Asteroid the size of a small truck buzzes Earth: NASA

Sat, Jun 08 10:29 AM EDT By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - An asteroid the size of a small truck zoomed past Earth four times closer than the moon on Saturday, the latest in a parade of visiting celestial objects that has raised awareness of potentially hazardous impacts on the planet. NASA said Asteroid 2013 LR6 was discovered about a day before its closest approach to Earth, which occurred at 12:42 a.m. EDT (0442 GMT on Saturday) about 65,000 miles over the Southern Ocean, south of Tasmania, Australia. The 30-foot-wide (10-metre-wide) asteroid posed no threat. A week ago, the comparatively huge 1.7-mile-wide (2.7-km-wide) asteroid QE2, complete with its own moon in tow, passed 3.6 million miles (5.8 million km) from Earth. While on February 15, a small asteroid exploded in the atmosphere over Chelyabinsk, Russia, leaving more than 1,500 people injured by flying glass and debris. That same day, an unrelated asteroid passed just 17,200 miles from Earth, closer than the networks of communication satellites that ring the planet. "There is theoretically a collision possible between asteroids and planet Earth," astronomer Gianluca Masi, with the Virtual Telescope project, said during a Google+ webcast that showed live images of the approaching asteroid. NASA says it has found about 95 percent of the large asteroids, those with diameters 0.65 miles or larger, with orbits that take them relatively close to Earth. An object of that size hit the planet about 65 million years ago in what is now Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, triggering a global climate change that is believed to be responsible for the demise of the dinosaurs and many other forms of life on Earth. The U.S. space agency and other research organizations, as well as private companies, are working on tracking smaller objects that fly near Earth. (Reporting by Irene Klotz; Editing by Sandra Maler)

Tanks in Beirut as Syria protest leaves one dead

Sun, Jun 09 19:54 PM EDT 1 of 6 By Laila Bassam BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanese troops blocked streets in Beirut with tanks and barbed wire for several hours on Sunday after the killing of a protester outside the Iranian embassy raised factional tensions already inflamed by the war in Syria. The man died during a clash between rival groups of Shi'ite Muslims after militiamen from the Iranian-backed Hezbollah movement opened fire when protesters drew up at the embassy, the latest sign of Syria's violence spilling over to its neighbors. In Syria itself, fighting intensified in the north, where rebels said President Bashar al-Assad's forces and their Lebanese Hezbollah allies were preparing an offensive after success last week in seizing a strategic town further south. In the past week Assad's forces and Hezbollah captured the town of Qusair, which controls vital supply routes across Syria and with Lebanon, a sign of reversing momentum after the rebels seized swathes of the country in the second half of last year. Battles raged on Sunday near Al-Nubbul and Zahra, two rural Shi'ite Muslim enclaves outside the commercial hub Aleppo in Syria's north, and intensified in Aleppo itself. "The aim is to use the two villages as forward bases to make advances in Aleppo and its countryside," said Brigadier General Mustafa Al-Sheikh, a rebel commander and former senior officer in Assad's military, referring to government tactics. "The regime considers that it has received a shot in the arm after the Qusair battle, but they will find that it will not be easy to advance in Aleppo," Sheikh said, speaking from an undisclosed location in northern Syria. The civil war now pits Assad, from the Alawite offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, and Shi'ite Hezbollah against mainly Sunni Muslim rebel groups. Assad is backed by Shi'ite Iran and armed by Russia. The rebels are armed by Sunni Arab countries Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and backed by Turkey and the West. Much of the north near the Turkish border has been held by rebels since last year and frontlines inside Aleppo itself have been largely static for months. An article in the semi-official Syrian al-Watan daily said the Syrian army was "deploying heavily in the countryside near Aleppo in preparation for a battle that will be fought inside the city and on its outskirts." "Besieged areas will be freed in the first stages and troops which have been on the defensive will go on the offensive," the article said. Activists said at least ten rebel fighters and six loyalist troops were killed in intensifying combat in the last 24 hours in Aleppo, Syria's largest metropolis, which has been divided into rebel-held and loyalist controlled sectors for a year. Sheikh said the army has been using helicopters to re-enforce Nubbul and Zahra with loyalist troops including Hezbollah fighters and recruits from Iraq. There was no independent confirmation of any Hezbollah presence near Aleppo. Hezbollah has pledged to fight alongside Assad until victory in the Syrian war, in which at least 80,000 people have been killed. It does not comment on the specific activities of its fighters in Syria. HEZBOLLAH PARTICIPATION Hezbollah's participation raises the prospect of fighting spreading to Lebanon, which has never fully recovered from its own 1975-1990 civil war. In Beirut, the Lebanese army, which has limited means to impose itself on armed factions, deployed armored vehicles and set up roadblocks to cordon the city center and neighborhoods controlled by Hezbollah. Traffic was restored toward evening. Demonstrators from a variety of groups, including Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims and Christians, in protest against Hezbollah's newly prominent role supporting Assad. When protesters from a small Shi'ite party opposed to Hezbollah arrived at the Iranian embassy in a bus, a Reuters journalist saw them clash with black-clad Hezbollah militiamen, who opened fire. Lebanese security officials said one of the protesters, who was unarmed, was killed and several people were hurt. "What happened today makes us feel there is a very difficult period ahead. We are bringing disasters upon ourselves by interfering in others' affairs," said hotel owner Ali Hammoud. "No one will come to Lebanon now; our concern now is just to stay alive." A member of the Lebanese parliament who supports the Sunni former prime minister Saad Hariri said Hezbollah must pull its fighters out. "Hezbollah has driven Lebanon into a tunnel without end," said Nuhad Mashnouq. DIVISIONS In Jordan, the United States began military exercises on Sunday that have seen it deploy Patriot anti-aircraft missiles, fighter jets and 4,500 troops to the country, an ally neighboring Syria. U.S. officials have said they could leave the new weapons in place after the exercises are over. Russia has complained about the deployment, especially of the Patriots, which it sees as potentially useful if the United States and its allies want to intervene militarily beginning with a no-fly zone. More than 4,500 American troops, around 3,000 Jordanians, and 500 soldiers from Britain, Saudi Arabia and other countries were taking part in the exercises, less than 75 miles from the Syrian border, said military officials. "The drills having nothing to do with any objective related to what is happening in Syria," the top army commander in charge of Jordanian troops, Major General Awni al-Adwan, told reporters during the launch of the exercises on Sunday. U.S. Major General Robert G. Catalanotti told a joint news conference the Eager Lion events would increase "our ability to operate together in any upcoming contingency". The exercises also involve drills on handling chemical strikes, which Syria's government and rebels have accused each other of carrying out. The United States and Russia have been trying to bridge differences by pushing the warring sides to peace talks in Geneva, but divisions among the opposition and wrangling among the major powers over whether Assad must step down have left the prospects for the conference unclear. Britain and France have broken ranks with other European powers and the United States to say they may join Saudi Arabia and Qatar in arming the rebels as a way to end a war that has killed over 80,000 people. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Sunday London was still "very reluctant" to do so. "People have understandable concerns about the idea of sending arms to anybody in Syria," he said. "On the other hand, at the moment, people are being killed in huge numbers while the world denies them the right to defend themselves." Israel, which has bombed what it suggests were Iranian missiles in Syria headed for Hezbollah, said on Sunday it aimed to stay out of the war, though it is concerned by fighting on the U.N.-policed ceasefire line in the Golan Heights that might bring Islamists toward its border. "Israel is not getting involved in the civil war in Syria, as long as the fire is not directed at us," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet in broadcast remarks. (Additional reporting by Samia Nakhoul in Beirut and Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Suleiman Al-Khalidi in Amman; Writing by Peter Graff and Alastair Macdonald; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Iraq bomber hits Iranian pilgrims, at least nine dead

Iraq bomber hits Iranian pilgrims, at least nine dead Fri, Jun 07 08:23 AM EDT BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A suicide bomber rammed his car into a bus carrying Iranian Shi'ite Muslim pilgrims in Iraq on Friday, killing at least nine people in an attack likely carried out by Sunni Muslim insurgents trying to ignite sectarian conflict. Al Qaeda's local wing and other Sunni insurgents have been on the offensive since the start of the year in an attempt - spurred in part by the mainly Sunni rebellion in neighboring Syria - to provoke the kind of Shi'ite-Sunni bloodshed that killed thousands in Iraq in 2006-2007. Police said that in Friday's attack in Muqdadiya, 80 km northeast of Baghdad, the bomber targeted a convoy of three buses carrying Iranian pilgrims, who often visit Iraq's Shi'ite shrines in the south of the country. At least nine people were killed and 27 wounded, according to police. "When the buses passed, a white car driving very fast came out of an alley way and hit the second bus, and I saw that bus burst into flames," said Ahmed Ferhan, an Iraqi man injured in the blasts. An official with Iran's Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization told the semi-official Fars news agency that based on preliminary information, 16 Iranians had been killed and 44 wounded in the attack. Nearly 2,000 people have been killed in attacks in Iraq since April, the highest toll in five years, in surging violence that could tip the country back into all-out inter-communal war. (Reporting by a Reuters correspondent in Diyala and Zahra Hosseinian in Zurich; writing by Patrick Markey, editing by Mark Heinrich)

No seats left: Fauzia Kasuri quits PTI

Mumkin by zemvideos By Web Desk Published: June 5, 2013 Fauzia Kasuri. PHOTO: WASEEM NIAZ Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fauzia Kasuri announced on Wednesday that she was leaving her party, Express News reported. Kasuri, while addressing a press conference in Islamabad, claimed that Imran Khan has been cornered by the “mafia”. The disgruntled former PTI leader was in talks with the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) as to how and when she should join the party. Kasuri, fourth in PTI’s pecking order of women candidates for reserved seats in the National Assembly, could not get a place in the lower house. Nomination tickets for reserved seats for women in the National Assembly were given based on relations instead of merit, Kasuri claimed. She also called out the party for giving a ticket to PTI leader Hamid Khan, despite him having dual nationality. Kasuri added that she has been contacted by PML-N, Jamaat-e-Islami, and Tahirul Qadri. ================= Fauzia Kasuri From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search Fauzia Kasuri فوزیہ قصوری Personal details Born 8 September 1952 (age 60)[1][2] Karachi, Pakistan Spouse(s) Danial Kasuri [3] Residence Islamabad, Pakistan [1][2] Alma mater University of North Carolina St. Joseph's College[4] Occupation Politician Religion Islam Fauzia Kasuri (Urdu: فوزیہ قصوری‎, born 8 September 1952) is a Pakistani politician and was one of the central figures of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf. Contents [hide] 1 Career 1.1 Resignation from PTI 2 Personal life and education 3 See also 4 References Career[edit] Kasuri worked with Imran Khan to help raise money for the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Centre.[3] On 26 July 2011, she helped launch a women's wing of PTI in the United States.[5] She currently lives in Islamabad. Kasuri presided over the women's wing of PTI until 20 March 2013. She was disqualified from PTI elections for having dual nationality of Pakistan and the United States.[6][7][8] She renounced her U.S. citizenship on 22 March 2013.[9][10] Resignation from PTI[edit] She had voiced several complains against her party regarding her rank on priority list of reserved seats for women, in which her rank was below Dr. Shireen Mazari, Dr. Munaza Hassan and Ayla Malik, when PTI only won 10 seats from Punjab only the top two went to the parliament on reserved seats causing Kasuri to lash out on PTI leadership she soon announced that she will leave PTI and join another party.[11] Personal life and education[edit] Kasuri holds a bachelor of arts from Karachi University, master of business administration from the University of North Carolina and a master of international affairs from Punjab University. Her husband is the executive director of Beaconhouse National University, she is a relative of former Foreign Minister and Senior PTI Member Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri.[citation needed] Politics portal Imran Khan 1.^ a b Fauzia Kasuri Pakistan Leaders Online Accessed may 9, 2012 2.^ a b Fauzia Kasuri Pakistan Herald. Accessed May 9, 2012 3.^ a b Daily Times. Tipper, Gore donate to Imran’s hospital "The event at $150 a plate was organised by Mrs Fauzia Kasuri, wife of Danial Kasuri, executive director of the Beaconhouse School system in Pakistan" May 17, 2004. Accessed May 9, 2012 4.^ Fauzia Kasuri on OnePakistan.com Accessed May 9, 2012 5.^ Chaudhry, Hussnain "Fauzia Kasuri Launches The First Women Wing of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf In North America" TRCB News. July 30, 2011. Accessed June 1, 2012. 6.^ http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2013/03/21/city/lahore/fauzia-kasuri-disqualified-from-pti-elections-2/ 7.^ http://www.thenewstribe.com/2013/03/21/fauzia-kasuri-eliminated-from-pti-intra-party-polls-over-dual-nationality-of-us/ 8.^ Gishkori, Zahid. "PM contempt: PTI to launch Mashaal Tsunami" The Express Tribune. "PTI Women Wing President Fauzia Kasuri and party leader Sardar Azhar Tariq will lead the rally." May 5, 2012 Accessed May 9, 2012. 9.^ "Fauzia Kasuri (PTI) will surrender her US citizenship to contest general Elections". Awaz Today. 2013-03-21. Retrieved 2013-03-25. 10.^ Qadeer, Yasir (2013-03-22). "Fauzia Kasuri surrenders her US Nationality for Pakistan". Tehreek-e-Insaf. Retrieved 2013-03-25. 11.^ http://www.aaj.tv/2013/06/fauzia-kasuri-angry-at-imran-khan-planning-to-leave-pti/ This article about a Pakistani politician is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. ==================================

Syrian rebels, Hezbollah in deadly fight in Lebanon

Sun, Jun 02 16:11 PM EDT 1 of 3 By Dominic Evans BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hezbollah guerrillas fought a deadly battle with Syrian rebels in Lebanon's eastern border region early on Sunday, security sources said, in the latest eruption of Syria's conflict on Lebanese soil. Lebanese security sources said at least 12 rebels were killed in the fighting east of the Bekaa Valley town of Baalbek, but the toll would not be clear until bodies were retrieved from the remote and rugged border area. One Hezbollah fighter also died, they said. Syria's two-year-old conflict has increasingly sucked in its smaller neighbor, with fighting shaking the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli and rockets hitting the Bekaa Valley and southern Beirut. Shi'ite Muslim Hezbollah, which supports President Bashar al-Assad, is fighting alongside his army to drive rebels from the Syrian border town of Qusair, while Lebanese Sunni Muslim fighters have joined the anti-Assad revolt. Sunday's fighting took place near Ain el-Jaouze in a strip of Lebanese territory which extends into Syria, the sources said, and the rebels may have been ambushed as they set up rockets to fire into Shi'ite areas of the Bekaa Valley. Rebels have said they will carry out attacks inside Lebanon in response to Hezbollah's support for Assad's assault on Qusair, a strategic town for rebel weapons supplies and fighters coming into Syria from Lebanon. The United Nations said on Saturday that up to 1,500 wounded people might be trapped inside Qusair and U.N. officials called for an immediate ceasefire to allow them to receive treatment. The International Committee of the Red Cross asked for access, saying it was ready to enter Qusair immediately to deliver aid. But Syrian state television said Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem told U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon by telephone on Sunday that the Red Cross would have to wait until military operations in the area were complete. Moualem also expressed surprise at international concern over the fighting around Qusair, saying the world had been silent when rebels took over the town 18 months ago and that Syria was now clearing it of "terrorism", the television said. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of medical and security sources on the ground, said heavy fighting continued in the northern, eastern and southern outskirts of Qusair on Sunday. Security Council diplomats said Russia, which along with China has shielded Assad diplomatically at the United Nations, blocked a council declaration of alarm on Saturday over the two-week-old siege of Qusair. The draft statement urged forces loyal to Assad and rebels trying to oust him "to do their utmost to avoid civilian casualties and for the Syrian Government to exercise its responsibility to protect civilians". It appealed to Assad's government "to allow immediate, full and unimpeded access to impartial humanitarian actors, including U.N. agencies, to reach civilians trapped in al-Qusair". ASSAD'S HAND STRENGTHENED Moscow's move to block the statement highlights the chasm between Russia and Western nations on how to deal with the war in Syria despite joint efforts by Washington and Moscow to convene a peace conference in the next few weeks. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius suggested on Sunday that the talks could take place in July, echoing comments by officials in the Middle East. He said the Syrian government and the opposition must attend what he called "the last chance" for a negotiated solution. "It's not just about getting round the table and then asking what are we going to talk about. It needs to be prepared. That is why I say that the July date would be suitable," Fabius said. Assad has lost control of large areas of northern and eastern Syria but his forces have staged fierce counter-attacks in the south and centre, including Damascus, Deraa and Qusair. The fighting has strengthened Assad's hand before the proposed peace talks, which the 47-year-old leader says he supports in principle. However, he has dampened prospects of any transfer of his powers to a transitional government - a central element of efforts to secure a political solution. Assad's opponents have also yet to commit to the peace talks. U.S. Senator John McCain, a senior Republican who was just in Syria last week, told CBS's "Face the Nation" he very much doubted whether Assad would seriously engage in the peace talks. "Anybody that believes that Bashar al-Assad is going to go to a conference in Geneva when he is prevailing on the battlefield, it's just ludicrous to assume that," McCain said. The uprising against Assad, whose Alawite minority is an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam, has killed at least 80,000 people, driven 1.5 million refugees out of Syria and fuelled regional sectarian tensions. Bahrain's deputy foreign minister Ghanem al-Buainain told a meeting of Gulf foreign ministers on Sunday that intervention "by some countries" in Syria - singling out Iran and Hezbollah - demanded a "serious stance and common action" in response. Leading Sunni cleric Sheikh Youssef al-Qaradawi, based in Qatar which has led regional pressure for Assad's overthrow, called on Saturday for holy war against the Syrian government after intervention by Hezbollah. The Syrian Observatory said a bomber from the al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front rebel group blew his car up near a police station in the eastern Damascus district of Jobar on Sunday, killing himself and eight members of the security forces. Pope Francis called for an end to the violence in Syria and appealed to kidnappers in Syria to free captives who include the Greek Orthodox archbishop Paul Yazigi and Syriac Orthodox archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim, seized near Aleppo last month. (Additional reporting by Mariam Karouny in Beirut, Louis Charbonneau at the United Nations, Stephanie Nebehay in Geneva and Philip Pullella in Rome; Editing by Alistair Lyon and Jon Hemming)

Blaze at locked Chinese poultry slaughterhouse kills 119: state media

حصہ اول حضرت عائشہ کی شادی کا مسئلہ : ابن اسحاق نے حضرت عائشہ کو ان لوگوں میں شمار کیا ہے جنہوں نے بعثت کے ابتدائی دور میں اسلام قبول کیا یعنی انہوں نے اٹھارہ افراد کے بعد اسلام قبول کیا۔ اس لحاظ سے اگر بعثت کے وقت حضرت عائشہ کی عمر سات سال بھی قرار دیں تو نکاح کے وقت ان کی عمر سترہ سال اور ہجرت کے وقت بیس سال ہوگی ۔ ۲۔حضرت عائشہ صدیقہ کی بڑی بہن سیدہ اسماء بنت ابی بکر طویل العمر صحابیان میں سے ہیں۔عبداللہ بن زبیر کی والدہ ہیں۔ان کی عمر تمام مورخین نے سو سال لکھی ہے۔ سیدہ عائشہ صدیقہ ان سے دس سال چھوٹی ہیں۔ سیدہ اسماء حضرت عبداللہ بن ز بیر کی وفات کے پانچ یا دس دن بعد فوت ہوئیں۔ سن وفات 73ھ ہے۔ اس حساب سے سیدہ اسماء کی عمر ہجرت کے وقت 27 سال ہوئی اور سیدہ عائشہ صدیقہ ان سے دس سال چھوٹی ہیں تو آپ کی عمر ہجرت کے وقت 17 سال ہوئی۔ اگر سیدہ عائشہ صدیقہ کی رخصتی 2ھ کو مانی جائے تو رخصتی کے وقت آپ کی عمر مبارک 19 سال ہوئی۔ [ابن کثير، البدايه والنهايه 8 / 346 طبع بيروت] [علامه ابن حجر عسقلانی، تهذيب التهذيب 12 ص 426 طبع لاهور] [الطبرانے، سلیمان بن احمد بن ابوالقاسم المعجم الکبیر ، ج ۲۴، ص ۷۷، الجزری، عزالدین بن الاثیر ابن الحسن علی بن محمد، اسد الغابۃ فی معرفۃ الصحابہ، ج ۷، س ۱۱، داراحیاء ، بیروت، الھےثمی، مجلد الزوائد ومنبع الفوائد، ج۹، ص ۲۶۰، دارالرےان للتراث، القاھرہ ۔ ۔ ۔ اور بھی منابع اس بات کی حمایت میں موجود ہے کہ ان سے اجتناب کرتے ہیں ۔ علامہ لیاقت علی ، شیعہ مضامین یہ ان لوگوں کے لئے ہے کہ جو اعتراض کرتے ہیں کہ نعوذ باللہ رسول خدا صلی اللہ علیہ وآلہ وسلم کیوں نو ۹ سال کی لڑکی سے شادی کی اور رسول پاک کی شان میں گستاخی کرتے ہیں اور کہتے ہیں کہ جنس باز تھے نعوذ باللہ ۔ Mon, Jun 03 09:38 AM EDT 1 of 2 By Ben Blanchard BEIJING (Reuters) - A blaze at a locked poultry slaughterhouse in northeast China killed at least 119 people on Monday with several still unaccounted for, officials and state media said, triggering online outrage in a country with a grim record on fire safety. The fire broke out just after dawn near Dehui in Jilin province. The provincial government said it sent more than 500 firefighters and more than 270 doctors and nurses to the scene, evacuating 3,000 nearby residents as a precaution. China Central Television showed thick black smoke pouring from a low-slung, one-storey building with an arched roof over part of it. Flames shot through some rooftop vents, and firefighters on the ground and on high ladders poured water onto the roof and onto smoldering debris inside the building. CCTV showed a backhoe punching through a wall so firefighters could aim more water inside. "It was so fast - we first saw a flash, then there was a big 'bang'," an unidentified employee of the slaughterhouse told CCTV. "We knew it was bad, so then we all ran. We didn't know what happened, we didn't know it was an explosion." The death toll prompted President Xi Jinping, on a visit to Latin America and the United States, to issue instructions to care for the injured and vigorously investigate the cause of the disaster, holding accountable according to law all found to be responsible, the television reported. Premier Li Keqiang called on firefighters and other emergency workers to proceed urgently to save lives as the top priority, CCTV said. Local police said ammonia gas leaks might have caused the explosions, prompting the evacuation of residents, the China News Service reported. More than 300 workers were in the plant at the time, with employees reporting hearing the bang and then seeing smoke, state news agency Xinhua said. "About 100 workers have managed to escape from the plant whose gate was locked when the fire occurred," Xinhua said. "The complicated interior structure of the prefabricated house in which the fire broke out and the narrow exits have added difficulties to the rescue work." The exact number of people missing was unclear, as was the cause of the fire, Xinhua said. The Jilin government said 60 people were injured and had been rushed to hospital. People took to social media sites to express their anger. "Was this place never regularly inspected by fire safety authorities?" wrote one user on China's popular Twitter-like service Sina Weibo. "Senior officials need to be sacked because of this," wrote another. RELATIVES OF VICTIMS DEMAND EXPLANATION Victims' relatives gathered outside the building to "demand the government investigate and announce the cause of the accident as soon as possible", Xinhua said. Hong Kong's Phoenix Television cited family members as saying that the doors were always kept locked during working hours during which workers were forbidden to leave and that the slaughterhouse never carried out fire drills. China's record is poor. Fire exits in factories are often locked or blocked and regulations can be easily skirted by bribing corrupt officials. Jilin is a largely agricultural province and an important grower of corn and soy beans. The slaughterhouse is owned by a small local feed and poultry producer called Jilin Baoyuanfeng Poultry Company, according to the government. A fire at a nightclub in Shenzhen, just across the border from Hong Kong, killed 44 people in 2008. A senior policeman was jailed for taking bribes to allow the unlicensed venue to remain open. One of modern China's worst fire disasters occurred in late 2000, when fire engulfed building workers at a discotheque in a mall in the central city of Luoyang, killing 309. Many of China's deadly industrial accidents happen in the huge coal mining industry, in which more than 1,300 people died last year from explosions, mine cave-ins and floods. (Additional reporting by Terril Yue Jones; Editing by Ron Popeski)

$17bn Basrah Gas Project Reaches Operational Phase

Sat, 01 Jun 2013 02:13:03 CDT Iraq: The $17bn Basrah Gas Project, the world's largest gas flares reduction project and a first-in-country public-private-partnership of this scale (to date) , has reached operational phase. Vinson and Elkins LLP (V&E) and Cleary Gottlieb Steen and Hamilton LLP are acting as joint counsel to the Ministry of Oil of the Republic of Iraq in connection with the Project, a 25-year joint venture between South Gas Company (a Ministry of Oil affiliate) and affiliates of Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Mitsubishi Corporation