Friday 7 September 2012


Studios lose landmark anti-piracy suit in Australia



Australian Federation against Copyright Theft (AFACT) Managing Director Neil Gane Mr Gane said the ruling exposed the failure of copyright law
Major film and television studios have lost a landmark case over illegal video downloads in Australia.
The High Court upheld a previous ruling that internet service provider (ISP) iiNet did not authorise copyright infringement among its customers.
US and Australian studios had wanted iiNet to stop its customers from downloading pirated material.
In 2010, a federal court had ruled in favour of iiNet, saying it did not authorise the downloads.
The court also said that the country's third-largest internet provider did not have the technical ability to prevent the piracy.
The unanimous ruling from the High Court upheld the lower court's decision.
"The High Court held that the respondent, an internet service provider (ISP), had not authorised the infringement by its customers of the appellants' copyright in commercially released films and television programmes," the court stated.
"Rather, the extent of iiNet's power to prevent its customers from infringing... copyright was limited to an indirect power to terminate its contractual relationship with its customers."
The 2010 judgment was the first time a court had ruled on whether an ISP could be held responsible for copyright violations by its users.
The case revolved around thousands of downloads over Perth-based iiNet's network in 2008 using a file-sharing programme.
The Australian Federation Against Copyright Theft group, made up of 34 film, TV and music companies, had appealed the lower court decision, saying it set a dangerous precedent.
The group's managing director, Neil Gane, was quoted by news agency Agence-France Presse as saying that the ruling exposed the failure of copyright law to keep pace with the online environment.
"Both judgements in this case recognise that copyright law is no longer equipped to deal with the rate of technological change we have seen since the law of authorisation was last tested," he said.

Burma leader Thein Sein in Japan to talk investment



Burmese President Thein Sein, pictured here at the Asean summit on 4 AprilPresident Thein Sein became Burma's leader after elections in November 2010
Burmese President Thein Sein has arrived in Japan for a five-day visit expected to focus on financial aid and debt relief.
His visit, the first to Japan by a Burmese leader in 28 years, comes as EU nations prepare to ease sanctions.
Reports said Japan was planning to resume loans to Burma.
Thein Sein's administration has embarked on a process of reform since it came to power in November 2010, ending decades of military rule.
The military-backed nominally civilian government has freed political prisoners and made concessions that have brought pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party back into the political process.
Earlier this month, her party won 43 out of the 45 seats it contested in by-elections, with Ms Suu Kyi winning a seat in parliament.
'Bold leap'
During his visit, Thein Sein will hold talks with Japanese leader Yoshihiko Noda. Officials say they will discuss a solution to Burma's debt to Japan, its biggest creditor.
This, reports the BBC's Roland Buerk in Tokyo, would open the way for Japan to resume financing much-needed infrastructure. Japanese companies are also keen to invest in Burma, which is rich in resources.
On Thursday diplomats in Brussels told the BBC they expected a "big chunk" of current EU sanctions against Burma to be suspended when foreign ministers met in Luxemburg on Monday.
According to the sources, the travel ban and asset freeze for many government officials would end. Only the arms embargo would stay in place, they said.
Aid and development money would be allowed into the country, as would investment into key parts of the economy.
The US and Australia have already eased some sanctions on Burma following the political reforms. On Thursday US Senator Jim Webb said the US should go further to reward Thein Sein's "bold leap" on reform.
"In all of these situations there's a moment in time you have to take advantage of," the senator told the Associated Press news agency. "We should have some protections in there, but we should move forward on trade."
Parliament is due to reconvene in Burma on Monday. Despite the recent poll victory of Ms Suu Kyi's party, it remains heavily dominated by the military-backed ruling party.
A quarter of the seats are also reserved for the military.

Heywood case: China 'murder cover-up began immediately'




Neil HeywoodA senior Chinese journalist has told the BBC that police knew UK man Neil Heywood had been murdered in Chongqing last November and that a cover-up began immediately.
Police panicked when they realised the case could be linked to top politician Bo Xilai and his wife, Gu Kailai.
It was only this month that authorities promised an investigation and named Ms Gu as a suspect.
Bo Xilai has been sacked, amid China's biggest political scandal in decades.
The 41-year-old British businessman was found dead in a hotel in Chongqing on 15 November. Local officials initially said he died of excessive drinking.
But police who arrived at the hotel immediately knew he had been killed, and panicked after they realised the case was linked to Mr Bo, the journalist told the BBC's Martin Patience in Chongqing.
Three of the investigators asked to resign, said Han Pingzao, a former correspondent for the People's Daily in the city.

ANALYSIS

Chongqing, the sprawling city of millions, was Bo Xilai's power base and some locals say that he ruled it like an "emperor".
The apparent murder of Neil Heywood in the city last November triggered the country's biggest political crisis in years.
The scandal led to the downfall of Mr Bo - who had been tipped to join China's top political body during the once-in-a-decade leadership change starting later this year. What had started in Chongqing suddenly became a national scandal - gripping the country.
Many of the details remain shrouded in mystery and it is almost impossible to independently verify Han Pingzao's version of events - but it is an extraordinary insight into this scandal. The Chinese authorities have told the UK government that they will conduct a full and thorough investigation into Neil Heywood's death.
But with so little transparency - and so much political intrigue - it is entirely possible that the full truth will never be known.
''They were terrified of the politician,'' Mr Han said.
'Sweating profusely'
It was at this point that former Chongqing police chief Wang Lijun became involved. In January, Mr Wang told his boss Mr Bo that he believed Ms Gu was involved in the murder.
''Bo Xilai was shocked when he heard the details,'' Mr Han said. ''He started sweating profusely.''
The flamboyant Mr Bo - the nearest thing China has to a Western-style politician - made his name in Chongqing with two high-profile campaigns. One cracked down on organised crime, the other was to promote China's communist past.
Mr Wang, who has been closely identified with Mr Bo and his rise - he was tipped to be promoted to the party's top leadership before the scandal - was responsible for the anti-crime campaign.
After half an hour, Mr Bo approached Mr Wang and held both his hands tightly. Mr Wang thought he was safe then, the journalist said, but he was not.
He was sacked and subsequently sought refuge at the American consulate in Chengdu, where he reportedly told US officials about the murder and attempted to defect.
Mr Wang was eventually persuaded to leave the consulate, emerging into the waiting arms of the police and an investigation.
'Extraordinary scenes'
The events surrounding Mr Bo and his wife have become the biggest political scandal in China in years, ahead of a leadership change in Beijing due to get under way in October.
There were ''extraordinary scenes'' on the day that Mr Bo's sacking as Chongqing party chief was announced last month, Mr Han said.
''Chongqing party officials attended sessions at various departments to hear how the central government had decided to handle the case,'' he added.
This came right after China's annual parliamentary meeting in Beijing. In a news conference at the end of the parliamentary session, Premier Wen Jiabao took - and answered - a direct question on the Wang Lijun incident.
"The present Chongqing municipal party committee and the municipal government must reflect seriously and learn from the Wang Lijun incident," he said.
While Mr Bo's name was not mentioned, the comment was understood to be a public criticism directed at him.
''There were thousands of officials going in and out all day,'' said Mr Han. ''On the same day, late in the evening, the news was broadcast to the whole country.''
A few weeks later state media reported that Ms Gu and Zhang Xiaojun, an orderly at Mr Bo's home, had been arrested. Mr Bo is also under investigation for ''serious discipline violations''.
The Chinese authorities have promised the UK government a thorough investigation into Mr Heywood's death.

THURSDAY, 19 APRIL 2012

Pakistan Judge Upholds Women’s Conversions to Islam



“A controversy over religious conversions that has captivated Pakistanis was resolved in dramatic fashion on Wednesday when a judge ruled that three Hindu women who converted to Islam under disputed circumstances had chosen to go with their new Muslim husbands, causing consternation among the families they left behind,” Salman Masood writes in The New York Times.
The Supreme Court had intervened in the three cases in recent weeks, “sequestering the women from their parents and their new husbands to consider their future without pressure,” Mr. Masood writes. “The court ruled on Wednesday that all three had freely chosen to remain Muslim.”
The decision met with heavy criticism from Hindu leaders and some rights activists, who maintained that the women were forcibly converted and that “their cases would make Pakistan’s already embattled minorities even more insecure,” he writes.
The most prominent case involved Rinkel Kumari, 19, a Hindu student who became Faryal Shah in order to marry Naveed Shah, a Muslim neighbor. In a hearing before the court on March 26, she and another woman — Lata Kumari, 29 — were given three weeks to make up their minds. Both women were then kept in a shelter in Karachi, the southern port city and provincial capital of Sindh.
During a packed hearing in the marble courtroom on Wednesday, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry ruled that both women were adults and had had ample time to decide.
“You can go wherever you choose,” Chief Justice Chaudhry said as both women, who wore black niqabs, stood quietly alongside two female police officers.
“You will get police protection. No one will be allowed to harm you.”

Woman Recounts Quarrel Leading to Agent Scandal

Prostitutes in Cartagena, Colombia, where a woman said the fee she had charged a Secret Service agent reflected her escort status.


CARTAGENA, Colombia — A Secret Service agent preparing for President Obama’s arrival at an international summit meeting and a single mother from Colombia who makes a living as a high-priced escort faced off in a room at the Hotel Caribe a week ago over how much he owed her for the previous night’s intercourse. “I tell him, ‘Baby, my cash money,’ ” the woman said in her first public comments on a dispute that would soon spiral into a full-blown scandal.

The disagreement over her price — he offered $30 for services she thought they had agreed were worth more than 25 times that — set off a tense early morning quarrel in the hallway of the luxury hotel involving the woman, another prostitute, Colombian police officers arguing on the women’s behalf and American federal agents who tried but failed to keep the matter from escalating.
On Wednesday, in a setback to the reputation of those who protect the president, the Secret Service prepared to fire one supervisor tied to the alleged misconduct with prostitutes on the Cartagena trip, the agency said in a statement. Another supervisor has decided to retire, and a third employee will be allowed to resign, the statement said. Eight other employees remain under investigation.
“These guys have the clearest cases,” said a government official briefed on the investigation, referring to the three who are being pushed out.
The employees under scrutiny have been asked to take lie detector tests; only one has agreed to do so, the official said. The supervisor who is being fired has threatened to sue, Mark Sullivan, the director of the Secret Service, has told officials.
Sitting in her living room wearing a short jean skirt, high-heeled espadrilles and a spandex top with a plunging neckline, the prostitute described how she and another woman were approached by a group of American men at a discotheque. In an account consistent with the official version of events coming out of Washington, but could not be independently confirmed, she said the men bought a bottle of Absolut vodka for the table and when that was finished bought a second one.
“They never told me they were with Obama,” she said, addressing published reports that some agents may have openly boasted to prostitutes that they were there protecting the president. “They were very discreet.”
A taxi driver who picked up the woman at the Hotel Caribe the morning of the encounter said he heard her and another woman recount the dispute over payment. When approached by a reporter for The New York Times, the woman was initially reluctant to speak about what had occurred. As she nervously told her story, a friend gave details that seemed to corroborate her account.
There was a language gap between the woman, 24, who declined to give her full name, and the American man who sat beside her at the bar and eventually invited her to his room. She agreed, stopped on the way to buy condoms but told him he would have to give her a gift. He asked how much. Not knowing he worked for Mr. Obama but figuring he was a well-heeled foreigner, she said, she told him $800.
The price alone, she said, indicates she is an escort, not a prostitute. “You have higher rank,” she said. “An escort is someone who a man can take out to dinner. She can dress nicely, wear nice makeup, speak and act like a lady. That’s me.”
By 6:30 the next morning, after being awoken by a telephone call from the hotel front desk reminding her that, under the hotel’s rules for prostitutes, she had to leave, whatever deal the two had agreed on had broken down. She recalled that the man told her he had been drunk when they discussed the price. He countered with an offer of 50,000 pesos, the equivalent of about $30.
Disgusted with such a low amount, she pressed the matter. He became angry, ordered her out of the room and called her an expletive, she said.
She said she was crying and went across the hall, where another escort had spent the night with an American man from the same group. Both women began trying to get the money.
They knocked on the door but got no response. She threatened to call the police, but the man’s friend, who appeared on the scene, begged her not to, saying they did not want trouble. Finally, she said, she left to go home but came across a police officer stationed in the hallway, who called in an English-speaking colleague.He accompanied her back to the room and the dispute escalated. Two other Americans from the club emerged from their rooms and stood guard in front of their friend’s locked door. The two Colombian officers tried to argue the woman’s case.
A hotel security officer arrived. Eventually, she lowered her demand to $250, which she said was the amount she has to pay the man who helps find her customers. Eager to resolve the matter fast, the American men eventually gave her a combination of dollars and pesos worth about $225, and she left.
It was only days later, once a friend she had shared her story with called to say that the dispute had made the television news, that she learned that the man was a Secret Service agent.
She is dismayed, she said, that the news reports described her as a prostitute, as if she walks the streets picking up just anyone.
“It’s the same, but it’s different,” she said, indicating that she is much more selective about her clients and charges much more than a streetwalker. “It’s like when you buy a fine rum or a BlackBerry or an iPhone. They have a different price.”
The woman veered between anger and fear as she told of her misadventure. “I’m scared,” she said, indicating that she did not want the man she spent the night with to get into any trouble but feared that he might retaliate.
“This is something really big,” she said. “This is the government of the United States. I have nervous attacks. I cry all the time.”
The Secret Service declined to comment on the woman’s account, but a United States official who has been briefed on the inquiry said the details were generally consistent with what agents have said. “On the whole, it’s pretty accurate,” the official said, indicating that the woman at the center of the dispute at the hotel had not yet been interviewed.
The Secret Service has expanded its investigation to look at its employees’ conduct on previous presidential trips, the person briefed on the investigation said. So far, investigators have not uncovered anything similar to what apparently happened in Colombia last week, the person said.
Besides the 11 Secret Service personnel, 10 military personnel, including explosives experts and dog handlers, are under scrutiny in a separate Pentagon investigation, officials said.
“There was no evidence that these women were seeking these guys out — that they were waiting for Secret Service agents — but all of that is being looked into,” said Representative Peter T. King, the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security.
Mr. King, a New York Republican, who was briefed on the matter this week by Mr. Sullivan, said the Secret Service agents at the hotel had provided conflicting reports about the night’s events. “Some of them were saying they didn’t know they were prostitutes,” he said. “Some are saying they were women at the bar. I understand that there was quite a bit of drinking.”
“I fully support what Mark is doing,” Mr. King said of Mr. Sullivan. “I know that he wanted to take strong action once he had a legal basis.”
Senator Susan Collins of Maine, the senior Republican on the Homeland Security Committee, said the woman’s account generally comported with what Secret Service officials said occurred. But she noted differences in some details, including the specifics of the amount of money in dispute. “It helps the Secret Service if in fact the guy did not identify himself,” said Ms. Collins, who has raised concerns about a potential security breach.
In a letter to Mr. Sullivan, Representative Darrell Issa, Republican of California, the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and the committee’s ranking member, Elijah Cummings, Democrat of Maryland, said the Secret Service personnel in Colombia had brought “foreign nationals into contact with sensitive security information” and were potentially exposed to “blackmail and other forms of potential compromise.”
Mr. Issa and Mr. Cummings listed 10 requests for information that they want answered by May 1. “Your swift and decisive action in response to this scandal has given us confidence that the agency will complete a thorough investigation and take steps to ensure that similar lapses in judgment will never again jeopardize the important work of the U.S. Secret Service,” the representatives said.
As for cooperating with the investigators for the Secret Service who are seeking to interview the prostitutes as well as witnesses from the bar and outside the hotel room, the woman who was involved in the payment dispute said she was not interested in that. She said she was planning to leave Cartagena soon.


EU 'to suspend most Burma sanctions'


European diplomats are reported to have reached a preliminary agreement to suspend most European Union sanctions against Burma.
UK PM David Cameron meets Burmese President Thein Sein in Burma on 13 April 2012
Western leaders have welcomed the reform process in Burma and promised reciprocal steps 
The final decision will be taken on Monday at a meeting of EU foreign ministers.
But senior sources in Brussels have told the BBC they expect that there will be agreement to suspend a "big chunk" of the current sanctions.
Only the arms embargo would stay in place, they said.
According to the sources, the travel ban and asset freeze for many government officials would end, reports the BBC's World Affairs correspondent Richard Galpin.
Aid and development money would be allowed into the country, as would investment into key parts of the economy - particularly the mining and logging sectors, our correspondent adds.
Exports from these industries would be allowed into the EU. There is also talk of establishing a preferential trade agreement with Burma.
Reform process
A process of reform has been under way in Burma since polls in November 2010 that brought a transition from military to nominally civilian rule.
The military-backed civilian government freed hundreds of political prisoners, including pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Her NLD party - which boycotted the 2010 polls because of election laws it said were unfair - has now rejoined the political process.
Earlier this month, Aung San Suu Kyi was elected to parliament in a by-election which saw her party win 43 out of the 45 seats it contested.
The military-backed ruling party nonetheless retains a large majority in parliament, where 25% of all seats are also reserved for the military.
Thawing ties
By placing a time limit on the suspension, the EU is hoping to continue applying pressure for progress to be sustained, which could possibly include constitutional change.
Under current Burmese law Aung San Suu Kyi cannot become president because of her British husband.
The US and Australia have already eased some sanctions on Burma following the political reforms.
Japan, unlike the Western nations, did not impose tough sanctions on Burma, though it did stop offering new development loans in 2003 after Aung San Suu Kyi was detained for the third time.
It is now considering lending more money to Burma by end of fiscal year 2012, according to news agency Kyodo.
Burmese president Thein Sein is scheduled to make a five-day visit to Japan this weekend.

India Extends Missile Range, Raising Fear of Arms Race


NEW DELHI — India said Thursday that it had successfully launched a missile with nuclear capability and a range of 3,100 miles, giving it the ability to strike Beijing and Shanghai and heightening fears of an Asian arms race.
Reuters
The Agni 5 missile was launched from Wheeler Island off the eastern coast of India on Thursday.
With the launching of the missile, called the Agni 5, India joins a small group of countries with long-range nuclear missile capability, including China, Britain, France, Russia, Israel and the United States. Agni is the Hindi word for fire.
The launching comes amid growing international apprehension about the militarization of Asia and a stepped-up strategic rivalry there between the United States and China. In March, Beijing announced a double-digit increase in military spending, and India recently became the world’s top arms buyer, displacing China, in part because China has increased it domestic production of weapons. And on Thursday, South Korea tested a missilecapable of hitting anywhere in North Korea, less than a week after North Korea launched a rocket that failed minutes after takeoff.
The missile launching in India “increases the perception of an arms race, and the reality of an arms race, in East Asia, particularly between China and India,” said Graeme P. Herd, head of the international security program at the Geneva Center for Security Policy, which trains diplomats on peace and security issues.
The timing may be seen as particularly provocative, he said, coming as China’s government deals with a scandalinvolving one of its top officials and after the United States has stepped up its military presence in the Pacific. “All of this, from the Chinese perspective, looks like a movement from balancing China to containing China,” Mr. Herd said, and could inspire Beijing to strengthen its weapons stockpile and forge closer ties with Pakistan and the Central Asian countries.
The launching was largely celebrated in India, where Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called it “another milestone in our quest to add to the credibility of our security and preparedness and to continuously explore the frontiers of science.” The entire nation honors the scientists involved, he said, who have “done the country proud.”
The Indian defense minister, A. K. Antony, said India had “joined the elite club of nations” that possess long-range missiles.
The United States, which led the criticism of North Korea last Friday, appeared to warily endorse India’s missile launching. “We urge all nuclear-capable states to exercise restraint regarding nuclear capabilities,” said Mark C. Toner, a State Department spokesman. “That said, India has a solid nonproliferation record.” India has a “no-first-use” policy.
China’s immediate reaction was subdued. At a regularly scheduled news briefing, Liu Weimin, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, said that India and China were “not competitors, but partners,” according to news agencies. The two countries should “work hard to uphold friendly strategic cooperation” for peace and stability in the region, he said.
The missile “does not pose a threat in reality,” China’s state-run broadcaster CCTV said, according to The Associated Press. The news channel questioned the accuracy of the missile’s guidance systems and its 50-ton-plus weight, which the Chinese said would force it to be launched from a fixed location, making it an easy target. India said the missile can be launched from a mobile platform.
Officials in Pakistan, India’s nuclear-armed neighbor and historic rival, did not return calls for comment. The countries have recently increased trade ties, raising hopes that the longstanding tensions between the two may be ending.
The Indian missile’s range would include Tehran, parts of Eastern Europe and Manila. But the focus of the test appeared to be China, analysts said.
“Agni 5 will give India complete coverage of targets in China,” Poornima Subramaniam, an Asia-Pacific armed forces analyst at IHS Jane’s Defense, said in an e-mail. “Agni 5 technologically narrows the missile gap between India and China, while the strategic balance between the two rivals is still tipped in China’s favor.”
The launching of the Agni 5, from an island off India’s east coast, is part of a missile program that began decades ago.
India started its missile development program in 1983. It has suffered occasional setbacks, but last November, it tested the Agni 4, which can hit targets up to 2,200 miles away. It will soon be given to the army for operational use; the Agni 1, Agni 2 and Agni 3 were also given to the army.
The Agni 5 weighs about 50 tons and is 51 feet long. It reached an altitude of about 430 miles in this test, the Indian government said. The Agni 5 will be ready for operational use by 2014.
“We have achieved exactly what we wanted to achieve in this mission,” Avinash Chandra, mission director for the test, told the Times Now news channel on Thursday.
China has a missile that can hit targets at least 6,200 miles away, and Pakistan’s missile range is at least 744 miles. “India has two nuclear-armed adversaries and needs to create minimal deterrence,” said Wing Cmdr. Ajey Lele, a specialist in strategic technologies at the government-financed Institute of Defense Studies and Analysis in New Delhi.
Some in India questioned spending so much on a sophisticated missile program as hundreds of millions of the country’s citizens continue to live in extreme poverty.
“It is ridiculous,” said Praful Bidwai, a researcher and columnist associated with the Coalition of Nuclear Disarmament and Peace. “We are getting into a useless arms race at the expense of fulfilling the need of poor people.”
The Chinese missile program is not directed at India, and the Chinese have assured India of that, he said, adding, “Now, the India missile program is clearly directed to China.”
Sruthi Gottipati and Nikhila Gill contributed reporting from New Delhi, and Kevin Drew from Hong Kong.

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