. President Morales is not coming at this with open hands, he has built trenches and dug in,” Mr. Mesa said.

Morales has dismissed the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the U.S. Ambassador to Bolivia, accusing both of conspiracy with the opposition to overthrow his government. The U.S. Embassy in La Paz has called the accusations “false and absurd.” Morales has been very popular among the poor and among Aymara, Quechua and Guarani.

The new constitution’s 411 articles address underrepresentation of indigenous peoples. “It may be the equivalent of Spain’s Reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors in 1492. But instead of the blood spilled in that process, Bolivia is advancing in a democratic process that does not exclude or subjugate anyone,” said Xavier Albó, a Jesuit scholar and linguist.

“Finally we have a constitution that leaves racism and hatred aside, because indigenous people are included,” said Adolfo Chavez, president of the Confederation of Indigenous people of Bolivia (CIDOB).

In March 2005, then-President Mesa resigned. The President of Senate Hormando Vaca Díez assumed office as the country’s temporary President. Mesa resigned because of the announcement of highway blockages by Evo Morales and leaders of both the coca growers and the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS). The blockages were meant to pressure the Legislative so that the Hydrocarbons Law, which would raise taxes levied on hydrocarbon extraction from 18% to 50%, could be approved.

The MAS is a political party formed basically by coca-growing campesinos (farmers or farmworkers), communists, admirers of Fidel Castro and indigenous people. The party is against the U.S. government and the alleged American influence in the region, neoliberalism and globalization.

In December 2005, Morales won the presidential election in Bolivia to serve a five-year term. In the 2005 election, his victory marked the country’s first election of an indigenous head of state, but this claim gendered controversy due to the number of mestizo presidents who were elected or appointed before him. He was openly criticized by such figures as Mario Vargas Llosa, who accuses the President of fomenting racial divisions in an increasingly mestizo Latin America.

Morales ran on a campaign of restoring coca farming in Bolivia, in spite of the U.S. program aimed at reducing the ability to grow coca to curb the cocaine industry. Morales is an Aymara Indian and former coca farmer himself, and has described his victory as a signal that “a new history of Bolivia begins, a history where we search for equality, justice and peace with social justice.”

Morales is an admirer of Fidel Castro and he says he is also inspired by the President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Morales supports the creation of an anti-imperialist block formed by Latin-American and Arabian countries against the U.S., which is being organized by the Brazilian President.

In August 2008, Bolivian unrest began against Morales and calls for greater autonomy for the country’s eastern departments grew. Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando, Tarija and Chuquisaca called strikes and protests to oppose the central government’s plan to divert part of the national direct tax on hydrocarbons in favor of its Renta Dignidad pension plan. Brief clashes occurred in the Santa Cruz de la Sierra between police and armed youths enforcing the strike. Violence between Morales’ supporters and opponents resulted in at least 30 deaths.

In September 2008, Bolivian authorities declared a state of emergency in Pando, where Bolivian troops took control of the airport in the region’s capital, Cobija. Amid preparations to retake the city, 20 people were killed. In October 2008, the government and the opposition held talks following which resulted in the signing of a compromise agreement which set the referendum on 25 January 2009 and early elections on December 6, 2009.

Morales in turn promised that he would not run again in 2014 after his likely reelection in 2009, despite the fact that he would be allowed to do so under the new constitution. The new constitution was drafted by the Constituent Assembly in 2007. The referendum set forth two questions: whether to approve the new constitution and whether to limit private estates to 1,000 or 5,000 hectares.

Friday, March 28, 2008

2008 Taipei International Cycle Show (Taipei Cycle) & Taipei International Sporting Goods Show (TaiSPO) not only did a best reunion with conjunctions of the launch of Taipei World Trade Center Nangang Exhibition and the concurrent cycling race of 2008 Tour de Taiwan but also provide opportunities and benefits for sporting goods, bicycle, and athlete sports industries to establish the basis of the sourcing center in Asia and notabilities on the international cycling race.

Although the Taipei cycle was split from the TaiSPO since 1988, but the trends of sporting good industry in Taiwan changed rapidly and multiply because of modern people’s lifestyles and habits. After the “TaiSPO Innovation Award” was established since 2005, the fitness and leisure industries became popular stars as several international buyers respected on lifestyle and health.

For example, some participants participated Taipei Cycle and TaiSPO with different product lines to do several marketing on bicycle and fitness equipments, this also echoed the “Three New Movements” proposed by Giant Co., Ltd. to make a simple bicycle with multiple applications and functions. As of those facts above, Wikinews Journalist Rico Shen interviewed Ideal Bike Corporation and Gary Silva, designer of “3G Steeper” to find out the possibilities on the optimizations between two elements, fitness and bicycle.

Monday, November 28, 2011

The death toll from the weekend suspension bridge collapse on the Indonesian island of Borneo has risen from four to eleven. Search and rescue teams continue to look for bodies in the Mahakam River.

The number of wounded is currently 39 injured; reports from locals suggest 33 people remain missing at the scene in East Kalimantan’s Kutai Kartanegara district, where “Kalimantan’s Golden Gate Bridge” linked the towns of Tenggarong and the regional capital, Samarinda. A six-month-old baby is among the dead.

Cars, motorbikes, and buses all fell into the Mahakam River when the bridge came down during repairs. Another car was left overturned and balanced upon wreckage over the water. State-owned builders PT Hutama Karya completed the bridge about a decade ago in the image of California’s Golden Gate Bridge. A cable on the 720-metre structure is thought to have failed as workers dealt with it; six of the repair crew were reported missing yesterday. It had been the longest suspension bridge in Borneo.

Eyewitnesses described heavy traffic at the time of the collapse, and one survivor said he left his truck to investigate a traffic jam. Some people were left trapped by debris as the bridge came down. “It happened so fast, only about 30 seconds,” according to National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Sutopo Nugoroho.

National search and rescue head Daryatmo said yesterday cranes will attempt to move debris today, with new reports saying echo-sounding equipment will be used to check it is safe to begin lifting. It is believed the bodies of more victims will be found trapped in vehicles beneath the water, which is 35-40 metres deep. Visibility is poor, and one official explained authorities are still unsure how many vehicles are on the riverbed.

“The above-water search is continuing, but underwater operations have not been carried out because we’re worried that the bridge’s pylons are unstable and could collapse any time,” said Nugoroho today. He explained that bodies had washed onto the riverbanks overnight and were recovered today.

The president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has sent three ministers to the site to investigate the accident, while Bambang Widaryatmo, head of East Kalimantan’s police, promised “parties found to be negligent will be prosecuted”. The government has promised a replacement ferry service. The river is closed to boats as rescue operations continue, and a 22-strong team has been dispatched from the national police, comprising six forensics experts, five disaster victim identification specialists, and eleven investigators. They are there to augment the East Kalimantan Police. Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih yesterday visited survivors in Parikesit Hospital and promised them medical treatment at government expense.

Some people swam ashore after falling, with the aftermath filled with screams. Survivor Syakrani, 24, yesterday asserted “The authorities should have closed the bridge if it was under repair.” His words were followed by a Jakarta Globe editorial declaring the accident “unacceptable”.

The Globe went on to comment upon suggestions corruption may have played a role; “It is too early to point fingers and look to place blame, but if shoddy materials were used in the building of the bridge, those responsible must answer to the public.” Another suggestion is coal barges striking the bridge may have weakened it. Local coal company Harum Energy lost five percent of its share value today amid fears the river blockage will hamper their ability to ship coal.

Samarinda’s seen a population and construction boom lately. A few years have seen the population triple and the construction of a large mosque, and a sports stadium; an airport and port are set to follow. However, the Corruption Eradication Commission warns 70% of the corruption it investigates concerns government contracts and up to 40% of money earmarked for infrastructure ends up stolen.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Apple Inc. today has introduced the much-anticipated iPhone at the Macworld Conference in San Francisco.

The iPhone is claimed to be “a revolutionary mobile phone” as stated on the Apple website. The device appears to be running a mobile version of the Apple operating system Mac OSX. It is approximately the same size as a 5th generation iPod, it has a 3.5-inch LCD touchscreen display that is used to access all features of the phone including number dial, as well as making phone calls. The iPhone plays music, movies, displays pictures and is able to connect to a wireless network.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the device by walking onto the stage and taking the iPhone out of his jeans pocket. During his 2 hour speech he stated that “Today Apple is going to reinvent the phone, We are going to make history today”.

Today Apple also released their Media Center device – Apple TV. It will directly compete with Microsoft’s Media Center operating system. Apple has taken a different approach to the media center market; rather than storing content (such as movies, music and photos) on the device, Apple TV connects to a computer (Mac and Windows) over a wirless network connection and plays all content stored on that computer. This makes it substantially easier for users to organize their media content.

Thursday, June 8, 2006

Five South Korean workers have been kidnapped from a natural gas facility operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company in the Nigerian Delta.

A group called the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta is claiming responsibility for the attack and kidnappings and says that one kidnapper and at least six Nigerian soldiers were killed on a Nigerian military boat, when gunmen entered the facility. The group’s main demand is the release of a jailed militia leader, Mujahid Dokubo-Asari.

“[The Korean workers] are in good health and have been returned to one of our bases. As long as the units holding these individuals do not come under attack, no harm will come to the prisoners. We do not kill those fortunate to be captured by our fighters,” said the group.

The group also says that they “plan more attacks” on facilities and oil rigs in the near future.

“In the next few weeks our attacks will increase with the destruction of several facilities of crucial importance to the oil industry,” said the group.

One of the kidnapped victims is identified as Park Chang-am.

“I want Dad to come back so we can go fishing,” said the son of Chang-am, Park Myong-il.

Monday, June 7, 2010

The MTR Corporation, the only railway company in Hong Kong since the rail merge in 2007, has loosened their rules. The corporation proposed the new modifications, then transferred the proposal to the Legislative Council, and will be effective from September 2010.

The new set of rules allow ‘non-disruptive’ use of profanity in private conversations, and the punishment for inflammatory use of expletives is lowered from a fine of HK$5000 to HK$2000. The new set of rules have also excluded the regulation against wandering in MTR premises, as well as the rule against attempting to eat or drink.

Democratic Party member James To has expressed his concerns about a new rule that outlaws the display of promotional material. According to To, the wearing of Tiananmen Square Incident-related T-shirts or acting the Goddess of Democracy may breach the new MTR rules.

He also deems two other regulations, namely the prohibition of distracting MTR staff members and photography and video-recording in the train carriages, ‘unreasonable’.

Unionist Li Fung-ying is also confused whether chewing gum was considered food. MTR head of operations Choi Tak-tsan replied that only what is regarded as food counts. They had not yet discussed on this matter, said Choi, and will soon. Li is also concerned about the rule which prohibits the entering of the first-class carriage without buying a ticket. Her main concern is whether the passenger will be allowed to buy the ticket rather than being fined HK$500.

Wong Kwok-hing believes that the MTR corporation should call upon more effort to advertise a more ‘civilised’ and ‘polite’ way of taking the train. Jeffrey Lam thinks that the new rules do not do enough to restrict shouting. MTR replied that anyone who shouts in the train can be advised to leave the train or even prosecuted.