My Daily Inquirer

Thai troops enter protesters' area
by Dan Rivers and Sara Sidner, CNN

Bangkok, Thailand (CNN) -- Military troops on Wednesday morning began entering a park in central Bangkok, where thousands of opposition protesters have been camped out in defiance of a government order to vacate the area.

Armored personnel carriers were seen smashing into bamboo and tire barricades lining Lumpini Park, the site of the main demonstration area for the so-called Red Shirt protesters. Soldiers were also seen shooting sporadically as they entered the northwest edge of the park.

The large show of force appeared to be the beginning of a large military operation to root out remaining protesters two days after a government-issued deadline expired with many Red Shirts still holding ground.

"This will be the last operation by the government," Thai senator Lertrat Ratanavanich said on local television. "It is impossible to avoid the loss."

The prime minister's office issued a statement blaming the crackdown on failed talks between the two sides.

"Negotiations failed because core (opposition) leaders are not to be able to make decisions by themselves," the statement said, alluding to an outside force influencing the protesters. "(We) ask core leaders to stop the rally and surrender."

A government statement read on Thai television announced that the operation will continue throughout the day and sought to assure residents that security officers were working to secure their safety.
Video: Security in Bangkok
Video: Long running protest in Bangkok
Video: Gunfire heard in Bangkok
Video: Thailand protest aftermath
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"The Royal Thai government would like to inform the residents of Bangkok that today the security officers will operate in several areas to secure a perimeter," the statement said. "We are going to make sure that within the perimeter security and safety will be provided to the public."

Earlier Wednesday a CNN correspondent positioned on a building overlooking the park said it appeared that most of the protesters had dispersed by the time the troops entered around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday (9:30 p.m. Tuesday ET). The park had been housing as many as 5,000 protesters just a day earlier.

At least four people were injured in the initial crackdown, medical officials said.

Several hundred troops began amassing just as dawn broke over the city. It was the largest movement of forces since clashes broke out last Thursday between opposition protesters and government security officials.

The troops, many of whom were armed, were seen walking in a long column and carrying razor wire and fire extinguishers near the park where the protesters have been launching demonstrations.

Armored personnel carriers also were spotted near the protest site, and gunfire could be heard nearby.

A large plume of black smoke billowed into the sky from one of three large tire fires the opposition was using as shields. A bank building was also reported to be on fire on the main road where protesters and security forces have traded gunfire for the past six days.

Meanwhile at the main staging area in the middle of the park, opposition operations apparently continued as normal with speeches going on, music being played and leaders telling protesters they can stay as they please, even while saying they want to continue negotiations with the government.

Local television reports said protesters were being told to seek shelter at a nearby temple if they were concerned about the growing troop presence.

At least 36 people have been killed since clashes intensified Thursday.

The violence prompted the United Nations' top human rights official to implore anti-government protesters and government officials to resume talks.

Satit Wongnongtoey, the Thai prime minister's office spokesman, said negotiations can be held when the opposition, the United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, ends its protest.

iReport: Are you there? Send your images, video

"I can confirm that the government has always wanted to talk, but it has been let down by the UDD, due to the intervention of a mastermind abroad," said Satit, who didn't identify the person.

The opposition members, also known as Red Shirts, support former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a 2006 bloodless military coup.

The capital was notably calmer Tuesday. But after more than five days of violent standoffs, debris and piles of tires littered battle-scarred streets, and the sound of gunfire still regularly punctuated the air.

Police spokesman Col. Songphol Wattanachai told reporters Tuesday that police had seized 9,021 tires from the city's streets. Burning tires have been used by protesters to create shields of black smoke during recent clashes.

Songphol said police had arrested and were interrogating a Red Shirt protester who was a close aide to Maj. Gen. Khattiya Sawatdiphol, better known as Seh Daeng -- a renegade leader of a violent anti-government faction who died this week after being shot in the head by a sniper.

As troops continued their crackdown on protesters, Amnesty International criticized the government's approach.

Timeline of Thailand's political crisis

Benjamin Zawacki, the organization's Thailand specialist, told CNN that 35 of the people killed since Thursday were unarmed, including a 17-year-old boy and two medics.

"Our concern is that the government is using live ammunition or live rounds preemptively, rather than as a last resort, and using them against persons who are unarmed and present no credible threat to the soldiers or anyone else," he said.

iReport: Video sparks discussion

But government officials maintained that they were following rules of engagement. Troops only use live bullets when first attacked by terrorists with war weapons, Col. Sansern Kaewkamnerd told reporters.

Two main groups of anti-government demonstrators have been demanding that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva dissolve the lower house of Parliament and call new elections: the Red Shirts, whose leaders claim that protesters are peaceful, and the Black Shirts, who advocate a more violent approach.

What are the protests about?

The government ordered all demonstrators to leave their protest site by 3 p.m. Monday, but thousands continued to hold their ground.

"As the latest government deadline passes, there is a high risk that the situation could spiral out of control," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said Monday.

iReport: Tending to a sniper wound

"To prevent further loss of life, I appeal to the protesters to step back from the brink, and the security forces to exercise maximum restraint in line with the instructions given by the government. Ultimately, this situation can only be resolved by negotiation."

The Ministry of Public Health reported that 65 people have died and more than 1,000 have been wounded since the Red Shirt anti-government protesters began flooding the streets of Bangkok on March 12 to demand new elections.

Source: News

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Thai troops fire guns, tear gas into protest zone

By DENIS D. GRAY and JOCELYN GECKER, Associated Press Writer Denis D. Gray And Jocelyn Gecker, Associated Press Writer – 27 mins ago

BANGKOK – Thai troops opened fire Wednesday into the fortified encampment of anti-government protesters in downtown Bangkok, ramming armored vehicles into its tire-and-bamboo barricade in what appears to be a final crackdown after a week of deadly clashes.

Associated Press reporters saw the troops firing automatic rifles from an overpass overlooking the encampment. Groups of soldiers also fired from crouching positions on the tracks of an elevated light rail system that runs over the encampment. There was no word on any casualties.

"This is D-Day," said one soldier when asked if this was the final push to clear the protest zone.

Thick black smoke from a mountain of burning tires darkened the skies Wednesday, billowing over the skyscrapers of this Asian metropolis of 10 million that has descended into chaos over the last week, with at least 39 killed.

The demonstrators marched into Bangkok in mid-March to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, dissolution of Parliament and immediate elections.

They created an encampment in Bangkok's posh downtown Rajprasong district in April, surrounding themselves by a barricade of tires and bamboo spears, some of which appeared to be in flames Wednesday.

"This is the last push. Looks like the government really wants to end it this time," said Senator Lertrat Rattanawanit, who had tried to mediate between the two sides. "They have laid out the steps, giving out deadlines for people to move out and all that. It's a pity that using force is inevitable."

Asked if losses could be prevented, he said: "It's impossible."

At the protest zone's barricades, bamboo spears splintered as two armored personnel carrier rammed into the barrier, then backed up and tried again. They repeated the process several times and punched large holes, pushing the wall into a crumpled mass but not bringing it down entirely.

An army commander said some Red Shirt protesters were about 200 yards (meters) inside the barricade.

Soldiers tightened their blockades around the protest site at dawn Wednesday and used loudspeakers to tell all people to return to their homes. A government building was on fire in another part of Bangkok.

The government first tried to clear another encampment in the historic part of Bangkok on April 10, but the operation ended disastrously when 25 people were killed and more than 800 wounded.

A second military operation, to blockade the consolidated Rajprasong camp to cut off protesters' supplies, was launched last Thursday, triggering almost daily clashes between troops and protesters. At least 39 people have been killed and more than 300 people wounded in the past seven days. All but one of those killed are civilians who were shot.

Wednesday's assault began with hundreds of troops and police, many armed with M-16 assault rifles, gathering in nearby streets and alleys before dawn.

Three armored personnel carriers parked in front of the upscale Dusit Thani hotel, across the street from the southern edge of the barricade. Their machine gun mountain turrets pointed toward the barricade wall of tires, and troops crouched behind the vehicles.

The operation came after Abhisit rejected protesters' unconditional offer to negotiate Tuesday and insisted there would be no talks until the dwindling anti-government movement abandoned Rajprasong.

The troops appeared to be pushing from the southern border of the encampment in a bid to force some 3,000 protesters still holed up inside into buses waiting at the northern exit.

The Red Shirts say Abhisit's government came to power through manipulation of the courts and the backing of the powerful military, and that it goes against results of a 2007 election to restore democracy after a military coup.

Protest leaders have argued over whether they should continue to resist or negotiate a truce with the government to end the street violence.

On Tuesday, the mood in the core protest zone was subdued, with none of the dancing and festivities that previously lent the area a carnival-like atmosphere.

Periodically, protest leaders delivered fiery speeches, meant to keep the crowd motivated. But the crowd responses were not as full throated as before. Gone also were most food vendors, and mounds of rotting garbage piled up outside the camp's sharpened bamboo gates.

Previous attempts to negotiate an end to the standoff have failed. A government offer earlier this month to hold November elections fell apart after protest leaders made more demands.

The violence in Bangkok, a popular stop for tourists heading to Thailand's world-famous beaches, has caused concern internationally and raised doubts about the stability of this Southeast Asian nation.

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Associated Press writers Thanyarat Doksone, and Vijay Joshi contributed to this report. Additional research by Sinfah Tunsarawuth.

Source: News



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Thai protests expose military rifts, incompetence

BANGKOK – Soldiers have been hit by their own tear gas. Riot police scattered in fear when a party balloon popped. An anti-government protester, surrounded by security forces, escaped down a rope from a hotel balcony to the cheers of supporters.

In the two-month standoff between Thai security forces and protesters in Bangkok, there have been times when the demonstrators have seemed more organized and the troops hobbled by incompetence, divided loyalties and dangerous infighting.

Some troops have seemed unwilling to obey government orders. Others openly fraternized with the Red Shirt demonstrators — a motley alliance of rural and urban poor.

Rather than quash the protest movement while it was vulnerable, these actions have allowed the number of demonstrators to mushroom and fortify themselves.

"If Red Shirt organization and staying power has proved surprising, the performance of the security forces has been nothing less than alarming," said Anthony Davis, a Bangkok-based security analyst. "A remarkable display of incompetence and inaction has seen swaths of the capital city calmly surrendered to mob rule."

Authorities are trying to choke off a 1-square-mile (3-square-kilometer) area of downtown Bangkok where several thousand die-hard protesters remain entrenched behind barricades of bamboo spikes and tires.

The government hopes that will end the crippling demonstration in which at least 66 people have been killed and more than 1,600 wounded.

There are signs that the government plan is working. Authorities say the numbers inside the protest zone have shrunk to some 3,000 from 10,000 or more a week ago.

But the operation is proving both ineffective and bloody. After the government trumpeted the deployment of overwhelming force — more than 30,000 men and columns of armored personnel carriers — there are inadequate numbers of troops, without any armored vehicles, actually laying siege to the Red Shirt encampment.

And even with their diminished numbers, the Red Shirts have been able to punch out of their enclave and fight running gunbattles with sometimes confused military units in several districts of the city.

"Despite all the violence so far, it is still unclear if the army would be willing to launch a full-on assault to break up the main protest site," said Andrew Walker, a Thailand expert at The Australian National University.

Many within the police, especially in lower echelons, are supporters of the Red Shirts and their hero, ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who began his career in the force.

They and sympathizers within the ranks of the army are popularly called "watermelons" — referring to green uniforms but hidden support of the Red Shirt protesters. Several former army officers are serving as military advisers to the anti-government demonstrators. Among them was Maj. Gen. Khattiya Sawasdiphol, who was shot by an apparent sniper last week and died of his wounds Monday.

The debilitating divisions within the Royal Thai Army are more complex.

In contrast to other Asian nations such as South Korea, Indonesia and even Pakistan, which have tamed their once-powerful militaries, Thailand has had a potent, sometimes decisive force in the political arena. Modern Thai history bristles with 18 military coups and military strongmen, with the army commander often exercising more clout than the prime minister.

The current commander in chief, Gen. Anupong Paojinda, has insisted that the army remains united behind "the nation, the people and His Majesty," King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Early in the crisis, Anupong signaled his reluctance to use force and reportedly is anxious about becoming a possible scapegoat with blood on his hands before his planned retirement in September.

Clearly his troops made halfhearted attempts at best to enforce the emergency decrees and other orders from the weak coalition government of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

The lackluster efforts may have stemmed in part from mixed signals to the troops because Anupong's deputy and likely successor, Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha, is known as a proponent of aggressive action.

"The military is divided within, with many senior officers seeking advantage over intraservice rivals, while doubting the willingness of enlisted personnel to act decisively against their own class," said G.M. Greenwood of Allan and Associates, a Hong Kong-based risk consultancy.

Amid the crisis, senior officers are engaging in the high-stakes jockeying for position that precedes every year's fall military reshuffle, when some retire and others are promoted or sidelined. Loyalties are often divided along military academy graduating classes.

Speculation persists that during the worst violence on April 10, when 25 people were killed and more than 800 wounded, a faction of the military itself was involved in the killing of a colonel and wounding of two senior officers, all close to Prayuth and slated for promotion.

Other theories say the black-clad killers, caught on film and video, were former pro-Red Shirt army rangers or a military-style unit within the protest movement.

Many Thais and expatriates untutored in military matters are baffled by the lack of grit displayed by many soldiers and police.

"Given that the prospect of civil unrest has been growing steadily since 2006, the failure to develop dedicated units in either the police or military capable of a calibrated response is remarkable," said Davis, who also writes for Jane's Intelligence Review, a security publication. Lacking skills in non-lethal methods, the options narrowed to using deadly force or being overwhelmed by protesters.

The prime minister has defended the army's performance and maintained that the military and government are unified.

"I think it would be unfair to say the military have been unsuccessful in what they tried to do," Abhisit told The Associated Press.

But to date, the record has been unimpressive.

Military authorities have telegraphed operations before they were launched. When Red Shirt leaders left encampments with relatively small numbers of followers, authorities failed to muster enough force to arrest them.

In the most recent clashes, troops seem to be violating a basic military doctrine by taking ground from the protesters and then just pulling back to their original positions. On April 10, soldiers abandoned armored vehicles to protesters armed with little more than stones and bamboo spears.

Actions by police and troops have on occasion smacked of slapstick comedy. A Red Shirt leader, Arisman Pongruangrong, was surrounded by police but eluded them by climbing down a rope from a hotel balcony to rousing cheers from supporters. Soldiers guarding a TV station failed to wear masks when they threw tear gas canisters at onrushing protesters — only to be overcome themselves when the wind changed.

A balloon being festooned for a restaurant's Cinco de Mayo celebration burst unexpectedly and sent armed police positioned outside scurrying for cover in panic. The restaurant owner thought it best to remove the balloons.

Source: Yahoo

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Tensions mount as Thai govt rejects talks

BANGKOK (AFP) – Thai troops were locked in a tense confrontation with besieged protestors Monday after three days of street battles in the capital that left at least 33 dead and 239 wounded.

Guests at a luxury hotel overlooking the sprawling protest site in the heart of Bangkok were forced to shelter in the basement after the building came under gunfire and was rattled by an explosion in the early hours of Monday morning.

Fire gutted three commercial buildings in another area.



On Sunday, the government swiftly rejected an appeal by the "Red Shirt" protesters for UN-mediated talks.

A top protest leader also urged the revered king to intervene in the crisis.

The violence has turned parts of this city of 12 million people into no-go zones as troops use live ammunition against demonstrators, some of whom are themselves armed.

The Reds, whose vast base is under siege by troops, said they were ready to enter peace talks with the government immediately as long as the United Nations mediated.

"We want the UN because we don't trust we will receive justice from organisations in Thailand," protest leader Nattawut Saikuar said as the death toll from the urban warfare mounted.

The idea was rejected by the government, which has repeatedly warned foreign governments not to meddle in its affairs.

"No governments allow any organisations to intervene in their internal affairs," spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said.

Previous talks between the two sides have failed to reach an agreement, despite an offer -- since withdrawn -- by the embattled premier to hold November elections if the opposition demonstrators went home.

At the Dusit Thani hotel, which overlooks the Reds' encampment, guests rushed to the basement as staff warned them the hotel was under attack, according to an AFP journalist inside.

"I was in bed. There was a big explosion very close to my room. I went out of the room, other people did too and at that moment the wall outside was hit by bullets," AFP photographer Pedro Ugarte said by telephone.

It was unclear where the shooting came from.

Authorities said they would send workers from the Red Cross to help protesters -- particularly women, children and the elderly -- who wanted to leave the vast protest area by 3:00 pm (0800) Monday.

"Men can also leave the site but they have to show they are unarmed," army spokesman Colonel Sunsern Kaewkumnerd told reporters.

The army put off a plan to impose a curfew in parts of the city but did not rule out restricting night-time movements if the situation worsened.

Australia said it would close its embassy to visitors from Monday due to "ongoing violent clashes" including in front of the mission. The US and British embassies have already closed.

The government extended a state of emergency to five more provinces, ordered schools to stay shut Monday and declared two days of national holidays to keep civilians off the streets as they battled for control of the city.

Facing a military armed with assault rifles, the protesters have fought with homemade weapons including Molotov cocktails, fireworks and slingshots.

Some demonstrators have been seen with handguns and the authorities say grenades have also been fired by anti-government militants.

All of the fatalities in recent days have been civilians.

The Reds called on the king to intervene, saying he was the "only hope" for an end to the two-month-old crisis, which has left 63 people dead and about 1,700 wounded, including 25 fatalities in a failed army crackdown on April 10.

"I believe Thais will feel the same, that His Majesty is our only hope," Jatuporn Prompan told reporters at the rally site, where thousands of protesters were camped.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej chastised both the military and protest leaders during a 1992 uprising, effectively bringing the violence to an end, but has avoided commenting directly on the current crisis in public.

The Reds accuse Abhisit's government of being elitist and undemocratic because it came to power in a 2008 parliamentary vote after a court ruling ousted elected allies of their hero, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Thai society is deeply divided between the urban elite and rural poor, with most of the Red Shirts from the north and impoverished northeast.


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Thai protesters set fire to police bus

Source: News

BANGKOK – Anti-government protesters set fire to a police bus down the street from Japanese and U.S. embassies in central Bangkok after troops fired tear gas Friday in a burst of new violence after nightlong clashes left one person dead.

The fighting, which so far has claimed 30 lives and injured hundreds since anti-government Red Shirt protesters began camping in the capital on March 12, plunged Thailand deeper into political uncertainty, with both sides hardening their positions.

An Associated Press photographer saw protesters torching the bus near a downtown police station and retreating when a fire engine arrived to douse the flames.

The area is near a subway station that has been closed since Thursday, and close to the American and Japanese embassies, which were closed because of the unrest. The British and the Dutch embassy, which are in the vicinity, also were closed.

Lines of troops were seen moving toward the protesters on Wireless Road where the bus was set on fire, while gunshots were heard in the area. But it was not clear who was firing.

Gunshots rang out throughout the night and into the morning in central Bangkok. At daybreak, a group of protesters captured and vandalized two military water cannon trucks at the intersection of Sathorn and Rama IV roads in the heart of the business district. They ripped the cannon from its moorings and used its plastic barrel to shoot firecrackers from behind a sandbag bunker they had commandeered from soldiers.

The Red Shirt protesters, who have taken over an upscale 1-square-mile (3-square-kilometer) area in central Bangkok, vowed they will not give up until the government resigns and early elections are called.

"I'm not scared. We are here only to ask for democracy. Why are we facing violence?" Mukda Saelim, 39, a mushroom farmer from Chonburi province, said. "I don't have anything to fight them, but I'm not afraid. You asked if this is safe? It's not."

The Red Shirts believe Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva's coalition government came to power illegitimately through manipulation of the courts and the backing of the powerful military. They are demanding he dissolve Parliament immediately and call new elections.

Chances of a compromise dimmed further after renegade army Maj. Gen. Khattiya Sawasdiphol, who is accused of creating a paramilitary force for the Red Shirts, was shot in the head Thursday evening. He was talking to reporters just inside the perimeter of the protesters' encampment in Saladeng when the bullet hit him.

He was taken to a hospital in a coma and was in critical condition. The hospital said his brain had swollen and that he was unlikely to survive.

It was not known who shot Khattiya, better known by the nickname Seh Daeng. But the Red Shirts blamed the government.

"This is illegal use of force ordered by Abhisit Vejjajiva," said Arisman Pongruengrong, a Red Shirt leader. "It is clear that there were no clashes at Saladeng, but Seh Daeng was shot by a government sniper. This is clearly a use of war weapons on the people."

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Facebook top publisher of display ads—comScore

Source: Agence France-Presse
First Posted 11:16:00 05/14/2010


Facebook has passed Yahoo! to become the top US publisher of display ads on the Web, another milestone for the fast-growing social network, according to figures released on Thursday.

Online tracking firm comScore said Facebook delivered 176.3 billion display ads to US users in the first three months of the year, a 16.2 percent market share, more than double its 7.5 percent share of a year ago.

Long-time display ad leader Yahoo! was next, delivering 131.5 billion display ads in the quarter, a 12.1 percent market share, followed by Microsoft sites with 60.2 billion ad impressions, or 5.5 percent, comScore said.

Display advertising includes banner ads, sponsorship and rich media ads and is distinct from the search-related advertising format dominated by Google.

According to comScore, US Internet users received a record 1.1 trillion display ads in the first quarter, up 15 percent over a year ago, while total US display ad spending reached an estimated $2.7 billion.

But while Facebook may be running more display ads than anyone else, Yahoo! is estimated to be making significantly more money from advertising because ad rates on social media sites tend to be lower.

Facebook has eclipsed MySpace in recent years to become the world's top social network with more than 400 million users.

MySpace parent Fox, which is owned by News Corp., slipped from second place to fourth in the rankings in the quarter, according to comScore, serving 53.8 billion display ads for a 4.9 percent market share, down from 11.6 percent a year ago.

AOL was next with 32.1 billion display ads, a 2.9 percent market share, followed by Google with 25.8 billion display ads for a 2.4 percent share.

ComScore senior vice president Jeff Hackett said the figures show the online display ad market is reviving.

"Following a severe ad recession that began in late 2008 and continued through the first three quarters of 2009, we've been seeing a strong resurgence in the online display ad market," Hackett said.

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Pacquiao ready to fight Mayweather


MANILA (AFP) - – World boxing champion Manny Pacquiao announced Wednesday that he was ready to fight Floyd Mayweather for his last professional bout after securing a seat in the Philippine Congress.

"Many fans really want me to fight Floyd Mayweather so I asked my Mama if we can give them one more fight, she said okay," Pacquiao said in an interview with broadcaster ABS-CBN.

Pacquiao, 31, is one of the world's highest-paid athletes and a clash with Mayweather, 33, to determine who is the greatest welterweight of their generation could generate one of the biggest purses in boxing history.

Source: Pacquiao

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OPPORTUNITY: INDIVIDUALS AND INTERNATIONAL NGOs WORKING WITH THE 8 UN MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS ARE INVITED TO SHARE INFORMATION WITH YOUTH LEADERS • U.N. HEADQUARTERS • AUG. 4, 2010

Civil society presenters are invited to be part of the 7th Annual Youth Assembly at the United Nations (YA), held from August 4 to 6, 2010 at United Nations Headquarters in New York.Please fill out the following form request participation on August 4th. Two opportunities are available for presentations (to be decided by Youth Assembly Planning Committeethrough this process): 1) Workshop sessions during the day in the UN Secretariat, and/or 2) an NGO Campaign Night presentation for nonprofit organizations with activecampaigns into which youth may join or support.

For further information on the annual event, please visit the Youth Assembly web site, at: http://www.faf.org/unyouthassembly/ya_home.htm

The form enables the Planning Committee to select representatives from civil society with materials related to our focus, to present at these events. August 4 will be an opportunity to meet and encourage over 700 young people who are looking for local and global opportunities for future involvement: it is a great way to meet new volunteers for your campaigns, get the word out about your youth activities, and encourage a general increase in youth involvement in U.N.-related global development work and goals.

If interested, please email to Francisco Eguiguren, at: friendlyam@faf.org.
Panel review will be complete by June 25, 2010. All program details and NGO invitations will be announced by July 2, 2010.
We thank you in advance for your interest.

Environment:

World governments fail to deliver on 2010 biodiversity target

World leaders have failed to deliver commitments made in 2002 to reduce the global rate of biodiversity loss by 2010, and have instead overseen alarming biodiversity declines. These findings are the result of a new paper published in the leading journal Science and represent the first assessment of how the targets made through the 2002 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) have not been met.

Source: UNEP


Sports:

Pacquiao wants Mayweather
May 5, 2010

If Manny Pacquiao were in Shane Mosley’s shoes in the second round of the latter’s fight with Floyd Mayweather last Sunday, the outcome would have been different, the Filipino ring icon said.

Speaking to veteran boxing scribe Michael Marley of examiner.com, Pacquiao gave his thoughts on the Mayweather-Mosley fight, particularly in the second round where Mosley had the champion in trouble with two vicious right straights.

Source: Yahoo News




Pakistan native admits to Times Square bomb plot
May 5, 2010

Brief:

Seized from a plane about to fly to the Middle East, a Pakistan-born man admitted training to make bombs at a terrorism camp in his native land before he rigged an SUV with a homemade device to explode in Times Square, authorities said Tuesday.

Faisal Shahzad, a naturalized U.S. citizen who recently spent five months in Pakistan, was arrested on terrorism and weapons of mass destruction charges for trying to blow up the crude gasoline-and-propane bomb amid tourists and theatergoers Saturday evening.

Source: Yahoo News


Thai Red Shirts 'reach deal to end protests
May 5, 2010

Brief:

1.) Leaders of protest movement say they are prepared to accept government deal
2.) Five point deal includes call for new elections in November
3.) Protesters support Thaksin Shinawatra, ousted as prime minister in 2006

Source: CNN


Greeks protest against austerity measures
May 5, 2010

Brief:

1.) Greek public sector workers began a 48-hour strike Tuesday.
2.) About 2000 teachers held a march past the finance ministry and parliament, say police.
3.) The country faces tough austerity measures to meet EU and IMF bailout conditions.
4.) A €110 billion ($146 billion) aid package for Greece was announced Sunday.

Source: CNN