Mass outrage over Indian minister's rape remarks

There is outrage across India over a minister from the ruling BJP party who said that rape was "sometimes right, sometimes wrong." The remarks come as the country reels from a series of brutal gang rapes.

Deutsche Welle, 6 June 2014

When the home minister of the central Madhya Pradesh state, Babulal Gaur, described rape as a social crime, saying "sometimes it's right, sometimes it's wrong", he not only sparked a huge controversy in the vast South Asian nation, but also invited the wrath of social media. The minister from PM Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also insisted that governments could not ensure that women do not get raped.

Reactions

The remarks triggered heated reactions from the Opposition Congress party, and protests broke out outside the minister's home on Friday, June 6, with women activists staging a sit-in demonstration and demanding his resignation.

"Gaur does not deserve to be home minister if women have to protect themselves against criminals," Mandvi Chouhan, a member of the opposition Congress Party, told DW.

The recent brutal rape cases have
triggered protests nationwide

Public outrage erupted last week following the rape and hanging of two teenage girls in a rural village of the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. "It is such a chilling crime. How can anyone expect a minister to talk like this?" asked Kavita Datta, an Information Technology student.

"We always knew that we should not expect security and protection from the state, and that we have to defend ourselves. Gaur's statement is proof of that," Priti Goel, a corporate executive in New Delhi, told DW.

Social media users, too, were quick to denounce Gaur. "A woman in India is raped every 20 minutes, whereas people like Babulal Gaur make stupid comments every 10 minutes," Magat Jhunjhunwala wrore on Twitter.

"Gaur needs a tape on his mouth, things will change for the better," tweeted Harsh Uberoi.

Insensitivity

The Indian home minister's remarks are the latest in the series of controversial statements made by the country's lawmakers. Two months ago, Mulayam Singh Yadav, another politician, challenged the death penalty handed out to three men convicted in the gang-rape of two women in India's financial capital Mumbai. Yadav said the culprits did not deserve death sentence since "boys will be boys," and that "boys make mistakes."

Abu Azmi, another prominent leader belonging to Yadav's Samajwadi Party, followed suit saying even rape victims should be punished for getting raped.

India may have tightened its rape laws,
but sexual violence continues unabated,
say observers

But perhaps the most sexist comments came from the former chief minister of the northern state of Haryana, Om Prakash Chautala. The politician said "child marriage" could be helpful in reducing the number of rapes and other crimes against women.

In the aftermath of the brutal gang rape and murder of a young woman on a moving bus in the Indian capital in December 2012, India tightened its rape laws and expanded the definition of violence against women. However, sexual violence continues unabated, say observers.

Thai junta's spin doctors prescribe 'national happiness'

Yahoo – AFP, Amélie Bottollier-Depois, 6 June 2014

Soldiers dance with residents at a military event organised to 'return happiness

 to the people' at Victory Monument, the site of recent anti-coup rallies in Bangkok,

on June 4, 2014. 

With free meals, music concerts and dancing soldiers, Thailand's junta is waging a propaganda offensive to encourage "national happiness" following a military coup that has severely restricted civil liberties.

Since seizing power on May 22 from an elected government, the army has banned public protests, censored the media and summoned hundreds of politicians, activists and academics for questioning.

The army, which has ruled out elections for at least a year, says its intervention was needed to end months of bloody political unrest.

And now the coup-makers are trying to portray the softer side of military rule, with propaganda programmes on the television and festivities in the streets.

"Thai people, like me, have probably not been happy for nine years, but since May 22 there is happiness," army commander-in-chief Prayut Chan-O-Cha said in a recent televised address to the nation.

While the coup has its supporters, particularly among the Bangkok-based elite who loathed the previous government, the happiness campaign masks what activists say is a severe deterioration in human rights.

Soldiers dance with residents at a military

 event organised to 'return happiness to

 the people' at Victory Monument, the site

 of recent anti-coup rallies in Bangkok, on

June 4, 2014.

"I think it is mere propaganda," said Paul Chambers, director of research at the Institute of Southeast Asian Affairs in Chiang Mai.

"It is blunt and too obvious."

But for the hundreds of Thais who attended an army-hosted festival this week in Bangkok, the spin doctors' medicine appears to be working.

"People coming here today are happy and today society started to smile," said Chutamat Kritcharoen, 45, while a group of young soldiers showed off their muscles on stage to a delirious crowd.

"Happiness is coming back to the people."

'Land of crisis'

Arunee Omsin, 59, said she was most happy about being able to venture out onto the streets without fear of a repeat of the gunfire and grenade attacks that shook Bangkok for months before the coup.

"We want the Thai style of atmosphere back. In the past people called us the Land of Smiles, but now we have become the Land of Crisis," she said while queuing up for a free meal of rice and omelette.

Nearby, children stroked a horse from a military cavalry regiment, while several Thais enjoyed free medical check-ups and a young woman posed for a photo with a soldier in camouflage.

"This event is seen as a fresh start for Thai society so people can face each other and talk, using music as a medium, or with other activities," said Colonel Sombat Thanyawan, a cavalry regiment commander.

Soldiers sing and dance with residents
at a military event organised to 'return

happiness to the people' at Victory 
Monument, the site of recent anti-coup
rallies in Bangkok, on June 4, 2014.

With a carnival atmosphere and free food, the festivities are reminiscent of the anti-government protests that precipitated the coup.

The demonstrators, drawn largely from Bangkok and the south, succeeded in their aim of toppling the government of ex-premier Yingluck Shinawatra, who is the younger sister of divisive former leader Thaksin Shinawatra.

Thaksin, a billionaire tycoon-turned-populist politician who lives in self-exile to avoid prison for corruption, is popular in the northern half of the country but is hated by many in Bangkok and the south.

While the army has presented itself as a neutral mediator in the long-running crisis, its takeover of power and plans to draw up a new constitution are exactly what the opposition protesters wanted.

'National unhappiness'

With Thai society deeply divided since a 2006 coup that ousted Thaksin, the prospects for a victory for the generals in the propaganda war appear uncertain.

Dozens of people were killed in a military crackdown on pro-Thaksin rallies in 2010.

"In view of the political crisis over the past decade, Thais have been collectively unhappy and the military correctly sees this," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, political analyst at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University.

A soldier sings at a military event

 organised to 'return happiness to the

 people' at Victory Monument, the site of

 recent anti-coup rallies in Bangkok, on

June 4, 2014.

"But national unhappiness cannot be remedied merely through promotional campaigns," he added. "It has to be tackled at its roots, at the sources of social divide and political conflict."

As part of its campaign the junta also plans to set up "reconciliation" centres around the country, although details are still sketchy.

The organised activities are accompanied by tight control of national media, who are obliged to regularly interrupt their normal broadcasting to transmit the junta's messages.

Behind the happy images, anyone caught protesting against the coup in public risks trial in a military court and possible imprisonment.

"This is a carrot and stick military media campaign," said Chambers.

While Bangkok residents may welcome the festivities, "rural people may not buy it hook, line and sinker," he added.

Yunlin police officer is Taiwan's biggest civil servant tax dodger

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-06-06

Chen Yi-chieh, center, reveals a list of civil servants who have evaded
taxes, June 4. (Photo/Yao Zhih-ping)

A police officer in Yunlin county in central Taiwan evaded a whopping NT$46.3 million (US$1.5 million) in tax, the highest amount yet recorded among the country's civil servants. A lawmaker said the officer had violated civil service regulations and that he suspects him of embezzlement, reports our Chinese-language sister paper China Times.

Chen Yi-chieh, a legislator for the minority People First Party, revealed a list of civil servants who have evaded the highest amount of taxes in the country on Wednesday. The officer surnamed Li was found to be running a sand and gravel trading company with his wife between 2001 and 2005 called A Liang Sand and Gravel at the end of 2003. He was arrested by the county police in 2005 for evading a total of NT$46.3 million in taxes, including business tax, and business income taxes in 2006. The following year, Li was given a one-year suspended sentence.

The lawmaker estimated that the officer's income was around NT$200-$300 million (US$66,500-$100,000) a year. Li has been able to continue in his civil service job, however, and will have access to a retirement fund.

The company was reported to authorities in 2008 since it was not registered. The National Taiwan Taxation Bureau has negotiated a deal with the officer. The bureau has collected NT$1.4 million (US$46,600) in back taxes and will obtain the remaining unpaid tax by taking around NT$20,000 (US$665) from Li's salary every month, said Chang Ching-ke, deputy director general of the tax bureau's branch in central Taiwan. In response to Chen's question on why the officer has been able to keep his civil service job, Chang said Li's assets have been confiscated and he has also been banned from leaving the country.

Few of the mid-ranking officer's coworkers knew about his extra income since he wore plainclothes and drove a ten-year-old car. He has now applied for retirement since he will have served 30 years in September.

Another two civil servants who were named the biggest tax evaders by the lawmaker are a staff member in a hospital in Taipei who evaded NT$30 million (US$1 million) in taxes and a person working at a financial institution who left NT$25 million (US$832,000) in tax unpaid.

2,000 Nepalese tree-huggers claim world record

Yahoo – AFP, 5 June 2014

Nepalese school children hug trees in a bid as they celebrate World Environment

 Day in the forest of Gokarna village, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, on June 5,

2014. (Photo by Prakash Mathema / AFP)

More than two thousand people including lawmakers and students hugged trees in a park outside Nepal's capital Kathmandu on Thursday to claim a new record on World Environment Day.

After organisers sounded a horn, eager students, many wearing their school uniforms, clasped tree trunks and held tight for two minutes as Nepalese musicians beat traditional drums.

"We had a very high turnout. In the end, 2,001 people hugged trees together... to claim a new world record," said Thaneswar Guragai, one of the event's organisers.

Among the tree huggers was 24-year-old student Tripti Prajapti who told AFP: "When you hug a tree you feel connected... even as an individual you can contribute to protect and conserve trees."

Twenty Nepalese lawmakers also turned up to support the campaigners.

Nepalese school children hug trees as they celebrate World Environment Day

 in the forest of Gokarna village, on the outskirts of Kathmandu, on June 5, 2014

 (Photo by Prakash Mathema / AFP)

"We came here to encourage the kids. Just hugging a tree may not make a difference but... it raises awareness," said lawmaker Krishna Bahadur Chhantel Thapa.

Organisers will now submit their claim for a new record to Guinness World Records, which is expected to rule on it within two months.

The current world record for the world's largest tree-hugging event was set in July 2013, when 936 people gathered in the US state of Oregon.

Related Articles:

"Soul Communication" - Feb 22-23, 2014 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version Part 1, Text version Part 2)

"... Some of you will walk into the forest and you'll feel it. It surrounds you with its love and beauty. Gaia speaks to you. The trees are pushing out oxygen with a benevolent system of photosynthesis. The plants give you oxygen and you give them carbon dioxide. What a system! Look around. Science will say that system happened by accident - a random occurrence. Do you believe that? What a beautiful system! The trees themselves know who you are. You walk into the forest and you feel it hug you, but perhaps another is next to you who came with a chainsaw. They don't care and they don't feel it. To them, the forest is only a resource. What's the difference between the two of you? There's no judgment here, I'm just asking you. What do you think the difference is? The answer: You're letting multidimensional awareness in and they are not. You see, you are becoming more aware of multidimensional soul communication. In this case, it's your enormous soul energy communicating with the other parts of the planet who are also multidimensional.

When you make the decision that it's OK to feel this energy, it will be there. Most of humanity so far has not made that decision. They block it. The law is this - this communication will come to you only with your allowance. The moment you open the door of allowance, you may begin to feel it. Those are our rules.

It's not just allowance for communication from the creative source, but also from an amazing number of what we would call other benevolent energies. These others are represented by groups with names that you have given them. They also cannot get through to you unless you allow it. That's their rule as well. Your names for them are Pleiadians, Arcturians, Sirians, Hathors or those from Orion. There are many more, but unless you open to the possibility of them, they can't communicate either.

Most of humanity will stand next to you as you communicate and think you're not well. That's the way it looks to them. Listen, dear ones, the benevolent groups who represent your DNA essence [your seed biology] and who know who you are are many. The amount of help you have on this planet is staggering, yet the majority of humanity will not allow awareness of it or let the possibility into their reality.. ..."

"Soul Communication" - Feb 22-23, 2014 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Text version Part 1, Text version Part 2)

"... Universal communication: When you walk into the forest and the trees talk to you, what is that about? Gaia speaks to you! What does that voice sound like? Am I getting through to you? Do you understand what I'm saying?

You are able to hear these things in your own way, but none of them are synaptic. Are the trees in trouble? Are they crying? Perhaps they are celebrating? All of this information is available to those who can hear it.

"Kryon, is it true that in the forest there are what you would call devas?" Here's my answer: Are you kidding? Of course! Yes! You are asking what they are. They are multidimensional aspects of Gaia. I love how Humans deal with multidimensional energies. They "3D-ize" them. When Human Beings cannot understand a multidimensional energy, they make them entities, dress them [put outfits on them in their minds], give them names, and put them in Human movies. They're beautiful! You know they are, and they're everywhere. Go into the forest and they'll talk to you. Sit down in the grass and let them communicate with you. They're part of the energy soup that is Gaia, which is Mother Nature, the personality that is the love of God in nature.

Dear one, you're not going to receive bad things from a deva. You're not going to get bad information from hugging a tree. You know that, don't you? What does this tell you about how Gaia feels about you? These are just a few things when it comes to the subject of communication from others to you. ..."

Chinese president urges joint efforts in building silk road economic belt

English.news.cn, Editor: Mengjie, 2014-06-05

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a keynote speech on the relations and
 cooperation between China and Arab states at the opening ceremony of the Sixth
 Ministerial Conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum (CASCF) in
Beijing, capital of China, June 5, 2014. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)

BEIJING, June 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping called on China and Arab states to make joint efforts in negotiations, implementation and sharing in building the "One Belt and One Road".

Xi made the remarks in his address at the opening ceremony of the sixth ministerial conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum (CASCF) held in Beijing, which called on the two sides to carry forward the Silk Road spirit and deepen their cooperation.

The "One Belt and One Road" refers to the "Silk Road Economic Belt" and "21st Century Maritime Silk Road", concepts put forward by Xi during his visit to Central Asia and Southeast Asia respectively in 2013.

Xi noted that in negotiations, China and Arab states need to pool wisdom and share good ideas with each other to achieve desirable results in their joint endeavor, so that the development of the "One Belt and One Road" will accommodate the interests and concerns and reflect the wisdom and creativity of both sides.

In implementation, Xi said, China and Arab states need to do their best to bring into play their respective advantages, tap the potential and register major achievements from accumulated efforts in a persevering way.

He added that sharing means China and Arab states need to make more development achievements benefit people of the two sides in a fairer way and build a community of shared interests and common destinies for China and Arab states.

Around 200 guests from China and Arab states, including Secretary-general of the League of Arab States Nabil Elaraby, and foreign ministers or representatives attended the forum.

Related Article:

"The Timing of the Great Shift" – Mar 21, 2009 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“ … Here is another one. A change in what Human nature will allow for government. "Careful, Kryon, don't talk about politics. You'll get in trouble." I won't get in trouble. I'm going to tell you to watch for leadership that cares about you. "You mean politics is going to change?" It already has. It's beginning. Watch for it. You're going to see a total phase-out of old energy dictatorships eventually. The potential is that you're going to see that before 2013. They're going to fall over, you know, because the energy of the population will not sustain an old energy leader. Remember where you heard it... in a strange, esoteric meeting with a guy in a chair pretending to channel. [Kryon being factious... Kryon humor] Then when you hear it, you'll know better, won't you? "Maybe there was something really there," you'll say. "Maybe it was real," you'll say. Perhaps you can skip all the drama of the years to come and consider that now? [Kryon humor again]

These leaders are going to fall over. You'll have a slow developing leadership coming to you all over the earth where there is a new energy of caring about the public. "That's just too much to ask for in politics, Kryon." Watch for it. That's just the beginning of this last phase. So many things are coming. The next one is related to this, for a country in survival with sickness cannot sustain a leadership of high consciousness. There is just too much opportunity for power and greed. But when a continent is healed, everything changes.

The next one: You're going to heal a continent. Watch for it. It begins. Watch for major shift in Africa. We have said this before, even within the meetings I spoke in what you call the United Nations. Africa has never even been a potential player in the economic field, because it has been sick. What happens when you heal a continent? I'm going to tell you. Suddenly, the people on that continent also want what you have - government that works, peace, their own homes, schools, hospitals, and even banks where they can borrow from. They don't have any of those now, not really. Everything with substance is from somewhere else. That means you're going to have a continent that's going to arise that will become a major player on the stage of Earth's finances and political influence - an entire continent with all the resources on it, with even the potential for unification of common purpose, much like what you have now in your EU. I'm giving you information, and when it happens, again, I say you'll remember where you heard it.

Many years ago, the prevailing thought was that nobody should consider China as a viable player on the economic stage. They were backward, filled with a system that would never be westernized, and had no wish to become joined with the rest of the world's economic systems. Look what has happened in only 30 years. Now, look at Africa differently.. ...”

Bribery case plunges Ma administration into fresh crisis

Want China Times, Lee Ming-hsien and Staff Reporter 2014-06-04

Yeh Shih-wen, left, and Chao Teng-hsiung share a toast in 2012, when
a metro link to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport was agreed. (Photo/
Wang Ying-hao)

Farglory Group's alleged attempt to bribe government officials in northern Taiwan's Taoyuan county in order to win the tender for a low-cost housing project in the county's Bade area has tarnished the Taiwan government's goodwill in seeking to provide low-cost accommodation, writes our sister paper China Times.

The low-cost housing project was initiated by Taoyuan county in 2010 and Taiwan-based conglomerate Farglory was one of the most aggressive bidders. The bribery that has been alleged involves the county's deputy magistrate Yeh Shih-wen, who has since been sacked, on evidence that he received NT$18.2 million (US$605,500) in cash from Farglory chair Chao Teng-hsiung to secure the bid.

Yeh is said to be resourceful and have lots of political connections, especially with the ruling Kuomintang. Yeh is the deputy to Wu Chih-yang or John Wu, who has been Taoyuan county magistrate since December 2009. Wu is the son of the KMT's honorary chairman Wu Po-hsiung.

Yeh was made head of the county's Construction and Planning Agency in 2008, and has since worked alongside 14 ministers who have generally affirmed his abilities. He was also recognized as a model civil servant in 2013 and his downfall has undermined on President Ma Ying-jeou's attempt to foster a perception of the KMT as a clean party in contrast to its fabled corruption of the past.

When Premier Jiang Yi-huah was interior minister, he received two tip-offs concerning Yeh, which urged that it should be investigated whether Yeh was in the habit of leaving work early and claims that engaged in suspicious social activities. This was evidently not enough to prevent him from taking bribes, however.

When Ma took office as president in 2008, he demanded all civil servants submit notification prior to engaging in social activities. When one of Ma's proteges, Lin Yi-shih, then secretary-general of the Executive Yuan, was found to have extorted a Kaohsiung businessman, a further crackdown on corruption was supposed to have been implemented.

Wu Chih-yang told the Taoyuan council on June 3 that "he did not know about Yeh's reputation," admitting that he had appointed the wrong person as his deputy.

While Premier Jiang has acknowledged he received communications concerning Yeh, Wu Den-yih, who was premier at the time and is now vice president, was swift to say that Jiang did not brief him on the matter. But the central government may be naive if it considers Yeh to be simply an individual case.

Investigators have suggested that the investigation has just begun and that more scandals concerning more people are likely to come to light.

India's 'Pink Warriors' take on injustice

Clad in pink colored Saris and armed with sticks, a gang of women is fighting rapists, corrupt officials and patriarchy in India.

Deutsche Welle, 3 June 2014

An ordinary woman living in a village in northern India saw a man mercilessly beating his wife. Her attempts to intervene backfired and she too ended up with a beating. The next day she returned with a lathi (a bamboo stick) and five other women and gave the man a beating just like the one he had given his wife. News spread and this ordinary woman, Sampat Pal Devi, was hailed as a warrior and her group was soon known as the Gulabi Gang or the Pink Gang. Devi specifically chose the color pink to signify "womanhood and understated strength."

"Women are always treated like dirt by men, especially in rural villages, where most women are illiterate and have no knowledge about their rights," she told DW.

Today, Sampat Pal Devi's group today has over 300,000 members spread across the villages in the state of Uttar Pradesh. She has opened schools and training centers for women where they learn to sew, weave baskets, and other skills that can help them make money and become independent.

Sampat Pal Devi, the leader of the
 Gulabi Gang, is an inspiring story of
revolution in rural India

Warriors in pink saris

Sampat herself was denied education and was married off at the age of 13. Having borne her first child at a tender age, she suffered abuse at the hand of her in-laws, who were unrelenting until she later gave birth to a boy. In the male-dominated Indian society, Sampat believes that by giving women an option to earn a livelihood is just the first step. "Women need to be educated and made aware of their rights so they can fight back abusive husbands who try to chain them to their household chores, stripping them away of all freedom."

On a daily basis Sampat meets young women who were forcibly wed to older men, suffer domestic violence and are harassed for dowry. "These men they think too much of themselves; you have to show them where they stand."

While the members of the gang are trained to use bamboo sticks and are prepared to use them on tyrannical men, Sampat says that the media has wrongly portrayed her group as a bunch of women who do nothing else but beat up on men just for fun. "I don't believe in violence, but a woman needs to protect herself. The stick is self-defense."

Beyond the household, the Pink Gang has been able to put pressure on corrupt government officials by exposing illegal activities such as siphoning off wheat and rice allotted to the poor of the village.

The Pink Warriors are ordinary women who have come together in
solidarity to fight against injustice

Inspiration for film

In a deeply patriarchial part of the world controlled by feudal landlords, Sampat and her warriors are fighting to bring about a change in society. Her story inspired Nishtha Jain, a documentary filmmaker based in Mumbai. Jain herself is from Bundelkhand in central India, which is also the birthplace of the gang. The story was close to Jain who spent several years making the film Gulabi Gang - A Documentary, which was recently screened at the 14th New York Indian Film Festival. The documentary follows women in the rural landscape of Uttar Pradesh narrating their tales of woe.

Jain deeply admires Sampat and has been inspired by her film's protagonist and her feminism. "The film was an exercise in telling a nuanced story, an attempt not to romanticize, simplify or look for resolution within the framework of the film," she told DW.

Her film was received very well in India, though she said it might not resonate as well with audiences in the West for cultural reasons. There is, for example, a in the film which shows Sampat advising a woman who had been beaten by her husband to go back home. Sampat believes a woman's rightful place is her husband's home.

"What other options does a woman have once her husband kicks her out? My aim is not to uproot women from the society they live in, but ensure them a place of dignity in their own household," Sampat explains.

Larger than life role model

Juhi Chawla plays the role of
 a corrupt politician in the
Bollywood film Gulab Gang

Sampat's group has also inspired a Bollywood film titled Gulab Gang. Although the film is a work of fiction and is a commercial product with sharp dialogues and larger-than-life scenes with unimaginable fighting sequences, it draws upon Sampat's struggle.

The character of Sampat is played by Madhuri Dixit who stubbornly and courageously challenges corrupt officials.

The corrupt politician is played by Juhi Chawla, a veteran actress who tries to coax Rajjo (played by Madhuri Dixit) into supporting her in the coming elections. Like Sampat, Rajjo and her pink gang fight against corrupt officials and abusive husbands. They become vigilantes and bring about a change in the society around them.

"In a way, our film salutes these women," Juhi Chawla told DW. "They have been very brave, they have very little for themselves but they stand up for others, and help other people, and that is a big, brave thing to do. With very few resources, they stand up and fight against injustice."

Japan temporarily halts aid to Vietnam over bribery case

Yahoo – AFP, 3 June 2014

Japan has temporarily suspended official development aid to Vietnam over a bribery case, officials said Tuesday, dealing a possible blow to Tokyo's efforts to shore up its relationship with Hanoi.

Fresh yen-loans and and funding for an ongoing urban railway project have been halted after six Vietnamese railway officials were detained over allegations of corrupt payments, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The scandal emerged in March when Japanese media reported that the national tax agency had flagged up 100 million yen ($100,000) -worth of payments that could not be properly accounted for.

Japan Transportation Consultants Inc. (JTC) which is involved in several official development aid programmes, is suspected of having paid the money to officials in Vietnam and Uzbekistan and Indonesia, the reports said.

Vietnamese investigators later arrested six people, including Tran Quoc Dong, a deputy general director of Vietnam Railways, reports said.

On Monday, Japan said development aid would be resumed following an investigation in Vietnam, and if measures are put in place to avoid a repeat, a foreign ministry official told AFP.

Japan has also suspended official aid to Uzbekistan over the same case, and is in discussions with Indonesia, the official said.

The suspension of aid from Vietnam's biggest donor country comes as Japan's ties with Vietnam are warming, with Tokyo offering support to Hanoi in its escalating standoff with China over disputed waters.

The relationship-building, spearheaded by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, is aimed at forging a regional counterweight to China, which many local actors see as being increasingly aggressive in its various territorial claims.

Fifa faces calls to quash Qatar World Cup vote after corruption allegations

Senior football figures considering response if investigation into leaked documents leads to recommendation of revote

World Cup 2022: the allegations against Mohamed bin Hammam – interactive

Qatar World Cup: Bin Hammam 'acted like head of crime organisation'

The Guardian, Owen Gibson, chief sports correspondent,  Sunday 1 June 2014

Shadow sports minister Clive Efford called for a rerun of the vote in which
 Qatar overcame rival bids from the US, Australia, Japan and South Korea
to host the tournament. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Senior Fifa figures are for the first time seriously considering the ramifications of ordering a rerun of the vote for the right to stage the 2022 World Cup, in the aftermath of new corruption allegations against the hosts, Qatar.

While awaiting the results of a semi-independent inquiry into the 2018 and 2022 bidding races, senior football figures heading for the 2014 tournament in Brazil are understood to be considering their response if the report recommends a new vote in light of new claims based on hundreds of millions of leaked emails and documents.

In Britain, there was a renewed outpouring of concern from politicians and former football executives after the Sunday Times alleged that Mohamed bin Hammam, a Qatari former Fifa executive committee member, paid $5m (£3m) in cash, gifts and legal fees to senior football officials to help build a consensus of support behind the bid.

The UK government, humiliated over England's own bid for the 2018 tournament, which garnered just a single external vote, has previously said the corruption allegations are a matter for Fifa.

But the sports minister, Helen Grant, signalled a shift, saying: "These appear to be very serious allegations. It is essential that major sporting events are awarded in an open, fair and transparent manner."

The shadow sports minister, Clive Efford, called for a rerun of the vote, in which Qatar overcame rival bids from the US, Australia, Japan and South Korea.

"This issue calls the governance of football into question. No one will have any confidence in a Fifa investigation run by Sepp Blatter," he said.

"Fifa must take urgent action and reopen the bidding for the 2022 World Cup if it wants to restore its credibility."

Writing in the Guardian, the shadow international development secretary, Jim Murphy, added: "Fifa's rules are clear – the World Cup hosting must not be bought."

John Whittingdale, the Tory chair of the culture media and sport select committee, said Blatter's position was "almost untenable" and called for a "urgent and full transparent investigation to establish the facts".

Fifa, gathering in São Paulo for its annual congress before a 2014 World Cup that has had a troubled buildup amid anger from Brazilians at the cost and corruption, referred inquiries to the office of Michael Garcia.

The former US attorney in New York is conducting a supposedly independent ongoing investigation into the bidding processes for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.

He is expected to pass his conclusions to the adjudicatory chamber of Fifa's revamped ethics committee later this year. Meanwhile, the FBI is also conducting an ongoing investigation into payments to former Fifa officials.

Jim Boyce, the British Fifa vice-president, said he would have "absolutely no problem" if the ethics committee recommended a new vote in light of proven wrongdoing.

The Qatar 2022 organising committee claims that Bin Hammam, who was banned from football after bribing officials in a 2011 bid to unseat Sepp Blatter as Fifa president, had nothing to do with their bid.

The Sunday Times said it had obtained a cache of hundreds of millions of documents and emails, which detailed conversations about payments and money transfers from accounts controlled by Bin Hammam, his family and Doha-based businesses. Among many other alleged payments to mid-ranking football officials and figures including the former footballer of the year George Weah, Bin Hammam paid a total of $1.6m to the disgraced former Fifa vice-president, Jack Warner, including $450,000 before the vote. Warner has always denied any wrongdoing.

He also allegedly paid $415,000 towards the legal fees of Reynald Temarii, the Fifa vice-president banned from voting in the original election following an earlier Sunday Times investigation. The legal process helped delay Temarii's replacement on the executive committee by his deputy, reducing the number of voting members to 22 and depriving Australia, one of Qatar's rivals, of a vote.

Qatar 2022 is likely to seek to argue that Bin Hammam was acting to further his presidential ambitions rather than on behalf of the World Cup bid. In a statement on Sunday it said he played "no official or unofficial role" in its bid.

"We are cooperating fully with Mr Garcia's ongoing investigation and remain totally confident that any objective enquiry will conclude we won the bid to host the 2022 Fifa World Cup fairly," said the organisers, who are consulting lawyers.

"We vehemently deny all allegations of wrongdoing. The right to host the tournament was won because it was the best bid and because it is time for the Middle East to host its first Fifa World Cup."

But the newspaper said the email trails proved Bin Hammam was in fact intimately involved with the audacious two-year campaign to bring the World Cup to the tiny oil and gas-rich Gulf state, where temperatures can top 50 degrees in June.

In November 2010, the World Football Insider website quoted the bid chairman, Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, as saying Bin Hammam was the campaign's "biggest asset" and had been a crucial mentor for his team.

One obstacle surrounding a potential re-vote, apart from a likely legal challenge from Qatar, would be the difficulty in re-running the 2022 vote without also reopening the 2018 process. Russia won the right to host the 2018 World Cup in an ill-defined dual process riddled with controversy.

Despite promising his current term would be his last – and the ongoing travails of the organisation with which he is inextricably linked – Blatter, who last month called the choice of Qatar "a mistake", has vowed to stand again for the Fifa presidency in 2015.

• Qatar World Cup: Bin Hammam 'acted like head of crime organisation'

Psy's 'Gangnam Style' sets YouTube record for 2 bn views

Yahoo – AFP, 31 May 2014

South Korea's Psy attends the premiere of "RED 2" at Westwood
Village in Los Angeles, on July 11, 2013

South Korean pop phenomenon Psy galloped into the record books Saturday as his "Gangnam Style" mega hit smashed through the two-billion mark on YouTube.

It was a first at YouTube, where "Baby" by Canadian pop singer Justin Bieber in February became the only other video in the billion-view club.

"Gangnam Style" at the OfficialPsy channel has now had nearly twice the amount of viewers, according to figures from the northern California-based YouTube.

The video became a global sensation and fueled a South Korean "K-Pop" trend after it was uploaded to YouTube in July 2012.

"Two billion views; they are very honorable and very burdensome numbers," Psy said in a statement YouTube shared with AFP on Friday.

"With the appreciation, I will come back soon with more joyful contents!"

His follow-up song "Gentleman" set the record for the most YouTube views in a single day -- 38 million on April 14, 2013.

Psy's horse-riding-style dance moves in "Gangnam Style" have been parodied and mimicked in myriad videos uploaded to YouTube in various languages.

The "Gangnam" in the song's title refers to Seoul's wealthiest residential and shopping district, lined with luxury boutiques, top-end bars and restaurants frequented by celebrities.

Psy sings about being the "guy who downs boiling coffee in one shot" and who "goes completely crazy when the right time comes."

The video, which satirizes the area's self-importance and ostentatious wealth, has Psy breezing through a world of speed boats, yoga classes and exclusive clubs while performing an eccentric horse-riding dance.

Only three percent of "Gangnam Style" views at YouTube have been from inside South Korea.

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