Two earthquakes shake Philippines

Tuesday, May 22, 2007 04:40 PM

Two earthquakes shook the Philippines Tuesday, one in Agusan del Norte while the other in Nueva Ecija, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.

 A tectonic quake registering 4.1 in magnitude occurred 31 kilometers northwest of Butuan City around 12:56 a.m.  The quake was felt at intensity 5 in Butuan City and at intensity 4 in Surigao City.

No damage was reported and the Phivolcs said they were not expecting aftershocks.

Meanwhile, another quake hit 9 kilometers southeast of Palayan City around 12:14 p.m.  The quake was also tectonic in origin and had a magnitude of 3.1.

The quake was felt at intensity 3 in Palayan City but no damage was reported nor were aftershocks expected.

Judge Dismisses Brunei Prince's Lawsuit

Judge Dismisses Brunei Prince's Lawsuit Against British Advisors

NEW YORK -- A federal judge in New York has dismissed a Brunei prince's lawsuit against Britain-based husband-and-wife legal advisers that the prince claims conned him and his companies out of millions of dollars.

In an opinion Friday, U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan dismissed a federal racketeering claim against Faith Zaman and Thomas William Derbyshire brought by Prince Duli Yang Teramat Mulia Paduka Seri Pengiran Digadong Sahibul Mal Pengiran Muda Haji Jefri Bolkiah and a group of companies, of which he is beneficial owner.

The judge also denied a request by Prince Jefri to file an amended complaint in the matter.

Shortly after Judge Kaplan issued his ruling, Prince Jefri's lawyers filed a lawsuit against the couple in New York State Supreme Court on Friday, said Mark A. Cymrot, the couple's lawyer.

"(Judge Kaplan's decision) confirms that the Derbyshires are not racketeers," Cymrot said Monday. "It reduces the dispute to a normal commercial dispute, for which we think there's no merit."

Brian Socolow, a lawyer for Prince Jefri, said Monday that they disagree with Judge Kaplan's findings in the federal case and are "examining our options." He said the prince has separately filed a lawsuit in New York state court asserting the same state law claims as the prior federal lawsuit.

In his lawsuit, Prince Jefri had alleged the couple, who began acting as his legal advisers in 2004, breached their fiduciary duties through a series of fraudulent real-estate transactions in the United States and misuse of corporate credit cards.

The complaint had sought the set-aside of the real-estate transactions, damages and the return of millions of dollars in legal fees.

AP

Sri Lanka sinks into lawlessness

Cases of murder, abduction, disappearance and intimidation surface almost daily in Sri Lanka as the South Asian nation appears to be sliding into lawlessness and war.

With a truce between the government and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in tatters and peace talks long since abandoned, rights workers and the media fear the situation is spiralling out of control.

The government is pressing for a military victory over the Tigers, and a series of tit-for-tat clashes have left heavy casualties on both sides -- as well as discrepancies over the true body count.

But away from the front lines, bloodshed is just as frequent and usually involves civilians, although it is seldom clear who is behind the day-to-day violence.

\"The situation is out of control,\" said Sunander Deshapriya of the Centre for Policy Alternatives, a private think tank.

\"What we are seeing today is uncertainty. We do not know who is doing what. It is very difficult to find out who is responsible, violence is so widespread,\" Deshapriya said.

\"It is also very difficult to see the situation improving.\"

Almost 5,000 people have been killed since December 2005, according to the defence ministry.

And more than 700 people are reported to have \"disappeared\" in the past year in Sri Lanka, where at least 60,000 people have been killed in the Tamil separatist conflict since 1972.

Such a climate of fear has not been seen on the island since 1987-1990, when the army crushed a Marxist Sinhalese uprising at the official cost of 16,750 dead and thousands more missing.

Britain halted debt relief this month in anger at the government\'s human rights record, and major donor Japan is reviewing its position. Germany stopped aid last December.

The United States has also dropped the usual diplomatic niceties, publicly accusing Sri Lanka of reneging on promises to protect human rights.

\"People are more fearful and face more difficulties. Overall, there has been a deterioration in Sri Lanka\'s human rights record,\" said US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher on a visit to Sri Lanka this month.

He travelled to the northern Jaffna peninsula, where 350,000 civilians and 40,000 government troops have lived under virtual siege conditions since the army closed the only land access in August after rebel attacks.

Laxman Gunasekera, president of the South Asian Free Media Alliance (SAFMA) in Sri Lanka, said abductions were rampant -- \"but not a single government authority is prepared to acknowledge abductions and give us a figure.\"

\"We have an impression of a lack of control by the state itself,\" he said.

Sri Lanka\'s Human Rights Minister Mahinda Samarasinghe told AFP the lack of official figures was a \"lacuna\" and said the government was battling to ensure a human rights commission functioned independently.

This involved setting up a witness protection scheme and safe houses, and arranging for political asylum in the West when necessary.

\"It\'s a serious situation we have to grapple with,\" he said. \"I know it\'s hard for people to understand that we are making progress.\"

The minister pointed to the ongoing return of thousands of refugees to eastern areas where troops have captured territory from the LTTE.

But journalist groups accuse authorities of trying to silence anyone who dissents from the official line.

\"Journalists face public abuse, violent physical assault, threats, deaths, abduction and murder ... in all parts of the country,\" including LTTE-held areas, said SAFMA\'s Gunasekera.

\"The picture is not one of improvement, but worsening conditions,\" he said. \"The reality is bleak.\"

The independent Sri Lanka Press Institute is creating a safety fund to help journalists facing death threats. It is looking at providing mobile phones to local reporters and running a safe house in the capital.

Tamil journalists have borne the brunt of the onslaught. Several told AFP they live in fear for their lives and can no longer work normally or risk using their names on air or in print.

In eastern Batticaloa district, only one Tamil journalist remains at work today, several months after the army ousted the LTTE from the Tamil-majority area. Others have fled, among them the president of a Tamil journalists union.

Nadesapillai Vithyatharan, chief editor of the Tamil-language Uthayan newspaper -- the only paper to publish in Jaffna for the last 20 years without interruption -- refuses to back down.

He says he will not close despite a squeeze from the authorities which has resulted in the daily cutting its pages from 20 to four, and printing on any paper it can find. Circulation has dropped from 24,000 to 4,000.

\"We have lost five staff in the last 18 months,\" he said. \"I have had grenades tossed into my room, but I am ready for anything.\"

AFP

Men in San Marino, women in Japan live longest, WHO says

By Alexander G. Higgins

A boy born in the mountainous enclave of San Marino in northeast Italy will likely live to 80, the world's longest male life expectancy, but newborn girls in Japan and 30 other countries have even better prospects, the World Health Organization said.

Sierra Leone registered the shortest male life expectancy at 37 years—the same as for girls in Swaziland, the bottom of the female list, according to WHO's ''World Health Statistics 2007.'' Females in Japan—who traditionally lead the world tables—have a life expectancy of 86, the same as in last year's WHO statistics. San Marino men, who were tied with Japanese men last year at 79, have added a year to move ahead.

WHO said the life expectancy figures were based on 2005, the latest year available. It said statistics kept by its 193 member countries may vary in some cases because it had computed the figures itself to ensure compatibility.

Following San Marino on the male side were Australia, Iceland, Japan, Sweden, and Switzerland at 79 years and then Canada, Israel, Italy, Monaco, and Singapore at 78. France was tied for 12th place at 77 years with a group of countries including New Zealand and Britain. Germany was at 76 years, and the United States was tied with Cuba and other countries for 33rd place at 75.

Countries with long-lived women include Monaco, 85 years, and Andorra, Australia, France, Italy, San Marino, Spain, and Switzerland at 84. Canada tied Iceland and Sweden at 83 years for women, and Germany was in a group at 82 years. Britain came in at 81 years and the United States tied for 32nd place with Costa Rica and Denmark at 80 years.

Afghanistan is the toughest place for babies to survive, with an infant mortality rate of 165 in 1,000 live births, compared with the two babies who die per 1,000 born in Singapore or Iceland. But Sierra Leone is worse than Afghanistan for mothers' survival, with a maternal mortality rate of 2,000 per 100,000 live births. The rate for Afghanistan was 1,900. Ireland did best at four deaths, followed by Spain, Italy, Finland, Canada, and Austria at five deaths. Diet is often given as a major factor in life expectancy, but the report did not give specific reasons for each country's showing. However, it noted that many of the countries that fared badly spent much less money on health.

It also noted that tobacco use had a ''high prevalence among the world's poorest people,'' and suggested that the low life expectancy in some countries could be linked to high rates of diseases like HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. 

AP