Xiaxue Blogs, Wendy Cheng, better known by her pseudonym, Xiaxue, is a Singaporean blogger, and freelance writer.

Xiaxue’s blog was hacked into and defaced; the hacker also gained access to her gmail account and deleted many of her e-mails. She eventually regained access to her blog and e-mail account, and made a police report.
In October 2005, Xiaxue criticized a disabled man who scolded an able-bodied man for trying to use the handicapped toilet. Two of her three then-sponsors terminated their endorsement deals with her as a result of the post.

Xiaxue was accused of making a racist post in December 2005. A netizen started a petition to have the authorities take enforcement action.

In July 2008, blogger Dawn Yang launched a lawsuit against Cheng for allegedly defamatory remarks made in a blog post on June 30.

At least 65 people were killed while more than 100 were injured in a stampede at the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. The stampede occurred when people scrambled to collect the offerings being handed out. Thousands of people had gathered for the ceremonial feast and free distribution of clothes.
The gate of a Hindu temple collapsed which caused the maximum causalities. A rescue operation is being conducted by the authorities.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday and Lula expressed his willingness to talk with world leaders about Iran’s nuclear standoff in an effort to establish a peaceful solution.
Lula and Clinton attended a closed meeting and shook hands after the hour-long conversation. Earlier on Wednesday, Lula told reporters that Brazil would support Iran if it used its nuclear technology for peaceful ends and said the international community should not “push Iran into a corner.” On the other hand, after a meeting with Brazil’s Foreign Minister, Clinton said she believed Iran would only negotiate in good faith with the international community after sanctions are imposed. Lula and Clinton also discussed climate change, US’ relations with South American countries and a possible visit of President Barack Obama to Brazil. Clinton’s trip to the South American giant was aimed at winning support of Brazil, a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, for moves to sanction Iran over its nuclear program, which Western powers fear is designed to produce atomic weapons.

Chile Earthquake Earth s Axis, Strong aftershocks have struck Chile again, rocking the battered town of Concepcion and sending panicked residents fleeing.

Soldiers deployed in the city urged people to evacuate following Wednesday’s temblors and the authorities issued a tsunami warning.

Media correspondent said there was pandemonium everywhere as people rushed to get to higher ground even though the city is quite far away from the sea, making the possibility of a tsunami very remote.

No damage or injuries were recorded in the aftershocks that came as Michelle Bachelet, the outgoing president, called for calm and asked people to stop hoarding supplies and help with relief efforts.

Speaking in the Chilean capital, Santiago, on Wednesday, she said: “We don’t have shortage. There is enough food, so everyone has to remain calm in places where stores are closed.

“We will replenish the stores. Banks are beginning to open … that is to say we will return to relative normality,” she said on national television.

NEW DELHI: The mastermind behind the Indian Airlines Hijack that took place in 1984, Parminder Singh Saini, has finally been deported to India from Canada, where he took refuge 15 years ago.

46 year old Saini was escorted by Canadian Border Security Agency (CBSA) officials till the Toronto Airport where he finally boarded his flight (airlines not known) to India.

The troupe of 6 militants headed by Saini, on July 6, 1984, hijacked a Delhi bound flight after it took off from Srinagar and took it to Lahore. The plane had 255 passengers on board. The 17 hour long trauma for the passengers ended with the surrender of the hijackers to the authorities of Pakistan.

Saini underwent a trial in a court in Lahore and was awarded death penalty which was later reduced to life term.10 years later he was released and asked to leave Pakistan.

After leaving Pakistan in 1995, Saini illegally entered Canada with a fake name and passport. He lived in Canada with a fake Afghan Passport and by the name Balbir Singh and justified the act by saying he feared his deportation to India.

In Canada, even as he fought his deportation order, he earned BA and law degrees and was attached to his brother’s immigration consultancy firm Singh and Associates located in Mississauga (outskirts of Toronto).

Saini’s application to the Law Society of Upper Canada to allow him to practice law there, however, was rejected, earlier this Jan on grounds of his past criminal record and identity faux, saying he had failed to prove his character as a genuine person and hence could not be permitted to practice law.

He appeared before the Law Society last year and said he regretted whatever he did in the past but deserved another chance to start afresh.

Richard Holbrooke has said that he has no plans of helping India and Pakistan at the moment. Pakistan is justified to look into matters of security due to its Geographical and Defense condition.
Holbrooke says he would welcome easing of tensions and improving relations between Pakistan and India, however both countries need to work out their own ways to improve their relations. Holbrooke says that during his trips to India he is always asked to play a role to improve relations however Holbrooke said that he is not playing any roles to ease tensions between the two countries.
It is important to have good relations between the two countries to solve the problems of Afghanistan.

An Iraqi court sentenced Ali Hassan al-Majeed, the Saddam Hussein henchman widely known as “Chemical Ali”, on Sunday to death by hanging for a 1988 gas attack that killed about 5,000 Kurds, a court official said.
Many women and children were killed in gas attack. Kurdish people in Arbil city for their part expressed their satisfaction with this verdict.

Germany has advised its internet users to avoid using Microsoft Internet Explorer and opt for other browsing software due to security risks to Internet Explorer. The advice was issued by Federal Office of Information Security at a time when Microsoft has admitted that one of the reasons for the recent attacks on Google system was due to the flaws in security of Internet Explorer.

Microsoft’s German representative has rejected the advice saying that the people who attacked Google’s system had a specific agenda. Microsoft has said that steps have been taken to enhance the browser’s security. German officials still believe that Internet Explorer is not completely safe.

The Taliban have kidnapped two Chinese engineers and four Afghans accompanying them in the north of the country, a local official and the Taliban said on Sunday.

“Unknown people kidnapped yesterday (Saturday) two Chinese engineers along with their two local drivers and two guards in Qaysar district, Faryab province,” said local government spokesman Jawaed Bidar.

Bidar said the engineers were helping to build a road.

Taliban spokesman Yusuf Ahmadi said that “Our mujahedeen have taken two Chinese engineers, their two drivers and their two guards.”

Ahmadi said the Taliban’s Islamic court or shura would decide on their fate.

Criminal gangs and Taliban insurgents have kidnapped several dozen foreigners, many of them journalists, since the 2001 US-led operation to topple the Taliban.

The Taliban two weeks ago denied that they were holding two journalists from France 3 public television who were snatched with three Afghan assistants in the eastern province of Kapisa on December 30.

In October, 12 public works employees were kidnapped in eastern Afghanistan as part of what the authorities called a “private dispute.”

MAKKAH: Heavy rains have failed to dampen the spirits of millions of pilgrims as they readied themselves today on the plains of Arafat where they will pray to the Almighty for His mercy and blessings.

Arafat is the second day of Haj and one of the highpoints of the holy pilgrimage. When dawn breaks, pilgrims will stand on the place where Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) delivered his last sermon 14 centuries ago.

Yesterday pilgrims circumambulated the Ka’ba and then traveled to Mina for the Day of Tarwiyah, where they rested in accordance with the Sunnah of the Prophet.

Saudi authorities have warned pilgrims to move carefully amid Wednesday’s storms, the first in years to occur during the Haj.

Water seeped into tents in the sprawling tent city in Mina where pilgrims were staying.

“We are staying in tents for now. Heavy rain turned red-carpeted corridors into streams of water with empty cans of soft drinks floating,” Zohra Nasef, from Morocco and on her second Haj, told Reuters.

“Some pilgrims could not find enough space in tents so we deployed additional ones to shelter them,” said Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour Al-Turki.

The pilgrims, however, have continued with their Haj rituals and no evacuation was reported. A power outage hit parts of Makkah, SPA said.

Khaled Merghalani, spokesman for the Ministry of Health, said the threat of heavy rain in Makkah could result in health risks for pilgrims, but was confident the authorities could handle any crisis.

“We have planned for this possibility,” he said. Plans to counter natural calamities such as heavy rains and floods have been well laid out, said Khaled Al-Habshi from the Red Crescent.

The security and safety of pilgrims has been a major concern for the authorities this year, with certain groups calling to politicize the Haj, the conflict with the infiltrators on the Saudi-Yemeni border, and the threat of swine flu. Interior Ministry spokesman Mansour Al-Turki said Tuesday the government would not allow surprise attacks on pilgrims.

Four pilgrims have already died from the A(H1N1) virus here, the authorities said. On Tuesday the Health Ministry said all hospitals and medical centers in Makkah and the holy sites were prepared to receive flu cases.

“There is no risk of the illness spreading as we are well-prepared and have taken the necessary measures to prevent an outbreak,” Merghalani told a news conference.

Shahul Ebrahim, a consultant from the Atlanta, Georgia-based CDC at the Haj, said it was too early to tell if the rains could exacerbate the spread of H1N1, the flu virus. “Rain can lead to other waterborne diseases … such as the common cold, flu. But we still don’t know how it will affect H1N1. We can’t predict,” he told The Associated Press.

So far, the rain has mainly caused traffic snarls. Winter is the rainy season in Makkah, and light showers are not uncommon, but such a heavy downpour has not been seen for years during the Haj.

Civil Defense spokesman Maj. Abdullah Al-Harthi said his organization has plans to deal with flooding, including 300 buses to evacuate pilgrims if necessary. He said no casualties have been reported from the rains, SPA reported.

One lane of the main road into Makkah was closed by flooding, said Amer Al-Amer, an Interior Ministry official. “It cannot handle the pressure of all the people coming from outside Makkah,” he said, adding that it would cause delays of several hours for people trying to reach the sites.

Water covered the floors in many of the tents, said Suleiman Hamad, a 29-year-old pilgrim in Mina. He said the scene was “muddy, but manageable,” with many pilgrims throwing blankets over their heads when they walked outside. Rain fell sporadically throughout the day, and stopped by late afternoon in many sites – though it continued to fall in Makkah.