Tokyo urges Japan, China to avoid tit-for-tat claims

TOKYO: Japan and China should focus on the big picture and avoid tit-for-tat recriminations, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary said on Friday, as public protests and sharp comments by senior officials suggested mounting tensions between Asia’s two biggest economies.

Messages on the Chinese Internet in recent days have called for protests in Chongqing, a sprawling city in China’s southwest, and a smaller city, Deyang, also in the southwest, after thousands of protesters marched last week in both countries.

China’s distrust of Japan resurfaced on Thursday when Beijing refused to say whether the leaders of the two countries would meet at a regional summit this month and accused Tokyo’s foreign minister of rekindling ill-will.

“Neither side should be nitpicking over particular comments and then overreacting,” Yoshito Sengoku, the de facto No. 2 in Japan’s cabinet,

New baby surprises UK’s Cameron on summer holiday

LONDON: Samantha Cameron, the wife of Britain’s prime minister, gave birth on Tuesday to the couple’s fourth child, a baby girl, while on a family holiday in the southwest of England.

David Cameron, who took office as prime minister in May, said the birth had come as “a bit of a shock” as the baby had not been expected until September but it had gone very well.

“We’re absolutely thrilled. She is an unbelievably beautiful girl and I’m a very proud Dad,” he told British television channels outside the hospital in the town of Truro, in the picturesque region of Cornwall.

“Both baby and Mum seem to be doing very well. So, really exciting and I’ve told the other two children who are thrilled, bouncing up and down and dying to say hello to the new baby.”

The couple went into hospital at about 8 a.m. (0700 GMT) and the baby girl was born by Caesarean section

Southwest Airlines Kevin Smith

Director Kevin Smith Kicked Off Southwest Flight for ‘Being Fat’ :- Southwest Airlines is under fire after director Kevin Smith was kicked off a recent flight for being overweight.

The “Clerks,” “Mallrats” and “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” director was ordered off a flight from Oakland to Burbank Saturday. The pilot reportedly said Smith was a “safety risk” because he was unable to put down the armrest.

Smith, 39, responded with a barrage of profanity-laced  Twitter posts, saying he was treated worse than a terrorist.

Southwest apologized to Smith on Twitter and issued a statement on its blog, under the title, “Not So Silent Bob.” The airline said Smith had purchased two tickets, as he often does, but when Smith decided to fly earlier on standby, only one seat was available, and he was told to get off the plane after he was already seated.

The incident has prompted the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance to call for a boycott of Southwest. The group issued a statement urging “people of size to seek out and travel airlines that do not have such discriminatory policies.”

“You (messed) with the wrong sedentary processed-foods eater!” tweeted Smith, whose next film, “Cop Out,” opens Feb. 26.

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Southwest Airlines Kevin Smith was first posted on February 15, 2010 at 10:35 pm.

7 killed In Southwest China Earthquake

TrendPK.com 7 killed In Southwest China Earthquake:BEIJING: A magnitude 3.4 earthquake on Sunday has claimed seven lives in China’s southwestern Guizhou province, state media reported on Monday.
The earthquake struck near Anshun city in the southwest of the poor and remote province, the China Earthquake Administration said on its website (www.cea.gov.cn).
Aside from [...]

Suicide Bombers, Gunmen Attack Central Kabul

TrendPK.com Suicide Bombers, Gunmen Attack Central Kabul:KABUL: About two dozen gunmen, some wearing suicide vests, attacked locations across Kabul on Monday in a coordinated commando-style operation against several targets, including banks and Afghan government ministries.
Gunfire from street battles and loud explosions could be heard across the capital in the worst attack on [...]

Houston Marathon

TrendPK.com Ailing runners
Despite the almost ideal weather conditions — or perhaps because of same — the marathon’s medical staff found itself confronted with a surprising number of serious ailments Sunday, although none were said to be life-threatening.
Dr. John Cianca, the medical director, reported to race director Brant Kotch that 11 runners required [...]

British Airways Strike

British Airways Strike updates :- QANTAS will take advantage of its alliance partner’s woes by filling seats during the peak Christmas period with passengers left stranded by a 12-day British Airways strike.

Although the strike throws into chaos the holiday plans of BA passengers during the busiest time of the year for travelling, industry insiders say it will be a boost for Qantas because it will enable the Australian airline to fill its aircraft during the highest-yielding period.

The challenge for Qantas, however, will be to find sufficient room on its aircraft.

”I can’t see it being a negative because they are pretty full anyway, so anything made to help BA is going to be icing on the cake,” an insider said.

Qantas dismissed speculation yesterday that it would pull long-haul aircraft off either the Pacific route between Australia and the United States, or from services to South Africa, in response to the greater demand on the kangaroo route to Europe.

Shares in Qantas rose 2c to $2.69 yesterday in its third straight day of gains, spurred on by Merrill Lynch analysts raising their recommendation on the stock from “neutral” to a ”buy” due to improving passenger yields.

”If Qantas has the capacity to carry all of the people on BA who cancel we will be more than happy,” the divisional secretary of the Flight Attendants Association of Australia, Michael Mijatov, said yesterday. ”It provides extra revenue to the company.”

Yesterday Qantas sought to allay fears the strike from December 22 to January 2 will pose problems for Qantas passengers who are due to board BA connecting flights in London bound for other destinations in Europe.

The airline said it would provide ”alternative options, where possible, for other customers, such as those booked on BA services into Europe out of London”.

Source smh.com.au

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British Airways Strike was first posted on December 15, 2009 at 8:27 pm.

Mayon Volcano Eruption 2009

Mayon Volcano Eruption 2009, There has been a lot of waiting over the summer to see if Mayon in the Philippines was going to begin a new eruption sequence. This morning, the volcano had its first “eruption” since August 2008, producing a very small (~700 m / 2000 foot) ash-and-gas column that drifted to the southwest. The plume had very minimal ash, but it is still worth noting. No new evacuations were called, but the 6-km “danger zone” and 7-8-km “extended danger zone” are still in effect.

Mayon is one of the most active volcanoes in the Philippines, erupting every few years, typically in small VEI 0-1 explosive events – usually starting as phreatic (water-related) explosions. Some recent eruptions, most notably in 2006, produced lava flows and pyroclastic flows as well, while the 1984 eruption rated a VEI 3 with lava and pyroclastic flows along with generation of some lahars.

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Mayon Volcano Eruption 2009 was first posted on December 15, 2009 at 9:14 pm.