Senegal ex-president’s son to be tried for corruption

Senegal ex-president’s son to be tried for corruption
Full Time : Kelantan 0-1 Sarawak (Live)
Six killed in Everest avalanche
Search for MH370: No concrete evidence yet from Bluefin-21
Journalist compiles unique side of Sarawak’s ethnic minority
White House mourns death of Nobel Laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Posted: 18 Apr 2014 09:01 AM PDT

DAKAR: The flamboyant "super minister" son of former Senegalese leader Abdoulaye Wade is to be tried in June for corruption, a judicial source said Thursday, after accumulating a fortune valued at well over 1 billion.

Karim Wade, 45, has been accused to have acquired by corrupt means companies and real estate valued at US$1.4 billion, including land in Dakar, a fleet of
luxury cars and media and finance companies operating across Africa.

"Karim Wade will remain in prison and will go on trial in two months for illicit enrichment," the ministry of justice source told AFP.

Wade, a powerful minister in his father's cabinet, has been on remand in a Dakar prison for exactly one year since his arrest.

The court extended his pre-trial detention period by six months in October, adding a
fresh charge relating to an unexplained sum of 205 million which prosecutors say Wade deposited into several Monaco bank accounts.

Another account in Singapore holding 95 million was also attributed to him this week.

But according to Wade's lawyers, prosecutors are only accusing their client of illegally accruing 178 million euros, a far cry from previously suggested billion euros.

"This accusation adds up to nothing," lawyer Mohamed Seydou Diagne told AFP while another lawyer called for a public trial "so that the public gets a full view of the proceedings."

The judical source said several alleged accomplices are also being pursued, without naming them. — AFP

Full Time : Kelantan 0-1 Sarawak (Live)

Posted: 18 Apr 2014 06:42 AM PDT

Posted on April 18, 2014, Friday

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Six killed in Everest avalanche

Posted: 17 Apr 2014 11:18 PM PDT

KATHMANDU: Six climbers have died and an unknown number
still missing after an avalanche on Mount Qomolangma or Mount Everest early
Friday, officials said Friday.

Most of those who died were Nepali Sherpas who were making technical
preparations for the climbing season due to begin next week, China's Xinhua news
agency reported.

"The climbers were busy making preparations like fixing ropes and died as the
avalanche hit them," said Ang Tshering Sherpa, president of Nepal Mountaineering
Association.

Four bodies have been recovered and taken to a base camp while rescue work is
ongoing to locate the others.

Continuous snowfall on the world's highest mountain affected preparation work
undertaken by climbers last week. -Bernama

Search for MH370: No concrete evidence yet from Bluefin-21

Posted: 17 Apr 2014 09:15 PM PDT

PERTH: No concrete evidence has been found as yet of a missing Malaysian Airlines (MAS) flight following four underwater search missions by an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) codenamed Bluefin-21 in thesouthern Indian Ocean since Monday.

The Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) said Friday the AUV had so far searched an area of about 110 sq km.

JACC said in a statement that the AUV had been deployed on its fifth mission Friday, the 42nd day of the search for the Flight MH370 which disappeared on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8.

Bluefin-21, a probe equipped with side-scan sonar, was dispatched in the hope of locating any debris of the missing plane underwater, as no further confirmed signals were picked up by the towed pinger locator since April 8.

It uses acoustic sounds to create a 3D map of the sea floor and will take aminimum of 24 hours to complete each mission, which includes four hours to
download the collected data.

JACC said Friday's search operation, which entered its 42nd day, involved 11 military aircraft and 12 ships with a visual search area of about 51,870 sq
km across three areas.

The weather forecast for today was isolated showers and south-easterly winds, the agency said.

Flight MH370, with 239 people aboard, left the KL International Airport at 12.41 am on March 8 and disappeared from radar screens about an hour later while over the South China Sea. It was to have arrived in Beijing at 6.30 am on the same day.

A multinational search was mounted for the Boeing 777-200 aircraft, first in the South China Sea and then, after it was learnt that the plane had veered off course, in the southern Indian Ocean.

After an analysis of satellite data indicated that the plane's last position was in the middle of the Indian Ocean, west of Perth, Malaysian Prime Minister
Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced on March 24 that Flight MH370 "ended in the southern Indian Ocean". – Bernama

Journalist compiles unique side of Sarawak’s ethnic minority

Posted: 17 Apr 2014 08:19 PM PDT

MIRI: Imagine wearing brass earrings (sumping loyan tembaga) weighing more than a hundred grammes – about as heavy as an IPhone – for the rest of your life to create elongated earlobes.

It is a unique and dying practice by the Orang Ulu community here in the name of beauty, which journalist, Sudan Ajang,37, sometimes portrays with a touch of humour in her book titled "Budaya Etnik di Sarawak" or "Ethnic Culture
in Sarawak".

But she is always respectful of the age-old traditions symbolising Sarawak's
diverse ethnic cultures.

This is just a sample of the fascinating facts and interesting experiences
compiled by the mother of three in the 144-page book which will be in book
stores this week.

"This is not an academic book, it's written in simple language so everyone
can understand it. I wanted to document these customs for future generations,"
she told Bernama here today.

True to her words, the pages are full of fascinating facts about the ethnic
minority in Sarawak such as the initiative to preserve one of the oldest
languages in the world – the Meirek and Kelabit that have been in existence for
more than 300 years.

It also describes in detail the painstaking preparation for the annual
buffalo race in Limbang organised by the Bisaya Association of Sarawak.

In addition, the book also unveils the real reason why so many avid anglers,
from neighbouring Brunei to China are willing to risk the crocodile-infested
Sepupuk River in Batu Niah just to catch large prawns.

Located 100 km from Miri, the spot is a big draw for anglers who are hooked
on the delicacy described as "sweet and juicy".

A Communication and Mass Media graduate from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak,
Sudan, who is a journalist with Utusan Borneo Miri, said most of the articles
published in the book are based on her blog.

"I started my own blog www.sudanajang.com/traver in 2010 and had the idea to
compile my material. I also had a lot of support from my friends who encouraged
me to publish it," she said.

She said it took more than a year to compile the suitable articles and
pictures.

Sudan is also an award winning journalist and has won first place at the
Azam Petronas Award and Chief Minister Information Communication Technology
(ICT) writing competition in 2008 and first place in feature writing in the
Sarawak Shell Media award in 2010.

She is also a regular contributor for magazines under Dewan Bahasa dan
Pustaka such as Dewan Masyarakat, Dewan Budaya and Dewan Ekonomi.

"My next step will be to translate this book to Iban and English if the
Bahasa Melayu copy gets a positive response," she said.

She said those interested in the book can check her Facebook account Sudan
Traveler.

"At the moment it's sold at RM28 per copy at book stores. It's RM25 if
purchased directly from me," she said.

Meanwhile, the Bisaya Association of Sarawak president Antonio Kahti Galis
said all efforts to promote Sarawak's ethnic cultures should be encouraged and
praised.

"Hopefully the younger generations would better understand their own culture
with the availability of such books," he said.-Bernama.

White House mourns death of Nobel Laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Posted: 17 Apr 2014 08:11 PM PDT

WASHINGTON: The White House on Thursday mourned the
death of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Colombia's Nobel-winning writer famed for his
novel "One Hundred Years of Solitude", Xinhua news agency reported.

"With the passing of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the world has lost one of its
greatest visionary writers — and one of my favourites from the time I was
young," spokesman Jay Carney said in a statement.

Garcia Marquez passed away on Thursday in his home in Mexico City aged 87.

He was admitted to hospital on April 3 due to dehydration and bronchial and
urinary tract infections.

Carney said he once met the novelist in Mexico and will cherish to this day
an inscribed copy of the famed novel presented by the 1992 Nobel laureate.

"As a proud Colombian, a representative and voice for the people of the
Americas and as a master of the 'magic realism' genre, he has inspired so many
others," he said.

"One Hundred Years of Solitude" was published in 1967 and has been
translated into 35 languages and sold more than 30 million copies. – Bernama