Brazil deforestation slows again

Deforestation in the Amazon rainforest fell by 20% between August 2006 and July 2007, according to interim figures released by the Brazilian government.

It is the third year in a row that there has been a fall.

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said the new figures were good, but felt Brazil could have done more.

Environmental groups said the government is celebrating a past achievement when it knows the rate of deforestation is on the increase again.

Enormous challenge

While the Brazilian government views the fall in deforestation as encouraging news, there is a general recognition that protecting the Amazon is an enormous challenge.

Initial figures show that between August 2006 and July 2007, just over 11,000 sq km (4,250 sq m) of forest was destroyed, equivalent to the size of the island of Jamaica.

The estimate was based on 90% of the satellite images available for that period and the final result will be available early next year.

Deforestation has now fallen for the last three years, but this is a reduction from the near record levels reached in 2004.

Earlier this week, a report from the environmental group the Worldwide Fund for Nature warned that a combination of climate change and deforestation could destroy or severely damage 55% of the Amazon rainforest by 2030.

And another environmental organisation - Greenpeace - says the government is celebrating an achievement from the past and that more recent satellite images suggest deforestation is starting to rise again.

Some analysts had already warned that recent falls in deforestation could be explained by a drop in market prices for products such as soya and meat and that once these rose again, land clearance would start to increase.

The government says measures it has taken, such as creating conservation areas and increasing land inspections, have also made a difference.

There seems little doubt that the next year will be a major test of whether the right strategy is in place to protect the Amazon rainforest.

Nintendo's WII is still hugely popular

Nintendo is considering pulling UK television advertising for its popular Wii console in the run up to Christmas because it is battling to meet demand.

It said that holding back adverts until 2008 would be a "responsible" move.

It now expects to have sold 17.5 million of the consoles worldwide in the year to March 2008 - up from the 14 million it had earlier forecast.

Nintendo is likely to use its advertising slots to promote its handheld DS console, analysts say.

'Act responsibility'

Globally, the firm is able to make about 1.8 million of the Wii consoles every month.

But it said that the demand had been "unprecedented and higher than Nintendo could ever have anticipated".

"We are doing everything possible to supply continued levels of stock and meet demand as quickly as possible," the spokesman added.

"As we are keen to act responsibly we are potentially looking at moving some advertising on some products into early 2008."

It is understood that because the television commercials do not have a festive flavour, they will be able to be used next year.

Demand for the Wii could mean disappointment for those putting it at the top of their Christmas list.

High Street retailers are struggling to keep up with demand and websites have been set up to help shoppers find out when stock becomes available.

Last month Sony said that it was taking advantage of Nintendo Wii shortages and a recent price cut of its PlayStation 3 console to double weekly sales of the PlayStation in the US.

"The shame of Chinese University"

Let me continue my speech, former chief executive urges angry students.

Former chief executive Tung Chee-hwa yesterday appealed for protesters to give him the chance to continue his speech when scuffles interrupted a graduation ceremony at Chinese University, at which he was awarded an honorary doctorate.

About 20 students protested against the conferral. They carried red flags, shouted "the shame of Chinese University", blew whistles and repeatedly attempted to force their way onto the stage but were blocked by security guards.

Attempts to remove the students resulted in scuffles as they were forced to the ground and their flags were destroyed.

Eighty senior citizens joined the demonstration, demanding an increase in their old-age allowance.

Mr Tung gave an address in Putonghua, interrupted on several occasions by protesters accusing vice-chancellor Lawrence Lau Juen-yee of "shoe-shining".

Switching to Cantonese, Mr Tung urged the protesters to quieten down and give him the chance to continue. "Hong Kong is a very free society but can you give me the chance and freedom to complete my speech."

The protest began earlier in the morning as students and alumni marched from University MTR station with banners protesting over what they said was poor leadership under Professor Lau. They said there was a lack of transparency and consultation over the university's plans for campus expansion.

The decision to award Mr Tung an honorary law doctorate, announced in October, sparked an online petition from 400 students and alumni.

The university said Mr Tung was awarded the honorary doctorate for taking on the "historic mission of leading the administration", maintaining "the legal and judicial systems" and safeguarding the "freedom and lifestyle" of Hong Kong.

But protesters opposing the conferral cited his attempt to introduce national security legislation, and requests for the National People's Congress to reinterpret the Basic Law during his tenure.

Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen, officiating in his role as university chancellor, appeared to hesitate amid the jeering before conferring the honour on Mr Tung. The protests grew louder, causing Professor Lau to call for the conferment to be made a second time.

Legislator "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung was dragged away by security guards after a second attempt to rush the stage.

After the ceremony, elderly protesters chanted slogans demanding an increased allowance, with one man kneeling down next to Mr Tung, who then helped him up.

Professor Lau described the ceremony as very successful despite the protests, saying he thought Mr Tung deserved the degree. "I had hoped the students would be more tolerant. Our university values freedom of expression. It is about respecting each other. One should allow even an unpopular opinion to be expressed."

Alumni representative Chu Hoi-dick said their protest targeted both Professor Lau and the conferral. "The protest against his degree is to tell the public that it's the latest ridiculous decision made by the university."

Business graduate Pun Wai-wan said: "I think the students have the right to express themselves. It reflects how tolerant our university is."

The Ocean Plays Music

In 2005, architect Nikola Basic created the musical Sea Organ on the shores of Zadar, Croatia. It is the world’s first musical pipe organ that is played by the sea. Simple and elegant steps, carved in white stone, were built on the quayside.

Underneath, there are 35 musically tuned tubes with whistle openings on the sidewalk. The movement of the sea pushes air through, and – depending on the size and velocity of the wave – musical chords are played. The waves create random harmonic sounds.

'Kill switch' dropped from Vista SP1

Microsoft is to withdraw an anti-piracy tool from Windows Vista, which disables the operating system when invoked, following customer complaints.

The so-called "kill switch" is designed to prevent users with illegal copies of Vista from using certain features.

But the tool has suffered from glitches since it was introduced with many Windows users claiming that legal copies of Vista had been disabled.

Microsoft says its efforts have seen a drop in piracy of its software.

In a statement released by the company, Microsoft corporate vice president Mike Sievert, said: "Users whose systems are identified as counterfeit will be presented with clear and recurring notices about the status of their system and how to get genuine copies."

Link to the story.

Mobile penetration exceeds 140pc

Hong Kong’s mobile phone penetration was well over 140 per cent, Permanent Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Rita Lau Ng Wai-lan said on Wednesday.

Mrs Lau, discussing Hong Kong’s information communications technology (ICT) industry at the Asian-Oceanian Computer Industry Organisation’s gala dinner in Singapore, said: “Through the pro-market and liberalisation policy we have adopted for the telecommunications industry, we have witnessed healthy competition which has enabled Hong Kong to be one of the world’s most affordable internet and mobile phone services.”

Mrs Lau said that to develop the territory into a “digital wireless city through market forces and government investment”, 2,500 Wi-Fi hotspots would be progressively installed – on top of the present 5,000 the city offered.

These hotspots would be built at public venues and facilities such as libraries, community centres and parks for free public access.

The commerce secretary said: “When you come to Hong Kong for the ICT summit next year, we will be able to offer you the convenience of this extensive free wireless connectivity.

“In equipping ourselves with an infrastructure that supports ubiquity, we have to be mindful of the need to provide a secure environment for business to flourish,” she said.

But Mrs Lau said that even though the overall impact of technology was positive, there was concern over information security and infringement of intellectual property rights.

She called for greater co-operation between countries to solve these problems.

“The cyber world perhaps calls for even greater collaboration of the ICT industries and the governments for development and coping with the challenges, and regional co-operation will play a pivotal part,” Mrs Lau added.

Isn't Europe a country?

Anson Chan celebrates decisive victory over Ip

Former Hong Kong chief secretary Anson Chan Fang On-sang has won a decisive victory in Sunday’s Legislative Council by-election.

Mrs Chan won just under 55 per cent of the vote, with her leading rival Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee capturing almost 43 per cent.

The hotly contested by-election for Hong Kong Island drew a relatively high turnout of about 52 per cent as the two rival camps cranked their canvassing machinery into top gear to rally voters.

The results of the election supported the findings of an earlier poll carried out by the University of Hong Kong. It had interviewed 3,600 voters and predicted Mrs Chan would edge pass her pro-Beijing rival to win the election, local radio reported.

The turnout on Sunday outstripped the 33.27 per cent in the 2000 Legco Hong Kong Island by-election. But it failed to match the turnout of the 2004 Legco polls, which saw 55.64 per cent of registered voters city-wide cast ballots and 57.62 per cent on Hong Kong Island.

More than 321,000 of the 618,350 registered voters on Hong Kong Island voted during the 15-hour ballot yesterday.

The six lesser known candidates obtained a total of 7,291 votes, according to the unfinished count by the Electoral Affairs Commission. Transport unionist Stanley Chaing Chi-wai was top of the six with 3,518 votes, while Ho Loy obtained 1,593; Cecilia Ling Wai-wan received 822; Jimmy Siu See-kong 613; Lee Wing-kin 401 and Lau Yuk-shing 344.

Mrs Chan and Mrs Ip, on the other hand, had garnered 313,424 votes between themselves with Mrs Chan securing 175,874 of the votes and Mrs Ip the remaining 137,550 votes.

Pan-democrats had estimated that Mrs Chan would need a turnout of over 50 per cent to defeat Mrs Ip, who has the backing of the Beijing-friendly forces.

Speaking after early polling results put her ahead by a small margin, Mrs Chan said she would not speculate on the outcome.

“I feel very excited. I remember when I was appointed the chief secretary in 1993, I didn’t feel as excited as today,” Mrs Chan said.

She thanked her supporters and believed “the road to democracy would continue to widen”.

Mrs Ip said she was disappointed by the exit poll results, but said she had done her best and had staged a rewarding campaign.

Election observers said Mrs Ip’s support showed she had managed to secure votes from the middle of the political spectrum.

The ballot has been widely seen as a barometer of people’s democratic aspirations and the different values the two former officials stand for.

The showdown came two weeks after the pro-Beijing camp handed the pan-democrats their worst defeat in the district council election.

Political commentator Ma Ngok said the two high-profile candidates had pushed the turnout rate to a relatively high level.

Facing a close contest, the two rival camps mobilised unprecedentedly big contingents of canvassers across Hong Kong Island. Tension surged as supporters repeatedly clashed and traded verbal attacks while canvassing for votes outside strategic polling stations.

Shortly after 3pm, Mrs Ip, who had been flanked by canvassing agents from the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong throughout the day, issued an emergency call in a last-ditch effort to rally supporters and undecided voters.

“My rival has long put out an emergency call and has the unfair support of a media organisation,” Mrs Ip said. She was referring to the pro-democracy Apple Daily, which published a special afternoon edition headlined “Mrs Chan at a critical state”.

In a last-minute appeal for votes, Mrs Chan said hordes of Mrs Ip’s supporters had been taken to polling stations by coach.

She said she would need every single vote to counter the so-called “cast-iron” votes of her main rival.

“It’s not about my personal glory or shame. It’s about standing up for the values we all share and wish to sustain,” she said. “Hong Kong people have demonstrated the strength of unity during the article 23 legislation saga in 2003. Please vote from your heart.”

But Mrs Ip dismissed claims that she had “iron-clad” votes. “Every candidate has to fight for every vote. There is no such thing as iron-clad votes in this world.”

She urged voters to vote for her, saying confrontation would lead Hong Kong nowhere – a veiled attack on the pan-democrats.

The winner would fill the seat vacated by the late DAB chairman Ma Lik and serve until next summer.

Meanwhile, the Electoral Affairs Commission received 490 complaints related to Sunday’s by-election, according to local radio.

Speaking after the announcement of the election results, Chairman of the Electoral Affairs Commission Justice Pang Kin-kee said he had found the “overall electoral arrangements satisfactory” but would look into some incidents.

He said, “The by-election was concluded successfully and I consider the counting of votes efficient.

“The commission will review the electoral arrangements and look into areas for further improvement. A report will be submitted to the Chief Executive on matters relating to the by-election within three months after the conclusion of the by-election.”

Most of the complaints were focused on election advertisements, noise and illegal canvassing allegations.