Vietnamese journalist dies after fire attack
A Vietnamese journalist who was set on fire as he slept has died of his injuries.
Le Hoang Hung died 10 days after an intruder broke into his home, doused him with chemicals and set him on fire.
Colleagues think the motive may be revenge for his high-profile reporting.
Observers say while advocates of free speech cite the communist state as an especially hard place to be a journalist, the attack is unprecedented.
Describing the incident at the time of the attack, Vietnam's Dantri.com quoted his wife, Tran Thi Thuy Lieu, as saying: "The whole family was sleeping, and all of a sudden I heard my husband screaming [from the other room]."
"Just then, he smashed through the door with his body fully engulfed in flames. We rushed to get water to throw on him in an attempt to put out the fire."
According to local media, Le Hoang Hung - who reported for The Worker newspaper for many years - suffered 40-50% burns.
In one of his most recent reports, the 50-year-old journalist - who covered events in the country's southern Mekong Delta for many years - had been investigating official misconduct.
The attack took place the evening before he was due to cover a court case in which a local authority near Ho Chi Minh city is being sued for illegal appropriation of land, BBC South East Asia correspondent Rachel Harvey says.
Sandals CEO gives top marks to LIME
ADAM Stewart, CEO of the award-winning Sandals Resorts International, earlier this week gave top marks to LIME, the Caribbean division of Cable & Wireless Communications. Cable & Wireless Communications has been selected by the Bahamian government to buy the majority share of BTC in a long-awaited privatisation process.
Stewart, head of the resort brand that operates 20 hotels in the region, including three in The Bahamas — one on Cable Beach and two in Exuma — called LIME "a valuable partner" that could be expected "to do great things for BTC".
"The hospitality industry expects and deserves the best in communication services — our guests look forward to communicating back home to share their experiences and demand speed, reliability and stability," said Stewart. "It's an important part of the guest experience. LIME has been a valuable partner to Sandals across the Caribbean — we have been able to improve the efficiencies of the Sandals group and provide greater service to our guests because of LIME. I expect to see LIME do great things for BTC and especially for the hospitality industry in the Bahamas and believe they have the right track record for the job."
The government announced on December 2 that it had entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Cable & Wireless Communications for the proposed sale of 51 per cent of the shares of BTC. Both parties are in the due diligence stage now and a business plan is being developed. A closing date for the deal has not been announced but is expected in the first quarter of the year.
Other businesses in the Caribbean that have dealt with LIME immediately congratulated the Bahamas on the choice of company. But the commendation from Sandals' CEO was especially important because tourism officials have long expressed concern that visitors complain of high charges for phone services and Bahamians become upset with mobile phone roaming charges when travelling outside the country.
In the meantime while stopping short of endorsing the government's selection of a strategic partner to prepare BTC for competition, executive vice-president of the Bahamas Hotel Association Frank Comito said the hotel industry welcomed improvements in telecommunications.
"Affordable, reliable Internet and phone service is essential to our industry's competitiveness, and our ability to generate business and service our customers," said Comito.
"On the business side, it underpins our financial transactions and our communications with buyers and suppliers. Our customers, whether they are travelling on business or pleasure, expect to stay connected at a reasonable price. It's no longer an option, it's required to be competitive," he added.
BTC is one of the last government-owned telecom monopolies in the world.
Banana company to enter liquidation
After several years of financial difficulty and wrangling over its management, the St Lucia Banana Corporation (SLBC) has adopted a resolution for the voluntary liquidation of its assets valued in excess of EC$10 million (US$3.7 million)
SLBC Chairman Patrick Joseph said the winding up will pave the way for the entity to sell off its assets and pay creditors.
"A special resolution was upheld to facilitate the appointment of two liquidators to begin the process of returning the farmers assets to them," Joseph said, following a special meeting of shareholders last weekend to turn over the company's assets to a trustee.
"This was a promise I made to farmers when I returned to head the association, that I would ensure that the shareholders of the company get what they are entitled to," Joseph said.
"This is one of the happiest days of my life, having been able to create a situation where the company is now in a position to regain the assets which had been taken away from the farming community by those who are already far better off," Joseph added.
Agriculture Minister Ezekiel Joseph, who was present at the shareholders meeting, said his main concern was that the resolution was in keeping with the by-laws of the company.
"The company lawyer was able to clarify my concern as that the majority of shareholders required to adopt the resolution were present at the meeting, so I hope things will work out for the farmers to allow them to move forward as a united group," Joseph said.
Source-CMC
Egypt protests escalate in Cairo, Suez and other cities
Anti-government protests are intensifying across Egypt, as police clash with demonstrators in several cities demanding the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak.
A protester in Suez was killed in clashes with police, witnesses said.
In Cairo, police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the crowds, who responded by throwing stones.
The government has warned of "decisive measures". There has been disruption to internet and mobile phone services.
Overnight there was also an apparent crackdown on the banned Islamist opposition movement, the Muslim Brotherhood, after it said it would back the Friday protests.
At least seven people have died and up to 1,000 have been arrested since the protests began on Tuesday.
The unrest follows an uprising in Tunisia two weeks ago, in which President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali toppled.
'Fear barrier'
After Friday prayers, thousands of people joined protests in Cairo and other cities to demand the end of Mr Mubarak's 30-year rule.
They shouted "down, down with Mubarak" and "the people want the regime to fall".
At several locations, riot police responded by firing rubber bullets and tear gas, and by using water cannons.
At a square outside a mosque in the suburb of Giza, officers beat supporters of Egyptian opposition figure Mohamed ElBaradei after they surrounded him to protect him, according to the Associated Press news agency.
Mr ElBaradei flew to Cairo on Thursday to join the demonstrators.
BBC Arabic reporter Assad Sawey, in Cairo, said he was arrested and beaten by plainclothes policemen.
"They took my camera away and when they arrested me, they started beating me with steel bars, the ones used here for slaughtering animals," he said.
The police wanted to take him to a state-run hospital, he said, but he refused to go as the hospital is notorious for handing patients back to police once they have been treated.
Reuters news agency said protesters had also gathered outside al-Azhar mosque, and near one of the presidential residences in the capital.
The French government said it had received reports that four French journalists covering the protests in Cairo had been arrested.
In Suez, one of the main focuses of unrest in recent days, the BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes says a full-scale confrontation is taking place between security forces and thousands of protesters who gathered in the centre of the city after Friday prayers.
There were also reports of clashes between protesters and police in Alexandria, Mansoura and Aswan, as well as Minya and Assiut south of Cairo, and al-Arish in the Sinai peninsula.
In anticipation of the unrest, riot police were deployed around the capital, at the entrances to bridges across the River Nile, at Tahrir Square - the scene of protests earlier this week - and other key intersections.
Friday's rallies in Egypt were expected to be the biggest so far, with people urged via internet sites to join after attending prayers.
The organisers called on people to come out in force, stressing that the religion of protesters was not relevant.
Egyptian film-maker Ahmed Rasheed, who was planning to take part in Friday's demonstrations, said people no longer feared arrest.
"We have broken this fear barrier," he told the BBC. "People are taking to the streets, young people, all walks of life, educated, non-educated, higher social classes, lower social classes."
Connections down
The protests took place despite widespread disruptions to internet and mobile-phone connections from early on Friday.
Mobile operator Vodafone Egypt said in a statement: "All mobile operators in Egypt have been instructed to suspend services in selected areas. Under Egyptian legislation the authorities have the right to issue such an order and we are obliged to comply with it."
A lawyer for the Muslim Brotherhood meanwhile told the BBC that tens of its members had been arrested.
Despite an official ban, the Muslim Brotherhood remains Egypt's largest and most organised opposition movement.
Mr Mubarak, 82, has been in office since 1981.
The Egyptian government tolerates little dissent and opposition demonstrations are routinely outlawed.
On Thursday, Mr Mubarak's National Democratic Party (NDP) said it was ready for dialogue but did not offer any concessions.
Safwat al-Sherif, the party's secretary-general, said: "The NDP is ready for a dialogue with the public, youth and legal parties. But democracy has its rules and process. The minority does not force its will on the majority."
The US government, which counts Egypt as one of its most important allies in the Arab world, has so far been cautious in expressing support for either side.
President Barack Obama described the protests as the result of "pent-up frustrations", saying he had frequently pressed Mr Mubarak to enact reforms. He urged both sides not to resort to violence.
Kabul supermarket hit by deadly suicide attack
At least eight people have been killed in a suicide attack at a supermarket popular with foreigners in the Afghan capital Kabul, officials say.
The bomber opened fire in the store before detonating his explosives, said police and witnesses.
Afghans and foreigners, including two women and a child, were among the dead, say reports. The Taliban told the BBC they had carried out the attack.
The blast left the Finest store, not far from the British embassy, ablaze.
The BBC's Quentin Sommerville, in Kabul, says the supermarket is located next to a busy roundabout and a police checkpoint, and like many stores in the Afghan capital it has armed guards.
Panic
A police officer, Nazamuddin, told the BBC: "I was standing here when I suddenly heard a bang. After a few moments, I heard another bang. I didn't go inside to find out what's happened."
The explosion in the heavily guarded Wazir Akbar Khan area of the city, an area frequented by foreigners and affluent Afghans, scattered debris across the road.
A witness told the BBC: "I was napping at my shop when I heard gun shots. Then we heard a loud explosion. Everyone was running around on the main road.''
An officer with the National Directorate of Security, Afghanistan's spy agency, told the BBC that the guards had exchanged fire with the attacker for several minutes.
Mary Hayden, a consultant who was in the shop, told the Associated Press news agency: "To my left, I heard a gunshot. A bomb went off. Everyone was running to the back of the building."
A Reuters news agency cameraman saw three dead bodies at the scene, including two women.
"We claim responsibility for the attack, and it was carried out at a time when foreigners were shopping, including the head of a security company," Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid was quoted as telling Reuters.
A "ring of steel" erected around the capital before last September's parliamentary elections has failed to prevent militant attacks.
Earlier this month in Kabul, at least four people died when a suicide attacker rammed his motorcycle into a bus carrying security forces.
Violence in Afghanistan is at its worst level since the overthrow of the Taliban government in late 2001.
US forces are due to begin withdrawing from the country in the middle of this year.
Nelson Mandela discharged from hospital in South Africa
South African former President Nelson Mandela has been discharged from a hospital where he spent two nights.
Surgeon General Vejaynand Ramlakan said Mr Mandela, 92, was suffering from ailments that were common in people his age but was in good spirits.
Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe - using Mr Mandela's clan name - said: "Madiba is well."
South Africa's liberation hero flew from Cape Town to Johannesburg on Wednesday for a check-up.
Friends and family visited him amid tight security at Milpark hospital on Thursday.
On Friday Mr Ramlakan said Mr Mandela had suffered a respiratory infection, but was responding well to treatment and would be receiving home-based care.
"To us he is stable, but will be subject to intense monitoring," he told reporters.
"Medically, at present, there is no need to panic," he added.
After Mr Mandela's discharge, an ambulance surrounded by a police convoy drove him towards his home in the Johannesburg suburb of Houghton.
The BBC's Pumza Fihlani in Johannesburg says the news comes as a relief to many anxious South Africans.
"It's wonderful news. In a sense he is the one holding the country together," Johannesburg resident Brandon Quinn told the BBC.
Lerato Ledwaba, a 20-year-old university student, also expressed her joy: "As a young person in South Africa, Madiba means the world to me - he is my inspiration to strive for a better life for myself."
Mr Mandela's frailty has been underlined by his hospital stay, which is hard for some to accept, our reporter says.
"I am constantly surprised by his strength. He is old but we are not ready to lose him. I don't know if we'll ever have another leader like him," said another Johannesburg resident Karen van Rensburg, 50.
"Yes, he is a world icon but he is also a human being and he deserves his privacy. We should all just let him rest now," said Sizwe Mbatha, 28, a bank consultant.
During South Africa's apartheid regime Mr Mandela was jailed for 27 years. While imprisoned at Robben Island he had tuberculosis.
He became South Africa's first black president in 1994 and stepped down after one term in 1999.
Correspondents say he has seemed increasingly frail since retiring from public life in 2004.
His last public appearance was at the football World Cup closing ceremony last July.
Drake Considers Recording Full 'Reggae' Album
Canadian rapper Drake recently revealed that he is exploring the option of dropping a Reggae album, which he may start working on at the end of his European tour.
Drake appeared on the Canadian network MuchMusic, where he broke the news during an interview with T. RexXx on the Hip-Hop show Rap City.
"I wanna do something for Jamaica, because we are supposed to go out there and record after the European tour," Drake said. "I was like send me some rhythms that are poppin and I'll see what I can do. He sent me some rhythms that are poppin, so I'll see what I can do. You never know."
Drake's possible Reggae project comes on the heels of reports that he will collaborate with award-winning indie rock band Florence and The Machine, as well as The xx.
Drake is currently in negotiations to star in the financial thriller "Arbitrage" alongside veteran actor Al Pacino.
The news of a full album could quite possibly draw the wrath of the Jamaican government, who condemned Drake's last collaboration with an artist from Jamaica.
In May of 2010, Jamaica's Minster of Tourism spoke out against the portrayal of the country in Drake's hit song with dancehall artist Mavado titled "Find Your Love."
"We just have to say that care has to be taken by all, including our creative artistes, in portraying images of our destination and people," Bartlett told the Jamaican Gleaner. "Gun culture, while not unique to Jamaica, is not enhancing (the island's image)."
Woman Sues Diddy For $900 Billion
A woman has filed a lawsuit against Sean "Diddy" Combs, accusing the Hip-Hop mogul of a variety of bizarre charges, including knocking down the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
RadarOnline.com posted the outrageous lawsuit, which was filed by a woman named Valerie Joyce Wilson Turks, who accuses Diddy, his longtime girlfriend Kim Porter and LAPD victim Rodney King of being responsible for the collapse of the World Trade Center.
"[Diddy] went through Kim Porter and Rodney King and knocked down the WTC and then they all came and knocked my children down," Turks claims in the lawsuit. "Set me up to be on disability and disabled my baby. he put my baby in a wheelchair," the lawsuit reads.
The lawsuit also accuses Diddy, who raked in $30 million dollars in 2010, of stealing the woman's "chip" at a Casino in Mississippi.
“Plus I won a lot of money at the casino in Mississippi and Sean P. Diddy Combs has my chip to my money. I heard he gave it to Gwen Allen to hold but she can not cash it in," Turks complained. "I want my chip please help me. it's well worth over 100 zillions of dollars, and my hospital keys. They put me and my baby in the hospital and broke my baby 2 legs and sexual assaulted my children and crushed us."
The woman seeks $900 billion dollars in child support and $100 billion dollars for loss of income.
A hearing date has been set for Monday, January 31st.
In related news, Diddy has been tapped to play a detective on the updated version of the classic television show "Hawaii Five-0." Diddy plays a New York
Detective named "Reggie Williams," who comes to Honolulu to get even with thugs who have wronged his family.
According to reports, Diddy is currently undergoing weapons training with a Navy S.E.A.L. in preparation for the role.
Nicki Minaj’s ‘Moment 4 Life’ Video to Debut on MTV
Nicki Minaj will premiere her “Moment 4 Life” video on MTV, the network announced. The exact time: 7:54 p.m. ET.
The clip, which was filmed in December in Los Angeles, features Young Money labelmate Drake and is rumored to show the pair playing up their “are they or aren’t they?” relationship with a kiss.
When MTV News’ Sway spoke to Drake on the set of “Moment 4 Life,” the MC compared the success of his and Minaj’s debut albums to Lil Wayne’s opening-week sales of “Tha Carter III,’ saying each subsequent project further cemented the collective’s status.
“I think it’s crazy that somehow, some higher power brought all these individuals together,” Drake said. “I remember being on the [tour] bus when Wayne played me “Tha Carter III,” which went on to sell a million copies in one week. Then it was “Thank Me Later.” It was this big pressure, and that went on to sell what it did.
“And now,” he continued, “to think of the girl that I used to ride the bus with — and that’s what she was to me: this girl that I rode the bus with. I was like, ‘Female rap?’ And I’m being dead honest with you. [I thought,] ‘Man, it’s been a while since there’s been a female rapper, and I’m curious to see how this works.’ It’s not that I didn’t believe. And she was probably looking at me like, ‘This Jew from Canada: I don’t know.’ “
And now, after the successful debut of “Pink Friday,” the Toronto lyricist said he couldn’t be happier for Minaj.
“It’s amazing now to see her come into her own, build this brand and persona,” he said. “It’s incredible.”
ST. MAARTEN HEINEKEN REGATTA, MARCH 3-6
Grammy award-winning Wyclef Jean is set to headline the 31st Annual St. Maarten Heineken Regatta scheduled for March 3-6, 2011. This free performance will be closing celebration of the three-day event on Sunday, March 6, 2011 on Kim Sha Beach.
Wyclef first gained fame as part of the popular group The Fugees, before beginning his solo career in the late 1990's. Throughout his career, he has teamed up with many of the world's most well-known artists, and has made significant musical contributions through all music genres.
In the past year, Wyclef ran Haiti's presidential elections, in a bid to help improve life for residents. Although his political candidature was denied, he continues with great success to raise awareness for the country and financial support to the island through his foundation, Yele Haiti.
"St. Maarten is honored to welcome an artist who is active in his local community and a positive spokesman for the region," said said Regina LaBega, Director of Tourism for the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau.